Hello, Brain :)

Brainnovation Network

Hello, Brain :) is where brain health steps out of the lab and into real conversation. Each episode brings host, Collin Adams, together with a standing panel of three PhD-level neuroscientists: Dr. Ramona Von Leden, Dr. Dan O'Brien, and Dr. Laura Davis, to break down brain health topics in a way that’s fun, relatable, and refreshingly honest. We’re not afraid to challenge norms, laugh a little, or color outside the lines as we explore how the brain actually works and how to support it in real life.

  1. 2d ago

    Can a Light Box Replace the Sun? A Neuroscientist Explains Your Body Clock

    In this episode of Hello, Brain :), host Collin Adams and Ramona talk about circadian rhythm and daylight saving time. They cover the master clock in your brain, why morning sunlight matters more than evening light, why a light box can't fully replace the sun, and why keeping daylight saving time all year isn't as good an idea as it sounds. Collin shares what happens to him every time he flies east, how an NFL team prepared players for games in London, and why a stressful day doesn't switch off just because it's bedtime. In this episode: •     How daylight tells your brain what time it is •     The SCN, your brain's master clock, and how melatonin is timed •     Why you get clumsy when you're sleepy •     Can a light box replace the sun? •     Where daylight saving time came from •     Why morning sunlight matters more than evening light •     Why permanent daylight saving time doesn't work in winter •     How your body clock affects mood, metabolism and hormones •     Night owls, early birds, and why getting up earlier is so hard •     Why losing an hour feels worse than gaining one •     Jet lag, and why flying east is harder •     How athletes prepare for a time zone change •     Getting outside in the morning, even on a cloudy day •     Why stress keeps you awake at night •     Warm lamps, fewer lights and winding down in the evening

    Can a Light Box Replace the Sun? A Neuroscientist Explains Your Body Clock

  2. 6d ago

    What Happens to Your Brain After an Injury? A Neuroscientist Explains

    When we hear the words brain injury, most of us picture themoment it happened: a hit on the football field, a car accident, a fall. But some of the most important things happen in the minutes, hours, days and weeksafter. In this episode of Hello, Brain :), host Collin Adams sitsdown with neuroscientist Dr. Ramona von Leden, who studied traumatic brain injury in her postdoctoral research, to unpack what actually happens inside the brain after trauma, how the brain's immune system responds, and what all of itmeans for recovery. In this episode: • The primary injury, and the secondary injury thatunfolds over the hours, days and weeks after • Why your brain has the texture of Jello, and why bloodis toxic to it • Microglia and astrocytes: the immune cells that cleanup and wall off the damage • Why inflammation is part of repair, and what happenswhen it becomes chronic • How age, sleep, nutrition, genetics and past injurieschange recovery • Repeated concussions, from Collin's college teammate tothe football field • Why "don't let them fall asleep" is mostly amyth, and the warning signs that still mean get checked • Brain trauma without a blow to the head: blast injuriesand overdoses

    What Happens to Your Brain After an Injury? A Neuroscientist Explains

  3. Oct 26

    Can Yoga Actually Change Your Brain? A Neuroscientist Explains

    Think you're bad at yoga? According to neuroscientist and yoga teacher Dr. Ramona von Leden, there's no such thing. In this episode of Hello, Brain :), host Collin Adams sits down with Ramona to ask what yoga is actually doing inside the brain. Is it exercise, meditation, stress management, or something more interesting? They talk about interoception, why noticing your own heartbeat matters, how your breath connects to your nervous system, and what brain imaging shows in people who practice yoga. Collin shares how one balance pose in a recent flow class taught him something about his eyes, and Ramona tells the story of how yoga went from stretching to something much bigger in her life. In this episode: •     Why there's no such thing as being bad at yoga •     The eight layers of yoga, and why the poses are only the entry point •     Yoga Nidra, Yin, Vinyasa and power: finding a style that fits you •     How a flow class gets you out of your head •     Interoception: learning to listen to your own body •     Why your heart can pound while you're barely moving •     Yoga as practice for self-regulation in everyday life •     Being the conscious observer •     What noticing does in the brain: attention and emotional regulation networks •     Collin's balance breakthrough, and the role of your eyes •     Why breathing helps before a presentation or a hard test question •     The medulla, the pons and the two sides of your nervous system •     What brain imaging shows in people who practice yoga •     Yoga for depression, anxiety and kids' attention •     How Ramona went from stretching to teacher training

    Can Yoga Actually Change Your Brain? A Neuroscientist Explains

  4. Oct 22

    How Much Exercise Does Your Brain Actually Need?

