THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN is a co-production of David Grubin Productions, Inc., and Thirteen/WNET New York in association with Docstar.

Corporate funding is provided by Pfizer Incand The Medtronic Foundation on behalfof Medtronic, Inc.

450 West 33rd StreetNew York NY 10001-2605www.thirteen.org

Major funding for THE SECRET LIFEOF THE BRAIN is provided by theNational Science Foundation.

Funding is also provided by Park Foundation, PBS, theCorporation for Public Broadcasting, The Dana Foundation,and The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.

www.pbs.org

P R O D U C T I O N S

Because of these advances, newworlds have opened in medicine andeducation. THE SECRET LIFE OF THEBRAIN, a five-part public televisionseries, co-produced by David GrubinProductions Inc., and Thirteen/WNETNew York, will help to expand under-standing of the brain’s overarching rolein our lives, from infancy to old age.

WELCOME TO THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN

(continued)

IN THE PAST 12 YEARS, the field of neuroscience has advanced more thanat any time in history. In part, this is due totechnological breakthroughs in viewing the brain —among them, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI),Computer Assisted Tomography (CAT scans), andPositron Emission Tomography (PET scans). Therealso have been new insights into how neurons andchemicals create messaging systems more complexand enduring than any computer yet invented.

ADULT GUIDE

WELCOME TO THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN (continued)

These materials are designed to furtherthat goal. You can use them along with thetelevision series in adult education semi-nars. They will find eager audiencesamong parents, adults with aging parents,and professionals in related fields. Theirmodular format utilizes individual cardsthat can be combined in a variety of ways,depending on the topics you wish toexplore. You can use them to learn about arange of fascinating brain-related issues,among them early childhood development,learning problems, cognitive and emotionalgrowth in adolescence, addiction, mooddisorders, stroke, degenerative diseasesof the brain, caregiving and the develop-ment and enhancement of memory andwisdom in aging.

For Facilitators:

Using These Materials We suggest that you preview the

television programs and review this

guide. Then select segments of the

programs and use them with the

appropriate topic cards.

The cards have been organized in sets,one set for each of the five programs.

Additional cards address specific issuesraised by the programs: the brain’s plasticity, the debate over nature vs.

nurture, new understandings of addiction

and cravings, hope on the horizon fortreating memory disorders from “seniormoments” to Alzheimer’s disease, andhow-to cards on caregiving and on run-ning a brain-related workshop. We havealso added Resources and a Glossary.

Mix the cards as you like. If you are giving a workshop to parents, for example,you may wish to use the early childhood

development cards, along with the essay,“Nature, Nurture and theIndividual Child.”

If you want to study diseases of aging,you may wish to use the program cardsfor Program Five, “The Aging Brain:Through Many Lives,” as well as theessay cards, “Minding Your Memory” and“The Remarkable Plasticity of the Brain.” A companion book to the series also hasbeen written by neuropsychiatrist RichardRestak, M.D.

The Table of Contents offers you a variety of topics to choose from, all ofthem written by experts in these fields.The cards include background information,profiles, topics for discussion, and groupand individual activities that can be conducted in your workshop sessions or at home.

We suggest that you photocopy the appropriate cards — as well as theResources, Glossary and illustration of the brain on the back cover of this package — the week before your workshop session and distribute them to participants.

Web SiteThirteen/WNET New York has also devel-oped a Web site. Go to www.pbs.org/brain,where you will find interactive and educa-tional features such as a 3-D Brain, MindIllustrations, video clips, links, publicitytools and information on the national out-reach campaign. This Guide, as well asone for teens, appears on the site in PDFformat, and may be freely downloaded.

We hope that THE SECRET LIFE OF THEBRAIN and these education materials offeryou valuable information and new worldsto explore.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

www.pbs.org/brain

ADULT GUIDE

Introductionby David Grubin, Executive Producer

Program OneThe Baby’s Brain: Wider Than the Sky

A What’s Going On: Fetal and Infant Development

B Elizabeth Traphagen: Portrait of a Cuddled Preemie

C Brain Health in the First YearsD Discussion Questions and Activities

Program TwoThe Child’s Brain: Syllable From Sound

A What’s Going On: Childhood Development

B Russell Train: A Portrait of Childhood Dyslexia

C Brain Health in ChildhoodD Discussion Questions and Activities

Program ThreeThe Teenage Brain: A World of Their Own

A What’s Going On: Adolescent Development

B Courtney Hale Cook: A Portrait of Adolescent Schizophrenia

C Brain Health in AdolescenceD Discussion Questions and Activities

Program FourThe Adult Brain: To Think By Feeling

A What’s Going On: Adult Brain Development

B Lauren Slater: A Profile of Healing from Depression

C Brain Health in AdulthoodD Discussion Questions and Activities

Program FiveThe Aging Brain: Through Many Lives

A What’s Going On: Brain Development in Aging

B Kent Miller: A Profile of Stroke RecoveryC Brain Health in the Later Years D Discussion Questions and Activities

Essays 1. The Remarkable Plasticity

of the Brain

2. Nature, Nurture and the Individual Child

3. Addictions and Cravings

4. Minding Your Memory

5. Caregivers’ Needs Across aCognitive Lifetime

Resources

Glossary

WorkshopHow to Organize a Workshop

This Guide contains 21 double-sided cards, a set of two for each of the fiveprograms, six essay cards, and cards for a workshop, resources and a glossary.These cards may be copied and used as needed.

www.pbs.org/brain

ADULT GUIDE

This guide was produced by Thirteen/WNET New York

Educational Resources CenterVice President & Director, Education: Sarah Frank

EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING DEPARTMENT

Publisher: Robert A. Miller

Editor: Marilyn Webb

Associate Editor: Christina L. Draper

Designer: B.T. Whitehill

Assistant Editor: Jennifer Toro

Research: Cameron Cole, Jesse Dillon

Writers Sandra Ackerman

Mari Cossaboom

Elizabeth Lasley

Richard Restak, M.D.

Marilyn Webb

Advisors Catherine Didion, Association for Women in ScienceBernice Grafstein, Ph.D., Society for NeuroscienceJ. Anthony Movshon, Ph.D., New York UniversityAnna Perez-Pelaez, Association of Science-Technology CentersRichard Restak, M.D.Tom Smart, Boys and Girls Clubs of AmericaDr. Barbara S. Spector, Association for Education of Teachers of ScienceMaria Sosa, American Association for the Advancement of ScienceMolly Weinburgh, Association for the Education of Teachers in Science

For THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN series

Executive Producer: David Grubin

Producers: David Grubin, Ed Gray, Tom Jennings,

Michael Penland, Amanda Pollack

Co-producers: Sarah Colt, Annie Wong

Associate Producer: Jenny Carchman

For ThirteenExecutive in Charge: William R. Grant

Executive Producer: Beth Hoppe

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN is a co-production ofDavid Grubin Productions, Inc., and Thirteen/WNET New York in association with Docstar.

Major funding for THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN is provided by theNational Science Foundation.

Corporate funding is provided by Pfizer Inc and The Medtronic Foundationon behalf of Medtronic, Inc. Funding is also provided by Park Foundation,PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Dana Foundation, andThe Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.

Copyright © 2002Educational Broadcasting CorporationAll Rights Reserved

Sandra Ackerman, a former managing editor of American Scientist, is theauthor of Discovering the Brain. (Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine,National Academy of Sciences, National Academy Press, 1990.)

Mari Cossaboom is the Director of Outreach for Thirteen/WNET New York.

David Grubin, winner of eight Emmy Awards, is the Executive Producerof the PBS series, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN.

Elizabeth Lasley, a science writer, is the co-author of The End of StressAs We Know It: The Connections Between Stress, Health and the Brain.(Washington, D.C.: The Dana Press and Joseph Henry Press, 2002.)

Richard Restak, M.D., is the author of The Secret Life of the Brain, thecompanion book to the series. (Washington, D.C.: The Dana Press and Joseph Henry Press, 2001.)

Marilyn Webb, a former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, is the author of The Good Death: The New American Search to Reshape the End of Life. (New York: Bantam Books, 1999.)

PROGRAM SCHEDULING

Programs are scheduled to be broadcast on the dates indicated below. Broadcast times, however, may vary slightly from area to area. Please check your local listings.

PROGRAM BROADCAST DATES

The Baby’s Brain: Wider Than the Sky January 22, 2002The Child’s Brain: Syllable From Sound January 22, 2002The Teenage Brain: A World of Their Own January 29, 2002The Adult Brain: To Think by Feeling February 5, 2002The Aging Brain: Through Many Lives February 12, 2002

Videotaping Rights

You have the right to tape the programs and play them for instructional purposes for one year after the original broadcast.

Video Ordering Information

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN is available from PBS Video by calling 1.800.PLAY.PBS.

www.thirteen.org

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

With the help of new imaging technologies, sci-entists can penetrate the brain’s tough protec-tive shell to see the living brain inside. Advancesin molecular biology enable scientists to manipu-late genes within living cells and map the cre-ation of neurons.New dyes andmicroscopes offersurreal, beautifulviews of braincells in action,growing connec-tions and firingelectrochemicalsignals. Our goalin producing THESECRET LIFE OFTHE BRAIN wasto make this revo-lution accessibleand relevant to awide audience.

THECENTRALCONCEPT,the theme that wewould pursue inevery program, emerged slowly. When webegan research, exploring brain functions suchas memory, vision, and cognition, we were call-ing the series SECRETS OF THE BRAIN. But wesoon learned that many neuroscientists werelooking at the brain from the point of view of itsdevelopment. When we are young, our brainsare at their most plastic — a real advantage dur-

ing a period when we have to learn as quickly aswe can in order to equip ourselves to survive.But contrary to what was once generallybelieved, the brain continues to evolve andchange over the course of our lifetimes.

AND SO, the brain and its capacity for changebecame the central theme of our series, and

with this theme camea new title, THESECRET LIFE OF THEBRAIN, with anemphasis on “life.”We organized theseries into five pro-grams — the brain ofthe baby, the child,the teenager, the adultand the brain in oldage. Each program isframed by a question:

� How does thebrain grow from asperm and egg intothe most complexthing in the universe?

� How does a childacquire language?

� Is there a connec-tion between brain

development during adolescence, and theonset of schizophrenia and the prevalence ofteenage addiction?

� How does an adult find the balance betweenreason and emotion?

� Why do some people remain energetic andvital in old age, while others do not?

www.pbs.org/brain

Introduction

The Secret Life of the Brain by David Grubin

Executive Producer, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN

MORE HAS BEEN LEARNEDabout the brain in the last ten yearsthan in the previous one hundred.

DAVID GRUBIN

(continued)

PHO

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THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAINexplores the answers to these questions bytelling stories about the brain’s remarkable lifejourney. In our first program we meet a babywho was born with a cataract in her eye. In orderto develop normally, she needs to have the lensclouding her vision removed as soon as possible.The visual areas of the brain require the stimula-tion of electrical pulses generated by light strik-ing the retina. If the brain cells responsible forvision do not form the proper connections earlyon, they never will. Without anoperation in the first fewmonths of her life, thisbaby risks blindness inthe clouded eye,even if she has thecataract removedlater, regardlessof the subse-quent health ofthe eye itself.

The cataract story expresses alarge idea: ourbrains and the worldaround us are involvedin a delicate duet; ourbrains change and adapt inresponse to the environment act-ing upon our genetic endowment. But develop-ment doesn’t follow a rigid or pre-set course:The brain consists of many different systems,each developing at its own pace and in its ownway, evolving gradually throughout our lives.

OF COURSE, THIS IS GOOD NEWS forparents. Eager to encourage the intellectual andemotional development of our children, someparents worry obsessively about providing“developmentally correct stimulation” andearnestly turn to science for guidance. Becauseof one well-publicized but misconstrued studysuggesting the beneficial effects of Mozart onthe brain, for example, eighteenth century har-

monies drift sweetly over the cribs of thousandsof infants, with no real evidence that music doesanything for the baby other than to soothe awell-meaning parent’s anxiety.

THE BEST ADVICE scientists have for parentsis just to relax. The first years of life are only thebeginning of a slow process of growth thatfathers and mothers can encourage by simplyspending time enjoying their children. Whatonce used to be referred to as “critical periods”

of development scientists now call “sen-sitive periods.” We humans

could hardly have survived aslong as we have if our

species were solelydependent upon spe-

cific experiences atspecific times.

As extreme as thecataract story is,the early years ofdevelopment are

like building a foun-dation for a house;

without the founda-tion, the house cannot

stand, but constructiondoesn’t stop there. During

those first years, the infant braindevelops very quickly. Language, cognition, per-ception, and the major behavioral systems arebeing put into place. But it is the fine-tuning ofthese systems over a lifetime that ultimatelyaccounts for who we are.

Now that THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN isfinished, what strikes me most of all is not onlyhow much scientists have discovered in just thelast decade, but also how much there still is toknow. Pondering the immensity and power ofthis small, crinkled organ weighing less thanthree pounds, poet Emily Dickinson tells us:“The Brain is wider than the sky … The Brain isjust the weight of God.”

www.pbs.org/brain

Introduction(continued)

Adapted from the Introduction to The Secret Life of the Brain by Richard Restak, M.D.

THE SECRET LIFE OF THEBRAIN

AProgram Onewww.pbs.org/brain

A baby’s brain starts formingsoon after conception with a fewcells at the tip of the embryo. Bythe seventh month of gestationthere are 100 billion cerebral nervecells organized into more than 40systems to direct language, move-ment, seeing and hearing.

Eighteen weeks:

First flutterings of movement.

� The synapses that allowmovement begin form-ing as early as fiveweeks into gestation. Bythe eighteenth week,the mother-to-be canfeel the fetus in motion.

� The fetus can move itslimbs and fingers, hic-cup, stretch, yawn,swallow, and suck itsthumb by the end of thefirst trimester. Althoughthese are reflex actions, they setthe neural stage for purposefulmovement after birth.

� By the second trimester the fetuscan move its feet against the wallsof the uterus in a walking patternand touch its hands to its face,body and umbilical cord.

Third trimester:

Responsive movement.

� All the sensory pathways aredeveloping. The fetus can respondto its mother’s voice, to loudsounds and to bright lights.

� By the last two weeks of gestationit can react — through the amniot-ic fluid — to the sweet and bittertastes of the food its mother eats.

� The cerebral cortex, where thesestimuli come together into mean-ingful images, can function only in

a limited way. Someresearchers think theharsh lights, loud nois-es, and bustle of aneonatal unit may con-tribute to learning diffi-culties that preemiesmay have later on (seeELIZABETH TRAPHAGEN’sstory).

Newborns:

Babies recognize their mothers’

faces and prefer the human face to

any other sight.

� Vision is their major source ofinformation. At about a month,babies learn to stare at something.

� By three months, they can watchtheir hands and follow a movingobject.

� Gender differences become appar-ent. Girls respond more to socialstimuli — voices and faces — andthey’re more prone to sobbingwhen another infant cries. Boysare fussier; they startle more easi-ly and are more irritable. Emotionalcenters in the brain develop soon-er in girls, while boys show moreactivity in areas associated withspatial ability and mathematics.

One year:

Babies begin to walk and talk.

� Babies’ brains increase in size andcomplexity, helping them developgreater control over the objectsand people in their environment.

� Myelin, a fatty coating that speedsnerve activity, is forming along thenerve cells.

� The frontal cortex of the brain —the area associated with the abilityto regulate and express emotion,and to think and plan — is show-ing increasing activity.

