Placental stem cells have the potential to stop cancer and autoimmune disorders in their tracks, slow or even halt the aging process, and perhaps even tackle the next pandemic. Dr. Robert Hariri, a surgeon and stem cell entrepreneur, explains how a temporary product of pregnancy, often discarded as waste, is actually an example of evolution at its best, a veritable "nature's supermarket" for cells with amazing regenerative properties. Plus - learn how some cells are more "potent" than others....
Dec 02, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 23
The past 30 years have produced an epidemic of obesity -- mostly because evolution did not prepare us for so many calories and so little physical activity. Dr. Louis Aronne, a leading authority on obesity, explains how a period of caloric excess can damage the neural connections that manage your metabolism, throwing your weight regulation out of whack. More importantly, he talks about the new drug that tackles obesity at two different hormonal sites and promises to become an actual "weight loss ...
Nov 18, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 22
All of life is set to music -- or at least to a rhythm. From the graceful undulation of a jellyfish to the irresistible urge to bop along to our favorite songs, the urge to sway is hard-wired. Dr. Laurel Trainor, a professor of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior at McMaster University and director of the "LIVELab" there, conducts research into auditory development. She has found that our unconscious movements connect us in surprising ways, whether it's band members playing in concert, a moth...
Nov 04, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Many of us worry about memory loss, but it's surprisingly important to forget. Scott Small, MD, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Columbia, says pruning our memories is good for us. We all know "forgive and forget" is key to emotional health, but forgetting is also critical to cognitive health. Find out why a healthy dose of forgetting is not a pathology, but a way of clearing away extraneous information and improving our more important memories. Plus... why their memories k...
Oct 21, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 20
The hemispheres of the brain are responsible for different views of the world - one literal, narrow-beam, and maybe a little angry, and the other broad-minded, nuanced, and appreciative of beauty. Psychiatrist, philosopher, and literary scholar Iain McGilchrist has spent his career studying how the two hemispheres of the brain work, together and separately, to forge our understanding of our world. https://channelmcgilchrist.com/ Plus...the curious case of Mr. Phineas Gage....
Oct 07, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 19
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. http://www.wimhofmethod.com/ Plus...contrasting ice and fire, with a firewalking story courtesy of Jim Metzner www.pu...
Sep 23, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Dancer and neuroscientist Julia Basso, PhD, wants us all to dance -- together or separately, it's all good. Dancing with a partner creates a synchrony that's remarkably like that between a mother and infant, and even dancing alone benefits body and brain alike. Find out how dance produces new neurons and engages brain processes, and why it is that joyful movement optimizes brain function. Plus... Dance for Parkinson's Disease! https://www.juliabasso.com/home Sign up for our newsletter at www.Thi...
Sep 09, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 17
This week, a reprise of one of our most popular episodes from Season 2 - Sound may be the least understood of the five senses, with music the most mysterious of all. Neuroscientist Nina Kraus of Northwestern University takes us on a tour of how the brain processes music and explains the lifelong benefits of music education. Find out how music can help offset the effects of poverty, and how concussion distorts the perception of music in the brain. Plus… Why you really should make your child take ...
Aug 26, 2022•25 min
Our brain pathways are designed to get us through life’s traumas, as painful and debilitating as they are. Neurologist Lisa Shulman, MD, joins us this week to talk about how to make sense of grief, how trauma interrupts the connection between the cognitive and emotional parts of the brain, and how the brain learns to consolidate traumatic experiences and allow us to move forward. Plus… humans are not the only creatures to feel grief – hear how other animals experience loss. For bonus content, si...
Aug 12, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Smell is our most evocative sense, with instant associations with emotions and memories. Cognitive neuroscientist Rachel Herz, PhD, explains why she loves the stink of a skunk, why a blow to the head can kill off your sense of smell, and how you get a new nose every month. Plus… why stores, hotels, and other brands create signature scents. https://rachelherz.com/ Sign up for our newsletter at www.ThisIsYourBrain.com...
