Past Programs
Ageing - 2005
The Emotional Brain: Part 4, Joy
17/12/2005
The figures of the grumpy old man and woman are a part of popular culture, but this clichéd image may be wrong. New research tells us that as we get older we often become happier. For as we age we pay less attention to negative thoughts. But what is the evolutionary explanation for this? Join Julie Browning for the final episode exploring the emotional brain and our ever-increasing capacity for happiness.
Grandad is an artist! Dementia and the creative mind.
12/11/2005
Dementia is commonly regarded as a cruel and relentlessly progressive disorder -where, over time, a person is stripped of their unique skills and identity. But recently clinicians have noted not only deficits in dementia patients, but that other cognitive skills remain intact - and can even become accentuated. Remarkably a number of patients with dementia develop new artistic abilities. According to neurologist Bruce Miller, from the Memory and Aging Centre in California, the maintenance and even growth of artistic skills in dementia patients offers insight into creativity and brain plasticity. Bruce and Professor John Hodges, from the University of Cambridge, consider what we know about dementia and its impact on personality and ability.
The Getting of Wisdom
16/07/2005
None of us are getting any younger. As our bodies show signs of wear, so do our brains. We get forgetful, are confronted by new ideas and perplexed by new technologies. The world appears to be moving way too fast, as we sink into memories of the good ol' days. Eminent neuropsychologist and author Elkhonon Goldberg argues we have no excuse. His message - make your brain sweat if you want to enjoy your mental life to its fullest. And his suggestion is that the two hemispheres of our brain age differently as we wise up. Gretchen Miller reports.
Dementia (Part 2) - Cell Therapies on the Cutting Edge
02/07/2005
There's a slow and inexorable death going on in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. As neurons disappear, your cognitive self gradually takes leave also. This week, the cutting edge of cell therapies for neurodegenerative disease. Natasha Mitchell reports on the first gene therapy trial for Alzheimer's disease. The results are impressive, groundbreaking even...but the trial asked 8 patients to weigh up life and death before they agreed to participate. This is medical research at the coalface.
