Neuroscience: Amateur Hour

How do we designate something, whether it's a painting, a sculpture, or a piece of music as beautiful? Where have our ideas of beauty arisen over the course of human evolution? How do we as individuals decide that something is beautiful to us compared to our neighbors? Dive into the gripping but controversial field of neuroaesthetics to learn a little bit more about the science behind beautif...

Today's episode journeys into the neuroscience behind magic mushrooms! Psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient, is known for making its users feel like their senses are mixing, their brains are dissociating, and the walls are melting? Does it all come down to cortical deactivation in the brain region responsible for encoding our sense of self? Come and listen to learn a little bit more about...

It's a common sight on Sunday afternoon. The snacks are gathered. The couch cushions are plumped. The beer is cold. Across the screen, twenty-two people in tight white pants and polished helmets trot across the screen. But behind the shiny exterior of football, America's favorite pastime, lies a dark secret - chronic traumatic encephalopathy (a word I am incapable of pronouncing). A neur...

They dominate the doctor's office waiting room, the bus ride home, any spare few minutes in our lives that we want to fill with something low-effort and mindless. What are they? Mobile games like Candy Crush Saga and other mindless match-three timesucks. Listen now to learn about how these games are engineered to hack into your brain to make them easy to get into, satisfying to play, and impo...

This legend took a metal bar through the brain that took out 4% of his cerebral cortex and still retained the ability to move, speak, and live his life. The behavioral changes that occurred after his accident have fascinated neuroscientists for centuries and still remain a fascinating insight into the function of the prefrontal cortex today.  If you have any comments, questions, concerns, queries,...

Sex is a complex but inescapable part of our lives. Lots of people do it every day, it affects our advertisements, our clothing, even our interactions with other people. But have you ever wondered what's happening in your brain during sex? Tune in to learn a little bit about the brain regions, circuits, and neurotransmitters at play during sexy times.  If you have any comments, questions, con...

Whether it's meeting your ex at a party or your upcoming presentation at work, we have all felt the sinking feeling of anxiety. Come and find out a little bit about what's happening upstairs in this bite-sized look at the brain regions, connections, and neurotransmitters involved in anxiety processing and regulation.  If you have any comments, questions, concerns, queries, or complaints,...