� Motor areas of the brain developin a head-to-toe fashion. Firstbabies learn to suckle, then to turntheir heads and smile, then toreach with their hands, and finallyto use their legs to crawl andwalk.

� Conversation between babies andothers shapes the language areasof the brain.

� By about eight to ten months,babies show signs of understand-ing words.

As a human grows from a fetus to a toddler, howdoes its brain develop?Program One uses twocase studies to explorethis question and toexamine the ways inwhich brain cells are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. By applying the latest brain research,scientists help the babiesin these case studiesdevelop normally.

Fetal and Infant Developmentby Elizabeth Lasley

WHAT�S GOING ON

The Baby’s Brain:Wider Than the Sky

PROGRAMDESCRIPTION

PHO

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BProgram OneThe Baby’s Brain: Wider Than the Skywww.pbs.org/brain

The contractions began on Memorial Day while KathyTraphagen, her husband Terry and their six-year-olddaughter, Allison, were eating hamburgers at a neighbor-hood picnic. Kathy was only 25 weeks pregnant. Herdoctor ordered her hospitalized on complete bed rest.For her, there was mainly fear.

Kathy had already lost three babies to miscar-riages. “We’d been going through this for twoand a half years,” Terry says. “We’d start,you know, and then, the.... disappointment.Start. And disappointment.” He and Kathydreaded losing another.

But Elizabeth, born three weeks later,became a “preemie survival miracle.”Recent medical advances in neonatal carehave given the possibility of life to infants asprecarious as 24 weeks old. Elizabethweighed three pounds and was fourteeninches long — all red, with translucent skin,and unnaturally long fingers and toes.

Just two or three decades ago, babies thisyoung and this small generally died. And yet, whilethey are now beating those grim odds, preemies oftenhave learning problems that can plague them for years.While immature lungs may no longer be a problem, theimmature brain still is.

“We wanted to give Elizabeth a chance to be equal to her peers,” Kathy says. So the Traphagens enrolledher in an experimental program — run by Dr. HeideliseAls, at Children’s Hospital in Boston — designed toreduce stimuli that might overwhelm her stillunderdeveloped brain.

Elizabeth spent the nearly three months, until she wouldhave been born, living in an environment that simulatedKathy’s womb. Doctors turned the lights down so shecould open her eyes, even if she could only barely see.They kept noise at a minimum. They helped her to curlher legs, to pull her arms into a fetal position, and tobring her fingers to her mouth — as she would have inthe womb — because all that seemed to soothe her.

And Kathy and Terry held her daily, putting her on theirchests, skin to skin, cuddling her as if she were a babykangaroo. Elizabeth seemed to recognize Kathy. She

turned her little head when Kathy spoke, curled anduncurled her tiny fingers on Kathy’s hospital gown, andgrew calm as she felt Kathy’s heart beat, her breathing,her touch. And soon, when her little body was able,Elizabeth’s digestive system began to “rev up” withminiature bottles of breast milk.

A premature baby’s brain cannot easily coordinate suchbasic functions as eating, sleeping and breathing. It hasneither the ability to focus or sort the important fromnon-important stimuli of a full term baby, nor the essen-tial myelin coating that allows brain messages to speedalong. Preemies continue to be hyperactive throughoutlife, unless there is an intervention — like this — to nor-malize brain function early on. A little before whatwould have been her due date, the Traphagens finallybrought Elizabeth home.

A year after Elizabeth’s birth, although she would havebeen only nine months old had she been a full-termbaby, Kathy happily notes,“She is performing as a one-year-old. She’s starting to take steps and say ‘Daddy.’”

Elizabeth still sees a physical therapist. Dr. Als tests herregularly against her one-year-old peers. The good news:She is performing in the accelerated range. “Becauseshe was so early, I think we’ve acquired some perspec-tive on that ‘social pressure for children to achieve.’ Theimportant things are her being happy and healthy,”Kathy says. “The rest will all come.”

ELIZABETH TRAPHAGEN:Portrait of a Cuddled Preemie by Marilyn Webb

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN

Don’t go overboard. The best way to stimulate yourunborn baby is with your own voice, by talking, reading andsinging. There are no gimmicks that will increase a child’sintelligence while still in the womb. In fact, some neonatalspecialists believe that over-stimulation during gestationcan send brain development off on a wrong track.

Eat wisely. Good nutrition during pregnancy is importantfor healthy brain development. Eat a balanced diet contain-ing adequate protein, complex carbohydrates, and 300 calo-ries over your usual intake. Supplementing your diet withthe B vitamin, folic acid, has been shown to reduce the riskof neural tube defects (see Hot Fact below).

Swear off alcohol. Children born to alcoholic mothersoften show a pattern of deformities, known as fetal alcoholsyndrome, including low birth weight, slow growth, brainand skull abnormalities, and learning and behavioral difficul-ties. This condition is perhaps the easiest defect to pre-vent: Don’t drink during pregnancy. No “safe” limits havebeen determined.

Avoid stress, or try to manage it. The brain managesstress through hormonal responses that ultimately reach

the fetus. Some research shows that if mothers areseverely stressed during pregnancy, their babies can be over-reactive. Reaction to stress is individual, though,and pregnancy hormones can also buffer mother and child against the outside world. Don’t worry if you have to keep working. Just try to find ways to keep your stress levels low.

Follow your instincts. Despite the plethora of smart toyson the market, the best type of stimulation for your baby isjust the type that mothers and adults love to give: cuddling,singing, rocking, touching. Research shows that a moth-er’s singsong, up-and-down “baby talk” helps the childlearn language.

Nutrition after birth. When it comes to feeding a new-born, experts agree that “breast is best.” But high-qualityformulas are also a good choice, and cuddling while bottle-feeding provides the same level of physical comfort. Afterweaning, make sure that your baby gets an adequateamount of fat in his diet! Babies need fat for their brainsto develop properly since it aids the production of myelin,the sheath that surrounds nerve cells and helps them totransmit signals quickly.

By taking supplements of thecommon B vitamin, folic acid,women can greatly reduce theirchances of having a baby with abrain abnormality called a neuraltube defect, which currentlyaffects about 4,000 pregnancies ayear in the United States.

This defect occurs when theneural tube, a structure in thedeveloping embryo that becomesthe brain and spinal cord, does notclose properly. In the most com-mon condition, spina bifida, thespinal cord and back bones areaffected; results can include paral-ysis, lack of bowel and bladdercontrol and learning disabilities. Ina condition called anencephaly,

the brain fails to develop; affectedbabies are either stillborn or dieshortly after birth.

Studies throughout the 1980sand 1990s have shown that folicacid can prevent up to 70 percentof neural tube defects, though howit works is still unclear. Folic acidplays a key role in chemical reac-tions throughout the body includingthe manufacture of DNA, thegenetic material from which allcells and tissues are made.

The U.S. Public HealthService recommends that womenof childbearing age take 400 micro-grams of folic acid daily. Becausethe neural tube closes 24-28 daysafter conception (before most

women even know they are preg-nant), and because half of all preg-nancies are unplanned, all womenof childbearing age should takefolic acid whether they are tryingto conceive or not. This amountcan be found in vitamin supple-ments or in some very highly forti-fied breakfast cereals (check thelabels).

As of 1998, all enriched grainproducts in the U.S. have been for-tified with 140 micrograms of folicacid per 100 grams of grain. A 2001study published in the Journal ofthe American Medical Association(JAMA) shows a 19 percentdecline in neural tube defects afterfortification began.

CProgram OneThe Baby’s Brain: Wider Than the Skywww.pbs.org/brain

Brain Health in the First Yearsby Elizabeth Lasley

Hot Fact: Vitamin B Helps Prevent Brain Defects

DProgram OneThe Baby’s Brain: Wider Than the Skywww.pbs.org/brain

1. A newborn baby is bombarded with sights, sounds,smells and sensations; yet the cortex — which has to makesense of all this information — has only barely begun tofunction. Before two to four months of age, babies can’teven detach their gaze at will. Can you think of times whennothing you did would get a baby to stop crying? Is it possi-ble that the swing, the music, the jiggling, were actuallyover-stimulating the baby even more? On the other hand,babies also crave novelty. What’s an appropriate level ofstimulation, and how does your baby tell you, “Enoughalready?”

2. In babies, memory equals recognition. What early formsof recognition have you noticed in your child? Have you seenany reactions to music that you played or sang while preg-nant? When did your baby first begin looking for droppedtoys? This is a sign of object permanence — the baby’sawareness that something out of sight still exists — which

emerges some time after six months, when the prefrontalcortex has begun to develop. How about the first signs ofstranger anxiety — when the baby noticeably shows prefer-ence for parents and other familiar folks? This is when trueattachment begins, and it means that the baby’s frontal lobesare developing as well.

3. Although there are slight differences in brain develop-ment between baby boys and girls, cues from the family envi-ronment that influence gender differences can’t be ruled outeven for the most “enlightened” and egalitarian parents.What signals do you give, or plan to give, your children?Does Daddy play more roughly with the boys than with thegirls? Does each of you spend more time with a child of thesame sex? Have you noticed any differences in memory orin emotional behavior among your children, even in the firstyear? Are the boys more fussy and more prone to anger?Do the girls hit their “memory milestones” sooner?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

While there is nothing as meaningful to a baby as a par-ent’s love, attention and warmth, the following activitiesmay enhance brain development, stimulating the child’ssenses to form and strengthen neural pathways in the audi-tory and visual cortexes.

1. One-and-a-half to three months: A baby is learn-ing to smile. To help him practice focusing, play trackinggames. Move your head slowly from side to side. At first hemay be able to follow only large objects moving slowlythrough a limited range, but soon he will be tracking evensmall, speedy movements. He uses his vision (and hearingand other senses) to form memorized images. These imagescreate new neural pathways in the brain, which become thefoundation for future memory and learning. Recommended:An unbreakable mirror in the crib and mobiles with highlycontrasting colors and patterns.

2. Nine to fourteen months: A baby is learning toexplore. Find an empty container with a lid that she caneasily open (cigar box, egg carton) and put a safe house-hold item or toy inside. She will enjoy opening the lid to seewhat is there. Change the item daily and let her discover the

new plaything for the day, rewarding her natural curiosityand encouraging her to keep exploring. This is how shelearns.

3. Six to twelve months: A baby is industriouslyexploring the larger world.

a. Give him a cabinet he is allowed to open, one filled withplastic kitchen food containers, pots and pans.

b. Place several different containers (for example, a shoe-box, basket, plastic-ware or cardboard milk carton) andseveral choices of things that can rattle inside a container (blocks, jar lids, tennis balls) on the floor. Helphim to put these together as noisemakers. As he shakeshis creation, describe in words the sound he’s hearing,say “brushing,“ ”jingling,” “shuffling.” Then help himtransfer the contents into a container made of someother material, so he can hear the difference.

c. Play games such as peek-a-boo, hide and seek, or dra-matic play with animal figures leaving and returning.These focus on the concept of object permanence, rein-forcing the idea that objects and people continue toexist even when we can’t see them.

A C T I V I T I E S

AProgram Twowww.pbs.org/brain

Dr. Benjamin Spock, theworld-famous pediatrician, oncecalled a child’s development “themost ordinary and extraordinary onearth.” Although it has occurred bil-lions of times before, no two brainsdevelop in exactly the same way.

Twelve to eighteen months:

Toddlers begin to develop memo-

ry. They love repetition.

� By 12 months, a keymemory area hasmatured enough sothat toddlers can imi-tate — and likely recall— events that occurredweeks, even monthsearlier.

� Toddlers never seem totire of hearing thesame story or throwinga ball. Repetitionstrengthens neural con-nections, helping chil-dren reinforce their skills, teachingthem to pay attention to what isnew and to process more complexinformation.

� As their synapses grow stronger,the neural pathways becomeincreasingly well trodden so theyexpend less effort with eachattempt.

Eighteen to twenty-four months:

I, Me, Mine.

� The child develops a sense of selfand, sometimes, selfishness.

� Self-control comes with time asthe frontal lobes mature. Beforethis happens, a toddler can’t waitfor something he wants and maytake it from another child.

� Toddlers are just beginning to learnthe concept of sharing.

Two to three years old:

Children display independ-

ence and take a more active

role in everyday tasks.

� Trillions of synapses arenow produced as the brainlaunches a child into twovital projects — to find hisplace in the world and to become competent atdaily life.

� The brain’s main job in childhood isto sort out which synapses tokeep and which to discard.

� Synapses that are used oftengrow stronger, while those littleused become candidates for elimi-nation.

� Because the child’s own experi-ences help determine whichsynapses will be strengthened ordiscarded, every brain is a uniqueproduct.

Three to six years old:

Children begin to sketch patterns

for future adult behavior, including

responsibility, self-respect, atti-

tudes about work, even what to

expect in a mate.

� These patterns — synapses con-necting specific neurons — comedirectly from what a child seesaround her.

� As she gains experience, the earli-est circuits may be modified,reversed, or even overlain by newones. Nevertheless, the originalbrain patterns receive enough useto keep them ready to shape reac-tions to challenges or circum-stances that may arise evendecades later.

Six to twelve years old:

The urge toward independence

from parents is joined by an

increasing need to be like

one’s peers.

� The wish to be like “everyoneelse” represents an importantmilestone in brain development.

� It is preparing children for a life-time of groups — family, play-mates, schoolmates, co-workers,neighbors — by tuning certainneurons to patterns of speech,appearance, and general attitude.The human brain is keyed to rec-ognize emotions on the humanface, which is the foundation forsuch adult skills as tact and coop-eration.

Program Two of THE SECRET LIFE OFTHE BRAIN exploreshow experience shapesthe remarkably plasticbrains of children as they encounter language. First theylearn to speak andunderstand speech and then, when they are slightly older, they tackle the complex skill of reading.

Childhood Developmentby Sandra Ackerman

WHAT�S GOING ON

The Child’s Brain:Syllable From Sound

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Eight-year-old Russell Train is a beautiful child: tow-headed,with huge blue eyes and an engagingly impish smile. Hewould prefer to spend his summer watching TV and playingNintendo. Instead, he is sitting at a table with a reading spe-cialist, moving tiny colored blocks into small rows to buildwords. The blocks represent what the mouth does with let-ter-sounds — such as “lip-popper” for the letters ‘B’ or ‘P,’or “tongue-toucher,” for ‘L.’ Russell is about to go into thirdgrade but he is having trouble reading.

“I have this thing in my brain that’s called dyslexia,” Russelllater explains, “It means... I don’t know... something in thebrain. I don’t really know much about it.” What Russell doesknow is that reading was easy when he first started,because the words were short and simple. But when theystarted getting bigger, figuring them out became difficult.

After he was diagnosed, Russell’s parents — Bowdoin andMarjory Train — enrolled him in a program called Lindemood-Bell, a center near Washington, D.C. Dyslexia can refer to anumber of different processing disturbances in the brain, butspecialists said Russell’s problem was auditory.

“Many children who have dyslexia really never understandthe concept that there are several sounds in words,”explains Guinevere Eden, a neurologist at Georgetown

University Hospital. “For example, in the word ‘cat,’ thesounds are ‘ca,’ ‘ah,’ ‘t’ and we just blend them all together.When we grow up speaking, we just say them as onesound, but when we have to map that sound into print,there are actually three sounds that make up the word‘cat.’”

Reading requires the brain to coordinate high-level process-es. First, it must recognize visual shapes as meaningful let-ters. Then, it must assign sounds, then meaning, to these

letters; finally, it must make sense of the combined let-ters as a word. All the while, it must keep these

sound-letters mentally “on-line” long enough todecode a full sentence.

