Your Brain Uncovered with Aya Tarabeine
148 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago -Your Brain Uncovered brings you in-depth interviews with pioneering scientists and innovators in the neuroscience and biotech landscape.
We talk to scientists from top-level peer-reviewed journals, such as Nature, Science, Cell, and Neuron.
We also discuss existing and emerging studies to understand how our nervous system works and translate these findings into the form of everyday tools.
If you are interested in the brain, then this is the "cast for you".
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Episodes
Dr Riccardo Manca: Understanding Psychosis and Delusion in Alzheimer’s disease
January 24, 2022 16:00 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBIn this episode, we are fortunately joined by Dr Riccardo Manco, a neuroscientist and tenured research fellow at Brunel University London, to discuss the growing literature on psychosis and delusion in Alzheimer’s disease. There is a lot to be gleaned out of his work. Instead of thinking of psychotic features as this taboo, icky subject, hopefully, today’s discussion will help clarify that it's a normal manifestation of these illnesses. Do not forget to let me know what you think of the episo...
Are We Hardwired for Happiness?
January 17, 2022 05:00 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBWe have been missing the mark on happiness. In fact, we're aiming for the completely wrong target. So what gives? Psychology and neuroscience can provide the answer. Join me on this episode, where I will be explaining how to overcome your brain's biases for happiness that lasts. - Link to the Happiness Lab: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/id1474245040
An Antidote to Loneliness
January 12, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 7.85 MBWhat is the neuroscience behind loneliness? Here in this episode, the structural impacts of loneliness on the brain are discussed alongside tips that can you help you cope with this feeling of disconnection.
The Neuroscience of Narcissism
January 10, 2022 05:00 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBThe central questions of narcissism are still a matter of debate. Fortunately, neuroscience could help to understand the paradoxical patterns of experience and behaviour associated with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Join me on this episode learn more.
The Neurobiology of Laughter
January 05, 2022 05:00 - 9 minutes - 8.81 MBIs laughter the best medicine? What are the different kinds of laughter and are we humans capable of telling the difference? So many questions and this episode is here to answer. Join me in my dive into the neurobiological underpinnings of laughter.
Your Future Self in Mind
December 29, 2021 05:00 - 6 minutes - 6.48 MBLooking at a burgeoning body of theoretical and empirical work, in this episode, I propose that the only constant thing about us is our ever-changing sense of self.
Our Malleable Brains
December 22, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutes - 10.1 MBHave you ever wondered whether you can change the very structure of your brain over time through rigorous training? This episode gives you insight into how your ever-changing malleable brain can work to serve you instead of control you.
The Chemical Soup in Your Brain
December 20, 2021 09:00 - 14 minutes - 13 MBOur human brains use sophisticated electrochemical processes whenever we laugh, cry, learn, fight or love. This episode is my attempt at proving that your brain is more than a bag of chemicals. Especially in the case of mental illnesses, hoping this can provide an open space for a new mode of treatment.
The Emotional Homosapien
December 15, 2021 09:00 - 1 minute - 1.23 MBNothing we Homosapien earthlings do seem to stem out of pure rationality. So in our first sequel on emotions, we will be investigating the question of what gives rise to emotions, and how is it that they differ from feelings. This will hopefully help you understand how you have more control than you think, shedding light on how you can be the architect of your emotional life.
Pt I of the Emotions Sequel - "The Emotional Homosapien"
December 15, 2021 09:00 - 1 minute - 1.23 MBNothing we Homosapien earthlings do seem to stem out of pure rationality. So in our first sequel on emotions, we will be investigating the question of what gives rise to emotions, and how is it that they differ from feelings. This will hopefully help you understand how you have more control than you think, shedding light on how you can be the architect of your emotional life.
The Essence of Slowing Down
December 13, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutes - 9.29 MBThe hustle culture is so ingrained in us, that we feel guilty for taking the time that our brain needs to recharge and reset. This episode is my attempt at convincing you to slow down because rushing is a false economy.
Slow Steady Love
December 08, 2021 10:00 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBIn this episode, we will be diving deep into the work of American anthropologist Helen Fisher, PhD, in an attempt to explain what happens in the brain when we experience attraction, how that changes in long-term relationships, and why anti-depressants can make you fall out of love sometimes. Here is my attempt to take on a neuroscientific approach to the ugly truth.
The Lens of Perception
December 06, 2021 09:00 - 4 minutes - 4.42 MBHere in this episode, I provide you with a little guided tour of human consciousness that will take you from individual self-awareness to becoming the co-creator of your own reality.
