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To build a more accurate understanding of the brain, you should start by shattering popular myths. Brain Myths Exploded: Lessons from Neuroscience is an eye-opening journey into the neuroscience of everyday life. Each of Dr. Indre Viskontas's 24 lectures use a prevalent brain myth to explore topics including decision making, memory, dreams, emotions, consciousness, mental illness, and more.
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Episodes
1. Is Your Brain Perfectly Designed?
29m
Begin the course by debunking one of the most fundamental myths about the human brain. Along the way, discover how our brains are shaped by evolution and experience, which neurons are responsible for self-awareness and motor coordination, and why the brain is still very much a work in progress.
2. Are Bigger Brains Smarter?
29m
When it comes to brains, size doesn't matter as much as you think. Here, explore concepts including the Encephalization quotient (which compares brain mass to body mass), the "g" factor (a long-sought-after standard of cognitive ability), and the lessons scientists have learned from studying the brain of Albert Einstein.
3. Is Mental Illness Just a Chemical Imbalance?
29m
According to Dr. Viskontas, major psychiatric illnesses aren't just the result of chemical concentrations in the brain. The focus of this lecture is an intriguing exploration of two disorders that have proven to be far more complicated and nuanced in our understanding of mental illness: schizophrenia and depression.
4. Are Creative People Right-Brained?
29m
Think your brain is divided into a creative side and an analytical side? Think again. The two hemispheres of your brain are actually quite interconnected. Discover what neuroimaging has revealed about the way our brains think and create, and why it's all about collaboration - not competition.
5. How Different Are Male and Female Brains?
29m
We're always hearing about studies that find significant differences the brains of men and women. How should we be thinking about gender differences in the brain? How are these differences misinterpreted? What are the differences in the male and female amygdala and hippocampus? Which genders express which emotions more openly?
6. How Accurate is Your Memory?
29m
In this lecture that unpacks the accuracy of your memories, learn how information is encoded, stored, and retrieved in the brain; examine how Alzheimer's disease and amnesia affect the brain's ability to remember; and explore the "Seven Sins of Memory," including absentmindedness, memory blocking, and misattribution.
7. Do You Only Use 10% of Your Brain?
29m
Are you using your brain to its fullest potential? Here, clear up some of the mystery about how much of our brain power we're using. As you'll learn, you use a lot more of your brain than you think, whether you're practicing a new skill or simply zoning out in front of the television.
8. Do You Perceive the World as It Really Is?
29m
According to Dr. Viskontas, the biggest myth about our senses is that they reflect the world as it actually is. Using vision as an example, discover how your sensory system uses shortcuts and fills in details to create, from portions of the environment, the illusion that you're perceiving reality objectively.
9. Is Your Brain Too Smart for Magic Tricks?
29m
We've all been fooled by a magic trick at one point or another. But we rarely stop to think about how magicians are simply manipulating pre-existing shortcomings in our minds. Here, explore some of the neurological principles magicians rely on, including selective attention, inattention blindness, and change blindness.
10. Is Your Brain Objective?
29m
Contrary to what you might believe, we don't weight evidence equally before building personal beliefs. Instead, we're beholden to confirmation bias. Is this a bug our brains could do without? Is it an evolutionary advantage? Can it also lead to sublime experiences (like appreciating a piece of music)?
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- SeriesGreat Courses
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