Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight
Dr Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroanatomist from Harvard. In 1996, she got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: she suffered a huge stroke, and she vividly explains in this video how she observed the vital brain functions of motion, speech and self-awareness shut down one by one. This is an astonishing story, not just for its unusual insight into the process of a stroke but also for the fact the Dr Taylor eventually (after 8 years) recovered well enough to tell her tale so eloquently.
Groundbreaking UK review on the connections between health, work and well-being
This is an important publication that recognises the connection between our jobs and sense of well-being.
Our divided brains
The brain has two halves or hemispheres and many laypeople have some awareness that there are fundamental differences between the two. Traditional neuroscience teaching would have it that our left hemisphere is responsible (dominant) for language, reasoning and mathematics while the right hemisphere is responsible for spatial abilities, visual imagery and music. In this fascinating animated video, renowned psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist explains why this is a gross oversimplification of the truth. There is dichotomy between the two hemispheres but all functions require the participation of both hemispheres. He goes on to hypothesize that the course of human history has been driven by the preferment of left hemisphere traits and the suppression of right hemisphere traits.