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Neurology & The Brain

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42:24

One Psychiatrist's "Fury"

Psychotherapist Myron Sharaf has written a biography on the researcher Wilhelm Reich, who developed the study of orgonomy. Reich worked for greater sexual reforms in pre-World War II Berlin before continuing his research in the United States.

Interview
01:00:13

A Neurologist Has "A Leg to Stand On"

Oliver Sacks suffered a severe injury while hiking which eventually led to the loss of feeling in his leg. His recovery and gave him insights into the treatment of his own patients who suffer from memory problems and encephalitis lethargica.

Interview
27:35

A Writer Reports on His Own Brain Surgery

Steve Fishman was reporting in Nicaragua when a blood vessel burst in his brain. During his treatment, he researched his condition and its treatment, and interviewed the surgeons who operated on him. The blood vessel was repaired, but Fishman developed epilepsy as a result of the surgery. His book about the experience is called A Bomb in the Brain.

Interview
16:23

A Brain Researcher Translates "Memory's Voice"

A pioneer in brain and memory research, Dr. Daniel Alkon has written a new book, called "Memory's Voice: Deciphering the Mind-Brain Code." He uses the example of one disturbed person to look at how the brain remembers -- a childhood friend who was abused by her father and emotionally scarred. Alton suggests that people like his friend never complely unlearn behavior brought upon by such traumas, and that the impressions made on a child's memory will permanently linger in the complexes of the brain.

Interview
22:44

A Childhood Tragedy Gives Insights into Language Learning

Russ Rymer is a journalist who has written for The New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He has just written his first book, "Genie," about the discovery in 1970 of a thirteen year old girl who had lived her entire life locked in a room of her parent's house. Genie had no language or social skills. Her discovery coincided with a raging debate among scientists about the origin of language. Michael Dorris writes about the book, "At once a scientific detective story and an examination of professional ethics. . .

Interview
44:28

How Psychiatric Drugs Affect Personality

Psychiatrist Peter D. Kramer wrote "Listening to Prozac," an examination of the larger issues behind drugs that reshape temperament. Prozac is the most widely prescribed antidepressant today, with some four and a half million users since its introduction in 1987. Kramer raises serious questions about this "miracle mood enhancer": are we headed into an age of cosmetic pharmacology?

Interview
47:04

Assessing the Threat of Workplace Violence

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz has served as an expert witness for the prosecution in the murder trials of John Hinkley, Joel Rifkin, Jeffrey Dahmer and others. In each case he presented evidence against the defense of insanity, saying that these men knew that they were committing terrible crimes. Dietz also has a consulting firm, Threat Assessment, which focuses on workplace violence. He is a consultant to the HBO special "Murder 9 to 5," which examines murder at work.

Interview
22:37

Exploring the Link Between Neurology and Creativity

Clinical neurology professor and doctor Oliver Sacks is the author of six books about his patients, people with autism, Parkinson's Disease, Tourette's Syndrome, and other neurological disorders. Sacks was portrayed by Robin Williams in the 1991 film version of his book "Awakenings." His other books include "A Leg to Stand On," and "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat." His newest is "An Anthropologist On Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales," which tells the stories of the disorders of seven of his subjects.

Interview
44:43

How We Remember and Forget.

Specialist in memory and language disorders, Dr. Barry Gordon. Gordon's book "Memory: Remembering and Forgetting in Everyday Life" (Mastermedia Ltd. The book can be ordered by calling 1-800-334-8232) looks at recognition, recall, memory blocks and the effects of drugs. The book also gives tips to increasing memory recall and dispels some common myths about the brain and memory. Gordon is a behavior neurologist, cognitive neuroscientist and experimental psychologist at Johns Hopkins University. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Interview
19:11

How Memory Works

Professor of Psychology at Harvard, Daniel L. Schacter has studied memory for the past twenty years, the way the mind remembers. One chapter in his new book, "Searching for Memory: the brain, the mind, the past" is about the controversial issue of "repressed" memory.

Interview
21:21

The Mechanisms Behind Children's Cognitive Development

Chicago Tribune science writer Ronald Kotulak talks with Terry about his new book "Inside the Brain: Revolutionary Discoveries of How the Mind Works." It is published by Andrews and McMeel. Kotulak has interviewed more than 300 of the leading researchers and reveals the latest theories on how the brain thinks. Kotulak received the Pulitzer Prize for two related newspaper series on brain research: "Unravelling the Mysteries of the Brain" and "Roots of Violence."

Interview
35:52

Neurosurgeon Dr. Jam Gharjar on Treating Brain Trauma

With his team of neurotrauma specialists, Dr. Ghajar worked to save the life of the young piano teacher who was severely beaten in Central Park this past June. He has pioneered national guidelines in hopes of establishing national standards for the care of brain trauma patients. Ghajar is the chief neurosurgeon at Jamaica Hospital in Queens as well as the President of the Aitken Neuroscience Institute in Manhattan.

Interview
43:19

A Family's Struggle with Alzheimer's Disease Continues with the Next Generation

President and co-founder of The Long Island Alzheimer's Foundation, Janet Walsh. As a teenager, she watched her father suffer with Alzheimer's. Later, when genetic testing became available for Alzheimer's, she took it and discovered that she is at the highest risk for genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's. Walsh will talk about how she choses her conduct her life with this knowledge, and her efforts to make the lives of Alzheimer's patients better.

Interview
43:29

How Long-Term Stress Affects Health

Biologist Robert Sapolsky. He's one of the first researchers to chart the effects of chronic stress on the brain in the animal kingdom and in humans. He adds a touch of humor to his findings, as well. His new book is called "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping." (W.H. Freeman and Co.) It's a revised version of his 1994 publication.

Interview
16:04

What the Rise of Ritalin Says About Views of Children's Behavior

Pediatrician Lawrence Diller specializes in child development and behavior. He's evaluated hundreds of patients for attention deficit disorder, for which the drug Ritalin has often been prescribed. His new book "Running on Ritalin: A Physician Reflects on Children, Society, and Performance in a Pill." (Bantam Books). After seeing more and more parents come into his practice asking for Ritalin for their children, Diller became concerned, and wrote an article in 1996 that started a national debate about the use of the drug.

Interview

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