University of California Video Podcasts (Video)

Experience is the engine that drives much of postnatal brain development. When children are deprived of key (i.e., experience-expected) experiences, particularly during critical periods of development, brain and behavioral development can be derailed. There is perhaps no more egregious form of deprivation than being raised in large, state-run institutions. Charles Nelson (Harvard Medical School) discusses the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a long-term study that includes infants abandoned to institutions. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35285]

In 2017 alone, an estimated 674,000 children were victims of abuse and neglect in the United States and over 1,000 of these children died from maltreatment. Mothers were the perpetrators in 69% of these cases. How does dysfunction in the maternal brain arise? Danielle Stolzenberg (UC Davis) describes new research that has shed some light on how the brain regulates maternal and neglectful responses to infants with a particular emphasis on how the brain might change as mothers transition between these two behavioral states. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35289]

Adequate vitamins and minerals are essential for normal cognitive development. Marcus Pembrey (University College London) uses iodine as an example. Severe iodine deficiency is a known cause of learning difficulties, but even suboptimal maternal iodine in early pregnancy can reduce the childs verbal IQ. Early humans thrived on the coast with a rich iodine diet. Bonobos dive for iodine-rich aquatic plants. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35290]

Ann Masten (University of Minnesota) discusses the meaning of resilience from a developmental perspective, highlighting the significance of findings from studies of extreme adversity in childhood for our understanding of processes that nurture or disrupt human capacity for adapting to challenges over the life course. Caregivers play a critical role both in protecting early wellbeing and nurturing the future resilience of children and their societies. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35292]

Equitable and effective CS instruction is essential for broadening participation in computing, responding to the growing demand for computer scientists, and guiding the expansion of CS at the K12 level. Harvey Mudd College's Colleen Lewis shares a brief background of her work in this area and current projects from two newly-funded five-year NSF grants focused on understanding and optimizing CS learning, and understanding and removing barriers to CS. Series: "Computer Science Channel" [Show ID: 35381]

Preproduction collaboration on spatial design and character development, the value of bending rules in a supernatural narrative, and the potential for on-set innovation all arise in this freewheeling discussion about the critically-acclaimed Netflix series Russian Doll between production designer Michael Bricker and Carsey-Wolf Center assistant director Wesley Jacks. In the video, Bricker talks hidden easter eggs in set construction and the joy of finding the right construction material at the right moment. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Show ID: 35396]

Advances in film restoration technology, the challenges of matching black and white footage with shades of military khaki, and the depth of Peter Jackson’s passion for all things World War I arise in this conversation about They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) between assistant editor Elliot Travers and Ross Melnick (Film and Media Studies, UCSB). Travers describes the convoluted path the film took from its initial conception as a 30-minute museum commission for England’s Imperial War Museum to an internationally-distributed feature-length film. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Show ID: 35411]

In modern humans, an exquisite cognitive ability has evolved that enables mental time travel, the ability to mentally travel back in time and re-experience a personal event from the past that is no longer physically present. Faraneh Vargha-Khadem (University College London) explores how certain neonatal or early childhood pathological events, most commonly hypoxic/ischaemic episodes, target the immature hippocampus, leading to the later emergence of the syndrome of Developmental Amnesia, often without evidence of any neurological or other cognitive impairment. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35288]

A short summary of one of Discover Magazine's top-ten most significant science achievements of 2019 - the discovery of complex neural signals emerging in brain organoids by Alysson Muotri's lab at UC San Diego's Stem Cell Program. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Show ID: 35392]

Around the world, individuals and families are fleeing their countries of origin because of war, violence, natural disasters, and climate change. As their numbers swell, host countries face calls to exclude them. Two prominent local religious leaders of especially targeted and vulnerable populations Bishop Robert McElroy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center of San Diego speak about a common path forward for our society, based on the wisdom of their respective traditions. In the United States, recent political decisions and governmental policies have worsened the prospects of both those seeking to immigrate legally as well as the millions of undocumented immigrants already here or those still coming. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Show ID: 35228]