This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg

The benefits of play for adults, like children, has been shown to have many benefits to both physical and mental health. In fact, it can play a vital role in whether someone is happy or depressed, fulfilled or empty.  For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com  For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org   

Women obviously go through many changes to their bodies and their minds when they become mothers.  But what about fathers?  Although moms have been studied extensively, few people have paid any attention to what happens to men when they become dads.   Do they go through any physical changes at all?  Do they also experience hormone surges and shrinking brains like women do (yes mom and dads, your brains got smaller). Do they also suffer from depression and anxiety?   Dr. Darby Saxbe has dedicated her career to studying fathers, and in her new book, Dad Brain, the New Science of Fatherhood, she reveals things about fathers that are as surprising as they are dramatic, discoveries which could have enormous impact on how society views dear old dads, and their role in raising children. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com   For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org  

Dr. Fred Luskin, director of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects, explains how releasing resentment can transform both mind and body. Drawing on decades of research and work with people in war-torn regions around the world, Luskin explains why forgiveness is a powerful act of healing for the forgiver. He shares compelling stories and practical steps to help keep past hurts from stealing your peace today. Plus, the Zulu concept of Ubuntu and how South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission used Ubuntu to help guide a nation’s journey towards healing. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com   For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org  

What are your dreams really telling you? Renowned sleep researcher Dr. Robert Stickgold joins Dr. Stieg to unravel the mysteries of dreaming. From the bizarre to the brilliant, dreams are a window into how the brain processes memory, emotion, and problem-solving. Learn why your brain needs to dream, how dreams shape your waking life, and what science says about interpreting them. Whether you're a vivid dreamer or rarely remember a thing, this episode will change the way you think about what your brain is doing when you go to sleep at night.     For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com  For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org 

What happens when your hands refuse to listen to your brain? For Alexandra Lebenthal, essential tremor was more than a neurological disorder, it was a lifelong challenge that affected everything from drinking water in meetings to giving public speeches. In this deeply personal episode, Alexandra shares her journey from a childhood marked by frustration and embarrassment to becoming one of the first patients in the U.S. to undergo focused ultrasound, a groundbreaking, non-invasive treatment that changed her life.   For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com  For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org    

Everyone loves a good story.  And so do our brains.  Whether its books, movies, fairy tales, or even office gossip, stories are much more than just entertainment.  According to Dr. Fritz Breithaupt, narratives in our lives are way more powerful than we realize. We don’t just enjoy stories, we actually need them.  But why are they so important?  Does the brain gain anything from a good plot on your favorite Netflix series, or the well-developed characters in an Oscar winning film?   There is actually something much more important in a good story, a reward for our brains that has actually been essential to human survival. Plus, tales of Dungeons & Dragons as therapy! For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com   For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org  

We all do it - put things off, tell ourselves we'll start tomorrow, and somehow still miss the deadline. But chronic procrastination isn’t just a bad habit; it’s self-sabotaging behavior that can derail our goals, relationships, and even our health. Psychologist Dr. Joseph Ferrari, a leading expert on procrastination, breaks down the emotional roots of procrastination, debunks the myth that we “work best under pressure,” and offers science-backed strategies for change. Plus - meet one of history’s most legendary procrastinators: Leonardo da Vinci. Find out how his epic delays shaped the Mona Lisa, and why some believe he never truly finished it.   For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com   For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org    

For five seasons now, I've been delighted to explore the wonders of the brain with my guests as well as with you, my listeners. Podcasting is fun and enlightening, and I've heard from many of you that it's been helpful as well as informative. It's also time-consuming, especially given my busy practice and my administrative duties as department chair. That's why the podcast is going on hiatus before Season 6 begins to let me attend to some of my other work for a while. I hope you take this opportunity to catch up on episodes you may have missed over the past five seasons. There are more than 100 fascinating guests and topics to explore at your leisure. From anger to dance moves to stem cells, these episodes cover a fascinating range of topics, all centered on our most intricate and complicated organ, the brain. See you in season 6! ###  For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com   For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https:

Humans are born with billions of neurons that need connecting – and how those synapses develop helps determine how our brains will work. There is ample evidence that a loving, nurturing environment in infancy and early childhood provides the most fertile ground for brain development. Isabelle Hau, executive director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, explains why a well-loved baby or child simply learns better than a neglected one, and how our contracting social circles endanger our kids. Plus… the mystery of why average IQs rose for decades, until recently. Are technology and isolation affecting our intelligence? For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com    For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org   

It’s no surprise that feeling lonely is associated with depression, but did you know that loneliness may also lead to chronic inflammation, changes in the brain, and even premature death? Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology at Brigham Young University and an expert on the physiological effects of social connections, explains how our current crisis of loneliness is as much a public health threat as smoking, alcohol use, and diabetes. Discover the behavioral, psychological, and biological factors affected by loneliness, which groups are most at risk, and what we can all do to reconnect. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com    For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org 

