Brain Friends

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Rachel Forman is a stroke neurologist at Yale School of Medicine. She treats stroke, researches it, and takes that knowledge into communities through Stamp Out Stroke -- sixty-plus events and counting. She recommends this podcast to her patients. In this conversation: blood pressure and why most people do not know they have a problem until something goes wrong. Why only one in...

Send us Fan Mail Two world-class researchers walked into this conversation because of one woman. They did not have to. They chose to.  Dr. Peter Turkeltaub is a neurologist at Georgetown University Medical Center. MD. PhD. He directs the Cognitive Recovery Lab, where his research focuses on the neural mechanisms of language recovery after stroke. He is Dr. Seles friend and co-author Dr. Charles El...

Send us Fan Mail A stroke can feel like a lightning strike on the brain’s power grid—which is why the new 2026 AHA/ASA acute ischemic stroke guidelines focus on speed, clarity, and better systems at every step. We sit down with the chair of the writing group, Dr. Sean Pabakaron, to translate cutting-edge research into actions families, clinicians, and first responders can take right now. No jargon...

Send us Fan Mail A friendship became a movement when a survivor searching for culturally competent therapy met a clinician who refused to treat equity like an optional add-on. What started as a phone call turned into Brain Friends—a space where lived experience and rigorous science work side by side to make aphasia, stroke recovery, and neuroplasticity feel human, practical, and possible. We walk...

Send us Fan Mail Words don’t just disappear; sometimes the path to them does. We explore what aphasia really is—evidence of brain injury—and why that framing changes everything for survivors, caregivers, and clinicians. Instead of waiting at a broken bridge, we focus on building new routes: consent-based support, yes/no prompts, two-choice options, functional descriptions, and shared signals that...

Send us Fan Mail A face that slips, a word that won’t come, an arm that won’t lift—tiny moments that point to massive truths about how the brain works, heals, and sometimes declines. I invited Dr. Roy Hamilton, neurologist, neuroplasticity researcher, and one of the clearest teachers in our field, to help us untangle aphasia, dementia, and stroke with practical language and unforgettable analogies...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Seles shares her harrowing experience of being in Israel when war broke out in October, capturing both the fear of the situation and the remarkable perspective it gave her on American privilege. • Dr. Seles traveled to Israel with a church group of 60 people including her mother • She was baptized in the Jordan River by her childhood pastor who had originally baptized her 20+...

Send us Fan Mail Hey Brain Friends, Celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Seles is at the heart of today's episode. I'm sharing the original recording of our neuroplasticity episode from 2022 that didn't make the cut. We had so much fun recording this but when we went to edit, the levels were not good. updates to the platform, there is a fix now. LOL We explore the concept of neuro...

Send us Fan Mail In this brief episode of Brain Friends, Angie shares the devastating news of the passing of her beloved  friend and co-host, Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson, after a courageous battle with cancer. Dr. Seles, a brilliant and compassionate neuro nerd and speech-language pathologist, brought a unique blend of expertise and warmth to Brain Friends. Her insights and genuine concern for the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Brain Friends, we delve into the complexities of cognitive function and its disorders.  Angie shares her personal journey with cognitive impairment following a stroke, highlighting the challenges of aphasia and adapting to a "new normal."  Dr. Seles provides insights into the differences of cognitive testing, explaining why certain tests are designed f...

Send us Fan Mail  Language assessments after stroke are not all the same, and the type of test a clinician chooses directly affects what gets measured and what gets missed. This episode breaks down the difference between impairment-based assessments like the Western Aphasia Battery and participation-based assessments like the Communication Activities of Daily Living, and explains why that distinct...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Brain Friends, we share a behind-the-scenes conversation between Angie and Dr. Seles on Anomia. Together we weigh the benefits of recognizing the different types of Anomia and the challenges with diagnosis.  Anomia is a fluent aphasia characterized by word-finding difficulty or the inability to name objects.  Should we classify Anomia differently? What can Speec...

Send us Fan Mail  Black stroke survivors with aphasia face compounding barriers to care, and the research is clear on what needs to change. This episode breaks down five concrete actions clinicians, researchers, and care partners can take right now: implicit bias training, workforce diversity, representation in research, health literacy support, and patient-reported outcomes. Hosted by Angie of Br...