Professor Catherine Loveday's Musings on Music
December 03, 2021 12:37 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBIn this episode, I am joined by the Neuropsychologist Dr Catherine Loveday who has an immense knowledge bank on human memory and also happens to specialize in music. Right here, we dive into the astounding impact of music on learning. Particularly looking at the effects music has on academic achievement and motivation to learn for students. - Kindly find below the link to Dr Catherine Loveday's very own published book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31368315-the-secret-world-of-the-brain
Climbing out of Depression
November 29, 2021 10:00 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBThis episode will investigate how does the brain actually change when someone is depressed and what happens when they come out of it. We will also be looking at the different types of effective therapy and medication work available! - Some platforms I have found very useful: 1- https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support 2- https://www.headspace.com/articles/habits-could-make-depression-better 3- Some apps include BetterHelp, Talkspace, and Therapeer
Can CBD help ease addiction?
November 24, 2021 09:00 - 12 minutes - 11.2 MBIn this episode, we will explore whether CBD can be potentially used for mitigating opioid dependence. Many labs worldwide are racing to work out CBD’s full mechanism of action, but here we will simply focus on its promise for mitigating opioid dependence.
Decoding the Neuroscience of Consciousness
November 22, 2021 09:00 - 12 minutes - 11.2 MBConsciousness is one of the last outposts of pure mystery in our understanding of the brain. In this episode, we will dive deep into it where "we" exist in our bodies, and question how did our sense of self come to evolve. Here is my attempt at understanding the riddle of our subjective experiences.
Mind-reading AI
November 15, 2021 09:00 - 7 minutes - 6.87 MBWhat are the chances that soon enough one will be cautious enough not to have certain thoughts in fear of breaking the laws? Sooner than you might think.. Join me in this episode where I share findings from Duke University proving the rise of mind-reading technology.
Why have we evolved to have Brains?
November 08, 2021 09:00 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBWhy have we evolved to have this energy-demanding spider-web in our heads? The answer lies in this episode.. Quick Hint: Our brilliant brains are mostly designed for movement.
Dr. Catherine Loveday's Musings on Music
November 03, 2021 09:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBIn this episode, I am joined by the Neuropsychologist Dr Catherine Loveday who has an immense knowledge bank on human memory and also happens to specialize in music. Right here, we dive into the astounding impact of music on learning. Particularly looking at the effects music has on academic achievement and motivation to learn for students. - Kindly find below the link to Dr Catherine Loveday's very own published book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31368315-the-secret-world-of-the-b...
Your Brain on Air Pollution
November 01, 2021 12:00 - 10 minutes - 9.26 MBEvidence has been mounting on the startling connections between air pollution and decreased cognition and well-being. I don't think this is an issue that is getting the visibility it deserves, so I hope this episode serves it a little justice. We will be looking at the changes we can make on both individual and collective levels to tame these environmental insults before it goes out of hand.
Dr Jasmine Tan - Unraveling the State of Flow
October 27, 2021 15:00 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBI am joined here by the amazing expert at Flow, Dr Jasmine Tan. She is currently immersed in her studies at Oxford, but in this episode, she provides us with insights into the findings of her own PhD project with Professor Joydeep Bhattacharya in the domain of Flow. This episode pays tribute to the founder of the field himself Dr Csikszentmihalyi who has recently passed away. May his soul rest in peace. - Kindly find the link to Jasmine's original published paper titled “What Does it Tak...
Our Wonder of a Neocortex
October 25, 2021 08:00 - 6 minutes - 6.42 MBThis napkin thin sheet has always been key to the evolution of our humanity. Not only does it cover our walnut-shaped brains, but it is also constantly taking quantitative leaps in its own development. So how far will it take us? Join me on this episode to find out...
A cross-talk between the Brain and Obesity
October 20, 2021 08:00 - 8 minutes - 8.24 MBYour brain and belly have been on an endless chat since the day you were born. Thorough scientific research has been offered proving that obesity is a disease that does not have much to do with self-control as people assume. In this episode, I will introduce a molecule discovered in both the brain and gut that helps control appetite, offering relief for those living with obesity.
Our Unconscious Implicit Biases
October 18, 2021 08:00 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBA bias is a preference for or against an individual or a group of people. Implicit biases specifically are sneaky and hard to spot. The bright side is that these unconscious assumptions and attitudes can be dealt with, as doing the right internal work will undoubtedly enable us to spark change for the better.
