Brain Observations - Where neuroscience meets the human experience
Welcome to Brain Observations (brainobservations.com), the podcast where we are curious about brain health, happiness and cultivating the mind. My name is Maria Sundell, I am a neurologist and with this podcast I hope to inspire you to learn more about your brain and to treat your mind with as much care as you treat your body. The brain is not only capable of change, it was built to change and you have more control over your life experience than you might think.
- Update frequency
- every 32 days
- Average duration
- 44 minutes
- Episodes
- 21
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Why understanding your brain is key to making self-help work
Are you struggling with making personal development strategies last? Why does change seem so difficult?
Self-help books tend to come with a one-size-fix-all for personal development, but we are not a…
The human experience - Self-love and inner journeys - with Rebecca Hayden. Episode 19
In this deep-diving conversation, we explore what makes us seek profound personal change and how we can navigate our inner landscape. Rebecca Hayden shares insights from her extensive experience with…
The Human Experience - Nurturing the collaborative mind - with Kina Liungman. Episode 18
We spend a large part of our time in the workplace and our colleagues make up an important part of our social connections. Still, how intentional are we as individuals or organisations as a whole abo…
Dr. Kenneth Nowack on creating lasting behavior change. Episode 17.
The new year is here and with it comes new year's resolutions for many people. But even though our intentions are good and our motivation seems flawless to begin with, a few months down the road most…
The Human Experience - Falling in love with the impact - with Shani Persson. Episode 16
Being human is not being an island. We live, laugh and work in group most of the time. But being part of a group affects how we perceive things, how we react and how we feel. In a group you need to u…
The Human Experience - Catching up with change - with Sanad O Karkar. Episode 15.
The world is changing, it always has, that's nothing new. But now this change comes with the merging of two worlds, the one we think we know so well, and a virtual one. There are many new things to g…
Prof. Ewelina Knapska on the social impact in fear learning. Episode 14
We all have fears and most of us has some type of phobia. But where do fears come from? And how are we affected by each other? Since fear is vital for our survival it has an important part in our bra…
The Human Experience - Living life to it's full extent with Axel Wennhall. Episode 13.
Axel is the PR consultant turned meditation coach and to get there he had to make his own journey within. Through ups and downs of daily life he learned that there can be peace in just accepting thin…
Prof. Christian Keysers on mirror neurons and how we live the emotions of others. Episode 12.
Why are we so affected by the emotions of people around us? Why do people seem to express different levels of empathy? And what are mirror neurons? In this episode we find the answers to these and ma…
Prof. Philippe Goldin on emotion regulation and finding balance in daily life. Episode 11.
In this episode we dive into daily life and how skills developed through training the mind can help us find more balance. We talk about emotional reactivity, internalised beliefs, the importance of c…
Dr Cynthia Price on interoception and connecting with your body. Episode 10.
Most of us would agree that the body and the mind are connected but many of us are not necessarily aware of this connection in the moment. The ability to attend to the internal experience of your bod…
Dr. Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald on psychological well-being and physical health. Episode 9.
We are increasingly acknowledging how psychological well-being is more than the absence of distress. There are other aspects such as optimism, gratitude and purpose which greatly impact how we experi…
Professor Jennifer Crocker on social motivation and the pursuit of self-esteem. Episode 8.
As social beings the way we interact with others is hugely important to us. Professor Crocker has developed a unique expertise in social psychology and through her research, now spanning over decades…
Quinn Conklin on the effects of meditation on telomere length. Episode 7
Research on longevity and how to live a healthier life longer is increasingly gaining momentum. In this episode we sit down with Quinn Conklin, one of the people moving research on this topic forward…
Professor Daniel Levy on a neuroscientific explanation of the concept of free will. Episode 6.
In this episode, philosophy and neuroscience meet to complement each other. Professor Levy drew inspiration and knowledge from his experience in both fields as he created a framework called neural ho…
Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad on the vital importance of social connection. Episode 5
In this episode we learn about a vitally important aspect of our health, but one that doesn't seem to get the attention it deserves. The topic is social connection and I sit down with Professor Julia…
Professor Michael Inzlicht on self-regulation and goal pursuit. Episode 4
In this episode we learn about self-regulation, willpower and goal pursuit. Michael Inzlicht is a professor of psychology with a specific interest in understanding the underlying mechanisms of self-c…
Dr. Cortland Dahl on four dimensions of psychological well-being. Episode 3
Dr. Cortland Dahl and his team have done extensive research on what science says about psychological well-being and compiled this data into a framework with four distinct dimensions. Here we will lea…
Professor Olga Klimecki on empathy and compassion. Episode 2.
In this episode we learn the difference between empathy and compassion, how empathy can sometimes lead to distress and how strengthening compassion functions as the antidote. Professor Klimecki has e…
Dr. Michaela Pascoe on the effects of meditation on the stress response. Episode 1
In this episode we talk about stress and how you can combat the negative effects of longterm stress through meditation. Dr. Michaela Pascoe has extensive knowledge on the subject due to many years of…