Programmes
Brain Story
Think back to your first memory. Now think about what you had for lunch today. Recall the smell of freshly baked bread and the sound of a traffic jam in a busy city street. Now think of three types of flowers: their names, their colours, their smells. Ever wonder how in a matter of a few seconds your brain can provide you with bits of unrelated information that transcend time and place? It's faster than the most advanced computer and far more powerful. Yet we hardly understand it. Get your head round the human brain with Brain Story.
The thinker
Join Professor Susan Greenfield on a journey through the inner workings of the human mind. Greenfield is a leading neuroscientist whose passion for and knowledge of her subject shines through as she illustrates the grand themes emerging from the latest brain research. What makes each person unique? Where and how are our memories stored? What is an emotion? And how has the human brain aided us in becoming the dominant species on Earth?
All in the Mind
Through six parts of the series Greenfield shows how the brain affects all aspects of human behaviour. In the first instalment, she conducts a captivating interview with a patient that is having brain surgery. The patient's skull is open, a scientist pokes around in her brain, and she tells Greenfield about her favourite recipes. Meanwhile, her brainwaves are mapped by a computer. The results show the parts of the patient's brain that are active when she is thinking.
Brain food
Another part of the series is dedicated to exploring how the human diet may have changed our brains. Some research suggests that the switch from a vegetarian to omnivorous diet 2.5 million years ago enabled apes to evolve into humans. Could this change in diet really be the key to humans' overwhelming success as a species? And should we go out right now to get a steak for dinner?
The great brains
Brain damage is generally thought to be a tragedy, something from which many do not recover. However, in the case of Vincent Van Gogh, is it possible that damage to his temporal lobe was responsible for his unique way of depicting the world around him? The programme explores this theory. A visit to Dr Shahram Khoshbin, from Harvard Medical School, who has studied the effect Van Gogh's brain trouble may have had on his life, sheds new light on the subject.
A wasted mind?
The old theory that humans use only 10% of their brain power is not actually true, according to Greenfield. She believes that, though only 10% of brain cells appear 'active' at any given time, other cells are still working, but 'silent'. In addition, she says, it's not brain size, but how you use it, that counts. Einstein's brain was slightly smaller than average. And as we know, he was still a good deal smarter than, say, the Incredible Hulk, who had a massive noggin.
Join Professor Susan Greenfield on a journey through the inner workings of the human mind. Greenfield is a leading neuroscientist whose passion for and knowledge of her subject shines through as she illustrates the grand themes emerging from the latest brain research. What makes each person unique? Where and how are our memories stored? What is an emotion? And how has the human brain aided us in becoming the dominant species on Earth?
All in the Mind
Through six parts of the series Greenfield shows how the brain affects all aspects of human behaviour. In the first instalment, she conducts a captivating interview with a patient that is having brain surgery. The patient's skull is open, a scientist pokes around in her brain, and she tells Greenfield about her favourite recipes. Meanwhile, her brainwaves are mapped by a computer. The results show the parts of the patient's brain that are active when she is thinking.
Brain food
Another part of the series is dedicated to exploring how the human diet may have changed our brains. Some research suggests that the switch from a vegetarian to omnivorous diet 2.5 million years ago enabled apes to evolve into humans. Could this change in diet really be the key to humans' overwhelming success as a species? And should we go out right now to get a steak for dinner?
The great brains
Brain damage is generally thought to be a tragedy, something from which many do not recover. However, in the case of Vincent Van Gogh, is it possible that damage to his temporal lobe was responsible for his unique way of depicting the world around him? The programme explores this theory. A visit to Dr Shahram Khoshbin, from Harvard Medical School, who has studied the effect Van Gogh's brain trouble may have had on his life, sheds new light on the subject.
A wasted mind?
The old theory that humans use only 10% of their brain power is not actually true, according to Greenfield. She believes that, though only 10% of brain cells appear 'active' at any given time, other cells are still working, but 'silent'. In addition, she says, it's not brain size, but how you use it, that counts. Einstein's brain was slightly smaller than average. And as we know, he was still a good deal smarter than, say, the Incredible Hulk, who had a massive noggin.
Your Comments
- Brain Story
A programme was screened a while back which featured Joseph le Doux.
It showed some interesting imagery of the brain and sensory functions relating to the emotions. The presenter was Prof. Robert Winston.
Is there any way I can obtain or download the images shown? - Something to say? Add a comment...
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