Somehow it is us … After the age of two the growth is halted. The process of becoming someone is about pruning back the possibilities that are already present. The Brain with David Eagleman II: What Makes Me?
Memory sits rights at the core of our identity. It gives our lives a narrative … Memory isn’t always reliable. ibid.
Who’s in control of what you do? … The facts might surprise you. Almost every action that you take, and every decision that you make, and every belief that you hold – these are driven by part of your brain you have no access to. We call this hidden world the Unconscious. The Brain with David Eagleman III: Who is in Control?
Freud had seen that beneath the surface of each of us lies a swirling sea of hidden motivations and drives and desires. ibid.
Decision making is what allows us to navigate a course through life. And your lifetime of choices has sculpted you into the person you are right now. The Brain with David Eagleman IV: How Do I Decide?
What does a brain need to be healthy? … It needs other people. Human beings are extremely social creatures. The Brain with David Eagleman V: Why Do I Need You?
All of this was built with the same neural material that our ancestors used to hunt using primitive tools. The Brain with David Eagleman VI: Who Will We Be?
So what’s next for our brains? … What will we be capable of? ibid.
He’s one of those footballers whose brains are in his head. Derek Johnson, BBC Scotland 1994
I’ve been getting to know people with brain injuries. The most precious part of the human anatomy is also one of the most mysterious and damage to it can lead to unpredictable changes in ability and behaviour. Louis Theroux, A Different Brain, BBC 2016
After a stroke that nearly killed me four years ago everything has to come just a bit trickier – it’s a brain thing. Andrew Marr: My Brain & Me, BBC 2017
I was very lucky: I got my speech back within a few weeks. One in three patients suffers for much longer. ibid.
My brain hurts! Monty Python’s Flying Circus s3e6: The War Against Pornography, BBC 1973
‘I have half a brain … I was having seizures every three minutes …’ Brain plasticity: the remarkable ability of the brain to adapt and reorganize itself.’ Incredible Medicine: Dr Weston’s Casebook II, Jodie, BBC 2017
Scans show that this little boy was born with just 2% of his brain. He’s astounded doctors. And astonished his parents. Before he was even born doctors predicted Noah would be severely brain-damaged and was unlikely to survive. But somehow Noah defied all the odds. And his family have worked tirelessly on developing Noah’s brain. Then something even more baffling was to happen … ‘Noah’s brain has grown.’ The Boy With No Brain: Extraordinary People, Channel 5 2017
His development has left everyone stunned. ibid.
Noah’s brain had grown from the 2% that he was born with to nearly 80%: it was unbelievable. ibid.
A problem that affects all very small creatures – brain size. Hannah Fry, Size Matters I: Big Trouble, BBC 2018
I like to see brains splattered all over the place. 54 Hours: The Gladbeck Hostage Crisis II, other gangsta, BBC 2018
Ambien (Zolpidem Tartrate) is a drug with many faces, and not all of them are sleeping. Best known for treating insomnia, causing bouts of uncontrollable nocturnal binge eating, and endowing Tiger Woods with enhanced sexual abilities, Ambien has another property, one that may well change medical history by normally neurological functioning in damaged brains. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: The Ambien Effect
The promise of a better brain is all over the internet. Searches for the term nootropics have increased over 800% in the past five years. Dark Net s1e6: Rewired, Netflix 2016
What makes a serial killer? What drives them toward sadistic murder? What are the roots of their cold-blooded brutality? … What they all have in common is an unquenchable thirst for murder … they are serial killers. Inside the Criminal Mind s1e1: Serial Killers, Netflix 2018
In the 1970s the Federal Bureau of Investigation added psychological profiling to their arsenal of tools to capture these killers. ibid.
‘There’s no one course that makes an individual turn into or become criminals.’ ibid. Dr Kostas A Katsavdakis
Brain imaging … Their brains were observed to be different from those of normal people with diminished activities in the areas of the brain that are linked with self-awareness, the processing of emotions and sensitivity to violence. ibid.
Is it nature or nurture? ibid.
How far will a kidnapper go to fufil his cruel and sadistic desires? … The motivations are complex. Inside the Criminal Mind s1e2: Kidnapping
Most of these kidnappers have some form of paraphilia. ibid.
And even go so far as to have children with the women. ibid.
Horrible stories of hundreds of people trapped in a bizarre web of brainwashing and terror, twisted tales ending in horrific scenes of massacre, murder, sexual abuse and mass suicide: all caused by madmen and their maniacal teachings. These are the cult leaders and their all powerful methods of mind control. Inside the Criminal Mind s1e3: Cult Leaders, Netflix 2017
They some of the most powerful business executives on the planet, described as part CEO, part terrorist, and part rock star. They control powerful organisations that generate unimaginable wealth but their fortunes aren’t spawned through clever corporate strategy: their businesses are built on gambling, drugs, intimidation, fear and murder. Their tactics are heartless, their methods are cruel, and their psychology is pure evil: Crime Lords. Inside the Criminal Mind s1e4: Crime Lords
What may appear as some bizarre medieval torture is in fact a controversial therapy for reaching the minds of brain-damaged children. Through methods such as these we are beginning to understand how to unlock the mysteries of the mind. In Search of s3e22 … Brain Power, 1979
One of the ultimate challenges for biology is to understand the brain’s processing of unconscious and conscious perception, emotion, and empathy. Eric Kandel