Bitesize: Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks
October 13, 2021 08:00 - 2 minutes - 2.17 MBIn his book, "Hallucinations" Oliver Sacks cites a host of vivid examples from 100 Varieties of Hallucinatory Experience: From Dancing Patterns to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes, you guessed it, just like the ones in Alice in Wonderland. Here is your bite-size review!
What constitutes our true sense of self?
October 11, 2021 08:00 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBThis episode is a super-soul edition. Here, I dive into a mixture of philosophy and neuroscience in an attempt to answer the puzzling question of " What constitutes our sense of self? Here is a liberating concept for you to adopt, as Buddha said " Well-makers lead the water, fletchers bend the arrow, carpenters bend a log of wood, wise people fashion themselves."
"Mindsteps" with Hamzah Selim the CEO of Mindset Technologies
October 06, 2021 08:00 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBThis week I am joined by the brilliant Hamzah Selim, the CEO of the app “Mindsteps”. Hamzah is an imperial alumni, and UCL medical student who is playing a major role in increasing accessibility to neurological care for dementia patients. Today he is here to share with us the driving ambition behind his app and how he is hoaxing in on preventive medicine to improve the overall life quality of dementia patients as well as the healthcare system hand in hand with the NHS. - You can download M...
The Price of Over-stimulation
October 04, 2021 17:00 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBFrom neuroplasticity to distraction and technology. This episode gives you an in-depth look at the price we pay for having our ancient brains overstimulated by technology. So the question is, How can we help our brains become better equipped to deal with this paradox?
Bitesize: MINDSET: The new psychology of Success By Carol Dweck
September 29, 2021 16:00 - 3 minutes - 3.23 MBThis book is a must-read! This is one of those rare books that can help you make positive changes in your life and at the same time see the world in a new way. It has definitely cleared my lenses of perception. Feel free to reach out to me for a copy of this book x
Book Summary: The Tell-Tale Brain by V.S. Ramachandran
September 29, 2021 08:00 - 8 minutes - 7.89 MBHere is my book summary of The Tell-Tale Brain by V.S. Ramachandran. If you were to take away one thing from this book that would be that it is impossible to understand the human brain without understanding how it first evolved!
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain By Oliver Sacks
September 27, 2021 08:00 - 7 minutes - 6.64 MBWhat an essential read! Now, many of us crave music on a daily basis – myself included. But is that the same thing? Are we musico-philics? This book right here focuses on both music-related phenomena and neurological patients, giving us insight into a neural signature that might underlie the symptoms of musicophilia. - You can kindly find an extract from the audiobook provided below, do not hesitate to give it a listen: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/159607/musicophilia/?re...
Computational Neuroscience meets Attention
September 27, 2021 08:00 - 6 minutes - 6.01 MBAttention isn’t just about what we focus on — it’s also about what our brains filter out! Here I discuss the work of a computational neuroscientist who is using computers to help us get rid of distractors around our monkey brains. Listen to this episode to know more about this exciting science.
Journal Article: Mapping the Brain Circuitry of Spirituality
September 20, 2021 14:00 - 5 minutes - 4.99 MBI happened to cross paths with THE LATEST buzzing study revealing how researchers have found a region of the brain stem called the periaqueductal gray which may mediate religiosity and spirituality in humans... You can find the link to the original article right down below! - Original Research: Closed access. “A Neural Circuit for Spirituality and Religiosity Derived From Patients With Brain Lesions” by Michael Ferguson et al. Biological Psychiatry
Is there a correlation between mental-health and screen-time?
September 15, 2021 10:39 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBWhat are our screens and devices doing to us? Numerous psychologists have investigated how much time screens steal from us and how they're getting away with it. In this episode I share with you how staring at your smartphone, tablet or computer might be making you miserable - and what you can do about it!
What about Emotional Intelligence?
September 14, 2021 13:45 - 6 minutes - 5.8 MBWars and prejudice dominate the news. Can we discover a way to help people better understand each other and live with their differences? What if we all learnt to be more ‘emotionally intelligent’?
Bitesize: BookReview: Brain Food by Lisa Mosconi PhD
September 08, 2021 10:38 - 3 minutes - 3.11 MBTHE SUDDEN JOLT of a sugar fix followed by brain fog is all it takes, for many of us, to recognize that a connection exists between our food choices and cognitive function. Do we really need an entire book to extrapolate on this concept? Of course, we do!
Your Puzzling Motivation
September 06, 2021 10:38 - 9 minutes - 9.2 MBBehavioural scientists have proven numerous times that traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward!
