Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes neurosurgeon Allan J. Hamilton for a discussion of his new book: the Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural and the Healing Power of Hope. Focusing on his intellectual and spiritual odyssey, Dr. Hamilton offers insights into the craft of surgery and discusses how his patients have broadened his understanding of the human condition, the resilience of the human spirit, the healing process, and the world beyond science. (58 minutes)

Research has changed our concepts of brain organization and provided dramatic evidence showing far greater similarities between brains of birds and brains of all mammals. Harvey Karten explores what goes on inside a birdŐs brain. Learn how brains of birds compare to those of humans and other mammals and find out what the study of birdŐs brains can teach us about the nature and origins of human brains. (57 minutes)

UCSD Cognitive scientist Joan Stiles reveals the latest understandings about the intricate relationship between biology and external influences in the development of the brain. (58 minutes)

What are the mechanisms by which neurons differentiate to achieve the spectacular complexity of the brain? Join UCSD's Nick Spitzer as he explains what we know about this process. (57 minutes)

Join UCSD's Larry Squire in a fascinating presentation of recent research about memory systems in humans and other mammals. (58 minutes)

We make thousands of decisions every day: where to go, what to do, when to do it. Join UCSD's William Kristan and discover how neurons, synapses, and chemical input play out in decision making. (57 minutes)

Neuroscientist Patricia Churchland explores how the human mind functions in guiding one's decisions. (55 minutes)

In this fascinating presentation, The Salk Institute's Terry Sejnowski explores how by its nature the human brain is susceptible to the effects of addictive substances. (59 minutes)

In this edition of "Grey Matters," Aniruddh Patel, of the Neurosciences Institute, discusses what music can teach us about the brain, and what brain science, in turn, can reveal about music. (51 minutes)

Join Stuart Lipton of The Burnham Institute and discover important anti-aging strategies, the latest drugs for degenerative disorders such as AlzheimerŐs disease and the potential use of human stem cells for neurological conditions. (57 minutes)

UCSD's Charles Zuker explores the neurobiology of taste, smell and vision. (88 minutes)

Is sleep for rest? To conserve energy? For development? To cool the brain? To warm it? To boost the immune system? To learn and memorize? Or to unlearn, ridding our brains of excess mental baggage? All of these ideas have been proposed, leading to the suggestion that insomniacs might do better to count sleep theories instead of sheep. Join renowned neuroscientist Ralph Greenspan of The Neurosciences Institute to explore the latest research into the question of why we sleep. (59 minutes)

During the past decade, there have been dramatic advancements in the brain and cognitive sciences. For the first time, understanding how the brain works has become a scientifically achievable goal. In this new lecture series, Grey Matters: Molecules to Mind, San Diego's leading Neuroscientists explore the human brain. The first lecture in this series addresses an issue that has often been absent in these discussions: what role do stem cells play in development of the brain? (59 minutes)

UCSD cognitive scientist Martin Sereno takes you on a captivating exploration of the brain's structure and function as revealed through investigations with new advanced imaging techniques and understandings of evolution. (57 minutes)

Why are humans the only species to have language? Is there something special about our brains? Are there genes that have evolved for language? In this talk, Jeff Elman, UCSD professor of cognitive science and co-director of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, discusses some of the exciting new research that helps us understand what it is about human language that is so different from other animals' communication systems, and what about our biology might make language possible. (58 minutes)

The National Center of Excellence in Women's Health and Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UC San Francisco present lectures to provide practical, easy ways to be proactive with your health. In this episode, Susan Folkman, Director of The UCSF Osher Center, talks about learning ways to manage and cope with stress. (44 minutes)

The deep continental margins were once perceived as monotonous mud slopes of limited ecological or environmental concern. Technological advances now reveal unexpected diversity, with a mosaic of lush habitats and ecosystems that support varied and unusual species fundamental to the health of the ocean and our own lives. Join Scripps biological oceanographer Lisa Levin as she reveals how changes in ocean temperature and chemistry, as well as growing economic opportunities, are placing new pressures on deep-ocean ecosystems, just as we are getting to know them. (56 minutes)