Children with dyslexia like Russell’s are otherwisequite smart, but they have a hard time joining theletter-sounds. They also have trouble holding dif-ferent sounds in their short-term memories longenough to put them together as words.

At Lindemood-Bell, reading is broken into itscomponents. Each of the small, colored blocksthat Russell moves on the table represents a dif-

ferent sound-feel in his mouth, giving each lettera specific sound, look and tactile feel. Those

sounds, he then learns, represent letters. By arrang-ing them, he can build words by recognizing and connect-

ing the physically separate sound-blocks.

By the program’s end, Russell saw that his reading andwriting were improving. At first he resisted going, throw-ing tantrums at home and dreading that “it’d be really bor-ing and other things,” he says. “Now it’s not really boring.Once I got the hang of it, it was kind of fun and it waspretty helpful.”

Testing showed that his comprehension had improved aswell. Dr. Eden predicts that brain scans will show increasedactivity in crucial areas of his brain, that his brain will actuallybe altered with this training. “Russell’s a better reader,” Dr.Eden says, but the true test came in the fall. “He still has atutor,” Marjory Train says, “but the program gave him thepush he needed to read in the third grade.”

RUSSELL TRAIN:A Portrait of Childhood Dyslexia by Marilyn Webb

© MARJORY HARDY TRAIN

Possible Snags in Brain

Development:

The vast majority of children areintellectually curious and emo-tionally resilient, but the courseof development does not alwaysrun smoothly. Books and chartsthat give overly detailed time-lines for a typical child’s behaviorcan cause needless alarm in par-ents. Healthy, bright children eachhave their own paces of developmentand most achieve the necessary goals in duetime. Some problems, however, can interfere andmay need professional attention.

Learning disorders:

Dyslexia and attention deficit/hyperactivity

disorders (ADHD)

● Dyslexia refers to, among other things, difficulty inmatching printed letters and words with the soundsof spoken language. At present, one of the mosteffective treatments are programs — like the oneRussell Train is in — that teach children to slowdown and focus on each sound in a word and thenlink the sound with its constituent letters.Meanwhile, researchers continue to work on newapproaches.

● ADHD has the dubious honor of being a disorderwhose very existence is still under debate. Althoughabout five percent of schoolchildren have been diag-

nosed with ADHD, not everyoneagrees on a medical basis for thediagnosis. Some experts viewADHD as a behavioral disorder.Other experts use medical imag-ing to pinpoint three siteswhere ADHD brains differ fromthe norm. Another research

team recently identified a particu-lar gene in which a minute variation

may be linked to the disorder. Whileit is controversial, the best-known treat-

ment for ADHD today is the anti-hyperactivitydrug methylpheniade (sold as Ritalin®). More effec-tive therapies with fewer side effects will likelybecome available as more is known about the biolog-ical and psychological factors of this disorder.

Mood disorders.

Depression and anxiety are serious brain illnessesthat can persist for months or years. Until recently,they often went unnoticed in the young. If leftuntreated they can interfere with crucial periods ofbrain development by draining a child’s energy,scrambling the sustained attention that is so impor-tant during the school years, and blocking out bothsmall and large pleasures in life. Nowadays mosthealthcare professionals are trained to recognize earlywarning signs, to help worried parents find informa-tion, and to discuss possible therapies. Mood disor-ders respond well to treatment.

The simple expression “Iknow how you feel” represents aremarkable achievement. A childmust come to realize not only thatshe is a person, but also that thereare other people in the world, and— the real breakthrough — thatother people can have the samefeelings she has. All this happensby about age three!

The ability to recognize emo-tions on a face is built into the cir-

cuitry of the brain. It paves the wayfor the kinds of social groupingthat helped shape human evolutionand still characterizes humanbehavior today. Also, the ability toacknowledge and give expressionto another person’s feelings isprobably uniquely human.

Empathy does not emergefull-blown, but must be helpedalong both by example and instruc-tion. Adults do this unconsciously

when they say, “Remember howyou felt a little while ago when Benwouldn’t give up the puzzle youwanted? Well, when you grabbedthe truck from Jane, you made herfeel sad and angry too.” Afterthese early lessons, children growin empathy more from the exam-ples they observe in the adultsaround them than from any amountof direct instruction.

Hot Fact: Empathy is Partly Built-In/Partly Taught

Brain Health in Childhood by Sandra Ackerman

CProgram TwoThe Child’s Brain: Syllable From Soundwww.pbs.org/brain

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1. Think of a child who you know. What are some of thefeatures of her emerging sense of empathy that you can see?How did it develop? How can you recognize it? What can youdo to further encourage it?

2. Recent scientific research suggests that boys and girlsdiffer not just physically, but mentally, temperamentally andpsychologically. From your own experience, do you think thisis true? How is it expressed? No one has yet figured out howmuch gender differences are built into the brain by thechild’s genes and how much comes from parental attitudes

and cultural norms. How much importance would you assignto each of these two factors? Do you think they work inmore or less the same way in all children? What might families do to encourage or discourage gender-specificbehavior? And how healthy do you think that would be?

3. Do you think that attention deficit disorder is over-diagnosed or under-diagnosed in children? Does medicatingchildren interfere with their natural development or help themto behave in a more socially appropriate way? Do you thinkthere might be other solutions? What might you suggest?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

We’ve all heard the doctors and psychologists say, “Readto your baby! Talk to your baby often!” In addition to theemotional focus and cuddling involved, here are someideas for stimulating language development in toddlers.

1. Loading and Dumping

How to play: Once a baby knows how to pick up a varietyof small toys or blocks (usually starting at about eightmonths), you can show her how to drop them one by oneinto a large plastic cup or pail. Offer running commentary:“Now we’re putting the blue block in the cup . . .” Next, lether dump them out and start all over again.

What it teaches: Labeling and cause-and-effect. Advancingfrom chewing on or randomly shaking an object to tryingsomething new with it is an important step toward languagedevelopment, the beginning of understanding the relation-ship between actions and objects. Later, toddlers will beginto use two-word “action-object” phrases, for instance“drop ball” or “more milk.”

2. Communication

a. Physically get down to the toddler’s eye level instead oflooking down at him. Make eye contact when talking.Place yourself face to face with him.

b. Use every opportunity to label objects and events — inthe grocery store, as you drive or ride on the bus, while

you look at picture books — naming the things he isseeing. Point out vehicles or signs of different colors orsizes; label those foods or toys that he is familiar with.

c. Narrate daily events such as the steps in changing adiaper or in taking a bath. A child will repeat thesewords, each time becoming more proficient at using andpronouncing them. Expand on what your toddler is say-ing by labeling actions, feelings and so on.

d. Between 15 and 18 months, babies will begin to enjoylanguage games that ask them to identify things, suchas: “Where’s your ear?” and “Where is Mommy?” Theirvocabulary will grow quickly, but their pronunciationisn’t likely to keep pace. Resist the temptation to correctpronunciation; most babies mispronounce their words.Instead, emphasize the correct pronunciation in yourresponse.

e. Often, it can be difficult to understand what young chil-dren are trying to express. It is important to convey to achild that you are very interested in what she has tosay, but that you are having trouble understanding her.It can be tempting to pretend you understand the child,or to ignore what the child is trying to communicate.This does not result in a learning experience for you orfor the child. Simply put, the child has not successfullycommunicated, and you have not received his or hermessage.

A C T I V I T I E S

AProgram Threewww.pbs.org/brain

In the teenage years — as inthe prenatal period — our brainsmanufacture excessive numbers ofbrain cells, then prune them to cre-ate specific circuits that will set uplifelong patterns. As the matureinfrastructure takes shape, thebrain begins to show new skillsthat are critical to healthy adult life.

At about age fifteen, adolescents

increase the quest to moderate the

powerful effects of feelings on

behavior.

� The amygdala, importantin processing emotions,grows larger and formsnew connections withother brain regions, lead-ing to greater emotionalintegration.

� The frontal lobes launch ahost of new connectionsto the limbic system, or“emotional brain,” a cir-cuit made up of sites thatallow us to have feelings,to recognize and think about them,and to produce physical and emo-tional responses.

� New synapses continue to form,giving teens more expertise in rec-ognizing their feelings and inchoosing how to deal with them.

As the brain’s “attention system”

matures, adolescents develop

sharper mental focus.

� Brain mechanisms for payingattention, filtering out distractionsand shifting attention from onetopic to another, are housed in theprefrontal cortex, the front part ofthe frontal lobes.

� The maturing of this structuresharpens focus and sustainedattention.

� By adolescence, the brainis carrying on many impor-tant functions at once, butnot all with the same effi-ciency. Some develop-ments occur rapidly inearly adolescence, whileothers take more time andexperience.

Beginning around their

twentieth birthdays, adoles-

cents become better at

thinking ahead and antici-

pating the unexpected.

� This important step comes aboutthrough reorganization in the pre-frontal cortex, the executive centerof the brain.

� The hippocampus continues to addnew synapses, and the strength ofthese connections builds. The hip-pocampus bucks the trend ofpruning synapses during adoles-cence and continues to add ratherthan eliminate — understandablesince its job is memory formation.

� The new synapses boost short-term memory, which allows us tokeep in mind several thoughts atthe same time, even to seethoughts in relation to one anoth-er, for example when we considervarious outcomes before takingaction.

� But when a little-understood pre-disposition towards schizophreniaexists, this reorganization can goawry (see COURTNEY HALE COOK’sstory).

By the early twenties, more

complex and thoughtful behavior

comes into play.

� A wave of growth adds more sig-naling fibers to neurons in the lan-guage centers and to those in the“association” cortex, where thebrain translates data from oursenses into mental perceptions.

� Both new and existing fibersbecome more efficient signaltransmitters by taking on moremyelin, a fatty white insulation.As a result, the speed of signalingamong brain sites increases, andthus the amount and the variety ofinformation that contributes toeach idea or action.

� Deposits of myelin occur long pastadolescence, to an average age ofthirty-two — when people begin toexhibit “maturity.”

New research has shown thatduring puberty, just as thebrain begins to teem with hormones, the prefrontal cortex, the center of reasoningand impulse control, is still awork in progress. For the firsttime, scientists can offer anexplanation of what parentsalready know — adolescence isa time of roiling emotions andpoor judgement. As the brainmatures, teenagers also facespecial risks — from addictivedrugs and alcohol that canhijack the brain, to the chaos ofschizophrenia, which strikesmost often during adolescence.

Adolescent Developmentby Sandra Ackerman

WHAT�S GOING ON

The Teenage Brain:A World of Their Own

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In the eighth grade, Courtney Hale Cook tried out for King Arthur in Camelot in his Iowa school play. He got thepart of Lancelot instead. He came to realize that role wasbetter suited to his personality.

In becoming Lancelot, Courtney imagined this hero wouldtry wrestling. So, by his junior year in high school,Courtney had not only been a hit in the play, he’d alsobecome the second best wrestler on the school team. “Iwas looked up to by a lot of people,” he says. “I wasrespected, well liked, seen as a hero.” But by his senioryear, things had changed.

“When the hallucinations and strange thoughts started, Ino longer felt like myself,” he says. “My hard work took aplunge. I no longer ran or lifted weights. I didn’t do thethings I really enjoyed about wrestling. It freaked out mycoaches because they knew something was going onwith me and nobody knew what. It just got worse andworse.”

Courtney couldn’t concentrate. His grades plummeted. Hesaw green halos around people and gnats in the air. Visualimages seemed reversed, like a photographic negative.What was in the dark appeared two-dimensional; the restseemed to pop out, like an other-worldly 3-D. There was athin line between his dreaming and waking states. And hewas terrified to tell anyone.

“I thought that I was an actor in another dimension whowas playing the role of a schizophrenic named CourtneyCook,” he remembers, “and in actuality I was not livingmy life but I was portraying another dimension

that…ah…in reality, really didn’t exist. And that wasactually a comforting idea because the things I was

going through were so awful that I didn’t want toexperience reality.” His personality suddenly dis-appeared. Courtney was seventeen and scared.

According to neuroscientist Nancy Andreasen,what he describes is typical of the illness.“Schizophrenia effects the highest human func-tions,” she says, “in the parts of us that are mostevolutionarily advanced — our ability to think athigh conceptual levels, our ability to talk.”

Researchers now believe the illness is causedby damage, malfunction or an abnormal growthpattern in the prefrontal cortex, an important

center for the executive mental and physical func-tions of the brain. It is also the area that experi-

ences the most growth during the teenage years,when adolescents are already in hormonal turmoil.

“The tragedy of schizophrenia is that it typically begins ata time when we’re just beginning to discover who weare, to differentiate ourselves from the other kids andfrom our parents,” Dr. Andreasen says. “That’s the taskof being a teenager. So people with schizophrenia developthis devastating blow. It’s a sense of having your identityjust slip between your fingers. You know you’re not thereanymore, you’re losing yourself, you’re losing your mind,you’re losing your connection with your family, yourfriends. Ultimately, you may be losing your future.”

Typically, schizophrenics don’t see a doctor for about ayear. They are afraid that others will make fun of them orlock them up. But before that could happen, Courtneytried to commit suicide. That’s when he finally got help.

Today, after proper medication and extensive psychotherapy,Courtney is finally in college, where he’s begun wrestlingagain. “I’d rather have lived the life I live now,” he says,“confusing and painful as it has been, than never to havebeen born at all.” For him, there’s hope, since the CourtneyCook he once was has begun the long journey back.

COURTNEY HALE COOK: A Portrait of Adolescent Schizophrenia by Marilyn Webb

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN

CProgram ThreeThe Teenage Brain: A World of Their Ownwww.pbs.org/brain

Don’t go overboard.

Adolescents are known for their attraction to anythingnew — a trait that serves them well at a time when somany things are new physically, mentally and in theirrelations with others. This attraction allows them tostep up to challenges that daunt many adults, but itmay also lead them to experiment in ways that cancause grave physical harm.

The adolescent brain is especially vulnerable to

damage, precisely because it is in the midst of a

great bout of pruning and rewiring.

● Signaling circuits created at this time or those that areparticularly active quickly grow stronger. While thebrain is pruning it is also strengthening the synapsesthat are used frequently. These synapses receive rein-forcement and gain a host of connections, making itmore difficult to eradicate these connections later ifthey prove harmful — for instance, if a smoker decidesto quit or a heavy drinker swears off alcohol.

● Using tobacco in the teenage years makes the risk ofdependence dangerous because substance abuse,food disorders or addictions developed at this age aremuch harder to break than those acquired later on inlife. Likewise, adolescent drinkers face a high risk oflong-term alcohol abuse.

● Recreational drugs can hinder the brain’s storage ofnew information.

● The use of steroids in sports not only has powerful andunpredictable effects on physical development but alsomay interfere with the neuronal circuits that play a keyrole in the regulation of mood.

The rapid development of the brain can leave

adolescents especially vulnerable to mood disorders.

● Scientists have not yet found the causes of schizo-phrenia or the physical factors that unleash it, but theyare learning to spot the early signs and to control itseffects more thoroughly and safely.

● Since a predisposition to schizophrenia may appear inadolescence, anything that masks the onset of this ill-ness — for instance, drug or alcohol abuse — maycause delays in treatment, with grave or even life-threatening results.

Of course the highly impressionable adolescent brain

offers great opportunities for setting down beneficial

long-term patterns as well.

● The “use it or lose it” principle is very much in evi-dence now, as the synapses that receive the most usewill gain the most strength and durability.

● The connections that receive little use wither away.

