YOUR FANTASTIC MIND

#201 Love
In this episode, we explore the human brain in love and grief and how research is being used to help people with social and emotional disorders. Renowned anthropologist and best-selling author Dr. Helen Fisher shares her decades of research on what happens to the human brain in love. Dr. Larry Young at Yerkes Primate Research Center has studied prairie voles for 25 years and his discoveries have helped us better understand what happens to the brain in love, separation and grief. Prairie voles are one of the few mammals that are monogamous for life. Young’s research is being used to conduct clinical studies to see if we can treat people with autism spectrum disorder and mental health disorders, using intra-nasal sprays containing the molecules associated with connection and love.

#202 Motherhood
In this episode, we examine trauma and PTSD among African American mothers. The Grady Trauma Project based out of Grady Hospital, Atlanta’s safety net hospital, is home to a team of female researchers who have studied 12,000 African American women over 15 years. The researchers found that PTSD impacted almost half of the African American women they studied, at 46%, far higher than the national rate of 6%. This PTSD is from various traumas including those related to childhood trauma, domestic violence and violent crime. Researchers at GTP are conducting new studies to investigate the possibility if they treat mothers for PTSD, it improves the overall health and wellness of their children. African American women also have far less access to mental health assistance and are more likely to suffer intimate partner violence and abuse. We highlight the NIA project which works exclusively with suicidal African American women. The program aims to improve their mental health and help them lead more meaningful and purpose-filled lives free of violence. Over the past 20 years, the NIA project has worked with more than 2,000 suicidal African American women, providing individual and group therapy.

#203 Long Covid
It is estimated more than 11 million Americans are living with long Covid. Some people never fully recover from the virus, while others recover and then relapse with the same or new symptoms. With very few clinics dedicated to treating long Covid and with researchers and healthcare professionals still in the early stages of understanding how it manifests, millions of people are living with chronic issues not being addressed. Many can no longer work and function normally. This episode features four different people with long Covid, including an emergency room physician. We learn about research helping us better understand long Covid and the connection it has to other conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome. The episode also looks at how widely available FDA medications can be repurposed and used to treat and help alleviate symptoms for some people fighting long Covid.

#204 Becoming a Brain Surgeon
The road to becoming a brain surgeon, or neurosurgeon, is widely known as the most difficult and longest in all of medicine. In the United States, neurosurgery residency training takes seven years after medical school. It is a competitive field where very few make the cut and achieve the dream. In this episode, we embed with the Emory Department of Neurosurgery’s newest class of residents, taking viewers behind the curtain through their long days and long nights. From Emory’s first African American woman neurosurgery resident to a man motivated to enter the field after lifechanging brain surgery as a child, we shadow these first-year residents as they begin their arduous journey.

#205 Balance and Movement
Cutting edge research that shows how stimulation of the vagus nerve can help patients regain arm function up to a decade after a stroke. Researchers at Emory/Georgia Tech who are studying the science of movement including the neuromechanics of human balance and gait. Their research shows that cognitive stiffness is connected to physical stiffness and vice versa and that improving one area can improve the other.

#206 Game Changers
This episode features efforts to change huge issues. We take a critical look at disparities in maternal mortality and a new state of Georgia program, Peace for Moms, aimed at bridging the gap to provide mental health support for pre- and post-partum moms. And best-selling author and recovery expert William Cope Moyers, son of legendary journalist Bill Moyers, is featured in a segment about his journey with addiction. The story also features the work of the Clinton Foundation to educate faith leaders on the opioid crisis, so they can be part of a frontline solution. Finally, we take a closer look at new research examining the brain functions of grandmothers that goes a long way in explaining this important intergenerational relationship.