Pain and fear are inevitable, especially these days, but we can retrain our brains to reduce suffering. Dr. Sara Lazar, Assistant Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School, reveals how just eight weeks of mindful meditation can visibly change parts of the brain to be less reactive to pain. Plus... how meditation apps put the power of mindfulness right in your hand. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org 

Humans are so powerfully wired for survival that it can be hard to understand suicide - especially in adolescents. What happens in the brain that can override such a profound instinct for self-preservation? Dr. Sakina Rizvi, a researcher and psychotherapist in Toronto, Canada specializing in suicide prevention, reveals the social, biological, and psychological facets of suicidal ideation. Hear how childhood trauma, current life stressors, and brain impairment may all play a role in suicide, and learn how to recognize warning signs in a loved one. Plus… the do’s and don’ts of talking to someone at risk. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

The past 30 years have produced an epidemic of obesity -- mostly because evolution did not prepare us for so many calories and so little physical activity. Dr. Louis Aronne, a leading authority on obesity, explains how a period of caloric excess can damage the neural connections that manage your metabolism, throwing your weight regulation out of whack. More importantly, he talks about the new drug that tackles obesity at two different hormonal sites and promises to become an actual "weight loss pill." Plus... the real reason to skip the bread basket (it's in your brain) For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org 

What makes us happy? The warm feelings of closeness that we have with family and friends are rooted in the neurochemical oxytocin – the love hormone, if you will. Oxytocin facilitates social engagement, encourages bonding, and just makes us feel happier. My guest today, neuroscientist Paul Zak, has done decades of research into the role of oxytocin and discovered that this feel-good chemical motivates us to engage with others. Not only that, but immersing ourselves in social circles, among people who are nice to us, increases oxytocin and improves our mood. (High stress, on the other hand, inhibits oxytocin and makes us feel unhappy.)  Find out how to harness the power of oxytocin to live a happier, healthier, life.  For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Daniel Levitin says we can all age successfully if we take our choices more seriously now. The neuroscientist and author reveals the keys to reaching our senior years in the best possible shape, explains what happens to dopamine levels when we stop trying new things, and tells us the three things older adults are better at than younger ones. Plus... what primatologist Jane Goodall told him about the key to healthier aging. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org 

We are the only species that creates and experiences art – not just visual art but music, poetry, dance, theater, and even architecture. The impact that art has on us cannot be overstated, as it affects cognition, mental health, and physical wellbeing. My guests today are Susan Magsamen of the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Ivy Ross, vice president of design for the Hardware Product Area at Google and an artist and designer in her own right. Magsamen and Ross co-authored a book about the brain and the arts; the new field of neuroaesthetics is, as they say, "the closest thing to magic." Find out how we don't just create and enjoy art – we are actually shaped by it, improved by it, made healthier by it. Embracing art just once a month can extend your life up to a decade! Find out how easy it is get started, which arts have an impact on both sides of the brain, and why art makes us better people. Plus... Hear from one of my own patients about how adding art to he

Dr. Tony Nader, an academic, author, and the leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement, knows how you can find inner peace. TM is like a deep dive to the stillness at the bottom of the ocean, leaving the turbulent waves far above. Learn how the body and mind are inextricably bound, and how meditation can improve mental and physical health. Plus… what the Beatles taught us about meditation. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com  For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org For more about Dr. Nader visit -  https://www.drtonynader.com/  

Why are some people capable of creating music, art, books, or new technologies, seemingly out of thin air? Where do imagination and creativity live in the brain - and how can we tap them? Neuroscientist and author Anna Abraham reveals the three elements of creativity and explores the myths surrounding it, from its links to mental illness to the effects of psychiatric drugs on it. The good news? Creativity does not decline with age, so for some of us, the best may be yet to come. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Dolphins have large, complex brains that are a lot like the human model -- what if we could get inside their heads and communicate with them? Meet cognitive psychologist and marine mammal scientist Diana Reiss, PhD, who has been doing just that. Turns out our underwater friends have a lot going on in their brains, if only we could learn to decode it. Plus... Hear from one of the musician/scientists who discovered that whales produce actual songs (and whose work inspired a beautiful and novel album by Judy Collins) For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org 

Candace Pert discovered the opioid receptor, created a drug to stop AIDS in the brain, and identified stress as a cause of disease. She also inadvertently unleashed the overdose epidemic, got herself kicked out of the NIH, and was denied credit for much of her work. Pert was a trailblazing yet mercurial neuroscientist, a woman who made her male boss famous but has been largely forgotten herself. She was also a rebel, a workaholic... and a bit mad. In this episode, Pamela Ryckman, the author of a new biography of Pert, reveals some of the wilder tales about her and explains why she remains largely unknown even though her discoveries were truly life-changing. Plus... Other women in science who remain mostly hidden from history. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org