Brain Health in Adolescenceby Sandra Ackerman

For years, scientists believedbrain development began in thewomb and ended in kindergarten.They thought that while learningcontinued for many years more,the brain’s physical structureswere set by about age five.

We now know that braindevelopment is much more dynam-ic. But this knowledge remainedhidden until just a few years agowhen magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) began to yield images of aprofound, system-wide reorganiza-tion of the brain in preparation for

adulthood. “Before the development of

MRI it just wasn’t feasible to followan individual child, so no one hadever been able to watch braindevelopment from childhoodthrough adolescence,” explainsneuroscientist Jay Giedd.

“We knew that the processof overproduction and selectiveelimination [of brain cells andsynapses] happened in the womb,maybe even in the first eighteenmonths of life. But only by follow-ing the same children, by scanning

their brains every two years, werewe able to see the second wave ofoverproduction a full decade later.And that was very surprising.

“What our new findingsshow is that the adolescent brainis far more flexible, far more adapt-able than we had ever realizedbefore,” he says, “that there’senormous potential for changeeven through the teen years.”

These years offer an unsur-passed opportunity for adolescentsto build the brain they will want touse throughout their lives.

Hot Fact: New Images Bring New Insights

DProgram ThreeThe Teenage Brain: A World of Their Ownwww.pbs.org/brain

1. Think about a teenager you know. Do you seesigns of thinking before taking action, working toward along-term goal, perceiving and responding to the feel-ings of others? What do you think influences thatbehavior? What do you think interferes with it? Howmight it be encouraged and reinforced?

2. Think back to your own adolescence in the light ofwhat is now known about brain development. Do anymoments or situations in your memory now seem tocorrespond to the brain processes and transformationthat have been featured in this program? What do youdo now that you didn’t do then? How do you do it?

What might you tell a teenager about the “wisdom” youhave gained?

3. Adolescents in stories, films and situation come-dies appear all too often as stock characters: the freak,the rebel, the victim of moods, or the nerd. Given whatyou now know about ongoing brain development inadolescence, can you name an adolescent figure who,in your view, presents a truer picture of the adolescentexperience? What makes this character a more accu-rate portrayal? Why do you think adolescents aren’tportrayed this way more often?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Just say “No”? Design a hypothetical public-service ad campaign — for TV, radio, magazines,newspapers, public posters, or carried on musicvideos — to discourage drinking, cigarette smoking,use of drugs, all kinds of risky behavior. Which behav-ior(s) would you address first and which later, or not atall? How would you best reach different age groups ofadolescents — or different interest groups (e.g., tele-vision watchers versus Internet surfers)? What wouldyou say? Do you think current prevention campaignsaddress some of the important developmental issues?How would you change them?

2. As the frontal lobes launch a host of new connections, teens become capable of recognizing the feelings they experience and of thinking aboutthem. In order to help them strengthen these emerg-ing pathways they can be encouraged to examine theprocess of their own thinking. Keeping a journal is agreat way to do this. Here are some other things youmight suggest:

a. Record events or things that happened to you orothers during the week.

b. Write down your objective observations — per-ceptions only — without using value-laden words.

c. Notice the feelings these objective events arousedin you — joy, sadness, anger, silliness, embarrass-ment, threat, insecurity, hurt, happiness, giggles.

d. Take notice in your journal of what you inferredfrom both the objective events and from your emo-tional reactions: e.g., “He doesn’t like me.”

e. Ask yourself why you feel that way. What are youassuming?

f. What options or choices might there be for otherways to think about each event?

g. What other actions could you have taken?

Patterns are likely to emerge indicating ways a teenresponds to typical situations. Once aware of the pat-terns, he may find it easier to select a wider range ofdifferent responses.

A C T I V I T I E S

AProgram Fourwww.pbs.org/brain

The adult brain is in itsprime. The fully developed cortex allows for reason, planning,analysis and forbearance, withlife’s emotional color coming from the limbic structures deeper inside the brain.

Adults (ideally) are in charge of

themselves and their actions.

� The prefrontal cortex, the area ofthe cortex behind the forehead,comes into its own, keeping emo-tional impulses in check.

� Brain circuits linking therational cortical areaswith the emotional centers are now fullymyelinated, allowing for better integration ofemotion and reason.

Emotions are an

important part of

decision-making, as our

emotional and “rational”

selves can now interact,

guiding our assessments

of situations and our

ability to make decisions.

� Confronted with something new,the brain does a quick search:Have we been here before? What did we do? What was theoutcome? Memories, emotions,and even physical sensations takeform, influencing many decisionswe make.

� The hub of this process is the ven-tromedial prefrontal cortex.People with damage to this area,from injury or stroke, may not beable to recognize their own emo-tions and may have trouble gaug-ing those of others.

Stress can energize—

or debilitate.

� Elsewhere in the brain, thehypothalamus sets off thefight-or-flight syndrome inresponse to stress.

� This response mobilizesthe heart, lungs, endocrineglands, and immune sys-tem to deal with suddenemergencies.

� But when overactivated — as intimes of emergencies or chronicstress — the stress response canlead to illness. High levels of thehormone cortisol are produced,which is linked to depression and to long-term effects — including memory impairment —on the brain.

� In general, depression strikestwice as many women as men —either because of genetic, hormon-al, psychological, or social factors(see Profile of LAUREN SLATER).

Usually the nervous system and

immune system work together,

but when this balance is upset,

disease can result.

� Multiple sclerosis (MS), a diseasein which the immune system mis-takenly attacks the myelin sheath,appears in adulthood. Many suffer-ers believe there is a link betweenstress and the onset of the dis-ease but among scientists, thejury is still out.

� An estimated 80 percent of newmothers will experience the “babyblues.”

� After a stroke, 20 percent ofpatients will have severe depres-sion, and another 20 percent willexperience milder bouts.Depression is associated withdecreased survival rate.

� Depression can be linked to heartdisease and even to death from aheart attack.

Program Four of THE SECRET LIFE OFTHE BRAIN revealshow the thinking andthe feeling areas ofthe brain interactconstantly, and howour lives are gov-erned by emotionand the interaction ofemotion with ourthought processes.

Adult Brain Developmentby Elizabeth Lasley

WHAT�S GOING ON

The Adult Brain:To Think by Feeling

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Lauren Slater was only ten when she first crashed,although the darkness had begun much earlier, maybeeven when she was just three or four. In truth, she can’tremember a time when that dullness wasn’t there,when a blackness wasn’t her daily shadow.

Severe depression, Lauren says, isn’t just sadness. It’sthe terror, the dread, the slowed thinking, the lack ofconcentration and the numbness. It is absolute alone-ness and pain — so much pain that by the age of tenshe often couldn’t stop sobbing.

“I always had a feeling that my mother hated me,” she says. “That I was repulsive. I used to keep elabo-rate lists of all the things — this is so bizarre, actually —but I had a pad of paper that I would keep in my pocket.I was obviously old enough to write, six, seven, eight.And I would write down all the things I had possiblydone wrong — if I could just figure it out, then I could remedy it.”

Soon Lauren couldn’t eat and she began to cut up herarms. By fourteen, she’d gulped down a near fistful ofpills, trying to commit suicide. That’s when she was hos-pitalized — for the first of five times, all before the ageof twenty-five.

That year, her doctor prescribed Prozac, the first antide-pressant that ever worked for her. It turned Lauren

Slater’s life around. Today, twelve years later, she is aclinical psychologist, author of a best-selling book, and awife and mother. Yet she measures her success only byhow long she’s stayed out of a mental institution.

“To feel depressed… to me… is to feel… dead,” shesays, “that all of the normal things — the coffee

in the morning, the shoes you put on your feet,the work you go to every day, the child youhave, the man you love — all of those thingsare drained of their meaning, or ability to givecomfort. They are no longer even familiar. Youlook at these things — and they are gruesome.That, to me, is how I experience depression.It’s despair because it’s as though I have diedand I am looking at the world, but I can nolonger have access to it, and I can’t explain toanybody where I am.”

Where does depression come from? Genes?The environment? And what works best to

alleviate its symptoms? A pill? Psychotherapy? ToDr. Slater — and to other researchers — today’s bestanswer is biology and environment, chemicals and counseling. “I have a depressed brain,” Lauren says. “I think my brain is grooved or ‘wired’ either to makeme depressed or to give me the proclivities towardsdepression. There is a biochemical basis. But the fact that I had a difficult childhood, well, I think the environment shapes the brain, the same as the brainshapes the environment.”

Prozac and drugs like it raise the levels of the chemicalserotonin in the brain, which causes depression to lift.Why this is, scientists really don’t know. But within fivedays after she took her first pill, Lauren says, all of hersymptoms were gone.

“Depression must do something to your ability to hear,your ability to see, because I could hear things clearly,see things clearly. Colors were different. And there wasthis sense that I could feel. In some ways, depression isthe absence of feeling. Suddenly I could feel pleasure, Icould feel happiness, I could feel sadness. It was awhole new range of possibilities.” And that was whensuccessful psychotherapy could finally really begin.

LAUREN SLATER: A Profile of Healing from Depression by Marilyn Webb

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN

Cherish your connections.

Research shows that isolation is a major factor in ill-ness. People with few social connections or whoreport unsatisfactory relationships with the people intheir lives are more likely to develop stress-related ill-nesses. Studies show impairment of the immune sys-tem in people under chronic stress — thosecaring for a family member withAlzheimer’s disease, for example, or thosein the middle of a divorce. People whoare terminally ill with cancer or AIDSreport less severe pain if they arestrongly connected to family andfriends. In a landmark study in themid-1990s, women with breastcancer who took part in supportgroups lived longer than thosewho did not participate.

Watch your diet.

What does foodhave to do withmood? Potentially,quite a bit. A diethigh in fat raiseslevels of the stress

hormone cortisol, which is implicated in depression,stress-related illnesses, memory disturbance, evenosteoporosis and mature-onset diabetes. Since corti-sol levels are often high to begin with during times ofstress, don’t compound the problem by choosing ice

cream or potato chips as your coping mechanism.

Get treatment for depression.

Everyone experiences highs and lows. But if a persistent low mood is interfering

with your life, see a doctor. Some of the signs of clinical depression are

feelings of guilt, worthlessness oremptiness; feeling that life is not

worth living or thoughts of suicide; restlessness,

irritability or anxiety; an inability to enjoy

things that used tobring pleasure; and an excessivepreoccupationwith physicalsymptoms.

Brain Health in Adulthood by Elizabeth Lasley

CProgram FourThe Adult Brain: To Think by Feelingwww.pbs.org/brain

Scientific evidence shows that expe-rience can rewire the brain even inadults. The brains of violinists, for exam-ple, have more synapses (connections)representing the fingers of the left hand,which articulate the notes by pressingdown on the strings.

Research also shows that when peo-ple “practice” mental health — in theform of psychotherapy — they can makevery real changes in their brains. In oneimaging study, a group of patients with

obsessive-compulsive disorder showed aclear abnormality in a part of the braininvolved with movement.

Some of these patients took medication for ten weeks, after whichanother imaging scan showed that theabnormality was gone. Another group ofpatients, who received psychotherapyonly, showed the same improvement.Whatever changes they had made withtheir therapists’ help had altered theirbrains for the better!

Hot Fact: Experience Can Rewire the Brain

JOAQUIN PALTING/PHOTODISC

1. Do you know people who are prone to depression or ill-ness? Do they have any traits in common, such as poor eat-ing habits, a sedentary lifestyle, a large amount of stresscoupled with an inability to handle it?

How about those people with high confidence levels andgreat attitudes — do they tend to be physically healthy aswell? Of course, not all illness is our own fault, and severemood disorders need medical treatment not just lifestylemodifications. But research is showing that by taking basicsteps to stay healthy we can reduce our risk of many stress-related illnesses and lighten the emotional load of the illness-es that do occur.

Have you experienced long-term changes in mood, or therelief of depression, after adopting such lifestyle improve-ments — or do you know someone who has? What did they do that was of most help?

2. The idea that we can influence our own health by atti-tude and lifestyle has pitfalls. Someone who can’t pull out ofa serious mood disorder without medical help may feel inad-equate or guilty, or — even worse — may neglect medical

treatment in favor of lifestyle and attitude adjustments. Howfar does the diet, exercise and attitude mantra go as soundadvice, and when does it do a disservice by carrying animplication of responsibility to the point of blame? Have youknown or read about anyone who chose to forgo medica-tions in favor of taking charge of her own health, and whatwas the outcome? What is the best way to achieve a bal-ance?

3. Can you make a purely rational decision? Or do youremotions have the final say in the choices you make?

� Think back on some of the important decisions you havemade in the past such as where to attend college, whento have a child, what job offer to accept. Why did youmake the decision you did? Did you go on gut-levelinstinct or was your choice “thought out?” In retrospect,would you qualify this as a good or bad decision?

� Think about your decisions last week, significant and notso significant. When did you think through decisions andwhen did you choose impulsively? Was it problematic tomake decisions based on intuition? On purely rationalgrounds? What were the differences? And what were thedifferences in outcome?

DProgram FourThe Adult Brain: To Think by Feelingwww.pbs.org/brain

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Here are some techniques to

help you manage stress:

1. Exercise helps to release pent-up energy.

2. Deep muscle relaxation techniques (for exam-ple, from Healthwise Handbook: A SelfcareManual for You) may reduce stress and its relat-ed health problems. Tense each muscle for 4 to10 seconds and then give yourself 10 to 20 sec-onds to release and relax. Here is how to tensemuscle groups:

a. Hands by clenching them.

b. Wrists and forearms by extending them andbending your hands back at the wrists.

c. Biceps and upper arms by flexing yourbiceps.

d. Shoulders by slowly shrugging them.

e. Back of the neck by gently pressing the headback. Be careful not to snap it.

f. Front of the neck by slowly touching the chinto the chest.

3. There are a number of self-assessment stresstests online, including those on the followingWeb site:

http://stress.about.com

A C T I V I T I E S

AProgram Fivewww.pbs.org/brain

A mature brain functions differently from a younger one, but the years after “fiftyish” can bea time when mental powers reachtheir peak.

� The older brain shows a slightdecrease in taking in and usingnew information. It may resultfrom a decrease in cells in an areathat regulates our get-up-and-go.

� Once something is learned, however, it sticks.

� The ability to learnnew movements(such as t’ai chi), isjust as fast and com-plete in older peopleas in younger ones.

Other types of

memory may decline

with age.

� Many of us begin tohave momentswhen we can’t come up withnames or phone numbers.Although we may have more trou-ble focusing, we often have betterproblem-solving skills — thanks toa lifetime’s experience.

� In a healthy, older brain, the netloss of brain cells is minimal andthe brain retains its structuralintegrity. Researchers are nowlooking elsewhere to explain mem-ory impairments that may accom-pany aging.

� Brain cells send messages usingchemicals called neurotransmitters.Some researchers believe that the aging brain loses some of thereceptors for a neurotransmitterimportant in memory formation and thet are looking for medications that might reactivate those receptors.

Many people regain

functions lost after stroke

or traumatic brain injury.

� The brain continues torewire and reshape itselfthroughout life — evenwhen damaged — sohealthy brain cells maytake over and new con-nections form.

� Some therapists think that muchof the disability following a strokemay be due to lack of use, and not to nerve cell death in the brain,and that specific exercises mayhelp patients regain use of their affected limbs (see Profile of KENT MILLER).

� The mature brain continues to pro-duce new cells — most notably inthe hippocampus, a structure cru-cial to memory formation.

