Thomas Perls, M.D., associate professor of medicine and geriatrics at Boston University, is the founder and director of the New England Centenarian Study, the largest and most comprehensive study of individuals who live past the age of 100 and their families. He’s also involved in the Long Life Family Study, a National Institutes of Health-funded study of families with exceptional longevity. Reporter Colleen Iudice interviews an Indianapolis couple participating in the Long Life Family Study.
Why do we come to like some foods and are repulsed by others? Why does even the thought of eating something make us feel sick? New research shows that it involves emotion. When the brain determines that a particular food is bad, our emotions take over and make that food seem disgusting. Donald Katz, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology and neurobiologist at Brandeis University, will discuss that phenomenon called “taste aversion.”
The brains of young, heavy drinkers undergo change in ways similar to older people with alcohol-related dementia, according to a recent study. Although young drinkers typically do not exhibit outward signs of brain damage, the changes do appear on brain scans. Josephine Wilson, Ph.D., a professor at Wittenberg University in Ohio, explains her findings.
A recent interview about the increasing use of electro-convulsive therapy prompted Stephen Jay, M.D., a professor of public health at the IU School of Medicine, to recall an experience from 1964 when he was a medical student. Dr. Jay spent several months at McGill University in Montreal, where he observed the results of a CIA-funded research program, called “MK-ULTRA,” which used shock therapy and LSD to counter the effects of brainwashing. Dr. Jay describes his recollections to Eric Meslin, Ph.D., director of the IU Center for Bioethics.
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Sound Medicine is underwritten by the Lilly Center for Medical Science, Clarian Health, and IU Medical Group. Jeremy Shere’s “Check-Up” is underwritten by IUPUI.