Terra UK
The traditional narrative is that humans are selfish. If pushed, the story goes, we look after ourselves first and others later. In this episode we see how modern neuroscience has blown that myth apart. Connecting with other people is one of the most important functions of the human brain. Which is why our brain constantly pushes us towards other brains, because it knows that connecting with other humans is the single best thing that we have going for us.
TV personality Todd Sampson puts brain plasticity to the test in Sharpen My Senses, as he radically improves his sensory perception and awareness. He hones his sight, hearing and touch and his heightened senses are put to the test in an incredible challenge - to crack a safe in under an hour, competing against the world’s best at a Master Locksmith’s Convention.
Our brain is always making decisions - Nigel explores how it does this, and if we can help it to make better ones? Is it possible to change the brain we’re born with to a supercharged brain?
In Episode 3, Make Me Brave, Todd Sampson wants to prove that we can all overcome fear. Todd aims to combine all his previous brain training and learn to face fear to achieve his ultimate challenge – Sky-walking between two buildings across a 3-cm high wire, 21 floors up with minimal training.
In the first episode we explore the apparently very simple question: What is your brain? This is something humans have been struggling to understand for millennia, and science for several decades. We’re still a long way from knowing everything, but the things we’ve discovered so far are literally astounding.
For most of human history our brains dealt with pretty straight forward problems. But that brain is the exact same one we now use to grapple with the modern world.
In episode one, Help Me Adapt, Todd uses the latest science to train his brain to become more adaptable. To prove that it’s possible, he risks his life rock climbing blindfolded up a rock-face in Utah’s Moab Desert. He ascends the 120-metre corkscrew summit of the Ancient Art Tower, a feat never before attempted without sight, after only six weeks of training.
Love can change our lives - in the truest sense of the word. Recent scientific studies prove that love is more than just an emotion. It is a drive that transforms our brain and our body profoundly. This film shows the fascinating science behind what love is, what it does to us - and whether it is good for us at all.
There is a revolution underway in neuroscience – and it’s centered around the incredible concept of brain plasticity, or the ability for the brain to change itself. The latest secret of the brain is that you can direct that change to improve your life. Dr. Michael Merzenich, renowned researcher and grandfather of neuroplasticity, expands on how the brain works, how it can change throughout your life and how you can use this information to target and improve your focus.
We are already able to control computers, use devices and move prostheses by thought alone. Thoughts have a major influence on our physical well-being and can bring about cures spontaneously. But what are thoughts? Just brain waves? Or are there serious indications that they are linked to more far-reaching forces? “The Power of Thoughts” is a fascinating journey into mankind’s inner world.
Hunting for Hedonia explores how the burgeoning technology of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) will impact human identity and our sense of self. DBS is a revolutionary tool in neuroscience and as a treatment it is crossing over from movement control in Parkinson's to alleviating mental illness.