The older brain is vulnerable

to disease, particularly the

neurodegenerative disorders

(involving death of specific nerve

cells), including Alzheimer’s and

Parkinson’s diseases.

� In Alzheimer’s, abnormal frag-ments of a protein called beta-amyloid build up to form sticky

deposits, known as plaques, especially in areas responsible formemory and spatial navigation(which is why patients forgetwhere they are).

� In Parkinson’s, cells die in an areacrucial to motor coordination,resulting in tremor and haltingmovements.

� Scientists believe genes mayincrease the risk of disease, butthey are also researching environ-mental factors.

The senses can become less reli-

able and may contribute to a feel-

ing of losing one’s “mental edge.”

� About half of those between 75and 85 suffer from cataracts, butvision can be dramaticallyimproved through surgery.

� As many as one third of peopleover 75 may suffer from maculardegeneration, which can some-times be treated with laser therapy.

� Hearing loss is common in aging,especially “high-tone” loss, whichmakes it difficult to hear speech.Hearing aids are the best remedy.

The longstanding belief that we lose vastnumbers of brain cells aswe age turns out to bewrong. As we growolder, many mental functions remain intactand may even providethe brain with advantagesthat form the basis forwisdom. The aging brainis also far more resilientthan was previouslybelieved.

Brain Development in Agingby Elizabeth Lasley

WHAT�S GOING ON

The Aging Brain:Through Many Lives

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Stanley Kunitz: Poet at age 95

BProgram FiveThe Aging Brain: Through Many Liveswww.pbs.org/brain

During the night, Kent Miller tried to get out of bed togo to the bathroom but he couldn’t move. “My leftside,” he recalls, “was completely paralyzed.”

Earlier that day, the Oklahoma Tax Commission had triedto get one of his clients — the owner of a conveniencestore — to pay her sales taxes. Kent was an accountant.“I got in the middle of it, like an idiot,” he says. “Ishould have just told her to pay up.”

Kent’s wife Sharon called an ambulance. As it took himto the hospital, as he lay on the hospital bed, unable toget up or move half his body, his mind kept churning.“At the time, I was only sixty,” Kent says. “I needed towork and make money. What happens to my family,what happens to me? Just a lot of things go throughyour head. You feel worthless. You can’t do the thingsyou used to do. Physically and mentally.”

With a stroke, either bleeding or a clot prevents oxygenfrom reaching a portion of the brain, and the neurons inthat area wither and die. The resulting disabilitiesdepend on the location of those neurons. Kent waslucky. His stroke didn’t affect his mind, his memory, hisspeech or his concentration. But the paralysis of his leftleg and arm drastically changed the way he thoughtabout himself.

“I’m basically a cripple, is what it boils down to. I decid-ed I didn’t want to be crippled for the rest of my life. Inthis particular sickness, at least you’ve got the ability toimprove yourself.” After three frustrating years, Kent

enrolled in a study at the University of Alabama, inBirmingham.

According to Edward Taub, the study’s director,while the neurons in a stroke’s epicenter shrivel and die, those in the surrounding area— called the penumbra — are just in shock.They stop functioning temporarily and then,slowly, they come back to life. The trick forrecovery is to prevent the muscles and jointsfrom degenerating in those areas controlled bythe penumbra so they can resume motionwhen the dormant neurons “wake up.”

If degeneration occurs, the body can still beretrained, and the brain can grow new connec-

tions even years after the initial stroke. Dr. Taubutilizes a method he calls “Constraint-Induced

Movement Therapy.” Simply put, a functioning limbis physically restrained so the weak limb can slowlylearn to function again. Then both limbs can worktogether again as a team.

Kent trained hard with a physical therapist, each daypainful and wrenching. “I was stabbing Play-Doh with afork with my left hand and I kept missing. I used to bepretty coordinated. Used to be,” Kent says. “But, youknow, physically stabbing at it, that’s not as bad as themental thing of missing.” Describing the experience, he breaks into tears.

After two weeks, Kent could cut his own meat with aknife and fork, hold a roll while eating, open a car door,turn on a light switch with either hand and drink from aglass of water. To him, these were all miracles.

“You take for granted you’ve got two arms and two legsand two hands. Being able to use the left hand againmeans a whole lot to me,” he says. “I can focus onthings other than the fact that I’ve had a stroke and thatI can’t use my left side very well. It’s the focus on thefuture. The hope. Being able to do things ‘normal.’”

KENT MILLER: A Profile of Stroke Recoveryby Marilyn Webb

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN

CProgram FiveThe Aging Brain: Through Many Liveswww.pbs.org/brain

Use tools to sharpen your memory. Probably every-one over fifty who forgets a name worries aboutAlzheimer’s disease. But trouble with names is a nor-mal part of aging. They are difficult to rememberbecause they’re arbitrary. You may remember that yournew neighbor is dark-haired, burly and outgoing; theseare integral parts of who he is. But whether his name isHenry, Willy or Stan has no special relevance, exceptperhaps to his parents. ● You can train yourself to remember names simply by

providing some kind of context. One memory aidinvolves visualizing each person you meet in a differ-ent part of your house—Phil in the armchair, Bob andKatherine sitting next to each other on the sofa.

● Simple organizational changes such as setting up aconsistent spot for glasses and keys can simplifythings. If you have difficulty concentrating, try settingaside small blocks of time to do one thing and noth-ing else. For example, don’t try to read a new biogra-phy while watching TV.

Improve your lifestyle to guard against stroke. Eventhough many doctors believe that a surprising amount ofrecovery is possible, strokes account for 30 percent ofall deaths. Among women, they are the second leadingcause of death (heart disease is the first) and claimtwice as many lives as breast cancer. The most com-mon type of stroke occurs when fats and other sub-stances build up in the blood vessels then break off andobstruct the flow of blood to the brain. You can reduceyour chances of having a stroke by following a low-fat,low-cholesterol diet, quitting smoking, keeping alcoholconsumption minimal, and exercising regularly.

An ounce of prevention. There are no magic charmsto ward off Alzheimer’s disease, but some comparativelysimple measures may reduce your risk of developing thedisease. ● Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, it mops up toxic

compounds called free radicals that are produced as aby-product of metabolism. Check with your doctorfirst to be sure of the right dosage for you and thattaking it will not interact negatively with other med-ications such as blood thinners.

● Physical activity also helps keep memory sharp andmay be a factor in long-term brain health (see Hot

Fact, below). Taking care to avoid falls and headinjury is another preventive measure; head traumaincreases the risk of Alzheimer’s.

● Finally, try to avoid, manage or cope with stress.Long-term exposure to stress hormones, though notlinked directly to Alzheimer’s disease, has beenshown to damage nerve cells, particularly in thatmemory nexus, the hippocampus.

On the horizon for Alzheimer’s disease. The femalehormone estrogen has been shown to improve memory.Among postmenopausal women, estrogen replacementlowers the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 54 percent.But don’t go on “the Pill” just yet. Because this hormone increases the risk of breast cancer and cannotbe given to men without feminizing side effects such as breast enlargement, scientists are working on“designer” estrogens that target brain function withoutcausing unwanted side effects.

Brain Health in the Later Years by Elizabeth Lasley

The easiest way to protect your brain is to maintaina program of regular, moderate exercise. Studies show that exercise improves memory and lifts depression, in addition to being good for the heart, lungs and waistline. Experiments in animals reveal that exercise raises levels of substances called trophic factors, which nourishand protect brain cells.

Other animal studies have shown that exercisealso helps raise the number of new cells that thebrain produces. A regular exercise routine providesstructure to the day and brings people out of isola-tion — two important boosters of brain health.Physical activity can also protect older people byimproving muscle tone and balance, which canreduce the risk of falls and head injury.

Hot Fact: Exercise Helps the Brain

DProgram FiveThe Aging Brain: Through Many Liveswww.pbs.org/brain

1. One research group has studied 1,200 people betweenthe ages of seventy and eighty. After keeping track of thesepeople for ten years, the researchers found that the oneswho kept their excellent mental functioning had three traitsin common: they were physically active, they were mentallyactive, and they felt that they were making a contribution totheir families and communities. How many “successfulagers” do you know? What qualities do they share?

2. At present there is no definitive laboratory test forAlzheimer’s disease and no cure, though some medicationscan help ameliorate the symptoms. Because scientists haveidentified many of the genes that confer an increased risk forthe disease, it’s possible that a genetic test will becomeavailable. Would you want to know whether you were at riskfor developing an incurable disease? What if having thegene meant that the disease was a certainty, as is the case

with Huntington’s disease (which causes memory loss,movement problems, and dementia)? Would knowing yourfate make you live your life differently, or would you just startcarrying the burden of the disease that much earlier?

3. In other cultures, older people are respected andrevered because of their wisdom and experience. This wastrue in our culture too, until recently. Nowadays, however,America glorifies youth, and all too often the elderly are seenas comical, querulous and infirm. As the country’s popula-tion ages, what steps could we take as a society to giveolder people a more active role to play? Raise the retirementage, for example? Have mediation sessions in nursinghomes, where minor grievances are aired before a panel ofolder, volunteer judges? Encourage senior citizens to writearticles, stories and plays to share their insights?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

MEMORY BOOSTERS

1. Shake up the automatic activities of the day.

Brush your teeth with the opposite hand, take the sidestreets when you’d normally take the thoroughfare,reorganize your desk at work.

2. Stay involved.

Defer retirement, mentor others in your field, take upchallenging causes, travel to exotic lands, step up yourrole with grandchildren.

3. Fill up your senses and trick them occasionally.

Memory is not just for sights and sounds, but for tex-ture, emotions and even smell. Explore an Indian orAsian market and get to know the spices and unfamiliarfoods. Build new memories with different senses.

4. Find hobbies, take classes or do work that uses different parts of the brain.

Even if you have two left feet, ballroom dancing may bejust the thing. Reading, from short stories to Tolstoy, is agreat brain-builder, as are classes in anything fromcomputers to astrophysics.

5. Replace TV with other forms of stimulation.

Try gardening, playing chess or even memoir writing.

6. Create new associations.

Instead of waking up to the smell of coffee, take a whiffof vanilla extract first thing. It may sound off-the-wall,but creating new associations — even arbitrary ones —is tantamount to brain-building.

7. Talk (and listen) to people you would normally ignore.

Practice memory boosting. Ask the bus driver his name,start a conversation, recall his name on the next occa-sion. If he tells you his son is taking tuba lessons, makea note to ask him how the boy is progressing. Boostingmemory is about not only overthrowing old routines butalso about creating new, more dynamic ones.

Adapted from www.myprimetime.com

For more information on improving your memory, visit:http://www.premiumhealth.comhttp://www.memorytalk.com

A C T I V I T I E S

www.pbs.org/brain

Essay 1 A

The RemarkablePlasticity of the Brain by Richard Restak, M.D.

onsider this page of the guide onTHE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAINthat you are now reading. It occupiesa certain amount of space: 8 1/2 inch-es wide by 11 inches long. Over time,the dimensions aren’t going to changemuch (assuming, of course, that youdon’t tear it up). But you may bringabout various minor alterations: Foldit to fit into a briefcase, orcrumple it a bit or spillsome drops of coffee onit. But this normal wearand tear doesn’t bringabout any basic modifica-tion to the size of thepage.

We formerly thought ofthe human brain in simi-lar terms — that once itreached a certain level ofdevelopment it remainedpretty much the sameexcept for some biologi-cal wear and tear (loss ofsome neurons) accumu-lated in the intervalbetween infancy and oldage. That assumption isturning out to be wrong.

The brain remains adynamic structure thatalters from year-to-year,day-to-day, even moment-to-moment over our lifespan. Thanksto what neuroscientists call plasticity,the brain possesses amazing capacitiesfor change. Without plasticity, thebrain would be similar to a machine, astructure with strictly limited powersof adaptation to changing circum-

stances and conditions. Instead, thebrain continually adapts. Indeed, plas-ticity underlies everything the braindoes. Even as you read these words,your brain is changing.

Plasticity is most evident during infan-cy. From a tiny ball of cells the brainemerges, grows and organizes itself.

Next come the formation of the majorbrain regions and a migration of neu-rons from their original sites of gener-ation to their final positions.Disastrous consequences can ensuewhenever one of these processes goesawry. Indeed, most congenital (present

at birth) brain defects result from adisruption of plasticity as expressed inthe normal programs of neuronalgrowth, development and migration.

As they increase in size and complexi-ty inside the womb, the brain’s cellsinteract with one another. Newlyformed neurons establish connections

with each other that continueto increase on the basis ofexperience. With each newexperience new connectionsare formed. Change the expe-rience, and you change thebrain. For instance, if youdeprive the baby’s brain oflight and sound and humancontact, it will not developnormally. Abnormalities willalso occur if, because of pre-mature birth, the brain entersthe world too soon and isoverwhelmed with morestimuli than it is equipped tohandle.

During childhood, the sec-ond life stage, a new kind ofplasticity takes precedence.During gestation, neuronsproliferate. At the conclusionof infancy, a sculptingprocess begins, becoming thedominant force shaping thebrain. The brain at this point

contains many more neurons than itrequires, so excess neurons are prunedaway according to the most funda-mental tenet of brain operation: “Useit or lose it.” In practical terms, thismeans that the neuronal connectionsthat are used are strengthened and

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www.pbs.org/brain

Essay 1 B

those that are not used fade away. Theneurons established during gestationand infancy are thinned out inresponse to experiences. Unused orrarely used pathways disappear, whileheavily trafficked pathways flourishand elaborate. Thanks to this processof forming, reforming and strengthen-ing neuronal connections, young chil-dren vastly increase their abilities topay attention and remember andbegin mastering the universe.

During adolescence, plasticityinvolves a second growth spurtaccompanied by a second roundof pruning. This time the growthand pruning takes place largelyin the frontal lobes — thoseareas just behind the foreheadinvolved in such eminentlyhuman activities as foreseeingthe likely consequences of one’sactions, planning, reasoning andcontrolling one’s emotions.

Since their frontal lobes are notfully developed, adolescentssometimes exhibit such frontallobe-based difficulties as impul-siveness, foreshortened attentionspans, and failure to realize thepossible negative consequences oftheir actions. Once the growthand pruning process has been suc-cessfully completed, adolescentsmay become more thoughtful.

During adulthood, plasticitycontinues but without the dra-matic level of pruning observedin childhood and adolescence. Inthe adult, plasticity involves theformation and maintenance ofneuronal circuits that can vary inrichness and variety dependingon one’s interests and activities.Learning a new language,improving one’s tennis or chang-

ing one’s career results in the forma-tion of new networks composed ofmillions of nerve cells. Conversely,networks are lost or diminished innumber and complexity if the adultloses interest in people and events,limits his or her experiences, or failsto learn new things or develop newskills. Most interesting is the findingthat important brain changes canoccur in extremely short periods oftime. For instance, the area of thebrain that receives impulses from the

tips of the fingers undergoes measura-ble changes in blind readers of Braillewho have stopped reading for as shorta period as a weekend.

Plasticity in the older person involvesnew challenges and opportunities.Old age was once thought of princi-pally as a holding operation, anattempt to retain past gains whileyielding as little as possible to declineor disease. We now know that such aview is unduly pessimistic. The

healthy brain of the aged per-son retains a marvelous plas-ticity and can change for betteror for worse. Indeed, the brainof the older person can contin-ue to function healthily andcreatively, or it can slip in itspowers due to lack of use or toabuse. Thus the older personhas a choice: Accept the stereo-types about aging and sit in acorner, or remain active andvibrant.

