Author: This Is Your Brain producer

Temple Grandin, PhD., wants kids — especially those on the autism spectrum — to start using their hands again. The woman Oliver Sacks called “the anthropologist on Mars” explains how our brains may be naturally wired to think in words, mathematics, or visuals, and there’s nothing disordered about any of them. Dr. Grandin urges us to respect our young visual thinkers and celebrate their strengths instead of labeling them with disabilities. Phil Stieg:  Hello. My guest today is Dr. Temple Grandin, professor of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University. With her fascinating ability to understand how animals think, she transformed…

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Giggles, guffaws, or belly laughs — whenever we crack up, we’re communicating more than we realize. Laughter, says Dr. Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist at University College London as well as a standup comic, is pretty complicated. It’s a way of expressing group membership and affection (as long as nobody is laughing AT you) and involves a physical reaction as well as an emotional one. Scott can make you laugh — and then explain why you did. Phil Stieg: Hello, I’d like to welcome Professor Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist and director of the University College of London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.…

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Extreme athlete Wim Hof has set records for immersion in icy water, and he recommends it for physical and mental health. Find out why his wife’s suicide drove Hof to master controlled hyperventilation — in breathtaking cold — to become happy, strong, and healthy. (Everything else, he’ll tell you, is BS.) Surprisingly, heart and brain science just may support the Wim Hof Method. Plus… contrasting Ice with Fire. Plus…contrasting Ice and Fire with a firewalking story courtesy of Jim Metzner of “Pulse of the Planet” Phil Stieg: Hello and welcome to Wim Hof, or better known as The Iceman. Clearly…

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With each of us receiving more than 30,000 messages a day – everything from news headlines to print, TV, radio, and online advertising – how do today’s marketing professionals have a chance of getting a product or service to stand out? Dr. Christophe Morin is a “neuromarketer,” combining his expertise in neuroscience with his passion for understanding how to persuade people to do or buy almost anything. T his week, Dr. Morin talks about the “emotional cocktail” that is our response to advertising messages, and why appeals to the rational brain don’t work. Hit the primal brain using these six…

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Bonus clip from I’ve Got (Circadian Rhythm), with Dr. Emily Manoogian. Thank you for downloading this bonus clip from This Is Your Brain. In this excerpt Dr. Emily Manoogian discusses chronotypes (like if you are an early bird or a night owl), and how circadian rhythms change as we age, and tips to deal with jet lag. Phil Stieg: Does circadian rhythm change with age? Because they always say that older people don’t need as much sleep. So it’s a 24 hours cycle, but different how? Emily Manoogian: Yes. So your circadian rhythms do change with age and we can…

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Your brain, your heart — in fact, every cell in your body — has its own clock telling you when to be alert and when to pack it in. Dr. Emily Manoogian, chronobiologist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies explains how disrupting your circadian rhythms through shift work, long flights, eating at the wrong times, and even staying up too late on weekends can affect your health, mood, and emotional regulation. Plus how circadian rhythms affect all animals, not just humans. Phil Stieg: Hello, I’d like to welcome Emily Manoogian, a clinical researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological…

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