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ABOUT THIS SERIES The systematic study of human behavior, psychology, only really began in the late l9th century. In the subsequent hundred plus years its techniques have become ever more sophisticated and far reaching. Recent techniques for probing the structure and functions of the brain have added new tools for psychologists to understand behavior, often confirming insights gained through research based on other methodologies and sometimes adding completely new insights. This series, which discusses neuroscience as it relates to brain function, introduces undergraduates in psychology classes to the methods and some of the insights of neuroscience, along with its basic terminology. The series is meant to supplement, rather than replace textbook or lecture presentations. The films’ animated graphics, stunning brain images, intriguing segments of current research and appealing real-life applications serve to reinforce and expand students’ grasp of complex subject matter and their interest in it. The internationally recognized experts who are the narrators of the films share some of their own ongoing work along with more general information about their area of study. DISCOVERING THE HUMAN BRAIN: NEW PATHWAYS TO NEUROSCIENCE
with Susan Bookheimer, Ph.D.
Using the resources of the Brain Research Center of UCLA, this film illustrates the development of neuroscience from its classical reliance on information from brain injuries and autopsies through the new insights discovered with electronic microscopes, EEG equipment, PET scans and MRI machines. Examples of current research that utilize these tools are presented including a study on the role of mirror neurons in autism and the mapping of a woman’s several language centers before surgery for a brain tumor. Animations and graphics review the gross anatomy of the brain and the actions of its neurons. (2006) 30 minutes $250. View a sample clip from this film. Go to the complete discussion of this film. Visit our Support Materials section to view or download the Learning Guide and Discussion Topics for this film.
ISBN: 1-891340-47-6 [ BACK TO TOP ] HUMAN BRAIN DEVELOPMENT: NATURE AND NURTURE with Helen Neville, Ph.D.
The fascinating interplay of genetic predispositions and experience in the development of the brain after birth is demonstrated in this film produced at the Brain Development Laboratory at the University of Oregon. Three profiles of plasticity are depicted with compelling film sequences of behavioral, MRI and EEG research into the development of visual perception and language acquisition from infancy through old age. A congenitally deaf young woman, hearing university students and lively preschool children participate in controlled studies that illustrate both how neuroscience research is conducted and also how all brains change over time and circumstance. Practical advice for the utilization of sensitive periods and optimal specialization of brain areas make the learning of these concepts meaningful to students. (2007) 30 minutes $250. View a sample clip from this film. Go to the complete discussion of this film. Visit our Support Materials section to view or download the Learning Guide and Discussion Topics for this film.
ISBN: 1-891340-49-2 [ BACK TO TOP ] MAKING SENSE OF SENSORY INFORMATION
With Dale Purves, M.D.
For thousands of years, humans have asked if we perceive the world accurately through our senses. From Plato onwards, we’ve wondered how our own cognition has influenced the messages we receive from our sense organs. Are we perceiving what is really out there? Because seeing is so important to our species, efforts to understand how perceptions are generated have most often focused on vision. This film explores the challenges of explaining visual perception. Using current information from neuroscience imaging techniques and lab based research, the film describes the profound technical and philosophical challenges scientists face in attempting to explain perception. The production includes overviews of the brain structures utilized to process sensory input and their neural connections to other brain regions, with an emphasis on visual perception. The essential role of cognition in interpreting sensory input is well demonstrated with intriguing visuals including optical illusions from the Purves lab at Duke University. Approx. 35 minutes. $250.
[ September 2008 ] [ BACK TO TOP ] THE EMOTIONAL BRAIN: AN INTRODUCTION TO AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE With Brian Knutson, Ph.D.
What motivates our behavior and how is that mediated in our brains? The pleasure/thrill seeking behavior of gamblers and substance abusers represents far edge of the questions as they have been studied at the Stanford University labs of Dr. Knutson. The neural basis of emotional behavior is presented with animations and computerized MRI images of the limbic system along with compelling information about the neurotransmitter substances that so influence all of our affective lives. Approx. 30 minutes. $250.
[ Winter 2009 ] [ BACK TO TOP ] THE THINKING BRAIN: AN INTRODUCTION TO NEUROSCIENCE With Adele Diamond, Ph.D.
All our lives we take in information from a huge variety of inputs, process it and use it. This film reviews the basic aspects of cognition and its development from a neuroscientific perspective but focuses on how brains manage vast amounts of data: how they think. The production presents actual research instruments and invites viewers to exercise their own executive functions in response. MRI studies, lab experiments, animations and real life vignettes introduce students to how cognitive functions are affected by genes and the environment, are made possible by specialized neural systems and are used throughout life. $250. Approx. 30 minutes.
[ Spring, 2009 ] [ BACK TO TOP ] |
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