Summary: Michael Merzenich studies neuroplasticity - the brain's powerful ability to change and adapt - and how we might make use of that plasticity to heal injured brains and enhance the skills in healthy ones. In this TEDTalk, Merzenich explores the brain's power to actively rewire itself and how science might one day harness that ability to confront disorders such as autism, cerebral palsy, dementia,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: The fascinating interplay of genetic predispositions and experience in the development of the brain after birth is demonstrated in this program filmed at the Brain Development Laboratory at the University of Oregon. Three profiles of plasticity are depicted with compelling footage of behavioral, MRI, and EEG research into the development of visual perception and language acquisition from...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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: "People have wanted to look inside the human mind, the human brain, for thousands of years. Well, coming out of the research labs just now, for our generation, is the possibility to do that," says Christopher deCharms. In this TEDTalk, the neuroscientist and inventor demonstrates how rtfMRI displays brain activity in real time - and explains how by understanding cause-and-effect brain...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Imagine simulating an entire brain in three-dimensions - complete with memory, perception, even mental illness - and actually functioning in real time! Henry Markram is director of Blue Brain, a supercomputing project that can model components of the mammalian brain in precise cellular detail - and simulate their activity. In this TEDTalk, Markram describes the awe-inspiring feat of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Pawan Sinha researches how our brains interpret what our eyes see - and, equipped with that knowledge, he gives blind children the gift of sight. In this TEDTalk, he details his groundbreaking investigation into the neurology of the human visual system, as well as his insights into engineering, autism, and other subjects. Sinha explains how his vision-restoring treatment can help us better...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Sensing the thoughts and feelings of others may be a natural talent for most people, but how do we do it? Rebecca Saxe studies the way we think about the inner lives of our fellow humans. In her laboratory at MIT, she uses fMRI scans to identify what happens in our brains when we consider the motives, passions, and beliefs of others. In this TEDTalk, Saxe shares some of her fascinating findings...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: As people get older, the information they receive from their eyes and ears becomes degraded and the brain's ability to make sense of that information slows, putting elderly people in jeopardy of losing their independence. But what if a person could do something to dramatically improve his or her senses and cognitive abilities? This program, specifically designed to help people get the most from...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Kwabena Boahen wants to understand how brains work - and to build a computer by reverse-engineering the human nervous system. His group at Stanford is developing Neurogrid, a hardware platform that will emulate the cortex's inner workings. As Boahen explains in this TEDTalk, his quest to mimic the brain's supercomputing powers in silicon must take into account the messy, redundant processes...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Pain is usually thought of as a symptom of underlying illness - but what happens when the pain itself becomes the disease? Starting with the story of a girl whose sprained wrist turned into a medical nightmare, pediatric anesthesiologist Elliot Krane discusses the complex mystery of chronic pain in this TEDTalk presentation. Krane also reviews what we know about how pain works, and current pain...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: Philosopher and scientist Dan Dennett argues that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes and are not what we traditionally think they are. In this TEDTalk, Dennett makes a compelling argument that not only don’t we understand our own consciousness, but that half the time our brains are actively fooling us. “Dan Dennett is our best current philosopher,” says AI...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Psychologists once believed that babies were egocentric and irrational, unable to grasp the perspective of another person or understand cause and effect. Alison Gopnik completely overturns this view in this TEDTalk, revealing the sophisticated intelligence-gathering and decision-making that babies are really engaging in when they play. Gopnik, a University of California professor of psychology,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: From plant extracts to fish oils to yogurt laden with beneficial bacteria, food designed to make us brainier as well as physically healthier is growing in popularity. This program examines the trend, which has created a windfall for retailers and manufacturers even though the jury is still out regarding the benefits for consumers. Viewers learn about the history of health-food claims and meet...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Cognitive neuroscientist Al Seckel takes great delight in visual illusions and the brain mechanics that they reveal. In this TEDTalk, Seckel - "acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on illusions," says Edge.org - explores the subject of perceptual illusions using eye tricks that help him prove that not only is the brain easily fooled, such deceptions can actually make us feel...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Tom Wujec studies how we share and absorb information. He's an innovative practitioner of business visualization - using design and technology to help groups solve problems and understand concepts. Much of his work focuses on areas of the brain that enable us to comprehend words, images, feelings, and connections. In this TEDU talk, Wujec asks: How can we best utilize our brains to help us...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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: 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
View online at AVOD
Summary: Epilepsy is the second most common neurological disorder in the U.S. This program examines its causes, what happens in the brain during a seizure, and what should and should not be done to help someone having a seizure. The diagnosis and treatment of the condition are discussed by physicians who present up-to-date information to help families, friends, and coworkers recognize the needs and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program from The Doctor Is In studies the cases of three patients with Lou Gehrig's disease. Expert medical commentary is provided by Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., science director of the ALS Association, and Jeffrey Cohen, M.D., a neurologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. In addition, a family care provider talks about the challenges one faces in that role. Although there is currently no...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: In this program from The Doctor Is In, families who are caregivers provide practical information on how to manage the in-home care of a loved one who has Alzheimer's. Important decisions, such as whether to use outside day care or in-home health aides, are discussed. Several hints on how younger family members can participate in the caregiving include reading or telling stories to the patient....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: The experience of the family members and spouses in this program reflects that of thousands of Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers who struggle daily with the heartfelt conflict of love and obligation. This program presents examples of caregivers who have learned to cope effectively with these stresses, restoring balance in their own lives. The importance of caregiver support groups and other...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Several years after he was given less than a year to live, David, a patient with glioblastoma multiforme, is alive and cancer-free. In this program, Henry Friedman, of the Duke University Medical Center; Michael Prados, of the University of California at San Francisco; and other medical experts use case studies to show how scientific advances in the areas of brain mapping, laser surgery, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Reudiger Gamm performs complex arithmetic instantly and without help-his brain stores numbers like a calculator. Orlando Sorrel remembers exactly what he was doing on any date, at any hour, and can accurately predict the day of the week thousands of years in the future. Kim Peek-the original "Rain Man"-has read 12,000 books and hasn't forgotten a single word. What lies behind these astonishing...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Until a cure for MS is discovered, medical science is doing all it can to help people delay the onset of MS and manage its symptoms so they can continue living physically active lives. In this program, Jerry Wolinsky and Staley Brod, of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and patients with primary-progressive and relapsing-remitting MS share their insights. After...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005