Author: This Is Your Brain producer
In the war on COVID-19, doctors face an enemy like no other – mysterious, invisible, and medically confounding. Dr. Laura Kolbe, co-founder of the COVID+ Hospice and Palliative Care Unit at Weill Cornell Medicine/New York-Presbyterian explains a new first-hour emergency room protocol. We learn how the palliative care team allays suffering, comforts the sick, and clarifies the final wishes of the most desperately ill and dying patients. Dr. Stieg: During this very difficult COVID crisis, our frontline doctors, nurses and specialists are doing heroic work and caring for patients who arrive at ERs in various stages of medical and psychological distress…
Human brains are not wired for the staggering amount and variety of daily information coming our way. Dr. Marvin Chun, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Yale University, explains how our brains evolved to do one thing at a time, why they react poorly to the demands of multi-tasking, and why distraction undermines our performance and our memory. Dr. Stieg: In today’s fast-paced multitasking world, it seems we’re all constantly dealing with information overload. Add to this, the myriad of distractions in our day as we struggle to find the time and focus to get work and other important tasks done.…
World-renowned soprano Renée Fleming is also a leading advocate for research and public education on the therapeutic power of music to heal the mind. Music’s psychological and neurological impact can help people suffering with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders, and even restore speech after a stroke. Recorded live at Juilliard, this episode also explores the brain’s incredible musical memory mechanism and why learning and healing through song can be so transformative. Dr. Stieg: I’m thrilled as a fan and an opera lover to be recording live today at Juilliard with world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming, winner of four Grammy…
A three-year mission to Mars will have profound effects on bodies—and brains. The recent NASA study of twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly provides a new understanding of how life in space can alter cognition, heart health, and even gut bacteria. Dr. Christopher Mason of Weill Cornell Medicine and Dr. Mathias Basner of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine reveal their findings about long-term space flight and explain why using a “free-range astronaut” as a control was uniquely helpful to their work. Dr. Stieg: Now that travel to Mars is reality in the near future. I’m really excited to welcome…
“Today Show” nutritionist Joy Bauer has easy, affordable, and delicious tips for making brain-healthy food choices. Boost your memory, strengthen your focus, and improve your blood flow by following Joy’s simple advice. Plus, the surprising benefits of coffee, and the 3 golden rules of snacking. Dr. Stieg: I’m really happy to have Joy Bauer with me today to talk about the important relationship between nutrition and brain health. Joy started her career at Mount Sinai medical center as a clinical nutritionist for the neurosurgical team and nutrition director for the pediatric cardiology department. She’s the author of numerous books and…
Dr. Frances Jensen, Chair of the Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and author of “The Teenage Brain,” explains how vaping, binge drinking, and pot smoking are especially dangerous for adolescent brains. Young adults are more susceptible to addiction, cognitive impairment, and mental health issues when exposed to such substances because their brains have not finished developing the neural connections needed to make good decisions. Dr. Stieg: We’ve all been there and we’ve all raised children through that time period, the teenage years. Today I have Dr. Frances Jensen, professor and chairman of the department of neurology…