Summary: Which is more enjoyable-the satisfaction of desire, or the sensation of longing itself? This program looks at the emotional, neurological, and genetic aspects of seeking and gaining pleasure, analyzing close ties between the search for gratification and the preservation of self and species. Examining a wide range of ways to follow one's bliss-including sex, artistic creation, the consumption of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: What happens in our brains when we think something is funny? Is laughter a form of self-defense? Can a joke be scientifically analyzed? This program studies the human response to humor from a physiological and psychological standpoint. Highlighting the importance of vocal cords in producing laughter, the program contrasts human and simian forms of humor and gives viewers an evolutionary...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Humans may be the only species to shed tears. Does that make crying a strictly human act? This program explores the deep well of animal instinct that, shaped by eons of evolution, still informs our expression of grief, fear, anger, and even joy. Focusing on the development of distress signals in early hominid infant behavior, the program investigates differences in crying between adults and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program follows the physiological development of the human brain from conception through the growth of the neurological system in utero, to the moment of birth, when an amazing variety of brain functions are already apparent. The camera continues to follow a child to the age of eight, as a whole range of motor and cognitive skills appears-some as simple as focusing the eyes, others as...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Using the resources of the UCLA Brain Mapping Center, this program illustrates the development of neuroscience from its classical reliance on information from brain injuries and autopsies through current-day insights discovered with electronic microscopes, EEG equipment, PET scans, and MRI machines. Examples of research that utilizes these tools are presented, including a study on the role of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program discusses the development, organization, and functions of the nervous system and the input organs that stimulate it. Beginning with an introductory overview of neural anatomy, the video outlines the organization of the central and peripheral nervous systems and the processes of sensation, transduction, and perception. In addition, the senses of vision, hearing, taste, smell, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Professor of Philosophy Patricia Smith Churchland is probing a new frontier in the area of brain research, convinced that exploration into the physical function of our "wonder tissue" can help us better understand what our thoughts mean and how we can control them. In her book, Neurophilosophy, she describes how recent discoveries about the brain call into question such basic philosophical...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Pain has a clear purpose: warning the body of invasion and other dangers. But the connection between pain and the human mind is more mysterious. This program examines various types of pain and their frequently elusive neurological aspects; it also presents methods, both clinical and alternative, that help long-term sufferers cope with debilitating pain. Distinguishing between acute and chronic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Why does tolerance for alcohol differ so widely from person to person? Do genetic factors make alcoholism unavoidable in some people? Should we drink at all? This program searches for answers, following addiction expert Dr. John Marsden as he observes-and participates in-experiments that assess alcohol's neurological and physiological impact. After exploring basic chemical and evolutionary...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program focuses on how a brain grows from a fertilized egg and how our brains change, even after birth, right up to old age. The establishment of connections between brain cells occurs not only in the womb, but also after birth. These connections can be modified, or even abolished, in accordance with certain changes in the environment. Hence, the development of the brain is a little like...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007