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. 90: Prof. Suniya Luthar - When Having It All Doesn’t Translate Into Having It Easy
Americans were never that concerned about the issues of educating children until it dawned on everybody that children are in fact “economically useless, but emotionally priceless” as de…
Ep. 89: Prof. Suniya Luthar - The Affluenza Tradeoff
No one is spared from the drama and trauma of growing up, not even affluent kids. However, as hard as it is to imagine, the children of highly-educated parents with abundant material co…
Ep. 88: Michael Delman, M.Ed. - Beyond Just Semicolons & Fractions
Seeing an under-producing, under-performing, or generally disengaged kid is quite painful. They often struggle to connect with purpose and persevere when school activities get challengi…
Ep. 87: Dr. Christopher Willard - Working Out Your Heart
What’s common between a soccer mom who has a flat tire on the way to her son’s game, a Wall Street dad who just got told to stay in the office for the markets in the East to open, and a…
Ep. 86: Big Picture 5 - ADHD Matters
Psychologist and author Alexandra Horowitz says “Attention is an intentional, unapologetic discriminator. It asks what is relevant right now, and gears us up to notice only that.” It’s …
Ep. 85: Ari Tuckman, Psy.D. - Twinning with Your Future Self
If you are taking a stroll on the beach while you have parked your car at a meter, you have to set aside some mental resources to think about the time and to make decisions to either re…
Ep. 84: Dr. Ann Glang - The Forgotten Injury
If an athlete on the high school varsity football, lacrosse, or soccer team happens to be more than typically distracted, taking too long, has become inconsistent with routines or happe…
Ep. 83: William Damon, Ph.D. - Purpose or Perish
The greatest philosophical writings over the centuries have often examined the idea of the meaning of life. After the World War II, Viktor Frankl’s writing often explored the idea of th…
Ep. 82: Kelly Cartwright, Ph.D. - Good Readers Are Good Thinkers!
Traveling through time, visiting imaginary places, witnessing wars and famines, and reliving crusades, is all made possible by reading. It engages visual imagination, invokes emotions, …
Ep. 81: Big Picture 4 - Organized Mind = Organized Life
Our lives have become so complex that surviving without shopping lists, calendars, scheduling apps, timers and alarms is nearly impossible. On top of that, sometimes, the information ov…
Ep. 80: Dr. Debra A. Krodman-Collins - Lizard Brain, Wizard Brain
Rarely in a curriculum while learning, we ask children where they feel their emotions in their own bodies and whether those feeling change as their emotions change. Children who feel sa…
Ep. 79: Dr. Michele Gelfand - The Invisible Giant
Other than air, what is invisible, omnipresent, affects every single human being and yet is taken for granted? The answer is the cultural norms. They are the unspoken rules of social be…
Ep. 78: Kathleen Kryza - Examining the Struggle
One shouldn’t be discouraged by the fact that learning is full of struggles as these struggles are inherent to the process of gathering facts, acquiring new knowledge, and gaining vivid…
Ep. 77: Dr. Mark Bertin - From Flux to Flow
Life is complicated and we all are doing the best we can to manage its inherently challenging nature and predictably unpredictable flow. Developmental disorders like ADHD, and mental di…
Ep. 76: Big Picture 3 - Those Who Think Together, Stay Strong Together
You might be great at problem solving but the true test of executive function proficiency is not just helping someone get their car out of a ditch, but applying those same skills and pr…
Ep. 75: Judy Willis, M.D. - Why is There No Glitter on the Floor?
Learning is magical but not every teacher is a magician! Astronaut Scott Kelly celebrated for his curiosity for space missions, struggled to find his footing in the midst of “dull and b…
Ep. 74: Mark McDaniel, Ph.D. - Do You Have a Learning Strategy?
When learning, why is it that people often use the most exactly ill-fitted strategies or fail to appreciate the ones that do work? An educator who assumes the role of parting knowledge …
Ep. 73: Mary Kennedy, Ph.D. - A Bridge to the Real World
The charm of entering college camouflages the real invitation to become responsible for yourself by figuring out what you want while taking care of the mundane, yet obligatory tasks of …
Ep. 72: Dr. Courtney Stevens - Attention, A Force Multiplier
We have all done it; followed the GPS blindly and reached the international terminal instead of the domestic one or forgotten to turn off the car lights, leaving them on overnight. The …
Ep. 71: Daniel Pink - When is the right time!
Well-built Executive Function lends itself to thoughtful decision making and on-point problem solving, advantageous to meeting personal goals. However, the shifting nature of cognitive …