Our brain pathways are designed to get us through life’s traumas, as painful and debilitating as they are. Neurologist Lisa Shulman, MD, joins us this week to talk about how to make sense of grief, how trauma interrupts the connection between the cognitive and emotional parts of the brain, and how the brain learns to consolidate traumatic experiences and allow us to move forward.

Plus… humans are not the only creatures to feel grief – hear how other animals experience loss.

Essential Tremor is the most common brain disease you've never heard of - affecting more than 10 million Americans.

In this special episode, we her the story of Wall Street executive Alexandra Lebenthal, who suffered from Essential Tremor since child hood, and her decision to be one of the first patients in America to undergo a high-tech new, non-invasive treatment using focused ultrasound.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit

https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit

https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Everyone loves a good story. And so do our brains. Whether its books, movies, fairy tales, or even office gossip, stories are much more than just entertainment. According to Dr. Fritz Breithaupt, narratives in our lives are way more powerful than we realize. We don’t just enjoy stories, we actually need them. But why are they so important? Does the brain gain anything from a good plot on your favorite Netflix series, or the well-developed characters in an Oscar winning film?

There is actually something much more important in a good story, a reward for our brains that has actually been essential to human survival.

Plus, tales of Dungeons & Dragons as therapy!

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit
https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit
https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org