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How can we begin to understand the way the brain works? Perhaps in the same way that cities can be understood: by making a map. In this visually stunning TEDTalk, Allan Jones shows the audience how his team is mapping out which genes are turned on in which brain region, and what the implications of this gene expression are. As CEO of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Jones is leading an ambitious project to build an online, interactive atlas...

The fascinating interplay of genetic predispositions and experience in the development of the brain after birth is demonstrated in this program filmed at the Brain Development Laboratory at the University of Oregon. Three profiles of plasticity are depicted with compelling footage of behavioral, MRI, and EEG research into the development of visual perception and language acquisition from infancy through old age. A congenitally Deaf young woman, university...

It has finally been acknowledged that the placebo effect-historically seen as a distraction from "real" medical treatment-is a genuine phenomenon and a potential addition to the arsenal of modern medicine. In this classic program from the Scientific American Frontiers series, host Alan Alda discovers that the roots of the placebo effect go back to the days of herbal remedies, that placebos can cause measurable changes in the brains of patients with...

Not every machine can recharge and repair itself on a regular basis. Fortunately, the human machine can-quickly rebounding to a state of alertness, adaptability, and high-gear action. This program explores the staggering capabilities of the body's interlinked devices, from the sleeping brain to the wide-awake reproductive system. Viewers learn about the photographic powers of the eye, which surpass those of almost any camera; the 260-million-cell...

"The human brain is often described as the most complex object in the universe. Tens of billions of nerve cells--tiny tree-like structures--make up a massive network with enormous computational power. In this book, Giorgio Ascoli reveals another aspect of the human brain: the stunning beauty of its cellular form. Doing so, he makes a provocative claim about the mind-brain relationship. If each nerve cell enlarged a thousandfold looks like a tree,...

Julie loves the glorious colors associated with the sound of a rooster crowing, while Mandi remembers phone numbers by their hues. Until John read a newspaper article about synesthesia in later life, he thought that everyone saw the days of the week as various shades of blue. In this program people with synesthesia describe their experiences and perceptions, and the benefits and drawbacks of having a condition in which the barriers between the senses...

Exactly how much chocolate can someone eat before enjoyment turns into disgust? Why do people choose to experience the terrifying sensations of bungee-jumping? Can forcing a smile actually create happiness? Using entertaining experiments and person-on-the-street interviews, this program takes a look at the science behind pleasure, pain, and the link between the two. Viewers meet new parents high on the hormone oxytocin, a man who cut off his own arm...

The brain may be the control center of the human nervous system as well as the chief focus of neurological research, but its link with another organ-the stomach-is a topic of increasing interest and study. This ABC News program looks at the brain's complex relationship with food and its role in America's obesity epidemic. With help from sophisticated imaging techniques, viewers go inside an obese person's brain to see how it responds to fattening...