Minds Matter

In an age where politicians are both subjects and creators of memes, and outlets like The Daily Show shape public discourse, how is humor influencing our political engagement? Dr. Prateekshit "Kanu" Pandey shares research on humor's effects on the brain, and its differing roles across cultures, from the U.S. to India. Dr. Pandey, Ava & Beth reflect on whether humor good is for politics and civic engagement, or whether politics should remain strictly serious business.

New developments in AI are making headline news with many perspectives on what the future of AI holds. From Chat GPT to robots, there is lots of new information to take in! This week Dr. Abhilasha Ravichander answers our questions from the basics of AI to questions of AI and consciousness. She speaks to us about where the field is at now and discusses her research on hallucinations in Large Language Models and how they can help us understand how our data is being used. Ava and Beth talk about where they think the future is going.

How do behavioural and substance addictions relate to mental health? What are the risk factors for these disorders? This week Dr. Andrew Kim helps us answer these questions and discusses how we can best treat addictions and their mental heath co-morbidities. Dr Kim explains how we can use to research to train clinicians so patients can receive the best possible outcomes. Ava and Beth discuss their countries own medical systems .

What makes teenagers so keen to embrace risk? Are they chasing potential rewards, or are they just blind to potential consequences? Dr. Nina Lauharatanahirun joins us to discuss the computational and neurobiological underpinnings of risky decision-making in teens. Beth and Ava reminisce about their own adolescence.NOTE: Dr. Lauharatanahirun is recruiting PhD students for the 2024-2025 cycle with a background in neuroscience, psychology, computer science or engineering!

We hear about neuromodulators like serotonin all the time, but how do they actually work? This week Dr. Claire O’Callaghan gives us an introduction to the science of neurobiology! She discusses the roles of serotonin and noradrenaline and we learn that the systems are more complex than we may hear in popular science. Ava and Beth discuss their misconceptions around neuromodulators and Beth shares a personal noradrenaline story!

Are all inequalities perceived the same? Dr. Riana Brown joins us to discuss how different inequalities — health, economic, and belonging — differentially motivate support for collective action and social change. Dr. Brown also shares research on when and why some people might opt to tackle the root causes of inequality, such as advocating for policy changes, versus addressing its immediate consequences, like volunteering at a soup kitchen. Beth and Ava reflect on their personal experiences of participating in social change efforts.

What do the social lives of chimps and bonobos reveal about human cognition? Join us as biological anthropologist & comparative psychologist Dr. Laura Lewis tells us about the social structures of our closest living relatives & shares her research on how chimps and bonobos remember friends and foes and manage their social attention. Beth and Ava discuss how to think about the similarities and differences between humans and other great apes.

How do we store information in the brain? How do we know when one memory should end and another begin? We speak to Dr. Oded Bein who explains how we use schemas to organise information. Dr. Bein discusses how we segment our experiences to store as our memories and how these processes might be different for people with anxiety. We also give some tips to improve memory and Ava and Beth reflect on how schemas might influences their perspectives. 

When something's bothering you, do you tend to suppress those emotions or sit with them? Dr. Rachel Low joins us to discuss her research on emotion regulation in individuals, relationships, and families. Learn about how parents' emotion regulation styles might spill over to their children, and how just one person suppressing their emotions in a romantic relationship can undermine relationship satisfaction. Beth and Ava talk about their own patterns of emotion regulation.

Is sexual chemistry just natural compatibility, or can it grow from effort and work? Dr. Jessica Maxwell shares her research exploring how sexual beliefs influence well-being in both long-term and casual relationships. We discuss how individual differences, like attachment styles, shape our relationship preferences, from one-night stands to long-term monogamy. Plus, stay tuned for practical tips for maintaining passion in long-term relationships!