Brain Headquarters

Christin Jae

Welcome to Brain Headquarters. Hosted by Speech-Language Pathologist, former collegiate athlete, and brain injury survivor Christin Jae, Brain Headquarters breaks down neuroscience in a way that actually makes sense. Using sports analogies, real-life examples, and evidence-based science, this series explores how the brain works—from executive functioning and attention to memory, communication, emotion, and recovery after injury. Because understanding your brain shouldn't require a neuroscience degree.

  1. 27 Sept

    Episode 51: Back to the Coordinator's Office

    What does the Frontal Lobe's full coaching staff look like after 51 episodes? In the Season One finale of Brain Headquarters, we're returning to the Frontal Lobe Coordinator's Office to review five Position Coaches and the five Playbooks we explored together. We'll step back from Executive Functioning, Value-Based Decision-Making, Motor Planning, Movement Execution, and Language Production to see how these systems contribute within interconnected networks across the brain. Because championship teams aren't built around one player, one coach, or even one Coordinator. They're built through teamwork—and Brain Headquarters is just getting started.

  2. 27 Sept

    Episode 50: Phonological Encoding

    Before a word can be spoken, how does the brain organize the sounds inside it? In this episode of Brain Headquarters, we're exploring Phonological Encoding—the process of organizing the abstract speech-sound structure and sequence associated with a word. We'll discuss how this differs from Word Retrieval, which accesses the word, and Speech Motor Planning, which prepares the movements needed to produce its sound sequence. Because finding the word, organizing its sounds, and preparing to say it are three connected—but distinct—Plays.

  3. 27 Sept

    Episode 49: Verbal Fluency

    Have you ever been asked to name words in a category and suddenly felt like your mind went blank? In this episode of Brain Headquarters, we're exploring Verbal Fluency—the efficient generation of language under a particular rule, category, or demand. We'll discuss how this skill draws on word retrieval, executive control, and broader language systems, and why verbal fluency means more than simply talking fast. Because sometimes Brain Headquarters has to produce the right words while following the rules of the Play.

  4. 27 Sept

    Episode 48: Sentence Construction

    How does the brain turn individual words into a message that makes sense? In this episode of Brain Headquarters, we're exploring Sentence Construction—the process of organizing words into meaningful, grammatically structured utterances. We'll discuss how Broca's Area participates within a broader language network and why building a sentence requires coordination beyond any one brain region. Because communication depends on more than choosing the right players. They also have to line up in a meaningful formation.

  5. 27 Sept

    Episode 47: Speech Motor Planning

    Once you know the word you want to say, how does your brain prepare your body to produce it? In this episode of Brain Headquarters, we're exploring Speech Motor Planning—the preparation and coordination of the movements required for speech. We'll discuss how speech depends on carefully organized activity involving the lips, tongue, jaw, respiratory system, and laryngeal system, and why this Play is distinct from phonological encoding. Because knowing the sound sequence and preparing the movements to say it are related—but they are not the same Play.

  6. 27 Sept

    Episode 46: Word Retrieval

    Have you ever known exactly what you wanted to say but could not find the word? In this episode of Brain Headquarters, we're exploring Word Retrieval—the process of accessing the word that matches the concept you want to express. We'll discuss the familiar tip-of-the-tongue experience, how words are selected for use, and why finding a word is different from organizing its sounds or articulating it. Because knowing the idea is not always the same as finding the word.

  7. 27 Sept

    Episode 45: The Language Production Playbook

    How does an idea become the words and speech sounds that another person can understand? In this episode of Brain Headquarters, we're opening the Language Production Playbook with Broca's Area. We'll discuss how word retrieval, speech motor planning, sentence construction, verbal fluency, and phonological encoding contribute to language production as parts of a distributed network. Because producing language isn't one Play. It takes an entire Playbook working together.

  8. 27 Sept

    Episode 44: Meet Broca's Area

    What good is a brilliant game plan if the team cannot communicate it? In this episode of Brain Headquarters, we're meeting Broca's Area—a Position Coach that plays an important role in spoken-language production as part of a much larger language network. We'll discuss why Broca's Area should not be reduced to a single “speech center” and how producing language requires several coordinated processes working across the brain. Because before the team can run the Play, someone has to help organize the message.

See All (51)

About

Welcome to Brain Headquarters. Hosted by Speech-Language Pathologist, former collegiate athlete, and brain injury survivor Christin Jae, Brain Headquarters breaks down neuroscience in a way that actually makes sense. Using sports analogies, real-life examples, and evidence-based science, this series explores how the brain works—from executive functioning and attention to memory, communication, emotion, and recovery after injury. Because understanding your brain shouldn't require a neuroscience degree.

Information

  • Creator
    Christin Jae
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Christin Jae
  • Show Website
    Brain Headquarters