Author: This Is Your Brain producer
Parkinson’s Disease patient Elizabeth Larsen gives a deeply honest view of her Deep Brain Simulation (DBS) surgery to control her tremors. We learn what it feels like to have electrodes in the brain and what happens when patients want to change their tremor management software program. Dr. Stieg: I’d like to welcome back our guests, Dr. Michael Kaplitt, Vice Chair of Research and Professor of Neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and his patient, Elizabeth Larsen. In our previous episode, Dr. Kaplitt gave us a very clear understanding of what people need to know about Parkinson’s. His patient, Elizabeth shared how Parkinson’s increasingly impacted her quality…
From mild resting tremors to freezing, stiffness, and loss of motor control, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease progress relentlessly over time. Dr. Michael Kaplitt, Director of the Movement Disorders Program at Weill Cornell Medicine, along with his patient Elizabeth Larsen, explore how quality of life can erode over the years — and when it’s time for a life-changing surgical option. Dr. Stieg: About 1 million Americans have Parkinson’s disease and every day that number continues to grow. Right now there is no cure for Parkinson’s, but there are newer treatments helping patients achieve a much greater quality of life and scientists…
The COVID-19 quarantine has changed everything about love and sex. Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher reveals how socially distant dating can nurture a relationship by slowing things down and encouraging more substantive conversation and deeper intimacy. Long-term couples have a different problem as they adjust to 24/7 togetherness and learn to carve out safe spaces. Plus… why it’s essential to laugh, play, and stay connected with friends and family to enhance brain health. Dr. Stieg: I’d like to welcome back one of our regular guests, Helen Fisher. Helen is a biological anthropologist and one of the world’s leading experts on love. She is a senior research fellow at…
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…