While the aging brain may be abit slower in learning, manipu-lating and rapidly retrievingnew information (one of thereasons most contestants ongame shows tend to be youngadults), it remains highly plas-tic and adaptable. Forinstance, research on elderlycollege professors shows thatthey often outpace theiryounger colleagues when itcomes to integrating newknowledge with existingknowledge. But one doesn’thave to be a college professorto possess these talents.As Cicero wrote in 44 B.C. inhis essay “On Old Age,”“Intellectual activity givesbuoyancy to the mind.”

Recent research on stem cells offershope that damaged or destroyed neurons maysomeday be replacable.

Essentially, stem cells are primitiveunspecialized cells that can “morph” into maturecells while continuing to multiply and provide aconstant source of new cells. Think back to thelast time you suffered a cut or broke a bone.Stem cells in the skin and bone account for thehealing that took place. Stem cells also give birthto the cells in the liver, the lining of the intestines,and all the cellular constituents of the blood. Thediscovery of stem cells within the brain suggeststhey are capable of turning into adult neurons.

“Stem cells can divide, move around inthe brain, end up in specific locations and thenfully differentiate into neurons,” explains FredGage, Professor of Genetics at the Salk Institute.“It isn’t as if a mature brain cell is undergoingcell division but, rather, that the process of devel-opment is continuing in the adult brain. And that’sreally a key feature in understanding the largerpicture of what plasticity is all about.”

Thus a two-part strategy may soon be inplace for the treatment of dementia: the inductionof nerve cell multiplication and the replacementof irretrievably lost neurons with stem cells ofeither adult or fetal origin. Both of these strate-gies could potentially treat presently incurablediseases and even provide a few more years ofenhanced functioning in the normal aging brain.

STEM CELLS:THE FUTURE OF PLASTICITYSTEM CELLS:THE FUTURE OF PLASTICITY

www.pbs.org/brain

Essay 2 A

Nature! Nurture and the Individual Child by Sandra Ackerman

he gets that easygoing temperamentfrom her father,” a mother may say, asher two-year-old sits happily dumpingsand from one pail into another. Or,applauding an eight-year-old after hisfirst school concert, the parents maysay, “Those preschool music classesreally made a difference!”

In everyday life we oftenseek to explain children’sactions as either an inherit-ed tendency or a directresult of learned experi-ence. Perhaps because chil-dren keep surprising uswith new skills, traits andever-changing behavior, wetry to maintain continuityby tracing new develop-ments back to some famil-iar source. What parenthasn’t thought, “He didn’tget his sarcastic tonguefrom my side of the fami-ly,” or “What are theyteaching her in kinder-garten to make her sobossy?”

From generation to genera-tion, the more curiousamong us have wonderedhow we can each start outas a single fertilized celland yet become a unique “I” with ourown thoughts, feelings and behavior.This is the ancient debating ground ofnature vs. nurture: are we the biologi-cal legacy of our parents or blankslates on which our experiences writesour identity?

According to psychologist EleanorMaccoby, we are neither and we areboth. “Children’s genetic predisposi-tions and their parents’ childrearingregimes,” Dr. Maccoby says, express-ing the predominant view of develop-mental experts, “are now seen to be

closely interwoven. They functionjointly to affect children’s develop-ment.”

But the notion of two interactinginfluences rather than a single directone has always met with resistance.

“The concept of nature versus nurtureis so ingrained in our thinking,” saysSharon Ramey, professor of neurobi-ology, psychology and pediatrics atthe University of Alabama, “it’salmost impossible to get beyond.”

Throughout most of the twen-tieth century, the scientificconsensus swung back andforth between two incompati-ble positions, pointing first toenvironment and then toheredity as the primary forcethat determines how a childwill think, feel and behave.Only in the 1990s did aschool of thought emerge withenough foundation in bothgenetics and psychology tobegin studying how the twoforces may work together.The new focus on gene-envi-ronment interactions finallyallows us to begin answeringone of the oldest riddles inchild development: Why is itthat full siblings, with thesame two parents, are often sodifferent from one another?

Although all siblings emergefrom the same gene pool, eachone receives a unique set ofgenes: some from the mother

and others from the father, some dom-inant and others recessive, and so on.And these genes do not develop in avacuum.

As early as the first few months ofpregnancy, the fetus’s first environ-

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ment — the mother ’s womb —impacts its genetic blueprint. Themother’s state of health, her rest andnutrition and her levels of stress dur-ing pregnancy affect her growingchild.

Then, even in the most stable family,each child’s experience will be differ-ent. The parents may be new at rais-ing children or old hands at it; the sib-lings are older, younger, all of one sexor the other, or mixed; household cir-cumstances may be comfortable ordifficult; the family may exist in along-established network of friendsand relatives, or may just have settledin a new geographical location. Allthese factors together form thechild’s microenvironment,and they produce majorand lasting effects.

Genes can set up a tenden-cy or predispositiontoward certain likes ordislikes, talents, levels ofenergy, and even self-image. But these ten-dencies may fit well orbadly into the child’senvironment — aboveall his home environ-ment — in ways that fur-ther shape the child’s traitsand view of himself. In afamily fond of sports andgames, for example, a lessactively inclined child maybe encouraged to join in, orhe may be labeled as lazy ora loner, or perhaps beappointed the storyteller ofthe group.

How the child responds to such a label, andwhat she has made of her own inheritedtraits and experiences so far, will have animpact on the way her family perceives andtreats her, which may in turn modify herself-image and her dealings with parentsand siblings, and so on, in a cycle lastingwell into adulthood. Paradoxical as itseems, each child takes part in creatingthe very environment that helps to shapeher as a unique person.

www.pbs.org/brain

Essay 2 B

The works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are a perennialfavorite among music lovers, but in the mid-1990s they received asudden surge of attention from a group with a completely differentfocus: parents of young children.

This new popularity arose from a single scientific paper pub-lished in 1993, in which a research team showed that listening toMozart’s music improved the performance at certain mental tasks ofelementary school students. Gradually, as the story was reported tolarger and less specialized audiences, this finding grew in perceivedimportance, until the so-called “Mozart effect” was said to increasebabies’ overall ability to learn or even in some way to enhance theirbrain for life. At the same time, though, further scientific studies didnot confirm these results, and soon the exaggerated claims for theMozart effect began to appear to be just that.

In 1999, a new paper clarified the specific findings of the origi-nal study: not only did the students’ improved performance on the testfail to carry over to other kinds of schoolwork, but it also proved to berather short-lived. The furor over the Mozart effect has largely dieddown, but the story of its popular rise and fall lingers as a warningagainst trying to generalize from a single isolated effect the tremen-dously complex process of learning in the developing brain.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TOTHE MOZART EFFECT?WHATEVER HAPPENED TOTHE MOZART EFFECT?

Nature! Nurture and the Individual Child (continued)

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www.pbs.org/brain

Essay 3 A

Addictions and Cravings by Richard Restak, M.D.

rug abuse is a brain disease. Weknow this because addictive drugsmimic the action of one or more of thebrain’s neurotransmitters. And as aresult of this successful mimicry, thebrain is fooled into responding as itwould to the natural neurotransmitter.“The drugs do that,” says StevenHyman, director of the NationalInstitute of Mental Health, “by tap-ping into the brain-reward sys-tem and fooling that system.”

The brain-reward system ismade up of areas of the braincollectively referred to as thepleasure centers. Most impor-tant is a pathway that starts inthe brainstem and extendsupward to areas deep withinthe brain that spring into actionwhenever we experience pleas-ure. Dopamine is the neuro-transmitter common to struc-tures all along this mesolimbicreward pathway. Increasingthe level of dopamine in theseareas increases their neuronalfiring rate; decreasing thedopamine level decreases thefiring rate.

As an example of the power ofthe mesolimbic reward system,imagine yourself biting into and savor-ing a piece of succulent, tender filetmignon (assuming you’re not a vege-tarian). As you chew that first morselof steak, neural messages fire withinthis dopamine pathway. If electrodescould be inserted safely into thoseareas of your brain and the results dis-played on a monitor, you would be

able to watch the equivalent of anincredibly scintillating game of pin-ball, as the pleasure centers light upand play off one another in responseto the steak.

If you don’t fancy steak, think aboutwhatever else “turns you on” — aterm, incidentally, that provides anapt description of what is happening

in your brain when you are experi-encing pleasure. Whether it is movies,skiing, travel or parties, the brain’sresponse is the same: activation, the“turning on,” of those pleasure cen-ters.

Unfortunately, these same areas arealso “turned on” by drugs of abuse.

Scientists learned this from earlyexperiments with rats. When lab ratseat or become sexually aroused,dopamine levels increase in the areasmentioned above. But the same thinghappens when rats inject themselveswith addictive drugs like cocaine, forexample, by pressing a lever or turninga wheel. They will repeat these behav-iors hundreds of times to experience

the pleasure set off by thecocaine.

Liz, a patient at the Caronfoundation in Wernersville,Pennsylvania, which specializesin the treatment of cocaine andother substances of abuse,described a similar craving.“When I started getting high Iloved it more than anything,”Liz said. “It started to be themost important thing in my life.I didn’t feel normal if I wasn’thigh.”

Liz’s experience illustrates thekey feature of addiction,according to George Koob,professor of pharmacology atThe Scripps Institute in LaJolla, California. “In drugaddiction your behavioralrepertoire has narrowed such

that drugs become the focus of yourwhole life. Your pleasure centers havebeen usurped, taken over by thedrugs. You no longer seek naturalpleasures because the drug is drivingthe system.”

When a person takes an addictivedrug, a massive surge of dopamine

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takes place within the pleasure cir-cuits. This surge is far in excess ofwhat occurs when the person experi-ences a normally pleasurable eventlike the aforementioned steak. Thesurge is so great that it even eclipsesthe pleasure of orgasm. The messagetransmitted to the rest of the brainfrom the pleasure centers is: “This isthe most rewarding, exciting, impor-tant moment that you could possiblyhave as a human being.” Indeed theexperience is so overwhelmingly sig-nificant that it builds within the struc-ture of the brain a powerful desire torepeat it.

Not surprisingly, the treatment ofaddiction isn’t easy. Why give up thepossibility — however elusive — ofrecapturing the initial “rush” thataccompanied the first few drug-takingexperiences? How can you “Just say‘No’” when the drug of abuse has lit-erally taken over the brain’s structureand functioning?

In addition, drugs exact a harsh andpainful penalty for the user whodecides to quit. As a result of previoususe, the brain has become pro-grammed not only for the pleasureinitially associated with drugs, butalso for the anticipation of drugs, andfor the people and events usually asso-ciated with the drug experience.Merely returning to the neighborhoodwhere drugs are available sets off an intense craving. Even if the userdoesn’t take the drug under such cir-cumstances, he or she experiencesmany of the actual effects of the drug.The heart rate picks up, tingling canbe felt in the head or other body parts,buzzing sensations are experiencedalong with lightheadedness and, inmany instances, even a bit of the drug-associated euphoria.

So powerful is the craving for drugsthat 80 percent of those who havecompleted drug treatment programs

relapse within six months. In the vastmajority of those drug treatment fail-ures, a powerful craving precedes thereturn to drug use. This sequenceoccurs even among those who areseemingly motivated and highly com-mitted. In essence, craving too oftenwins out over resolve.

Unfortunately, no drug presentlyexists that on its own can be reliablydepended on to control drug abusesimply by altering dopamine or itseffect in the pleasure circuit. Any suc-cessful treatment must prepare theaddict for the craving that will emergeupon return to the previous environ-ment. Upon completion of a course oftreatment, most addicts feel confidentthat drug use is behind them. But asthey will discover upon dischargefrom their treatment programs, theirmost difficult challenge lies ahead.

Addictions and Cravings (continued)

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Essay 3 B

In order to understand thebrain-basis of addiction and “peekinside of the brain of the addictduring desire,” RoseanneChildress, a University ofPennsylvania psychiatrist, haslooked with a positron-emissiontomography (PET) scanner at coloractivity-image recordings of thebrains of addicts. After placing hersubjects inside the scanner, sheprojects on a small screen in frontof them a videotape of either non-drug associated scenes (Dr.Childress uses pictures of hum-mingbirds) or scenes of peoplesimulating the buying, using and

exchanging of cocaine.Dr. Childress not only found

that the cocaine-related video-tapes induced a craving for drugsin addicts, but also found that shecould detect on the PET scan “aclear signature for desire” in tell-tale areas of their brains. The ante-rior cingulate, the amygdala, andthe nucleus accumbens — threekey way stations in the mesolimbicpleasure-reward system — lit upon the PET scan image, whichmeant those areas had becomeactivated. This finding was consis-tent with previous animal studiesthat showed a gush of chemical

messengers — principallydopamine — occurring in thesesites after cocaine administration.

But no activation occurredwhen the addicts looked at thehummingbird videos. Nor did Dr.Childress detect any activationwhen a control group of normalvolunteers watched either thehummingbird or the cocaine-relat-ed videos. Dr. Childress’s studiesprovide a scientific demonstrationof the powerful forces driving theaddict toward continued drug useas well as help her investigate thetreatment of drug addiction.

Hot Fact: Addictive Drugs “Light Up” the Brain

www.pbs.org/brain

Essay 4 A

Minding Your Memory by Marilyn Webb

t’s one thing when you can’tfind your keys. It’s quiteanother when you put theminside the toaster, or worse, tryto use them to start it.

Neuroscientists have foundthat the causes of memorylapses differ between normal,aging adults and people whosuffer from Alzheimer’s dis-ease. The good news is thatboth kinds of memory prob-lems may soon be treatable.

Alzheimer’s disease creates apatchwork of tangles andplaques within certain sectionsof the brain, causing braincells to die in those areas andwhole systems to shut down.Although this cell death canfirst appear as memory lapses,those who are stricken withAlzheimer’s disease very soondevelop more serious cogni-tive difficulties, forgetting notonly where their keys or glass-es are, but even why they use them.They develop dementia — a seriousdisruption of a broad range of bothmental and motor functions.

The brains of those who experiencenormal aging do not suffer this mas-sive cell death. They experience adecline in the strength of the synapseimpulses in very specific memory cir-cuits. Certain crucial receptors on thecells in these circuits — called NMDAreceptors — become less sensitive.And nerve impulse transmission —

important for both memory and newlearning — weakens.

The treatment and potential cure ofAlzheimer’s disease will require thatscientists learn how to diagnose itearly and to slow down and compen-sate for the death of brain cells. Thetreatment of normal, age-associatedmemory lapses lies in learning how tostimulate the neurons just enough, sothat they make their proper, appropri-ately speedy connections. Scientistshave made progress on both fronts.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Neuroscientists have two theo-ries about plaques and tangles.In both theories, neurons die,thereby reducing electrical andneurochemical transmissions inkey areas for cognition in thebrain. Some think that a mole-cule called tau, which supportsthe structure inside the nervecells, starts to disintegrate,causing the cells to slowly curlup and die. In autopsy and inimaging studies, the twistedcells appear to be full of tangles.Other scientists think a run-away enzyme process makesbeta-amyloid, a protein insidethe cells, overproduce andbreak off. Beta-amyloid bitsclump together and form con-gestive plaques.

New medications — such asCognex, Aricept, Exelon andRaminyl — are currently on themarket. They can temporarily

slow down cognitive degeneration andmemory loss by aiding the fading neu-rochemical transmission. But thesemedications only control symptoms,and only for a period of time, ratherthan treat or cure the cell death or theunderlying disease.

