Full PreFrontal: Exposing the Mysteries of Executive Function
Welcome to the podcast,
Full PreFrontal: Exposing the Mysteries of Executive Function hosted by Sucheta Kamath.
Executive Function is a core set of cognitive skills that allow humans to focus attention, block out distractions, plan ahead, stay engaged, temper emotions, and think flexibly while creatively solving problems to fulfill personal and social goals. The prefrontal cortex region of the brain, which governs Executive Function, is often compared to an air traffic control system at a busy airport. Much like an air traffic controller guides planes on different flight paths in the direction that each needs to go, the prefrontal cortex intercepts thoughts and impulses in order to direct them towards situationally appropriate and productive outcomes that serve the need of the future self.
Significant research in the field suggests that developing strong Executive Function is critical for school-aged children and remains one of the most reliable predictors of overall success, shown to have profound life-long implications beyond the formal years of learning. On this podcast, host Sucheta Kamath will converse with neuroscientists, social psychologists, learning experts, and thought leaders who will illustrate how Executive Function is inextricably linked with mental health, physical health, school readiness, job success, marital relationships, and much more.
On the path of self-development, we all experience a constant struggle between trying to optimize our talent and effort while still facing difficulty in mobilizing the inner tools and strategies that can lead us in the right direction. Tune in to
Full PreFrontal
to figure out how best to manage your thoughts, habits, and attitudes to enhance your self-awareness and future thinking and to achieve your best self.
Sucheta Kamath is an award-winning speech-language pathologist, a TEDx speaker, a celebrated community leader, and the founder and CEO of ExQ®. As an EdTech entrepreneur, Sucheta has designed a personalized digital learning curriculum/tool (ExQ®) that empowers middle and high school students to develop self-awareness and strategic thinking skills through the mastery of Executive Function and social-emotional competence. Outside of her business, Sucheta previously served as President of the Georgia Speech-Language-Hearing Association, where she started a free Social-Communication and Executive Function Training program for inner-city men afflicted with addiction and homelessness—a program she continues to oversee as a coach and a trainer today. She is also a long-time meditator and is currently working on her Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification. A firm believer in the “Pause, Reflect, and then Respond” philosophy, Sucheta hopes to spread the word on how every person can reach higher levels of self-awareness and achieve lasting growth of their Executive Function.
- Update frequency
- every 10 days
- Average duration
- 48 minutes
- Episodes
- 210
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
Ep. 110: Big Picture 7 – Age of the Resilient Family
Vincent van Gogh once wrote, “If I cease searching, then, woe is me, I am lost. That is how I look at it – keep going, keep going come what may.” Of course, this kind of striving and se…
Ep. 109: Dr. Raun Melmed – A Prescription by Description
Children are an enigma! Full of surprises and full of promise. However, one can be easily baffled when their boisterous high energy turns into an unmanageable rambunctiousness disruptin…
Ep. 108: Margaret Sibley, Ph.D. – A Field Guide to Engaging the Inner Rebel
The struggles of kids with ADHD are unmistakably unique and undoubtedly complex, but their lack of mental readiness to accept help is equally confusing. Nothing is more discouraging or …
Ep. 107: Adele Diamond – Becoming More Self-Possessed
The brain’s prefrontal cortex is often described as the “work in progress” intimating that there exists a continuum of neural development shaped by an interplay between biology and beha…
Ep. 106: Linda Graham – Bouncing Back Like a Skilled Ninja
Nothing about the COVID-19 pandemic is business as usual. In fact, the social and economic stressors are taking a toll on every single person’s sense of well-being. Those taking care of…
Ep. 105: Natalie Wexler – The Knowledge Gap Kids
What do extinct dinosaurs, shrinking planet Mercury, pygmies from Africa, Mesopotamian pottery, Roman bath houses, and the COVID-19 virus have in common? These are topics that once chil…
Ep. 104: Kim Bearden – The Teacher Artisan
There is a widespread acknowledgement that experts are made and not born and those who investigate how experts become experts that have studied the fields like surgery, computer program…
Ep. 103: Chris Herman, M.Ed – The Opposite of a “Won’t Do” Mindset
The classroom neurodiversity happens to pose a challenge to educators not because we have a surge in the neurodiverse student body but more likely that we have acquired newer insights i…
Ep. 102: Dr. William Stixrud – Recreating the Personal 2.0 Self
All parents want their children to grow up, be independent, and find happiness. Their conventional wisdom says, let me push my child to do well in school, work hard on stuff, and take p…
Ep. 101: Suvrat Bhargave, MD – You’re More Than What You Feel
Uncertainly, unceasing demands, and all around unrest can provoke the feelings of restlessness, a state of irritability, and intense worrying and general dissatisfaction. But clinically…
Ep. 100: 10 Takeaways from 100 Conversations on the Science of Learning
Randomly scattered stars light up the night sky, but it is human inventiveness and imagination that has connected these cosmic dots into the constellations we know so well. As the podca…
Ep. 99: Thomas Brown, Ph.D. - Ready. Fire. Aim!
When you shoot before you aim you get bad results. But that’s what everyday impulsiveness looks like for someone with ADHD. Pencil tapping, restless legs, inability to sit too long, dis…
Ep. 98: Louisa Moats, Ed.D. - The Truth About Reading
The answer to the question “What percentage of 16 million children living below the poverty line have a book in their home?” is 33%. While that is devastating, the real question is, do…
Ep. 97: ExFiles – No More Square Peg in the Round Hole
Violet is the first to admit that people like her, who themselves have ADHD, suffer from “foot in mouth disease”. Getting herself in a jam by blurting out things, starting things but no…
Ep. 96: Dr. Mary Ann Mulcahey, Eldrich Carr, and Carmen Mendoza - Pro-EF School Culture
Thomas Wolfe said it best, “Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs”. A school culture and a home culture can have a profound impact on children’s social, emotional, and cognit…
Ep. 95: ExFiles – Rise Like a Phoenix
Well-cultivated attentional processes help orient us to the right information in the environment which in return, presents us with the greatest opportunities for learning and success. B…
Ep. 94: Christopher Chabris, Ph.D. - The Clash of the Titans
Ancient wisdom has rightfully identified problems with the human mind which is ill-fitted to deal with the perceptual ambiguity that includes frequent gaps between one’s perceptions and…
Ep. 93: Joan Green, SLP - Augmenting Life with Technology
21st century living has put a strain on our brain’s capacity to plan for the future, process and retain information, and pursue the goals of a multifaceted life. And while moving throug…
Ep. 92: Hanna Bogen Novak - Stuck in the Middle No More
In their song “Stuck in the Middle With You,” Scottish folk rock band Stealers Wheel’s lyrics go something like this –”Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you, And I’m wondering what it i…
Ep. 91: Big Picture 6 - No Ordinary Play
According to Dr. Stuart Brown, “divinely superfluous neurons” orchestrate a seemingly purposeless voluntary act that we call play. But let’s not underestimate the necessity and impact o…