Jul 29, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 15
The human brain is designed to "snap" under threat, but 100,000 years of evolution did not prepare us for the the world we live in today. R. Douglas Fields, PhD, describes how the brain's rage circuitry is activated -- whether that's a car that cuts you off on the highway or a pickpocket who steals your wallet. The primal rage response also explains a lot about the January 6 mob mentality, the unruly airline passenger who strikes a flight attendant, or a terrorist attack. Learn the 9 triggers th...
Jul 15, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Language originates as brain signals — mysterious lines of squiggles — that somehow turn into speech. Meet the neuroscientist who is turning those squiggles into conversations, using artificial intelligence to translate brain activity into words and sentences. Dr. Edward Chang of UCSF talks with Dr. Stieg about the painstaking "magic" of decoding that has allowed a paralyzed man to speak after 20 years of aphasia, essentially live-streaming signals from his brain and transforming them into langu...
Jul 01, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Depression, anxiety, low libido… your mood is directly related to what you eat. Nutritional psychiatrist (and chef) Uma Naidoo, MD, examines the “gut-brain romance” and explains the delicate balance between your diet and your mental health. If you haven’t given up junk food to lose weight or reduce the risk of diabetes, maybe you’ll do it to feel happier? Plus… what happens when obsessing about healthy eating becomes UNhealthy : https://umanaidoomd.com/...
Jun 17, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 13
From the outside, a human brain appears fairly uniform – but what’s inside is very different depending on where you look. Your brain has complex maps within that allow you to see, understand, imagine, and recognize everything from faces to objects to abstract concepts like love, time, and debt. This week, neuroscientist Rebecca Schwarzlose of Washington University explains what parts of your brain are at work when you pick up an object, see someone you know, or read a book. Plus... is your GPS m...
Jun 03, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Can you communicate with someone who's sound asleep, and is it possible to influence their dreams? Ken Paller, professor of psychology at Northwestern and a leading sleep researcher, talks about "lucid dreaming" — the state of dreaming while knowing you're in a dream — as well as about how researchers can reach into the brain of a sleeping person and actually create the experience they have in their dreams. Is it ethical to influence the dream state? What are the implications for brain health if...
May 20, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Near-death experiences may seem like the stuff of supermarket tabloids, but there are real patterns to what people report after coming close to departing this life. Dr. Bruce Greyson has been studying near-death experiences for decades and has stories to tell about out-of-body phenomena, that light at the end of the tunnel, and a near-universal finding of new meaning in life after coming close to death. Plus... a glimpse of what happens to your brain after death. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9...
May 06, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 10
ASMR, or the autonomous sensory meridian response, is a state of deep calm accompanied by a sense of “brain tingles.” Not everyone experiences it, but if you do, you know what triggers it: a whisper or other soft sounds, a gentle touch or movement, even watching a Bob Ross video. Physiologist Craig Richard explains the science behind ASMR, and why in some people induces a deeply relaxing response that can resolve insomnia, relaxation, and stress. Plus: Who are the top “artists” of ASMR? https://...
Apr 22, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Whether you're a believer or not, God is taking up space in your head — the prefrontal cortex, to be exact. Jordan Grafman, PhD, of Northwestern University has been studying where religious belief systems are stored in the brain and how they overlap with moral, political, and social systems. This fascinating episode explores near-death experiences, how brain injury can influence belief, and how religion has been used to enforce cultural and social rules. Plus — the disappearing boundary between ...
Apr 08, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 8
It's effective against depression, can help you stop smoking, even ease end-of-life distress. It's non-addictive, naturally occurring, and has been used for thousands of years -- but you can't have it. It's psilocybin, the compound that creates the "magic" in dozens of species of mushrooms. Johns Hopkins researcher Albert Garcia-Romeu, Ph.D. knows just how magical it is. He's conducting research on psilocybin's therapeutic value for everything from persistent Lyme disease to a range of mental he...
Mar 25, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 7
We all know exercising is good for us – it reduces anxiety and inflammation, boosts the immune system, and may even ward off dementia, all while it helps keep us fit. But our brains don’t want us to do it! Meet Dr. Jennifer Heisz, a neuroscientist who learned how overcome the brain's resistance and used exercise to conquer depression - and complete a triathlon! Plus… why those who fear exercise the most have the most to gain from it. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/move-the-body-heal-the-...
