Minding the Brain

Dr. Cheryl Harasymchuk returns to join Dr. Jim Davies for a discussion about research on friendship. How do friendships go bad? What role does odour [...]

Dr. Kyle Malone joins Dr. Kim Hellemans to discuss his research on glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer in adults. [...]

Dr. Ida Toivonen joins Minding the Brain to talk about sound and meaning in language. Do all languages have tense? Do plurals work the same [...]

Dr. Matt Hill joins Dr. Kim Hellemans to talk about his research on cannabis and the endocannabinoid system. Is there a difference between sativa and [...]

Why are people increasingly turning to AI for therapy and romantic relationships? Kim and Jim break down the pros and cons of our increasing reliance [...]

How do our brains respond to prolonged uncertainty? Is our era unprecedented? Why do we find the unknown simultaneously compelling and frightening? Why do conspiracies [...]

Brendan Conway-Smith joins Minding the Brain to discuss metacognition. What is metacognition and why is it important? Can understanding metacognition help with depression and anxiety? [...]

Have you ever wondered how J.R.R. Tolkien invented such evocative names? David M. Sidhu joins Jim Davies to discuss language processing, sound symbolism, and iconicity. [...]

Kim and Jim take a deep dive into the topic of behavioral addiction. What is behavioral addiction? Can you be addicted to food? What about [...]

We’ve all heard that being in nature is good for mental and physical health, but just how good is it? John M. Zelenski and Dan [...]

Jim and Kim take a deep dive into the world of AI and ethics. Are LLMs sentient? Why should we worry about AI rights? Is [...]

What does it feel like to have schizophrenia? What is the history of the schizophrenia diagnosis and are there effective treatments for the condition? Find [...]

Dr. Jim Davies, Dr. Kim Hellemans, and Dr. Andrea Howard continue their discussion on what research reveals about social media’s impact on youth mental health. [...]

What is brain fog and what can you do about it? What’s Jim’s #1 recommendation for improving brain function? Do brains compensate for cognitive decline? [...]

Dr. Jim Davies, Dr. Kim Hellemans, and Dr. Andrea Howard explore what research really says about social media’s impact on youth mental health. This episode [...]

Why does cannabis give some people anxiety? Can your brain heal after alcoholism? Does brain training work? Join Kim and Jim as they answer listener [...]

Dr. Ian Gold joins Minding the Brain to talk about his research on delusions. What are delusions? Is there a link between delusions and conspiracy [...]

Are near-death experiences real? Given the uniqueness of every brain, are brain implants a plausible future technology? Can people teach themselves to lucid dream? Join [...]

How does culture impact our brains and the way that mental disorders manifest? How does schizophrenia look different across cultures? What about eating disorders? Can [...]

Could LLMs like ChatGPT ever lead to AGI? Could we ever erase traumatic memories? Why do some people hate evolutionary psychology? What has neuroscience learned [...]

Cat Bohannon joins Minding the Brain to talk about the evolution of women. Get ready to learn about prehistoric gynecology, sexual dimorphism in humans, why [...]

Are the brains of transgender people different than the brains of cisgender people? Can experiencing racism cause lasting neurological damage? Can a deeper understanding of [...]

Dr. Argel Aguilar-Valles joins Kim to discuss psychedelics. Does microdosing work? Are psychedelics effective for treating depression? How do these substances interact with the brain? [...]

Is dopamine addiction real? What about dopamine detoxes? Is it safe to use cannabis after the age of 25? Can psychedelic drugs cause schizophrenia? Does [...]

Rebecca Merkley joins Jim to discuss the math abilities of babies. How early do children begin to understand math? What kind of mistakes do children [...]