Minds Matter

How often do you play negative experiences over in your head? If this is a painful pattern of thinking, why would we do this? This week we talk about rumination with Dr. Rachel Bedder, she explains why we ruminate and how it is different from worry. Dr. Bedder discusses her computational model of rumination and we learn how we can apply these models in real life. Ava and Beth reflect on their own thought patterns.

How does culture shape our actions towards the environment and our responses to global crises? Dr. Kimmon Eom joins us to discuss how different cultures and socioeconomic statuses influence the willingness to engage in pro-environmental actions. He also shares work on how pandemics and fear of contagion may make even the unprejudiced support xenophobic policies. Beth and Ava have an honest conversation about their own experiences with social class.

What makes a for a good conversation? Why do we feel we 'click' with some people and not others? This week we speak to Dr. Emma Templeton about research on conversation. She discusses why gap length between two conversation partners is important into understanding our connections and why this may have different meanings between strangers and friends. Ava and Beth share how they feel about conversations with strangers, can your take a guess to who loves conversations with strangers 100% of the time?

Are we really what we eat? Research on the gut microbiome suggests we really are! This week we speak to Dr. Aya Osman who researches how the gut microbiome influences our brain and behaviour. Dr Osman explains the role of the gut microbiome in addiction and autism and how we can study these connections. We learn what foods are best for a healthy gut. Ava and Beth discuss their personal experiences with the gut microbiome with some pretty rogue stories!

One of the biggest mysteries in science is, what is consciousness? This week we speak to Dr Anil Seth about how we can study consciousness and where the field is at the moment. Dr. Seth discusses how our experience can be considered a controlled hallucination and what all this means for AI. Ava and Beth reflect on their views which somehow relates back to Terminator 2.

What happens to our memories as we age? Dr. Tarek Amer challenges the idea that memory decline is inevitable as we get older. Tune in to find out when older adults' 'sticky' memories not only aid in recollection but also enhance creativity, potentially giving them an edge over younger folks.

Dr. Laura Ana Bustamante discusses how cognitive effort affects decisions. She explores the relationship between cognitive and physical effort, ways to increase willingness to exert effort, and the link between anxiety and cognitive effort.

When guilt strikes, how do you respond? Is it a rush to make things right or an urge to evade? Dr. Hongbo Yu is joins us to delve into the complexities of guilt, its neural bases, and the surprising role our eyes play in magnifying or mitigating those guilty feelings. Plus, Beth and Ava share some personal perspectives on eye contact.

Elle Murata is a neuroscience Ph.D. student specializing in the impact of sex hormones on the brain. When she noticed something was off with her own menstrual cycle, she found herself having to advocate for her own health to receive proper care. In this conversation, Elle shares her journey to find answers about her own health, and insights from her lab about the effects of sex hormones on our brain's functions.​

Dr. Nadine Dijkstra, researcher on the reality threshold, discusses her research on mental imagery and how our brain distinguishes between reality and imagination. The podcast explores the interplay of imagination and perception, the concept of the reality threshold and its variability among individuals, the impact of vividness in mental imagery, understanding perception and reality in schizophrenia, and the complex relationship between reality and imagination.