Dear Gut, Love Brain

Love sees not with the eyes, but with the mind…so how does the brain perceive its relationship with the gut?In this mouthwatering second course of our two-part series, the brain responds to the gut’s previous correspondence with some thoughts of its own.After the previous episode whetted our appetites in 2019 with amazing insights about the brain-gut “axis,” we spoke with a follow-up panel in 2021 consisting of Drs. Amber Alhadeff, John Campbell, and Leah Pyter. Our conversation with these faculty from different universities across the country explored topics ranging from food cravings to cancer treatment and revealed as many questions as it did answers. Will it be enough for our cross-body lovers to find a way forward?

You are what you eat, but when was the last time you listened to your gut? In this two-part series, the Crossmodal Lab brings you exclusive, never-before-heard love letters chronicling the complex and often misunderstood relationship between the gut and the brain. The gut tells all in Part One, revealing that this long-distance romance is less one-sided than previously assumed. Cross-body communication is key to keeping the spark alive, emphasizing the importance of connectivity at every level. From the influence of the gut’s microbiome on neuropsychiatric disorders to its crucial role in the evolution of multicellular organisms, there is much more to the story than a straightforward gut-brain axis. With help from expert faculty, can the gut and brain get on the same page?Note: this episode features some hard-to-hear audio from 21m to 1hr7m. Apologies to all parties involved - we salvaged what we could!

With the nights growing longer, autumn leaves swirling through the air, and Halloween just a few short weeks away, we're more attuned than usual to the strange and spooky. In other words: Fear. Of course, whether it's those pre-test jitters before a final exam or the lingering childhood terror of the monster lurking under our bed, most of us experience fear all year round. What specific brain regions produce your fear response when you hear things that go bump in the night? Why do some people actively seek out what frightens them most? How can filmmakers exploit this knowledge to create movies that scare our socks off? In this hair-raising episode, we delve into the biology of fear and its complex relationship with stress, discuss the intriguing field of neurocinematics, and share a selection of spine-tingling ghost stories. Listen on...if you dare!

We find beauty all around us: In vibrant sunsets, haunting music, the elegant logic of higher mathematics. But how exactly does this aesthetic sense arise within the brain? And why does our enchantment with the things we consider beautiful so often veer towards obsession, even madness? Join the Crossmodal team as we examine the neuroscience of beauty through a cultural and artistic lens, in conversations on fractal patterns, Van Gogh's art, the unique perceptions afforded by neurodiversity...and chapstick!

Since the days of the blind poet Homer, who spun fantastical tales of gods and heroes beloved by generations, it has often been assumed that individuals deprived of one sense (such as sight or hearing) will develop enhanced perception through their remaining modalities. But to what extent is this belief true? And is the repurposing of neurons from one sensory system to serve the needs of the others, a phenomenon known as "crossmodal plasticity," more common than we realize? Returning guest panelists Dr. John Bigbee and Dr. Alex Meredith join us from VCU's Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology to shed light on these questions...and the reality proves to be more complicated than those neat, tidy explanations from our introductory neuroscience textbooks. This episode also includes a discussion of synesthesia, as well as interviews with two synesthetes who graciously agreed to share their experiences with us: Justin Kauflin, a jazz pianist who lost his vision at a young age but now associates sounds with particular colors, and Kristiana, a dentist and friend of one of our production team members, who sees highly-specific images when she hears someone's name. From echolocation to language development to feline facial recognition, our second installment of Crossmodal has it all! Don't miss out!

For centuries, humanity has grappled with a deceptively simple question: What is that elusive thing we call “the self”? Where does it come from...and how? Join us as we tackle these concepts alongside Virginia Commonwealth University philosophy professor Dr. Catherine Sutton and a panel of distinguished multidisciplinary neuroscientists.  In our inaugural episode of Crossmodal, we discuss biological vs psychological views of personhood (and the ways in which they intertwine), the contributions of memory, personality, beliefs, and other factors to the “core” self, and what might give rise to our experience of the self. How would your selfhood be affected if your memories were transferred to a prosthetic brain? What pathways in the brain are responsible for making you you? What does any of this even mean? ... Listen to find out :). Send questions/greetings/etc. or request episode transcriptions by emailing [email protected]