Synesthesia is the mysterious mingling of the senses that creates the experience of "seeing" sounds or "hearing" colors. Neurologist Richard E. Cytowic, M.D. has spent his career exploring this remarkable phenomenon, and has some fascinating insight into how these sensations are formed in the brain -- and how we might use it to reunite our fractured society. Plus... meet the man whose extreme form of synesthesia mingled all five of his senses!  For more information, transcripts, and all...

Synesthesia is the mysterious mingling of the senses that creates the experience of "seeing" sounds or "hearing" colors. Neurologist Richard E. Cytowic, M.D. has spent his career exploring this remarkable phenomenon. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Most of us talk with our hands, some more than others, but what are we really saying? Susan Goldin-Meadow, PhD, professor of psychology and comparative human development at the University of Chicago, is an expert on gestures – what they mean, why they don't always agree with what words we are using, and even how they develop in blind children who have never seen them. Plus... why you should never use the thumbs-up sign in Iran! For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please...

Susan Golden Meadow, PhD, professor of psychology and comparative human development at the University of Chicago, is an expert on gestures – what they mean, why they don't always agree with what words we are using. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org 

Menopause can wreak havoc on mood and body temperature as it signals the end of fertility, but some of the biggest changes it causes are in the brain. Emily Jacobs, assistant professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at UC Santa Barbara, explains how the precipitous decline in estrogen during the "change of life" disrupts the endocrine system and makes a woman's brain more like... a man's! Plus: Hear from real women describing the wide range of effects they experienced. ...

Emily Jacobs, assistant professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences  at UC Santa Barbara, explains how the precipitous decline in estrogen during the "change of life" disrupts the endocrine system and makes a woman's brain more like... a man's!  For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org  

Is the deluge of digital media killing our ability to focus? Psychologist Gloria Mark, a professor in the Department of Informatics at University of California, Irvine, explains how we are shaped by what we pay attention to – and why today’s short snippets of everything are reinforcing short attention spans. Learn how playing a few minutes of Solitaire on your phone can help relieve stress, and why it can be so hard to stop. And in case you need to ask, you’ll find out why it’s such a bad...

Is the deluge of digital media killing our ability to focus? Psychologist Gloria Mark explains how we are shaped by what we pay attention to – and why today’s short snippets of everything are reinforcing short attention spans. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com   

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. For more information,...

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.

The impact of mild traumatic brain injury extends far beyond the gridiron – concussions can happen anywhere, including playing fields, bike paths, and war zones. Kenneth Kutner, PhD, who specializes in head injuries and has been the team neuropsychologist for the New York Giants for 30 seasons, joins us to talk about what the latest research has revealed about concussion and how it affects physical health and cognitive function. From the military to the NFL, and even in the corporate...

Following the Super Bowl Weekend, we revisit our episode with Dr. Kenneth Kutner, who specializes in head injuries and has been the team neuropsychologist for the New York Giants for 30 seasons.  He joins us to talk about what the latest research has revealed about concussion and how it affects physical health and cognitive function. 

Dogs and the humans who cherish them have a unique bond unlike any other. We wonder all too often, do our dogs love us as much as we love them? What are they really thinking? Are we projecting our own feelings onto t​hese treasured family members in trying to understand them? In this  "classic" episode first released in 2020, Emory University neuroscientist Dr. Gregory Berns, discusses some of his extraordinary findings.   After spending years using MRI imaging technology to study the human...

Dogs and the humans who cherish them have a unique bond unlike any other. We wonder all too often, do our dogs love us as much as we love them? What are they really thinking? Are we projecting our own feelings onto these treasured family members in trying to understand them?

In this classic episode recorded live at the Juilliard School in the fall of 2019 Dr. Stieg visits with world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming - 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. Fleming also explores the brain’s incredible musical memory mechanism and...

World-renowned soprano Renée Fleming is a leading advocate for research and public education on the therapeutic power of music to heal the mind. In a classic episode recorded live at at the Juilliard School, Fleming explores the brain’s incredible musical memory mechanism and why learning and healing through song can be so transformative. 

What world do you live in? You may think your experience of life comes from the outside, with your brain processing sensory information as it's received. Anil Seth, professor of cognitive and computational neuroscience at the University of Sussex in England, takes a different view. Tune in as Dr. Seth explains how your brain is actually creating your reality, not just interpreting it. Plus... why the brain is a "prediction machine," and how anesthesia is more like death than sleep. For more...

You may think your experience of life comes from the outside, with your brain processing sensory information as it's received.  Anil Seth, professor of cognitive and computational neuroscience at the University of Sussex in England, takes a different view.   For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

The brain and the heart are in constant communication, sending signals that control and respond to each other, so it’s no surprise that what’s good for one is what’s good for the other. Dr.  Robert Harrington, an esteemed cardiologist and the new Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, joins us today to explore the fascinating conversations that go on between these two most important organs. From the electrical signals sent from the brain to the oxygenated blood flow the heart sends back, find out...

Dean Robert Harrington, an esteemed cardiologist and the new dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, joins Dr. Stieg to explore the fascinating conversations that go on between the heart and the brain. From the electrical signals sent from the brain to the oxygenated blood flow the heart sends back, find out what keeps both organs going—and what happens when something disrupts that balance. Turns out you really can die of a broken heart!

Forget the standard IQ test - that only measures a very narrow definition of intelligence. Meet psychologist Howard Gardner, professor of cognition and education at Harvard and one of the foremost thinkers and writers in the fields of education, cognition, and multiple intelligences. His fascinating research into different kinds of intelligence (there are 8!) has the potential to revolutionize education, turn our kids into better citizens, and help us all identify our purpose in life. Learn...

He has been called one of the most influential thinkers in the field of  Education - a trailblazer best known for his theory of multiple intelligences. In his memoir, “A Synthesizing Mind” , Harvard Professor Dr. Howard Gardner reflects on his influential career, his groundbreaking work, and his own synthesizing mind.

Pain can be felt anywhere in the body, but it all originates in the same place: the brain. Lorimer Moseley, a professor of clinical neurosciences at the University of South Australia and a specialist in how the brain produces pain signals, joins us today to talk about how pain is created as a protective strategy. Your brain, which is constantly monitoring your environment for signs of danger vs safety, sends pain signals when it detects a painful stimulus (a process called nociception). ...

Yes, your pain is all in your head - but that doesn't mean it's not "real". Dr. Lorimer Moseley, author of the best selling classic "Explain Pain" is a trailblazer in the field of contemporary pain science.   In our next episode he explains how all pain is real, but you can train your mind to understand what each pain "means", and choose how to experience it.