Main -> Videos: Neuroscience

Animated Tutorials: Neurobiology/Biopsychology

Sumanas, Inc., a multimedia company, has created animations to accompany a number of textbooks.  There are 14 animated tutorials here, including synaptic transmission, the vestibular system, visual pathways, reflex arcs, and PET.

Screenshot from the Visual Pathways tutorial:

Interactive 3-D Brain at Genes to Cognition Online (Cold Spring Harbor's Dolan DNA Learning Center)

The link will take you to the whole brain view.  Use the dropdown menu on the left side of the page to select other brain areas.  Use the controls on the right to rotate the brain. 

Screenshot:

Mouse Party (Genetic Science Learning Center, University of Utah)

This interactive program allows users to see how several drugs affect the brain at the neuronal level.

Screenshot:

The Man with Two Brains (Scientific American Frontiers, 1997)

Alan Alda interviews Michael Gazzaniga and Joe, a person whose corpus callosum was severed to control epileptic seizures. (To show in full screen, right click in the video screen.  Under "Zoom" select "Full screen.")

Biopsychology Collection (Clips for Class, Cengage)

Several short video clips related to biopsychology.

The Behaving Brain (Discovering Psychology Series, 2001) 

"This program looks at the structure and composition of the human brain: how neurons function, how information is collected and transmitted, and how chemical reactions relate to thought and behavior."

The Responsive Brain (Discovering Psychology Series, 2001) 

"This program explores how the brain alters its structure and functioning in response to social situations. You'll learn about the impact of different stimuli on human and animal brains, from the effect of human touch on premature babies to the effect of social status on the health of baboons."

Cognitive Neuroscience (Discovering Psychology Series, 2001)

"This program looks at scientists' attempts to understand how the brain functions in a variety of mental processes. It also examines empirical analysis of brain functioning when a person thinks, reasons, sees, encodes information, and solves problems. Several brain-imaging tools reveal how we measure the brain's response to different stimuli."

TED Best of the Web: "Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist describes the real differences between the left and right halves of the human brain. It's not simply "emotion on the right, reason on the left," but something far more complex and interesting. A Best of the Web talk from RSA Animate."

http://www.ted.com/talks/iain_mcgilchrist_the_divided_brain.html

TED Talk: "What drives our desire to behave morally? Neuroeconomist Paul Zak shows why he believes oxytocin (he calls it "the moral molecule") is responsible for trust, empathy and other feelings that help build a stable society."

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_zak_trust_morality_and_oxytocin.html 

TED Talk: "How can we begin to understand the way the brain works? The same way we begin to understand a city: by making a map. In this visually stunning talk, Allan Jones shows how his team is mapping which genes are turned on in each tiny region, and how it all connects up."

http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_jones_a_map_of_the_brain.html

Reporter Serene Branson talks about the effect her migraine had on her speech and body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=423JhqFygI4 

Pinky and the Brain

Jill Bolte Taylor's TED Talk: Stroke of Insight. Bolte Taylor, a neuroscientist, talks of what it was like to have a stroke.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html 

Split Brain: Michael Gazzaniga and Joe.  A much earlier video than the Scientific American Frontiers video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMLzP1VCANo 

Parts of the Brain: Pinky identifies parts of the brain in this catchy tune. Good for introducing the Brain & Behavior unit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5nMsXg1Lk

How SSRIs and MAO Inhibitors Work

Depression and other mental health problems are often treated with medications which are called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and/or Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors. How do they work? I'll show you in this brief video: