Summary: It can turn a hard-driving, energetic person into a walking zombie-exhausted, confused, and unable to work. This program sheds light on the mysterious illness known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which has no known cause or cure. Case studies feature a former congressional worker who eventually found it impossible to perform her duties on Capitol Hill, and a clinical psychologist whose personal...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: How well do we understand the neurology of learning? Why does the brain's ability to learn diminish as we age? Can science find a way to extend brain "fitness," even for the very old? This program addresses those questions as it describes important medical experiments and studies. Topics include the central role of nerve cell connections in learning and cognitive development; cerebral...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The use of hypnosis in medicine has a long history. In the early days of anesthesia, surgeons often used the trance-inducing technique as a fail-safe measure-and today the concept is being revisited. This program presents a scientific investigation into the idea that hypnosis can reduce or even replace the use of anesthesia. Exploring the merits of making the procedure available to more...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Wellons, Jay
Summary: "Tumors, injuries, natural malformations -- there is almost no such thing as a non-emergency brain surgery when it comes to kids. For a pediatric neurosurgeon working in the medical minefield of the brain -- in which every millimeter in every direction governs something that makes us essentially human -- every day presents the challenge, the opportunity, to give a new lease on life to a child...
Format: text
Publisher / Publication Date: Random House 2022
Copies Available at Woodmere
1 available in Adult Non-fiction, Call number: 921 WELLONS, JAY WELSummary: 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: 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: For decades, IQ tests have been the gold standard for measuring intelligence. But is one standardized test really adequate for every taker? This program advocates a different approach, creating an array of unusual challenges to assess brainpower and positing an argument for the interplay of multiple intelligences. Assisted by the insights of Harvard's Howard Gardner and experts using brain...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program opens in the emergency room of a large hospital where head injuries are an all-too-common problem. The importance of the brain is evident from the skill and technology employed in ensuring that any damage to it is minimized. Using combinations of computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and advanced surgical techniques, the program shows why the brain is so...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Recent studies of cardiac arrest survivors suggest that near-death experiences may occur at times when the brain has actually stopped functioning. Drawing conclusions from that research, The Day I Died dares to suggest that the mind is not dependent on the brain-and that NDEs may confirm it. "That the mind is located in the brain is just a hypothesis. It's never been proven," says cardiologist...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: After an introductory segment contrasting the human endocrine and nervous systems, this program addresses the complex physiology of the endocrine system. Topics include the endocrine organs and glands; the characteristics of hormones and the process of signal transduction; hormonal regulation of blood glucose and blood calcium levels; the roles of growth hormone, thyroid hormone, testosterone,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: For centuries, many have labored under the false perception that epilepsy is a permanently debilitating condition, ironic given the success of such epileptics as Alexander the Great and actor Danny Glover. This program follows four people with the disease who have taken control of their lives with the help of their families, epilepsy education, and advancement in therapies. Dr. Martha Morrell,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program introduces the subject of multiple sclerosis, covering onset, short- and long-term physiological effects, and treatment. A pair of patients with relapsing-remitting MS describe their experiences while the late Lawrence Jacobs, a pioneer in MS research and treatment, and other MS experts emphasize the benefits of early identification and intervention in managing this autoimmune...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Because seeing is so important to human functioning, efforts to understand how perceptions are generated have most often focused on vision. Based on research in cognitive neuroscience, this program explores the challenge of explaining visual perception. The video includes an overview of the human visual system, illustrated with animated graphics and live action footage, and describes, using a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: What is the difference between the mind and the brain? Are they separable? Are they even quantifiable? And where does the soul fit in? In this thought-provoking program, experts including Oxford mathematician Sir Roger Penrose, cognitive scientist Dr. Daniel Dennett, and cyber-age techno-visionary Jaron Lanier contemplate the social and moral impact of brain research and questions such as how...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: One patient cannot recognize a single face, including his own. Another cannot see anything that is moving. And a third can watch and understand a soccer game, but cannot recognize the black-and-white object they are kicking. Drawing on the experiences of people with rare forms of brain damage, this program featuring Dr. Susan Greenfield reveals the tricks and shortcuts used by the brain to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Although the human brain remains a mystery, it is gradually yielding to scientific inquiry-either as the main focus of study or in comparison with other forms of intelligence. This program features doctors and scientists who work with human, animal, or artificial brains in order to understand emotion, anatomical movement, and decision making. Experiments and case studies include the treatment...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Parkinson's disease currently afflicts one out of every 100 Americans over the age of 60. How do they cope with it? And what new medical insights are being derived from the study of it? This program from The Doctor Is In sheds light on both of those questions through interviews with Stanley Fahn, professor of neurology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and scientific director of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: The ethical debate over embryonic stem cell use may have been rendered moot by pioneering research being conducted at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia, where Dr. Perry Bartlett and his team have isolated stem cells within the human brain. In this program, Dr. Bartlett discusses in detail the different types of stem cells, what research is being done with...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Some people suffer chronic pain long after an injury has healed, while others can jump from a two-story building and not feel a thing. This film reveals the physiological foundations of both scenarios as it examines the mechanics of pain perception. Viewers meet a family whose unique genetic code has lent insight into the sensation of pain, while a man who cut off his own arm to save his life...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: This edition of Science Screen Report looks at the design and function of the spinal cord, how damage to the cord affects body movement, and medical advances used in treating spinal cord injuries. After outlining the components of the spine and central nervous system, the program portrays studies and experiments ranging from a high-tech muscle stimulation therapy to the development of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Gregory Petsko is a biochemist who studies proteins in the human body. Working with Dagmar Ringe, Petsko has reinvented our view of protein compounds, their biochemical functions, and their relationship to disease. In this TEDTalk, he makes a convincing argument that, in the next 50 years, we'll see an epidemic of neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's, as the world population ages. His...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Comatose after a car accident, Paul Nadler defied medical prognoses that he would never walk or talk again. This award-winning program illustrates his recovery from severe brain trauma and his return to a highly physical and creative lifestyle. Using the innovative visual approach Nadler developed as a television director, the film allows the artist to explain his frustrations and goals in his...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1990, actor Richard Moir endured thirteen years of shakes, freezes, and depression as his career faded, his disease worsened, and various treatments achieved nothing. This program follows Moir as he prepares to undergo the procedure known as deep brain stimulation; it also documents his uncertain recovery period. Presenting photos and movie clips depicting the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Feared and misunderstood for centuries, epilepsy is now a completely manageable condition for many patients. This program overviews newly developed treatments that have greatly reduced, and for some people eliminated, the occurrence of epileptic seizures. It also presents case studies suggesting that the disabling prejudice which has traditionally surrounded epilepsy is fading-and that it no...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006