However, researchers have developeda new vaccine — proven effective inmice and currently in clinical testingtrials with people — that could retardplaque formation and perhaps reverseit completely. But even if it works, the

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tangles and cell death remain seriousproblems.

Controversial stem cell research couldprovide help if scientists can 1) findways to stimulate the body’s normalproduction of stem cells so they dif-ferentiate into the necessary neurons,or 2) learn how to transplant cellsfrom embryo, fetal or adult stem celltissue that will form the brain cellsneeded, we will be well on our way toa cure for Alzheimer’s disease. But sci-entists must also learn how to “tell”stem cells where to go in the brain,and how to “know” what cells totransform into to repair or keep upwith cell damage or death.

Alzheimer’s Disease Hopes

Hope for Cures:

● Stem Cells— As soon as politicalconstraints and ethical questionsare resolved scientists hope for afast-paced effort toward a cure.

● Vaccine—Scientists now know thata promising vaccine may stop orreverse plaque formation. But theydon’t know whether or not plaqueformation causes Alzheimer’s dis-ease or if removing the plaques willbe a cure.

Temporary Treatments:

● A group of drugs show some suc-cess in boosting a key neurotrans-mitter, acetylcholine.

● Anti-inflammatory medicationsmay slow down a response thatsome scientists believe may causeplaques, tangles or both.

Normal Aging

Neuroscientists now know that braincells are being generated constantly.

These new cells seem to know whereto go and how to fit into existing braincircuits. But as we age, synaptic recep-tors start to flag. The strength of theimpulses sent along the neural path-ways likewise seems to get weaker.

Why don’t the receptors stay inshape? How do we get them to stay inshape? And, if they aren’t in tip-topshape, how can we compensate forthis loss of memory and/or learningprocessing speed?

Many other problems besides normalaging may be involved, and many ofthese can be reversible. The first lineof defense is to get a proper diagnosis.Illnesses that can cause memory loss ifleft untreated include: thyroid disease,diabetes, high blood pressure, infec-tion, depression, stress, alcoholism,vitamin deficiencies and dehydration.It can also be caused by certain med-ications. Among more serious illness-es, some causing dementia mimickingAlzheimer’s disease, are mini-strokes,tumors and AIDS. Currently, there area range of things neuroscientists arefinding helpful for strengthening wan-ing circuits.

Age-Associated MemoryBalms (The Reputed,Disputed and Undisputed)

The Reputed

● Physical exercise — not only helpssagging stomachs and thighs, butstrengthens memory as well, possi-bly by increasing blood flow or anenzyme or chemical that stimulatesthe speed with which impulsesjump the synapses between neu-rons. When in doubt, work out.

● Mental exercise — crossword puz-zles, learning a new language, solv-

ing a puzzle, taking up astronomyor weaving, postponing retirement.All of these stimulate the neuronsto stay in the habit of forming newconnections and drilling the oldones. Here too, it’s use it or lose it.

● Estrogen — In studies of post-menopausal women, estrogen hasbeen shown to increase normalmemory skills and to slow downthe development and progressionof Alzheimer’s disease.

The Disputed

● Ginko biloba — Health stores sellit, but the jury is still out onwhether and how well it works. Itseems to stimulate blood flow.

● Vitamin E — Acts as an anti-oxi-dant and also may stimulate bloodflow but — like ginko biloba —dosages haven’t been studied. Bothof them may exacerbate bleedingproblems, especially for those whoare on blood thinners.

● Diet — What you eat — or thevitamins you take — may turn outto be important for mental func-tioning, especially the B vitamins(particularly B12), folate and vita-min C. Again, correct dosageshaven’t been determined.

The Undisputed

● Make lists — Some sage said: “Thebest memory is never as strong asthe weakest ink.”

● Pay better attention — What weforgot might be what we nevertook in to start with.

● Find one of the hundreds of memo-ry skills books, courses or Websites.

Minding Your Memory (continued)

www.pbs.org/brain

Essay 4 B

www.pbs.org/brain

Essay 5 A

Caregivers� Needs Acrossa Cognitive Lifetime by Marilyn Webb

n most American families today,someone is receiving at-home, unpaidcaregiving. It may be a prematureinfant or a disabled child, teenager,parent or spouse. This caringis rarely covered by healthinsurance. Yet, the amountof care required by chronicdisability is so vast that itthreatens to plunge us into anational health care crisis.

Over the past century, mod-ern medicine has added anextra twenty-seven years tolife, giving new hope to par-ents of premature infants,and life itself to those whowould otherwise have diedof ailments from typhoid toheart attacks. We live longer,but often with chronic illnessor disability as a result.

More Americans now livelong enough to develop cog-nitive afflictions likeAlzheimer’s disease. Babiesborn as early as 24 weeksinto pregnancy survive.Miracle cures save our livesbut they have also launcheda widespread need for high-intensity,long-term caregiving, most of it doneat home by families.

By conservative estimates, about 26million Americans are full- or part-time caregivers, 96 percent of themcaring for other family members.Seventy-two percent are women: thepatients’ wives, daughters, mothersor sisters. Together, they put in 24

billion hours of caregiving a year.Their work saves our health care sys-tem about $200 billion a year, but forthese caregivers and their families,

the physical and emotional toll isenormous. A recent study of 10,000 seriously illAmericans found that the impact oftheir need for long-term care wasdevastating. Thirty-four percent ofthe patients needed large amounts ofcare, causing more than half the fam-ilies to suffer crises that includedbankruptcy and the loss of theirhomes, savings or jobs. The main

caregiver’s health often suffers aswell. Women are trying to jugglechild-rearing, job and family, alongwith the stress of taking care of

someone who is seriously ill.

Caregivers are a silent majority— a secret work force thatmost of us will join. We drivean autistic child or an agingparent to a doctor’s appoint-ment. We shop for an ill siblingor friend. We monitor medica-tions. We help with physicaltherapy. We scrub or bathe orcomb. We take the brunt ofunintended anger or emotionaloutbursts. We sit in quiet des-peration, torn between loveand grief, and battling darkfeelings of duty, isolation, furyand guilt.

Caregivers need emotional andphysical help. And so, hun-dreds of organizations nowprovide publications, on-lineresources and illness-specificsupport groups. Their credo?Take care of yourself, or youwon’t be able to care for others.

Infancy

Your baby has arrived three monthsearly, so tiny that she needs specialcare. But you need care too, so startbuilding a team. Here are ways peo-ple can pitch in:

● Drive parents to and from the hospital.

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● Prepare meals or coordinate others to do so.

● Grocery shop or run errands.

● Do laundry, clean the house, shovelthe walk, or feed the pets.

● Sit with parents or meetthem for lunch. Hospitalscan be lonely.

● Baby-sit for other children.

● Set up a telephone infor-mation “tree.”

● Offer to baby-sit, dochores, or provide mealswhen the baby comeshome.

Childhood and Adolescence

With an ill child, you need toplan for the long haul.Explosive or irrational behav-iors can be disruptive or causeembarrassment, even chaosfor the rest of the family.And then there are the over-whelming feelings of failureand grief. The support offamily and friends is a must,as is taking time for yourself.

While caring for your off-spring, guard against yourown isolation, depression andexhaustion. The goal is tokeep it all in balance. Familyand friends can help with thefollowing:

● Research diagnoses andtreatments at local librariesor online.

● Help keep track of medicalbills and manage paper-work.

● Coordinate schedules for supportstaff, therapy and helpful friends.

● Give yourself time off — to take awalk, get a massage, or do some workof your own.

Caregivers� Needs Across a Cognitive Lifetime (continued)

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Essay 5 B

1. Take charge of your life. Don’tlet another’s ailment alwaystake center stage.

2. Love and value yourself. You’redoing a hard job and need quali-ty alone-time.

3. Watch out for signs of depres-sion. Get professional helpwhen you need it.

4. Accept people’s offer of helpand suggest specific things theycan do.

5. Educate — and empower—yourself about your loved one’scondition.

6. Be open to ideas that promoteyour loved one’s independence.

7. Trust your instincts. Most of thetime they’ll lead you in the rightdirection.

8. Grieve for your losses, and thenallow yourself to dream newdreams.

9. Stand up for your rights as acaregiver and a citizen.

10. Seek out other caregivers.There is strength in knowingyou are not alone.

from The National Caregiver’s Association’sCaregivers HandBook

CAREGIVING TIPSCAREGIVING TIPS

Adulthood and Aging

About 15 to 21 percent of familiesare caring for an adult with a cogni-tive impairment, includingAlzheimer’s and Parkinson’s dis-eases, stroke and head injury. Theymay behave in ways that are pro-foundly changed, making themseem like strangers. Grieving, com-munication and emotional prob-lems, the poignancy of their condi-tion coupled with guilt and stresscan make you feel depressed andalone.

Build a circle of care. Use localresources to find adult day care.Consider using home health careprograms and local organizationalresources such as Meals on Wheels.If you need to, talk with a profes-sional counselor or chaplain. Lookfor disease-specific or caregiver-ori-ented support groups. Find thingsthat friends or family membersmight do to help you take breaks,small vacations and long weekends.Eat a balanced diet. Get enoughsleep. Exercise or find another wayto reduce stress. Plan for your ownfuture.

As time goes on, you may find thatthere is a spiritual side to caregivingfor someone you love, a poignantsoftness and intimacy that can growbetween the two of you. Find enjoy-ments you still share: music,singing, outings, ScrabbleTM, movies,telling jokes, writing memory booksor playing cards.

Glossarywww.pbs.org/brain

Addiction: The compulsive use of a sub-stance or activity that can cause harm tothinking, emotions and behavior.

Adrenaline: A hormone that arousesand heightens emotional responsiveness.

Alcoholism: A chronic disease charac-terized by excessive or compulsive use ofalcohol.

Alzheimer’s disease: A progressive,neurodegenerative disease — and themost common cause of dementia — thatresults in the death of nerve cells in thebrain and gradually destroys the ability toremember, learn, reason and imagine.

Amyloid plaque: Clusters of dead anddying brain cells and amyloid proteinfragments, that are one of the character-istic structural abnormalities found in thebrains of those with Alzheimer’s disease.

Amygdala: A part of the brain —shaped like an almond and located deepinside, near the inner surface of eachtemporal lobe — involved in our emo-tions, emotional learning, and memory.

Anencephaly: The lack of brain forma-tion due to a congenital defect in neuraltube closure.

Attention-Deficit Disorder/

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder (ADD/ADHD): A disorder thatinvolves attention and focusing problems,most commonly (and controversially)treated with the drug Ritalin.

Autism: A complex disability that typi-cally appears during the first three yearsof life and affects the normal develop-ment of the brain in areas of learning,social interaction and communicationskills.

Axon: A branch or a nerve cell thattransmits outgoing signals to other neu-rons, muscles or glands of the body, andmay be as long as 1.3 yards in length.

Brainstem: The lower part of the brainthat controls basic bodily functions;directs our reflexes, vital signs, and auto-matic control of the eye, face and head;and helps us interpret sensations of taste,hearing, vision and balance.

Brain imaging: By the use of new elec-tromagnetic techniques physicians cantake highly detailed pictures of the brain.Three examples of this technology arepositron emission tomography (or PETscans), magnetic resonance imaging (orMRIs), and computerized tomography (orCAT scans). Analysis of the electroen-cephalogram (EEG) is another, differentway to study brain activity.

Brain (neuronal) plasticity: The abilityof intact brain cells to take over the func-tions of damaged cells. The human brainremains plastic (or pliable) throughout life(which is how we are able to learn at anyage), but it is massively more so in earlylife.

Cerebellum: The portion of the brain —located at the back of the head — thathelps coordinate movement, posture, balance, coordination and rhythmicmovements, and is important in aspectsof learning and memory.

Cerebral cortex: The outer layer of thebrain that covers the cerebrum and man-ages most high-level functions, includingthought processes and controls the lower,older, more automatic parts of the nerv-ous system.

Cerebrum: The largest area of the brain,consisting of two hemispheres or halves— the right and left cerebral hemisphere,which are in constant communication.

Cortisol: A hormone produced by theadrenal glands that increases resistanceto stress.

Dendrites: Tree-like branches or“cables” of nerve cells that receive andprocess electrical signals to other neu-rons. Typically each neuron possessestens of thousands of dendrites, seldomlonger than a hundred thousandth of ameter. (Compare this with the 1.3 yards ofan axon!)

Depression: A serious mood disordermarked by a combination of symptomsthat affect one’s ability to work, eat andenjoy once pleasurable activities.

Dopamine: A chemical in the brain thatacts as a neurotransmitter, stimulatingreceptors on adjacent nerve cells andproducing in them a cascade of chemical

reactions. Deficiencies of dopamine arisein Parkinson’s disease.

Dyslexia: A disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read, particularlywhen a significant discrepancy existsbetween intellectual ability and readingperformance without an apparent physical, emotional or cultural cause.

Endorphins: Neurotransmitters in the brain that block pain signals to thenervous system, reducing pain.

Epilepsy: A symptom of neurologicaldysfunction characterized by seizures orchanges in behavior resulting from abnor-malities in the electrical activity of thebrain.

Frontal lobes: The front parts of thecerebral hemispheres that are involved inplanning, reasoning, judgement, organiz-ing, problem solving, selective attention,personality and a variety of higher cogni-tive functions.

Hippocampus: Part of the limbic sys-tem that plays a crucial role in learning,processing and storing long-term memo-ries.

Left cerebral hemisphere: Controlsthe right side of our bodies, coordinateslearned movement patterns, enables lan-guage expression and comprehensionand processes abstract symbolic thought.

Limbic system: This network of structures, located deep within the brain,just above the brain stem, plays an important role in human emotion, learningand memory.

Lobes: The four parts of the two cerebralhemispheres that are demarcated, front-to-back, side-to-side, and by majorgrooves in the surface of the brain. Theoccipital lobes, located in the back of thebrain, are primarily responsible for vision.The frontal lobes are involved in move-ment, complex judgment, emotional regulation, problem solving, decisions,planning and creativity. The parietal lobesare involved in higher sensory-motorcoordination and language functions.Temporal lobes located above and behindthe ears are involved in memory, hearing,language and emotion.

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Midbrain: The portion of the brainstembelow the cerebral hemispheres and con-sisting of the thalamus, hypothalamus andthe limbic system.

Motor cortex: The region of the cortexclose to the parietal lobes concernedwith voluntary muscle movement.

Neurofibrillary tangle: Accumulationsof twisted protein fragments inside ofnerve cells found in the brains ofAlzheimer’s disease patients and associ-ated with the demise of brain cells.

Neural pathways: The set of network-ing connections between neurons, thatare responsible for brain activity. Thereare an estimated ten million pathways inthe brain.

Neural plate: The earliest form of braintissue, present as a sheet of cells, in thedeveloping embryo for just a few days inthe third week after conception.

Neural tube: Origin of the entire brainand spinal cord, which forms from theneural plate during the fourth week afterconception. First, the neural plate elon-gates and folds along its midline into a“groove.” Then the lips of the fold zippershut in two directions, beginning in themiddle of the embryo and progressingboth toward the head and toward the“tail” of the embryo.

Neural tube defect: A birth defect thatoccurs when the neural tube does notform correctly. The two major types ofneural tube defects are anencephaly, orlack of brain formation and spina bifida, inwhich the neural tube fails to close at itsposterior end.

Neurons: Nerve cells, specialized forthe storage and transmission of informa-tion, make up the central nervous system.They consist of a cell body, a single axonthat conveys electrical signals to otherneurons and a host of dendrites, thatreceive incoming signals. There are about25 types of neurons in a human brain.

