An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is an injury to the brain which results in deterioration of cognitive, physical, emotional or independent functions. It can occur as a result of trauma, hypoxia, infection, substance abuse, degenerative neurological disease, brain tumour or stroke. This Speaking From Experience video offers offer first-hand accounts from ten people living with ABI. They discuss the impact it has had on their lives and the ways they manage...

Epilepsy is the world's most common serious brain disorder and is characterised by a tendency to have recurrent seizures. A seizure is the physical sign that there has been a disruption to the normal functioning of the brain. Most seizures are spontaneous and brief yet self-limiting and can involve loss of consciousness, a range of unusual movements, odd feelings and sensations or changed behaviour. Increased community awareness and understanding...

The course concludes with an exploration of other potentially addictive behaviors. Professor Polk argues that some artificial stimuli - junk food, pornography, and video games to name three - are "supernormal," meaning that they actually activate the brain's reward circuit more strongly than natural stimuli do, leading to some of the same neurological effects as drug use.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited brain disorder passed from parent to child via a defective gene. Onset usually occurs at age 35-45 years, after which people experience a steady decline over the next 20 years or so. This Speaking from experience program offers offer first-hand accounts from people who have experienced Huntington's disease. It was produced in partnership with Huntington's Disease Association of Victoria.

Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder, manifested by slowness of movement, tremor and rigidity. Symptoms vary, affecting movement, posture and balance. It mostly affects people in middle to late years although people in their 30s and 40s may be affected. Parkinson's is a progressive disease, which is not hereditary and there is no known cause or cure. This Speaking from experience program offers offer first-hand accounts from people who have...

Caffeine and nicotine are two of the most common psychoactive drugs in our society. How do they work? How dangerous are they? After reviewing how each of these drugs affects the brain - and why nicotine in particular is so addictive - Professor Polk offers several strategies to quit tobacco use.

Medical professionals all over the world are constantly looking for better ways to treat patients and diseases. In this program, doctors at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center treat a patient with a type of cancer that affects the area of the brain that controls function. Glioblastomas are aggressive and often fatal malignant brain tumors. To combat the disease, revolutionary medical treatments...

Homo Sapiens 1900 is a stunning exploration of the history of eugenics, race hygiene and the quest to improve the human race.Emerging at the turn of the century, eugenic movements spawned government sanctioned research projects, whose stated goals were the improvement of the human species through biological means - including selective breeding, sterilization, and the elimination of all 'degenerate' members of society. Unearthing startling archival...