150 years ago, an explosion blew an iron rod through the skull of a rail worker named Phineas Gage. He survived...and eventually returned to work. But his personality had changed in bizarre ways. On the next To the Best of Our Knowledge -- the strange case of Phineas Gage and how it shaped the future of brain research.
Molecular biologist Deric Bownds tells the story of Phineas Gage who survived a severe injury to his brain, but became a different person. Bownds tells Judith Strasser what the Gage case taught scientists about brain function, and that people with frontal lobe damage experience an impairment of their social being.SEGMENT 2:
Clifford Pickover is a columnist for Discover magazine and the author of "Strange Brains and Genius." He tells Judith Strasser that many exceptionally creative and imaginative people suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder or bi-polar disorder and speculates that their mental illness feeds their creativity. Also, Michael Gelb tells Jim Fleming "How to Think Like Leonardo de Vinci," which by the way is the title of Gelb's book. He says learning to draw, juggle and write with your other hand will make you smarter. And, the mother of an autistic child tells Judith Strasser about her son and his way of relating to the world.SEGMENT 3:
David Spiegel is a professor of Psychiatry at Stanford. He studies how phsyiological activity is affected by psychological states. He tells Steve Palson that there are good studies now that document how effective hypnosis can be in a therapeutic setting -- for example, in reducing or eliminating pain and anxiety.Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 98-08-16-B.
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