YOUR FANTASTIC MIND

#101 Covid-19
YFM looks at some of the ways the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting our brains and minds. We talk to scientists about the potential short- and long-term neurological effects of the virus and delve into the profound mental health impacts of the virus on society and our families. Following the story of a family of six who has been sheltering in place since last March, we address the impact of COVID on children and working parents. We also discuss the increase in domestic violence and substance abuse. Throughout the half hour, experts offer tips on how to cope during the pandemic and provide advice on ways to determine when it’s time to seek professional help.

#102 Inside Minds of Our Dogs
Dr. Greg Berns is an internationally acclaimed animal neuroscientist and bestselling author. Berns and his team, whose research has been featured on 60 Minutes and National Geographic, were the first in the world to train and scan the brains of awake dogs in a MRI scanner to learn more about how they think and feel. Berns’ groundbreaking research has explored many fascinating questions: Do our dogs love us? Are they jealous? Can they do math? This episode of YFM follows several dogs in Berns’ MRI scanner as their owners learn some of the answers to these questions. His long-term work is focused on finding the part of the dog’s brain responsible for their eternally sunny outlook and their ability to easily make friends. Berns thinks we can learn how to improve our own lives from our dogs.

#103 Stress
We are a stressed society and many of us self-medicate in ways that only amplify our stress. In this episode, YFM investigates the science of stress and how to reduce it, especially in the age of COVID. We explore the research behind meditation and mindfulness and offer ways to implement healing practices. Exploring another facet of stress, YFM takes a closer look at the millions of Americans who report sleep disruptions as a leading cause of stress. We highlight research that shows the impact of a bad night’s sleep and talk to a leading expert who goes beyond basic sleep hygiene, giving advice we can all use to improve sleep habits. We also learn about intergenerational trauma which is an area of research proving that trauma inflicted on one generation is inherited by the generations that follow and a source of unspoken stress. It’s a fascinating area of research that asks us to confront our own truths and traumas, to help us understand the power we have to influence our descendants.

#104 The Opioid Crisis
This episode begins in Appalachia, the geographical birthplace of the opioid crisis, setting up how the use of opioids became rampant and spread. Then we go inside the brain to show how and why the brain becomes quickly addicted to opioids. The episode also features medication assisted treatment, an effective treatment that has been stigmatized.

#105 Deep Brain Stimulation for Depression
Millions of Americans have depression. For some it is intractable and often leads to attempted suicide. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), which many people know of because of its use to control tremors in Parkinson’s disease, can be life changing when used for depression. Dr. Helen Mayberg of Mount Sinai in New York City, pioneered discovery of an area of the brain that, if stimulated, can alleviate depression. We follow 27-year-old Tyler Hajjar who has suffered debilitating depression for a decade and has made multiple suicide attempts. YFM shadows him during the 12-hour surgery and in the months that follow as he strives to reclaim his life.

#106 Second Chances
In this episode, YFM focuses on three separate stories, connected by the thread that in each one, the person has been given a second chance. The first one highlights a program for adults with autism who are aging out of the system. The show follows them through three weeks of living away from home as they gain independence and begin building what will one day hopefully be an autonomous life. The second story follows a wife and mother, who after a decade of misdiagnoses, learns she has acromegaly, a cyst on the thyroid that can destroy a person’s health and appearance. The episode documents her journey to undergo surgery and restore her lost health. The final segment introduces a young mother diagnosed with a rare brain cyst that can be life ending. We are there for the novel surgery and her complete recovery that follows.

#107 Memory
YFM delves into the science of memory - how it works, how we can retain it and why we lose it. On a trip to Chicago, a group of fascinating research participants are highlighted – elderly nuns who are helping scientists discover the ingredients to a long, healthy dementia-free life. The episode also features the first study in the world that uses flickering lights built into sunglasses to remove amyloid plaque from the brain, and we share a touching love story of a neurologist who is caring for his wife with Alzheimer’s, finding joy and peace through their shared love of music.

#108 Strokes and Strokestra
A public hospital known as ‘the place to go if you get shot’, Grady Hospital has become the epicenter for cutting edge stroke treatment. Performed for only a few years, thrombectomy is when a stroke patient is brought in and doctors go into their brain and pluck out the clot that caused the stroke, much like doctors do with heart patients. This was not possible until just recently and is dramatically changing outcomes. YFM is with the thrombectomy team at Grady as patients arrive from around the state, their lives and outcomes hanging in the balance. This episode also features London’s famed Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which has launched a nonprofit arm of the orchestra called ‘Strokestra,’ to help stroke patients rehab more quickly.

#109 Storms in the Brain
There is no cure for epilepsy. The best hope is controlling the seizures, but researchers have proven that if you can ablate (destroy) areas of the brain where the seizures happen, you can essentially cure the person. YFM follows a young mother who can no longer work, drive or even care for her child alone, as she tries to reclaim her life.