Send us Fan Mail  Aphasia affects nearly 2 million Americans, yet most people have never heard of it. This episode makes the case for why awareness is not just a campaign, it is a survival issue. From diagnosis to discharge to community reintegration, gaps in knowledge cost survivors time, access, and outcomes. For everyone in the aphasia ecosystem who believes the information gap is a problem wor...

Send us Fan Mail  Stroke recovery does not happen alone. This episode brings Angie's husband & care partner Kiehl Cauthorn into the conversation for an honest look at what aphasia support actually requires. Together they break down the difference between a caregiver and a care partner, walk through the stages of care in post-stroke aphasia recovery, and address the real work of advocating...

Send us Fan Mail  Primary progressive aphasia is not the same as stroke-related aphasia, and the difference matters for diagnosis, treatment, and family planning. In this episode, Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson breaks down the complexities of PPA, how it differs from other aphasia types, and why frontotemporal dementia is often part of the conversation. Angie Cauthorn adds plain language analogies tha...

Send us Fan Mail Alexia is an acquired reading disorder with difficulty seeing and reading words or understanding the meaning of written words. "Agraphia" is the loss of a previous ability to write.  Angie discovers new terms related to her aphasia and the connection in the brain.  Dr. Seles shares clinical stories on navigating alexia in therapy and the role speech-language pathologists...

Send us Fan Mail  Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize and rebuild after injury, and it is central to every aphasia recovery story. This episode goes beyond the basics, examining what the latest research reveals about how and when the brain changes, what conditions support recovery, and what that means for survivors in the long term. A follow-up to Season 1's neuroplastic...

Send us Fan Mail  Aphasia treatment is more than speech therapy exercises. This episode breaks down the full landscape of aphasia rehabilitation, from automatic speech tasks to errorless learning, and examines how treatment settings shape what survivors actually receive. Dr. Seles addresses health equity in aphasia care and the role implicit bias plays in clinical decision-making. Angie shares her...

Send us Fan Mail Brain Friends Season 2 kicked off with Angie interviewing Dr. Seles on Aphasia Research.  We discuss sampling biases and how to make sure research is demographically representative. Dr. Seles shares 3 tips on how to recruit a diverse sample in research and the role stakeholders have in health equity. Finally, we confirm that research is told by who holds the pen and the importance...

Send us Fan Mail Season Finale. Episode 11 is full of humor as we discuss the importance of sleep and the brain. Angie shares her fear around sleeping after her stroke and how she communicated fatigue "I feel like I have on two mink coats". Dr. Seles discusses the link between sleep loss and poor brain health. We share tips for healthy aging and sleep hygiene.  Finally, Brain Friends goe...

Send us Fan Mail What do stroke survivors with aphasia and elite professional athletes have in common? More than you think. Angie Cauthorn and Dr. Seles apply five performance principles from professional sports ,training consistency, mental resilience, rest and recovery, nutrition, and coaching directly to aphasia rehabilitation after stroke. The result is a practical, evidence-informed framework...

Send us Fan Mail Broca's aphasia. Wernicke's aphasia. Global aphasia. Conduction aphasia. The clinical labels matter — but what do they actually mean for the person living inside them? Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson breaks down the hallmark features of each major aphasia type, explains the difference between left and right hemisphere stroke presentations, and clarifies what the research says...

Send us Fan Mail Neuroplasticity — the brain's ability to rewire itself after injury  is the scientific foundation of aphasia recovery after stroke. But most survivors never hear the word explained in plain language. Angie breaks down what neuroplasticity actually feels like from the inside, using real-life analogies from her own stroke recovery. Dr. Seles translates the neuroscience: how rep...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Title Suggestion: The First ROSA: How One Idea Became a Movement for Aphasia Awareness Episode Description: Before it had a name, it had a vision. What is now known as ROSA (Resource Orientation for Stroke and Aphasia) started here, with this day, in Philadelphia, PA. ARCH hosted the first Aphasia Awareness Fair in partnership with Temple University, bringing together 160...