In this episode I talk about Behavioural Activation Therapy and how actions can boost your mental health. I also discuss social prescribing and the approach that promotes activities alongside traditional healthcare. I am joined by guest Nicole R. Smith who provides wonderful insight into the benefits of volunteering and how this can can boost your mental and physical health. For more information about Nicole, please go to nicolersmith.net or @nicolersmith.net on Twitter, Instagram and...

In this episode I talk about sleep and the beneficial effects it has on the brain. We are joined by an expert in the field, the amazing Dr Michelle Ni Raghallaigh from The Sleep Sphere (https://thesleepsphere.com), a NHS-trained insomnia specialist and cognitive neuroscientist who helps us to uncover some of the myths about sleep, understand more about the most common sleep disorder insomnia, and how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia or (CBTI) is the ‘gold standard’ treatment. A...

In this episode, I discuss what PTSD is and what some of the symptoms are. I talk about ways to minimise stress when facing a traumatic incident including a lived experience. I also provide information about self-care from the viewpoint of someone who might be supporting a person living with PTSD. Get bonus content on Patreon Come join me! https://plus.acast.com/s/everydayneuropodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 18, I discuss the topic of nature and how it can enhance our wellbeing, feelings of safety and security and ultimately our health and productivity. In Part 1, I am joined by interior designer Tara Cantwell of Cantwell Interiors who provides rich insight into how we can bring nature into our homes and workspaces. In Part 2, learn about how taking a walk in nature can reduce our fight and flight system, reducing stress and promoting productivity thanks to a reduction in activity in...

In Episode 17, I discuss the topic of relaxation and how we can engage in breath work to help reduce tension and anxiety. I talk with Tessa Hughes, an experienced mindfulness practitioner about the benefits that mindfulness and meditation can bring to our thinking and wellbeing.

In Episode 16, I discuss advances in research and technology that are attempting to improve the safety of playing high impact adult and youth sports. I talk with Damien Hawes about an innovative mouth guard developed by HITIQ that has the potential to further our understanding of the effects of high level impacts during sport on our brain health and cognition. I also talk about the role neuropsychologists play in a world of virtual reality and cutting edge technology.

In Episode 15 Part 2, I discuss some of the symptoms of stroke including coordination and communication issues, and explain how this is organised in the brain. I complete my interview with Cassie Watson, who explains how stroke has affected her Dad’s abilities and how humour and resilience has helped shape a new future for Paul and his family. I also provide some information and links to apps and therapy tools for people living with stroke to aid recovery and enhance quality of life.

In Episode 15 Part 1, I discuss what is stroke, how to identify the potential signs of stroke and that ‘time is brain’. I share with you the latest strategies to treat stroke including the use of mobile stroke units. We will look at stroke from the viewpoint of those who have been affected by it and in part 1 of a 2-part interview, I talk with Cassie Watson, who courageously shares her Dad’s experience of stroke and what it was like to go through such a traumatic event as a family.

In this episode, I discuss the evidence that shows the huge benefits that recreational travel or taking a holiday can have on your thinking and wellbeing, both at the time of taking a vacation and in the future. I will share with you how even the thought of your next holiday can raise your perceived happiness levels, can build your knowledge and enhance your social skills. This podcast will also look at reasons why people do not take vacations and offers ways to reduce travel anxiety and panic.

In this episode, I introduce the topic of ethical considerations in psychological research and describe past research experiments that are now deemed as potentially harmful. I will be telling you about three famous studies that may make you question not only the impact that taking part in research has on participants, but also on the investigators and how the results are portrayed, with some now the focus of docudramas such as the 2018 movie, Three Identical Strangers.

In this episode, I discuss theories of human development including a look at the psychologists who proposed them and how these contribute to our current understanding of learning. I talk about neuroimaging research of the developing brain that lends support to the psychological theories. I also look at how we use internal concepts called schemas to help understand and modify our knowledge and how these can shape the way we form relationships in adult life, including the use of schema therapy.

In this episode, I discuss goal setting and implementation including a review of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. I talk about ways to maximise your success as an individual, small business or as an entrepreneur using goal attainment strategies such as mental contrasting and fantasy realisation theory. I also look at the cognitive and anatomical bases of creating goals using future thought and episodic foresight.

In this episode, I invite you to take part in tasks to help illustrate the use of schemas that help guide our memory and how such energy saving ‘short-cuts’ by our brain can lead to distortions in recollection. I talk about the misbeliefs we have about our own memory abilities and reasons these occur. In the final part of the episode, I discuss the rise in interest in true crime and eyewitness testimony, how errors occur and why this is an area of controversy in the study of memory.

In this episode, I discuss the topic of apps and how they are becoming increasingly used to support symptoms relating to brain damage. I provide a summary of a novel virtual peer delivered memory support app that was also able to enhance wellbeing. I talk about the efficacy of brain training apps and games and provide links to useful support apps for those living and working with brain injury.

In this episode, I discuss the topic of autobiographical memory (ABM) and the brain areas associated with it. I will test your own memory for personal events, and will look at cases of people with highly superior and highly deficient ABM. I introduce the less familiar topic of children and adolescents living with chronic personal memory impairment, including the rare syndrome of Developmental Amnesia.

In this episode, I discuss the topic of anxiety with a particular focus on the workplace. I will look at the symptoms of anxiety and provide helpful ways in which anxiety can be reduced to improve your wellbeing and productivity at work. I will use a real life scenario to illustrate how these strategies can be beneficial when used by all members of the workforce.

In this episode, I discuss the topic of diet on cognition. I look specifically at the affects of the so-called ‘western diet’, alcohol and caffeine on cognitive skills such as memory and attention, and discuss the contribution of genes and the brain on our ability to choose healthy options. I also talk with Clinical Neuropsychologist, Dr Matthew Hughes, to discuss the affect and management of Type II diabetes on cognition.

In this episode, I discuss the topic of expertise and introduce the cognitive domains that contribute to it, namely working memory, attention and executive functioning. I will talk with Joel Goulter who has explored the expertise of Air Traffic Controllers, to try and understand the complex skills that help maintain our safety in the air. I conclude by providing you with some ways in which you can potentially enhance your knowledge and skills at a chosen task.

In this episode, I discuss brain injury and how it affects the brain, physical abilities, cognition and behaviour. There is a particular focus on traumatic brain injury and how concussion in sport is an area receiving interest from researchers. I interview Brodie Ingham who has investigated concussion in Australian gridiron, and she reveals that the results show the need for greater reporting within the sport.

In this episode, I interview Hannah Miller, a researcher in psychology who has found that sociability and having hobbies is an important factor in the relationship between perceived memory issues and anxiety in older adults. I discuss the clinical profile and hallmark biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, and the research that suggests that lifestyle factors such as exercise can be beneficial in reducing the impact of the disease on behaviour and wellbeing.

In this episode, I discuss the current psychology/neuroscience research that suggests that lifestyle factors such as physical exercise is helping to enhance aspects of cognition, brain functioning and wellbeing in older adults.

In this episode, I introduce you to the human brain and discuss the global structure of the central nervous system, cognitive functions such as memory and attention, and the neuron at the microscopic level.