The Brainy Bunch: Recent Episodes
Alyssa Martindale
For our History of Neuroscience class, we were challenged by our professor to make an original podcast series about the brain. This is what we made – we hope you enjoy, and learn something along the way!
In this episode of The Brainy Bunch, join us as Nicolas takes us on a journey back in time, leading us through the history of one of neuroscience’s most gruesome procedural developments - the lobotomy.
What happens in our brains when we dream? Why is it that we experience dreams when we sleep? There are some questions that many people think about. In this episode, Eileen explains some of the answers. She talks about how brain activity was first discovered in someone who was asleep, how sleeping and dreaming connect, and why it is that we dream in the first place.
If you're in college or younger, you've probably been told by someone that you're addicted to social media, but what does the neuroscience say? In this episode, Alyssa investigates how social media changes our brains, what to do if you're spending too much time online, and whether or not you can actually get addicted to social media.
What happens to someone’s brain when they play video games? Are video games inherently good or bad? Join us as Jen takes us through multiple studies on the brain on video games and explore the potential answer to this question. Hint: it’s definitely not as simple as good or bad.
We’ve all heard the stereotypes about reckless, risk-taking teenagers—but how much truth is there to this cliché description? In this segment, Veronika reviews the neuroscience underlying risk-taking and adolescent brain development. Ultimately, recent research that focuses on individual brain differences argues that although risk-taking does increase during the teen years, not all teenagers are risk-takers.
Have you ever pondered ways to enhance your, or your child’s, cognitive ability? Have you wondered if there are steps you can take early in life to prolong brain health into old age? Then this episode is for you! Join us as we discuss two common phenomena in today’s society, music and language learning, to see how these activities can help your brain. We hope you enjoy!
Social distancing, mask wearing, little physical contact or hugs...it’s been a difficult year. If you’ve felt lonely or had friends or family feel that way, you’re most definitely not the only one; loneliness is at record highs in America. In this episode, Janavi details the latest neuroscience research on loneliness and social isolation: where these feelings come from, what they mean for our health, and how we can go about combating them—maybe in a way you haven’t considered before.
Have you ever thought about empathy? Wondered why some individuals have more empathy than others? Questioned how humans are able to process and experience it at all? In this episode, Samantha explores the neuroscience of empathy. She discusses empathy’s role in society, the discovery of mirror neurons, and the significance of this discovery.
How can we combat anxiety and depression and improve our mental health? How does our brain change in response to our experiences? In this episode, Reyna explores the neuroscience behind CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a form of psychotherapy that highlights the relationship between our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and behaviors.
The horror film industry is one of the largest in Hollywood, but why are people so fascinated by these terrifying scenarios? Beyond that, why do we find such niche situations so horrific in the first place? In this episode, Kate dives into the four subtypes of the specific phobias and the theories of acquisition that might explain our morbid curiosity of those things that scare us most.
We all feel anxiety as an emotion, but what happens when anxiety goes further than a feeling? Ren takes us on an exploration of anxiety and the brain that ends with a deep dive into anxiety in college students. Have you ever wondered what makes college so anxiety inducing? Look no further; we have brought the info to you.