Author: This Is Your Brain producer
True creative genius may well be the last frontier in human evolution – the only trait that can’t be replaced with technology. Dr. Robert Bilder, who directs the Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity at UCLA, reveals what his study of artists and scientists tell us about how creative brains work, and how some creative people manage to bring their brains to the very edge of chaos without crossing into madness. Plus… Are we educating the creative genius out of our kids? Phil Stieg: Hello and welcome to Professor Robert Builder, director of the Tennenbaum Center for the Biology…
A writer stuck on a script. An artist staring at a blank page. A composer who can’t quite figure out what the next notes should be. In this edition of This Is Your Brain – The Guided Tour, we ask; is there anything that helps creative types actually create? The question has probably been around for as long as human civilization. Through the ages, many artists have tried to answer it with mind-altering substances, from absinthe to LSD. Could hallucinogens be the ultimate muse for creative types? A study released in 2018 by researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands…
Is there a “trust spot” in the brain? How do we balance the human desire to trust against the fear of betrayal? Dr. Frank Krueger, a psychologist, physicist, and neuroscientist at George Mason University, explains how our brain circuits teach us to navigate the social dilemma of who deserves our trust. Plus… why men are more trusting (and take more risks) than women, and why those with autism have so much trouble deciding whom to trust. Phil Stieg: Hello, I’d like to welcome Dr. Frank Krueger, professor of Systems neuroscience at George Mason University. He studies psychological functions and neurobiological…
In case you were wondering, a trusting relationship can be based on things other than just money. In this edition of “This Is Your Brain – The Guided Tour” we’ll meet scientists who devised a “critter café”, where chimpanzees could consider splitting their entrée with a trusted friend. In the study led by Jan Engelmann and Esther Herrmann of Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, fifteen chimps living in a Sanctuary in Kenya got to play the classic economic “trust game” using apples and bananas rather than cash. Picture two chimps at adjoining tables in our imaginary café. Each…
This week we are revisiting an episode from the beginning of Season Two: “How Gabby Giffords Found Her Voice.” The episode was originally released on the 10th anniversary of the brutal assassination attempt on Congresswoman Giffords life in January of 2011. Phil Stieg: With me today is Maegan Morrow. She is a board-certified music therapist and a member of the American Music Therapy Association and currently works at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital. Maegan is well known for her work with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. She has been featured in national and international media, including Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s medical interviews on CNN,…
Does “brain training” work? Dr. Susanne Jaeggi and Dr. Aaron Seitz are experts who are developing and studying brain apps in a nationwide study of their effectiveness. Together they are exploring how cognitive skills and working memory can both be improved — not just in older people, but especially in them. Plus… try a brain game yourself! Phil Stieg: Hello, I’d like to give a warm welcome to my guests, Aaron Seitz and Susanne Jaeggi, professors from the Brain Games Center for Mental Fitness and Wellbeing at the University of California, Riverside, and the Working Memory and Plasticity Lab at…