Mar 11, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Brain science is everywhere, even in the stories we tell. Hear from neuroscientists and storytelling experts Paula Croxson and Uri Hasson about how the brain processes stories, how a listener's mind resonates with the storyteller's, and why some stories have the power to transport you to a different place. Plus... If facts can't change someone's mind, can stories? https://pni.princeton.edu/faculty/uri-hasson https://www.storycollider.org/...
Feb 25, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Dr. Tony Nader, an academic, author, and the leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement, knows how you can find inner peace. TM is like a deep dive to the stillness at the bottom of the ocean, leaving the turbulent waves far above. Learn how the body and mind are inextricably bound, and how meditation can improve mental and physical health. Plus… what the Beatles taught us about meditation. https://www.drtonynader.com/
Feb 11, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Where in the brain is that little something that makes top performers feel so confident in their ability? Can that confidence be developed in someone who is naturally more timid? Dr. Nate Zinsser, director of West Point’s Performance Psychology Program and author of The Confident Mind, explains how a sense of mastery develops, and why butterflies in your stomach are a signal from the brain when you're about to do something great. Plus... why Ted Lasso wants us all to be a little more like goldfi...
Jan 28, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Where were you on 9/11, and why do you remember it so clearly? Dr. Elizabeth Phelps, a Harvard neuroscience professor who studies the effect of trauma on memory, explains how highly emotional events get stored in our brains. Find out why we are so confident that these "flashbulb memories" are completely accurate, even though the evidence suggests otherwise. Plus... the "Michael Moore effect" that can influence what we think we remember.
Jan 14, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 2
The human brain is designed to "snap" under threat, but 100,000 years of evolution did not prepare us for the world we live in today. R. Douglas Fields, PhD, describes how the brain's rage circuitry is activated -- whether that's a car that cuts you off on the highway or a pickpocket who steals your wallet. The primal rage response also explains a lot about the January 6 mob mentality, the unruly airline passenger who strikes a flight attendant, or a terrorist attack. Learn the 9 triggers that a...
Jan 01, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 1
The human brain resists uncertainty — whether it's an approaching tiger or a global pandemic, we've evolved to move from fear and chaos to order and resolution. Dr. Beau Lotto, founder of the Lab of Misfits, explains why the brain takes small steps instead of large leaps, and why we need to teach kids to think more like scientists. Plus... why we react to a pandemic by hoarding toilet paper www.beaulotto.com
Dec 24, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 24
What is awe? It's not wonder, or surprise, or pleasure — it's a state of mind that Dr. Beau Lotto calls "finding the impossible in the common." Dr. Lotto is a neuroscientist who specializes in perception; he once actually measured awe in the brains of people watching Cirque du Soleil. Learn where awe originates, why it evolved, and even how military leaders might weaponize it. Plus... why Dr. Lotto says babies are born "useless" https://www.beaulotto.com/...
Dec 17, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 23
After witnessing a childhood friend suffer from a severe eating disorder, Lauren Breithaupt dedicated her career to exploring the causes of anorexia, bulimia, and related syndromes. Now a PhD in psychology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Breithaupt explains that eating disorders - once thought to be a plague of teenage girls – can affect men and women of all ages and share a genetic link with other psychiatric disorders. Plus… how dinnertime conversations help your child’s brain develop. Seek...
Dec 03, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Is it possible to relieve depression or PTSD using electricity? Kelly Bijanki, PhD, runs a lab at Baylor College of Medicine, where her team is using deep brain stimulation to induce happiness in patients who need it the most. Her fascinating work shows that “emotional” issues are as biologically based as “neurological” ones, and that depression can be treated with the same techniques used for epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease. Plus… the evolution of the smile.
Nov 19, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Daniel Levitin says we can all age successfully if we take our choices more seriously now. The neuroscientist and author reveals the keys to reaching our senior years in the best possible shape, explains what happens to dopamine levels when we stop trying new things, and tells us the three things older adults are better at than younger ones. Plus... what primatologist Jane Goodall told him about the key to healthier aging. https://DanielLevitin.com...
Nov 05, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 20
