Podcasts on topics related to our work at ANS

"My father, my brother and me"
PBS Frontline (broadcast Feb. 5th, 2009)
What is it like to be one of the 1,000,000 Americans living today with Parkinson's?

Looking Inside the Human Brain
NPR Science Friday (broadcast Friday, May 2nd, 2008)
What's really going on inside your head when you make a decision, make a mistake, or have a few drinks?

Animal Research: A Discussion of Ethics
NPR Talk of the Nation (broadcast February 29, 2008)
One of the most contentious topics in medical research is the issue of experimentation on animals.

Dance Yer PhD
CBC Radio - As It Happens (broadcast February 14, 2008)
So you've written your Ph.D. thesis. You've given your dissertation. Your formal academic work is done. But why should the culmination of your scholarly work just gather dust on a shelf? Why not try to reach the widest audience possible: aficionados of interpretive dance?

Harvesting Energy from Humans in Motion
NPR Talk of the Nation (broadcast February 8, 2008)
Researchers have built a device resembling a knee brace that can generate usable amounts of electrical energy as a person walks.

'Rolling' Shot with Wheelchair-Mounted Cameras
NPR Talk of the Nation (broadcast January 10, 2008)
Physician and filmmaker Gretchen Berland gave video cameras to three Los Angeles residents in wheelchairs and asked them to document their everyday lives. The result is Rolling, a frank and witty documentary that sheds light on the daily challenges of living with limited mobility.

The Body Has A Mind of Its Own
NPR Science Friday (broadcast December 21, 2007)
Maps aren't just for picking the best way to drive to grandma's house. Your brain and body use 'maps' to translate incoming sensory signals into meaningful information, and to translate brain signals for things like movement into controlled motion.

Injured NFL Player Kevin Everett Walks Again
NPR Talk of the Nation (broadcast December 18, 2007)
Tim Layden, senior sports writer for Sports Illustrated and author of the article, "The Road Back," talks about Everett's recovery.

Re-Wiring the Sense of Touch
NPR Science Friday (broadcast November 30, 2007)
Doctors have rewired the nerves of two people with amputated arms, re-routing the major nerves that carry sensation from the hand to the pectoral muscles in the chest.

Author Explains Mysteries of Music and the Mind
NPR Talk of the Nation (broadcast November 9, 2007)
Why can music sometimes remain in the brain long after other memories fade? Why is it that some people with limited language abilities can sing unimpaired? Neurologist Oliver Sacks talks about his latest book, Musicophilia, and the way music affects the brain.

Building a Brainbow
NPR Science Friday (broadcast November 2, 2007)
Researchers have developed a technique that takes brain mapping to a new level, allowing them to label individual neurons in the brain in different colors.

Can Exercises Help Us Hold On to Our Memories?
NPR Talk of the Nation (September 3, 2007)
Doctors tell us to exercise our bodies, but what about our brains?

Neuroscience and the Law
CBC Radio – Quirks & Quarks (broadcast May 19, 2007)
The advances in the field of neuroscience during the last decade have been incredible. Increasingly, researchers are understanding the relationships between brain structure and behaviour, and are even starting to read our thoughts. But the improvements in technology are opening up a new range of questions. Just how good are we at reading minds? What can we really tell about both what people are thinking, and how their brain is affecting their behaviour?
These questions are particularly germane to the field of law. A fundamental legal issue is intent: whether or not someone willfully committed a crime. Another is the issue of truth, where knowing someone is lying is critical.

Sudden Paralysis and 'The Best Seat in the House'
NPR Talk of the Nation (broadcast February 28, 2007)
In 1996, Allen Rucker had no real complaints: happily married, two kids, a house in West Los Angeles. At the age of 51, his career as a television writer was looking up.

Can Thoughts and Action Change Our Brains?
NPR Talk of the Nation (broadcast February 2, 2007)
For years, scientists believed the brain's structure couldn't be changed. The new science of neuroplasticity says that's not the case, and argue the brain is much more flexible than previously thought. Science writer Sharon Begley talks about her new book, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain.

A Look at an Autistic Savant's Brilliant Mind
NPR Talk of the Nation (broadcast January 15, 2007)
Author Daniel Tammet talks about his new book Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant, and his amazing facility with numbers.

Brain-controlled Devices
NPR Science Friday (broadcast July 14, 2006)
A paralyzed man with a tiny sensor implanted in his brain has been able to open e-mail and move a robotic hand simply by thinking about it.

The Emerging Mind - Reith Lectures 2003
BBC – Radio 4
This year's Reith lecturer is the noted neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Director of the Centre for Brain and Cognition at the University of California (San Diego).