Audio clips are played of interviews with Henry Molaison, who underwent surgery to remove his hippocampus due to severe epilepsy. He meets Professor Elizabeth Loftus, who recounts details of a groundbreaking experiment she conducted on the reliability of memories, in which the participants successfully adopted - and embellished upon - false memories. He goes on to explain how memories are formed, and the role they play in constructing human identity. Eagleman then recounts the story of Charles Whitman, who shot dead thirteen people in 1966, ostensibly due to a brain tumour pressing on his amygdala. He briefly mentions examinations of Albert Einstein’s brain after death. Eagleman explains a scientific study performed on those studying to pass The Knowledge, involving taking brain scans of the participants’ posterior hippocampuses. Training Master Derek O’Reilly explains how trainee London black cab drivers study for The Knowledge.
Eagleman explains the role of the medial prefrontal cortex. He and graduate student Ricky Savjani perform an experiment comparing stress levels in adults and adolescents. Eagleman goes on to explore the teenage brain. The three American-Romanian orphans recount their early experiences in the orphanage. Nelson describes the neglectful conditions seen in Romanian orphanages during this time, and discusses how conditions such as these could impact the physical structure of a child’s developing brain. He then introduces an American family, whose three adult siblings were adopted from a Romanian orphanage during the fall of the rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu. He explains how experience and interaction with the environment play a role in the wiring-up of brain circuitry. Presenter Dr David Eagleman starts by comparing the development of the human brain at birth to other mammals. Episode Two - What Makes Me Me? This episode explores how the brain plays a part in constructing who we are.
0 kommentar(er)
