ASCEND Brain Bites

Dr. Dan Nemeth sits down with Mireia Guerau-de-Arellano, PhD to talk about how intricate your immune system is and how, when it goes wrong, can lead to a serious disease called Multiple Sclerosis. 

Host/Producer: Dan Nemeth, PhD Cohost/Editor: Christian Holt 

Dr. Nemeth and Sam McGovern chat with crow behavior expert, Dr. John Marzluff, about why and how our neighborhood crow friends are so gosh darn smart! We discuss the neuroscience behind crow behavior! 

Parental Warning: This episode contains themes and discussions of drug use, addiction, and its concequences.  Dr. Dan and Dr. Lorena talk with NYT-bestselling author and world leading addiciton neuroscientist, Judith Grisel, about the neuroscience of addiction. 

If you want to learn more about addiction, check out https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/parents-educators for more info!  Also if you or a loved one is strugglng with addiciton contact SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 or a local addiction drug and rehab facility. 

Our special guest, Mia Amato, tells Dan and Dr. Lorena Areal all about how our brains perceive music and how music is connected to our memory!! 

Danny and new co-host, Dr. Lorena Areal, dive into the wild world of illusions and how your brain processes sensory information! We interview a world expert neuroscientist specialized in visual illusions, Dr. Stephen Macknik!

Melissa and Danny delve into how memory is formed and how neuroscientists can study memory formation. How did scientists find this out and how are flies involved?

Melissa and Danny wish you a Happy Thanksgiving by deciphering the age old myth about Thanksgiving: Does the tryptophan in turkey really make you sleepy? We also talk about how gratitude and Black Friday shopping affect your brain!

Melissa and Danny discuss the neuroscience of Halloween! Such as how you get scared, if Zombies are plausible, and why eating human brains is bad!

This time we talk about the senses of hearing, sight, and touch. Our hearing changes over our lives, as evidenced by the high-pitched sounds that adults can't hear. We also talk about how our eyes see color and why some people are color blind. Have you ever felt your phone vibrate, but when you check it, there's no message? Listen to hear about the recent theories behind the phantom vibration phenomenon!

Join us to hear our interview with Brock Grill, PhD, from The Scripps Research Institute Florida! We talk about how the tiny worm, C. elegans, senses touch and what that tells us about the human nervous system!