Bitesize: The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul
September 01, 2021 20:00 - 4 minutes - 4.1 MBDo religious experiences come from God, or are they merely the random firing of neurons in the brain? Drawing on his own research with Carmelite nuns, neuroscientist Mario Beauregard shows that genuine, life-changing spiritual events can be documented. He offers compelling evidence that religious experiences have a nonmaterial origin, making a convincing case for what many in scientific fields are loath to consider...
BITESIZE: Book Review: The Brain by David Eaglemen
September 01, 2021 10:38 - 3 minutes - 3.63 MBAs an easy-to-read and engaging book or as a scientifically accurate and detailed popular psychology book, David Eagleman’s The Brain: The Story of You is an ideal book for people seeking to teach themselves an introduction to cognitive neuroscience and psychology!
Why do we behave the way we do?
August 30, 2021 20:00 - 13 minutes - 12.6 MBHow can humans be so compassionate and altruistic -- and also so brutal and violent? To understand why we do what we do give this episode a listen!
Love, Actually: Total Eclipse of the Brain
August 30, 2021 08:00 - 10 minutes - 9.48 MBScientists in fields ranging from anthropology to neuroscience have been asking this same question for decades. It turns out the science behind love is both simpler and more complex than we might think. Join me on this episode for a glimpse into the emotional matrix of love.
Bitesize: Book Review: Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To by Dr David Sinclair’s
August 23, 2021 18:00 - 4 minutes - 4.53 MBThis book takes us to the frontlines of research many from Dr David Sinclair’s own lab at Harvard—that demonstrate how we can slow down, or even reverse, ageing. The key is activating newly discovered vitality genes, the descendants of an ancient genetic survival circuit that is both the cause of ageing and the key to reversing it.
"When the Body Says No" By Gabor Maté M.D.
August 23, 2021 14:00 - 4 minutes - 3.73 MBI am glad to see another piece of literature that delineates how intricately the mind and body are woven together. However, I found that as I was reading, I was asking several questions such as: how many people do NOT have some sort of attachment dysfunction or trauma or mini traumas that impact them growing up? Are we too easily lumping people into types who have the disease because the pool is quite vast? Here is my bitsesize review of the book..
Your Bad Habits Broken
August 20, 2021 14:30 - 10 minutes - 9.8 MBCan we break bad habits by being more curious about them? Researchers have studied the relationship between mindfulness and addiction -- from smoking to overeating to all those other things we do even though we know they're bad for us. Learn more about the mechanism of habit development and discover a simple but profound tactic that might help you beat your next urge to smoke, snack or check a text while driving.
BITESIZE: Book Review: Incognito by David Eaglemen
August 18, 2021 14:00 - 5 minutes - 4.78 MBDavid Eagleman offers startling lessons in neuroscience. His new book, Incognito, asks us to cast off our lazy, commonplace assumptions. In one, he delineates, with remorseless logic and clarity, he reveals the tricks our brain plays on us.
Overcoming Debilitating Anxiety
August 16, 2021 18:00 - 8 minutes - 8.22 MBWe are all slaves to self-consciousness, impostor syndrome, pessimism, anxiety over issues beyond our control, stultifying routines, domineering characters in our lives, and even our social media personas. None but ourselves can free our minds. How so? Join me on this episode to discover just exactly how you can do that.
What can neural pathways tell us about mental health?
August 16, 2021 14:00 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBHow does the brain give rise to complex emotional states like depression, anxiety or loneliness? Learn how new discoveries could change the way you think about your mind -- and possibly uncover effective treatments for mental disorders.
The Gut-Brain Axis
August 08, 2021 10:00 - 10 minutes - 9.99 MBHave you ever had a gut feeling or butterflies in your stomach? These sensations emanating from your belly suggest that your brain and gut are connected. What’s more, recent studies show that your brain affects your gut health and your gut may even affect your brain health. The communication system between your gut and brain is called the gut-brain axis. This episode explores the gut-brain axis and ways to improve your own.
Bitesize: When Breathe Becomes Air
August 04, 2021 08:00 - 5 minutes - 4.67 MB"Death comes for all of us. For us, for our patients: it is our fate as living, breathing, metabolizing organisms." Woah! Though 'When Breath Becomes Air' had been on my reading list for a while now, I've been going back and forth, unable to decide whether I should read this, as I was somewhat fearful of the impact this memoir might have on me. Philosophical, beautiful, moving, difficult, heartbreaking. I highly, HIGHLY recommend it.