Playing With Marbles
22 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago -Is your relationship with your brain a little... complicated? Playing with Marbles is about the complicated interplay between the brain and the rest of the body. We're investigating how the brain actually works, and how that affects who we are. We have healthy brains, dead brains, brains in jars, and brain power of incredible researchers, doctors, and everyday people. Come and find out what's going on with your marble... for science!
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Episodes
Dissociative Identity Disorder: You, Plural
March 13, 2024 04:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBThe term “dissociation” is a hot topic amongst those who study the brain. An example of dissociation that most of us can relate to is when you’re reading or scrolling through social media and you realize that your mind is elsewhere, that you haven’t actually absorbed the information in front of you. Some researchers have termed these momentary and fleeting moments “normative dissociation”. However, when dissociation begins to disrupt or interrupt the integration of behavior, memory, identi...
Borderline Personality Disorder: The Jukebox of Self Doubt
March 06, 2024 05:00 - 37 minutes - 34 MBDiagnosis of personality disorders in youth is relatively new. Before the release of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, version 5 (DSM-V), nobody under the age of 18 could receive a diagnosis of a personality disorder, mainly due to the transitional nature of personality in youth, and the degree of stigmatization attached to such a diagnosis. Researchers have since stressed the importance of early detection and treatment for the outcomes of these disorders. In fact, almost all personalit...
ADHD: When your brain can't sit still
February 28, 2024 01:43 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBThe definition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has gone through many changes over the years. Interestingly, the criteria used to diagnose ADHD has actually become broader, encompassing a wider range of ages and a variety of different clinical presentations and symptoms. One thing that’s stayed the same since the release of the DSM-III in the 1980’s is the focus on problems with attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. While it was once thought of as a disorder of childhoo...
Anxiety & Eating Disorders: When the alarm bells won't stop ringing
February 21, 2024 05:00 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBAnxiety is one of the body’s natural responses to stress. When a person is met with an important event or perceived danger, anxiety can help them to react to that stressor. But when symptoms of anxiety are ongoing or severe, it’s a sign of an anxiety disorder. There are several types of anxiety disorders, with each subtype categorized by how anxiety appears in the afflicted person’s life. This episode’s guest, Jess, has been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD. It’s the most...
Depression: When skydiving feels kinda boring
February 14, 2024 05:00 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBBeing sad or feeling hopeless is a normal part of human existence appearing and disappearing and reappearing with the ebbs and flows of life. But when symptoms of a depressive episode last for more than two weeks, and begin to get in the way of one’s day-to-day life, that’s when a person meets the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, or MDD, which is one type of the DSM-IV’s depressive diagnoses and one of many different mood disorders. The prevalence of MDD in Canada is higher than other...
Click here to start loving your brain!
February 14, 2024 05:00 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBStrap in for another exciting season of Playing With Marbles, brought to you by Brain Canada. In past seasons, we learned about all of the cool brain science research coming out of labs in Canada, from mini-brain organoids in petri dishes to women’s health beyond the bikini. We’ve taken a look at the brain at a microscopic level and learned how each part of your marble functions to help you encode, process, and remember the world around you. This season, we’re going a step further to under...
Menopause and Beyond
July 05, 2022 20:50 - 28 minutes - 26.9 MBLet’s experience menopause, migraines, and Alzheimer's! Not exactly fun, we know, but they are very common complications of later life, so we’re going to get inside a brain that is experiencing them and show you exactly what’s going onn. We'll explore the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy and whether a cure for Alzheimer's is on the horizon. This is our protagonist Kira's swan song, we hope you'll join us as she makes her way through her last chapter. Follow the show: Twit...
S2 E3: Menopause and Beyond
July 05, 2022 20:50 - 28 minutes - 26.9 MBLet’s experience menopause, migraines, and Alzheimer's! Not exactly fun, we know, but they are very common complications of later life, so we’re going to get inside a brain that is experiencing them and show you exactly what’s going onn. We'll explore the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy and whether a cure for Alzheimer's is on the horizon. This is our protagonist Kira's swan song, we hope you'll join us as she makes her way through her last chapter. Follow the show: Twit...