Neurotransmitter: A molecule thatacts as a chemical messenger for con-veying information between neurons atsynaptic junctions. Some familiar neuro-transmitters are acetylcholine, serotonin,dopamine and glutamate.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

(OCD): A potentially disabling conditionwhereby a person becomes trapped in apattern of repetitive thoughts and behav-iors that are senseless and distressingbut extremely difficult to overcome.

Parkinson’s disease: A progressive,neurodegenerative disease characterizedby the death of nerve cells in a specificarea of the brain. Parkinsonian patientsare deficient in the neurotransmitterdopamine and may display such symp-toms as tremors, speech impediments,movement difficulties and often dementialater in the course of the disease.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

(PTSD): A psychiatric disorder that canoccur following traumatic events. Leftuntreated, symptoms can be severeenough and last long enough to signifi-cantly impair the person’s daily life.

Prefrontal cortex: Located behind theforehead, the prefrontal cortex is part ofthe frontal lobe of the cerebral hemi-sphere. It allows us to make decisions,judgments, and future plans as well asmodulates emotional tone. It is involvedin such highly abstract functions as per-sonal responsibility, morality and self-control.

Prozac: One medication in a class ofdrugs called selective serotonin reuptakeinhibitors (SSRIs) that may help to correctneurotransmitter imbalances, and to treat depression, panic disorder, obses-sive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Pruning: A process in brain developmentwhereby unused synapses (connectionsamong brain cells), are shed.

Psychosis: A severe mental and behav-ioral disorder in which a person is unableto distinguish reality from fantasy.

Receptor: A molecular structure on anerve cell membrane that is specializedto respond to neurotransmitters.

Right cerebral hemisphere: Controlsthe left side of the body, manages nonver-bal processes, gives us our bearings inspace, and is important for hand-eyecoordination and emotional processing.

Ritalin (methylphenidate): A contro-versial, central nervous system stimulantthat has the paradoxical effect of quietingindividuals (usually children) who have anabnormally high level of activity or atten-tion-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Schizophrenia: A psychotic mental dis-order that interferes with the ability tothink clearly, manage emotions, makedecisions and relate to others. It mayinclude delusions and hallucinations,alterations of the senses, an inability tosort and interpret incoming sensations, aninability to respond appropriately and analtered sense of self.

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter presentin certain regions of the brain that playsan important role in depression and isused in regulating aggressive behavior.

Spina bifida: A condition caused by aneural tube defect that can lead to paral-ysis and other serious medical conditions.

Stem cells: Relatively undifferentiatedcells that can divide and cycle throughoutlife to become more specialized cells, for example, liver, brain, or skin cells.

Stroke: Occurs when blood flow to anarea of the brain is interrupted. It canresult from a blood clot blocking a bloodvessel, or a blood vessel rupture, either ofthem causing death or damage to specificbrain cells. The type of disability thatresults (paralysis, loss of speech, etc.)depends on the location of the dead ordamaged cells.

Synapse: Gaps in the circuitry of thebrain between the junction of an axon ofone neuron and the dendrite of another.The passing of a signal across this gap ismediated by neurotransmitter chemicalsand causes brain activity to move alongspecific circuits.

Tau protein: The major protein thatmakes up the neurofibrillary tangles foundin the degenerating nerve cells in thebrains of those with Alzheimer’s disease.

Thalamus: A large egg-shaped mass atthe base of the cerebral hemispheres thatis the chief center for the transmission ofsensory impulses to the cerebral cortex.

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BOOKS

The Secret Life of the BrainRichard Restak, M.D.

In a companion book to the series, neu-ropsychiatrist Richard Restak revealswhat neuroscience is uncovering aboutthe intricate magic of the brain. Publishedby The Dana Press and Joseph HenryPress, 2001.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Carter, Rita and Christopher Donald Frith.Mapping the Mind. Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press, 2000.

Conlan, Roberta, ed. States of Mind: NewDiscoveries about How Our Brain MakesUs Who We Are. New York: John Wiley &Sons, 2001.

Czerner, Thomas B. What Makes YouTick? The Brain in Plain English. New York:John Wiley & Sons, 2001.

Damasio, Antonio R. Decartes’ Error:Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain.New York: Avon Books, 1995.

The Dana Sourcebook of Brain Science:Resources for Secondary and Post-Secondary Teachers and Students.Washington DC: The Dana Press, 2001.Access the online edition atwww.dana.org.

LeDoux, Joseph. The Emotional Brain: TheMysterious Underpinnings of EmotionalLife. New York: Simon & Schuster Trade,1998.

PROGRAMS

Program One

The Baby’s Brain: Wider Than the Sky

Bruer, John T. The Myth of the First ThreeYears: A New Understanding of EarlyBrain Development and Lifelong Learning.New York: Free Press, 1999.

Eliot, Lise, Ph.D. What’s Going On InThere? How the Brain and Mind Developin the First Five Years of Life. New York:Bantam Books, 2000.

Gopnik, Alison, Andrew N. Meltzoff, andPatricia K. Kuhl. The Scientist in the Crib.New York: HarperPerennial Library, 2000.

Luddington-Hoe, Susan M., Ph.D. andSusan K. Golant. Kangaroo Care: The BestYou Can Do to Help Your Preterm Infant.New York: Bantam Doubleday DellPublishing, 1993.

Madden, Susan L., M.S. and JaneStewart. The Preemie Parents'Companion: The Essential Guide to Caringfor Your Premature Baby in the Hospital,at Home, and Through the First Year.Boston: Harvard Common Press, 2000.

Program TwoThe Child’s Brain: Syllable From Sound

Davis, Ronald D. and Eldon M. Braun. TheGift of Dyslexia: Why Some of theSmartest People Can't Read and HowThey Can Learn. New York: Perigee, 1997.

Flick, Grad L., Ph.D. Add/Adhd Behavior-Change Resource Kit: Ready-To-UseStrategies & Activities for HelpingChildren With Attention Deficit Disorder.Nyack: Center for Applied Research inEducation, 1997.

West, Thomas G. In the Mind's Eye:Visual Thinkers, Gifted People WithDyslexia and Other Learning Difficulties,Computer Images and the Ironies ofCreativity. Glendale: Prometheus Books,1997.

Wodrich, David L. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: What EveryParent Wants to Know. Baltimore: Paul H.Brookes Publishing Co., Inc., 1999.

Program ThreeThe Teenage Brain: A World of Their Own

Babbit, Nikki. Adolescent Drug & AlcoholAbuse: How to Spot It, Stop It, and GetHelp for Your Family. Sebastopol: O'Reilly& Associates Inc., 2000.

Cobain, Bev. When Nothing MattersAnymore: A Survival Guide for DepressedTeens. Minneapolis: Free SpiritPublishing, 1998.

Karp, David Allen. The Burden ofSympathy: How Families Cope WithMental Illness. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 2001.

Kindlon, Dan J. and Michael Thompson.Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lifeof Boys. New York: Ballantine ReadersCircle, 2000.

Pipher, Mary Bray. Reviving Ophelia:Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.New York: Ballantine Readers Circle,1995.

Smith, McLaughlin, Miriam and PeyserHazouri. Addiction: The ‘High’ That BringsYou Down (Teen Issues). BerkeleyHeights: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1997.

Tornval Mueser, Kim. Coping WithSchizophrenia: A Guide for Families.Oakland: New Harbinger Publications,1994.

Program FourThe Adult Brain: To Think by Feeling

Golant, Mitch and Susan K. Golant. WhatTo Do When Someone You Love IsDepressed: A Practical, Compassionateand Helpful Guide for Caregivers. NewYork: Henry Holt Paper, 1998.

Matsakis, Aphrodite. I Can't Get Over It: AHandbook for Trauma Survivors. Oakland:New Harbinger Publications, 1996.

www.pbs.org/brain

(continued)

Resources(continued)

Redfield Jamison, Kay, Dr. An UnquietMind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness.New York: Random House, 1997.

Schiraldi, Glenn R. The Post-TraumaticStress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide toHealing, Recovery, and Growth. New York:McGraw Hill, 2000.

Slater, Lauren. Prozac Diary. New York:Penguin, 1999.

Solomon, Andrew. Noonday Demon: AnAtlas of Depression. New York: Scribner,2001.

Program FiveThe Aging Brain: Through Many Lives

Friel McGowin, Diana. Living in theLabyrinth: A Personal Journey through theMaze of Alzheimer's. Valencia: Delta,1994.

Larkin, Marilynn and Lynn Sonberg. WhenSomeone You Love Has a Stroke. NewYork: Dell Publishing Co., 1995.

McCrum, Robert. My Year Off:Recovering Life After a Stroke. New York:Broadway Books, 1999.

MacE, Nancy L. and Peter V. Rabins, M.D.The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide toCaring for Persons With Alzheimer’sDisease, Related Dementing Illnesses,and Memory Loss in Later Life. New York:Warner Books, 2001.

Tanzi, Rudolph E. and Ann B. Parson.Decoding Darkness: The Search for theGenetic Causes of Alzheimer's Disease.Cambridge: Perseus Books Group, 2000.

Webb, Marilyn. The Good Death: TheNew American Search to Reshape theEnd of Life. New York: Bantam DoubledayDell Publishing, 1999.

ONLINE RESOURCES

GENERAL INFORMATION

Dana Foundation www.dana.org

Mental Health InfoSourcewww.mhsource.com

National Institutes of Health (NIH)www.nih.gov

National Institutes of Mental Healthwww.nimh.nih.gov

Society for Neuroscience Brain Briefingswww.sfn.org/briefings

PROGRAMS

Program One

The Baby’s Brain: Wider Than the Sky

Talaris Research Institutewww.talaris.org

The Preemie Place www.thepreemieplace.org

Zero to Three www.zerotothree.org

Program TwoThe Child’s Brain: Syllable From Sound

American Academy of Child andAdolescent Psychiatrywww.aacap.org

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorderwww.chadd.org

International Dyslexia Associationwww.interdys.org

National Attention Deficit DisorderAssociationwww.add.org

Program ThreeThe Teenage Brain: A World of Their Own

Family Caregiver Alliancewww.caregiver.org

Focus Adolescent Serviceswww.focusas.com

National Foundation For DepressiveIllness, Inc. www.depression.org

National Institute on Drug Abusewww.nida.nih.gov

Schizophrenia Home Page: A Not-For-Profit Information, Education,and Support Centerwww.schizophrenia.com

Program FourThe Adult Brain: To Think by Feeling

Anxiety Disorders Association ofAmericawww.adaa.org

National Alliance for Caregivingwww.caregiving.org

National Center for Post Traumatic Stresswww.ncptsd.org

National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Associationwww.ndmda.org

Well Spouse Foundationwww.wellspouse.org

Program FiveThe Aging Brain: Through Many Lives

Alzheimer’s Associationwww.alz.org

Alzheimer’s Disease Education andReferral (ADEAR) Centerwww.alzheimers.org

National Family Caregivers Associationwww.nfcacares.org

National Institute on Agingwww.nia.nih.gov

National Stroke Associationwww.stroke.org

www.pbs.org/brain

B

www.pbs.org/brain

Workshop A

You don’t have to be a neuroscientist to

organize an educational workshop about the

brain. With a little planning, some practical

strategies, and content-rich multi-media

resources such as videotapes of the series

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN, this Guide

and the www.pbs.org/brain Web site, you

can create an informative, interactive

workshop. Below are a few steps you can

take to ensure success.

PLANNING

� Identify your target audience. Are you tryingto attract teens, parents, caretakers or seniorcitizens? Knowing your audience will help youfocus the content of the session. Although thebrain is a universally fascinating subject, eachgroup has different interests. Teens may beinterested in addiction and sexual develop-ment, new parents might want informationabout language development, and seniorsmight want to know about brain fitness andhealthy aging.

� Establish goals for the workshop. Keepthem realistic and attainable in the time youhave allotted. Determine one or two pointsthat you want participants to take away fromthe session. Consider your target audience andtheir prior knowledge of the brain. Don’t set a goal to teach the group neurochemistry fromA to Z if they have never heard of the subject

before! Keep these goals in mind as you pre-pare an agenda, and refer to them frequentlyto make sure you are staying on track.

� Enhance the workshop content by involving

people from your community. Invite expertsfrom health care or educational facilities in yourcommunity. They can make abstract informa-tion more relevant to participants by relating itto programs in your area or to research that istaking place at local institutions. Use thisopportunity to inform participants about localresources for people with brain diseases or vol-unteer options.

� Assess your resources. There are a few logis-tical things you need to know before determin-ing the structure and the size of the workshop.Do you have access to equipment such asVCRs and computers? How many people canthe room seat comfortably? What materialssuch as this Guide, other handouts, referencebooks and videotapes are available?

� Prepare your space and equipment before-

hand. Check equipment to make sure it is inworking order and that you know how to oper-ate it. Cue tapes ahead of time so you are notfumbling to find the right segment. Arrangelighting for the best viewing if you are going touse video. Lights should be left on as much aspossible during the video to reinforce the factthat it is a part of an educational activity, notpassive entertainment.

How to Organize a SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN

Workshopby Mari Cossaboom

(continued)

www.pbs.org/brain

Workshop(continued)

B

STRATEGIES

� Preview THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN.

Select short segments that are most relevant tothe focus of your workshop. Using carefullyselected, brief video segments can makeabstract scientific concepts come alive. Theseries’ use of dynamic visual imagery and cut-ting-edge technology allows you to take partici-pants on impossible “field trips” inside thehuman brain that will make neuroscience acces-sible to virtually everyone.

� Prepare participants for viewing the

segments. Begin with an introductoryactivity that engages participants and letsthem know what to expect. You mightintroduce new vocabulary or a new idea orconduct a related hands-on activity. Checkout the detailed activity plans based onvideo clips from THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN on the project Web site atwww.pbs.org/brain.

� Provide participants a focus for viewing. Thiscan be a specific task or responsibility to keepin mind while the video is on. Ask them to lis-ten for a definition of a particular word, towatch for a specific event or even to take noteof their reactions to the segment. This keepseveryone attentive and directs the learningexperience to the workshop objectives.

� Use the Pause and Rewind buttons for rein-

forcement of key messages or to assess the

audience’s level of comprehension. Stop thevideo to find out if participants understand thescientific concept just described. If they don’t,rewind and play it again. Sometimes, it maytake two or three viewings to process the infor-mation fully.

� Encourage interaction among the group.

Arrange seating so that people can see eachother and speak comfortably. Build in time forquestions and discussion. Stimulate conversa-

tion by posing open-ended questions that invitedialogue. Each section of this guide includesquestions designed to encourage discussion bygroups.

� Summarize. At the end of the session, brieflyreview the topics covered and the activities thegroup has done. Ask participants to share withthe group something they have learned. Thisgives you another opportunity to elicit questionsand fill in any information gaps. It may also giveyou clues about topics for a follow-up session.

RESOURCES

� THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN will be oneof your most useful resources.

� A fully-illustrated companion book, by RichardRestak, M.D., has been published by the DanaPress and the Joseph Henry Press.

� The five one-hour programs may be taped offthe air for educational use for one year after thelast broadcast.

� The full set of videotapes is also available for purchase through PBS Home Video. Call 1.800.PLAY.PBS.

� This guide may be reproduced for use in educa-tional groups. Additional copies can be orderedthrough guiderequest@thirteen.org. It also canbe downloaded from the Web site.

� THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN Web site(www.pbs.org/brain) is an excellent resource fordetailed activity plans based on the series, videoclips and tools for publicizing your workshop.