S2 E2: Hormones: a love story
June 27, 2022 10:15 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBPuberty, pregnancy, ovulation, even love… these are all things our body regulates with hormones, and brains love hormones. They are chemical messengers used by the body when one part wants to tell another what to do… and in this episode our protagonist’s brain is stewing in them like a squishy teabag. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
Hormones: a love story
June 27, 2022 10:15 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBPuberty, pregnancy, ovulation, even love… these are all things our body regulates with hormones, and brains love hormones. They are chemical messengers used by the body when one part wants to tell another what to do… and in this episode our protagonist’s brain is stewing in them like a squishy teabag. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
One woman's brain
June 20, 2022 10:30 - 27 minutes - 25.9 MBFor decades researchers used male bodies as the “default”, and this has led to huge research gaps in our understanding of womens’ brains. This lack of knowledge has real, sometimes deadly consequences when it comes to things like medication doses. So, we’re spending this season following one woman’s brain from birth to death and diving into what we do and don’t know about female brains. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
S2 E1 : One woman's brain
June 20, 2022 10:30 - 27 minutes - 25.9 MBFor decades researchers used male bodies as the “default”, and this has led to huge research gaps in our understanding of womens’ brains. This lack of knowledge has real, sometimes deadly consequences when it comes to things like medication doses. So, we’re spending this season following one woman’s brain from birth to death and diving into what we do and don’t know about female brains. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
How much do you know about the difference between male and female brains?
June 17, 2022 18:30 - 1 minute - 1.27 MBSeason 2 of Playing with Marbles is coming Monday June 20th, and this time we’re focusing on the female brain, and what we do and don’t know about it. Scientists have been using male bodies as their “default” research subjects for a long time, so we’re going to take a long look at one woman’s brain, and figure out what we do and don’t know about it. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
S2 Teaser: How much do you know about the difference between male and female brains?
June 17, 2022 18:30 - 1 minute - 1.27 MBSeason 2 of Playing with Marbles is coming Monday June 20th, and this time we’re focusing on the female brain, and what we do and don’t know about it. Scientists have been using male bodies as their “default” research subjects for a long time, so we’re going to take a long look at one woman’s brain, and figure out what we do and don’t know about it. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
Brains in the wild
September 28, 2021 04:30 - 29 minutes - 31 MBSometimes to really find out how brains work you have to get too close for comfort, so we’re looking for brains that have escaped their warm, cozy skulls and made their way into jars and freezers. We even meet something that is very like a brain, but was never inside a skull in the first place. Not AI, but tissue, grown in a lab, for science. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
3: Brains in the wild
September 28, 2021 04:30 - 29 minutes - 31 MBSometimes to really find out how brains work you have to get too close for comfort, so we’re looking for brains that have escaped their warm, cozy skulls and made their way into jars and freezers. We even meet something that is very like a brain, but was never inside a skull in the first place. Not AI, but tissue, grown in a lab, for science. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
When brains go wrong
September 28, 2021 04:15 - 34 minutes - 35.7 MBWhen something goes wrong with a brain we can’t just get under the hood and poke around. So how do we figure out what’s going wrong? Well sometimes the answer to that question involves watching monkeys watch TV, so we’re taking a trip to a monkey cinema, and along the way learning about the different ways to see inside your head and find faulty wiring. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
2: When brains go wrong
September 28, 2021 04:15 - 34 minutes - 35.7 MBWhen something goes wrong with a brain we can’t just get under the hood and poke around. So how do we figure out what’s going wrong? Well sometimes the answer to that question involves watching monkeys watch TV, so we’re taking a trip to a monkey cinema, and along the way learning about the different ways to see inside your head and find faulty wiring. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
Nature's hard drive
September 28, 2021 04:00 - 33 minutes - 35.2 MBMemories are fickle. They’re so important, but so ineffable.. So how do we make memories? And what types of memory are there? We’re finding out what actually happens when we upload something to our squishy storage system, and if there are any ways to hack our memories to be better. We might even be close to implanting new memories, or editing out old ones. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
1: Nature's hard drive
September 28, 2021 04:00 - 33 minutes - 35.2 MBMemories are fickle. They’re so important, but so ineffable.. So how do we make memories? And what types of memory are there? We’re finding out what actually happens when we upload something to our squishy storage system, and if there are any ways to hack our memories to be better. We might even be close to implanting new memories, or editing out old ones. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod
Introducing Playing With Marbles
July 20, 2021 16:22 - 1 minute - 1.16 MBEvery day we are learning more about the brain, but the challenges are complex and answers can’t come quickly enough. We are on a global quest to understand the brain and we believe that new ideas, tested through research and leading to innovation and discovery, will reduce the burden on our health care system and help us live happier, healthier lives. Join us and come on a journey to the real last frontier – the brain.
Brains, the final frontier
July 20, 2021 16:22 - 1 minute - 5.33 MBEvery day we are learning more about the brain, but the challenges are complex and answers can’t come quickly enough. We are on a global quest to understand the brain and we believe that new ideas, tested through research and leading to innovation and discovery, will reduce the burden on our health care system and help us live happier, healthier lives. Join us and come on a journey to the real last frontier – the brain. Follow the show: Twitter: @marblespod Instagram: @marblespod