    Does a walk around the grocery store count as exercise? A physical therapist says yes, and the reason why changes how you think about moving your body. In this episode of Hello, Brain :), host Collin Adams sits down with physical therapist Dr. DeJ'a Crippen, PT, DPT, to talk about exercise and the brain. Every movement starts in the brain, so what is actually happening in there when we move? DeJ'a explains how physical therapy retrains the nervous system, the three signs your brain has really learned a skill, and how much exercise you need to see a benefit. Collin shares how two push-ups after every bathroom break turned an exercise he hated into one he loves. In this episode: •     Why every movement starts in the brain •     Use it or lose it, and the other principles of neuroplasticity •     What changes first when people move consistently: balance, attention, mood and sleep •     The three signs your brain has learned a new skill •     Building movement confidence, in rehab and at the gym •     Dual tasking in rehab vs. elite sport •     Chaos training at a pitching facility •     How much exercise do you actually need, and does a grocery store stroll count? •     The talk test: how to tell if you're working hard enough •     Why the best exercise is the one you'll stick with •     "Pain and torture": the myth about physical therapy •     Tiny Habits, two push-ups and why celebrating rewires your brain •     If it hurts, should you stop moving? •     Workout pain or ouch pain? •     High intensity training and a client with Parkinson's •     Two things to remember: keep moving, and get the dose right

    How Much Exercise Does Your Brain Actually Need?

  5. Oct 19

    Are Schools Teaching Kids How to Think?

    You can make the dean's list and still feel like you never really learned anything. So, what is school actually teaching our brains? In this episode of Hello, Brain :), host Collin Adams sits down with neuroscientist Dr. Ramona von Leden and physician Dr. Dan O'Brien to talk about education and the developing brain. They dig into the difference between memorizing and understanding, why grades and self-esteem are so tangled up, what happens in the brain when you get called on in class, and how curiosity helps you remember. Collin also shares what it was like to move through school with undiagnosed ADHD. In this episode: •     What the education system is designed to teach, and what it misses •     Memorizing facts vs. understanding them well enough to use them somewhere new •     Why we should teach every student to think like a scientist •     The loop between good grades and self-esteem •     Why Collin made the dean's list and still felt like an imposter •     The research on curiosity, the hippocampus and memory •     Is it a problem with the student, or a mismatch with the classroom? •     Being sent to a separate room for math, and why a fast brain can look slow •     The cortisol spike of being called on in class •     Grad school vs. med school: being right vs. showing your thinking •     Why a 45 year old clinician was afraid to answer a question •     The class that finally made Collin love learning •     Miss Frizzle, museums and learning by doing •     How AI is changing the classroom •     If we designed school around the brain, what would we change?

    Are Schools Teaching Kids How to Think?

  6. Oct 15

    How Old Is Your Cat in Human Years? What Pets Teach Us About Brain Aging

    At one year old, a cat is already the equivalent of a 17 year old human. So what does that tell us about the old "times seven" rule, and what can our pets teach us about how our own brains age? In this episode Collin Adams talks with Dr. Christine Charvet, neuroscientist and assistant professor at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Christine leads Translating Time, a project that finds corresponding ages across species, from mice and cats to chimpanzees and humans. Together they look at what normal brain aging looks like, where Alzheimer's disease begins, and why the cat on your couch might be one of the best models we have for human aging. In this episode: •     What actually changes in the brain as we age, from dendrites to myelin •     Why brain atrophy starts around 40, and how an 80 year old brain is different •     Normal aging vs. Alzheimer's disease: a faster pace, or a disease of its own? •     Why plaques and tangles can show up more than a decade before memory changes •     How Translating Time lines up ages across species, and why the "times seven" rule doesn't hold •     Why cats reach adulthood within a year, then slow down •     One Health: why around 60% of cats have obesity, and what our shared lifestyle has to do with it •     Cognitive dysfunction syndrome, a condition in older cats similar to dementia •     Why pet cats that live to the equivalent of 80 are helping us study human aging •     Why your best path to healthy aging may be different from someone else's Learn more about Christine's work: Charvet Lab: www.charvetlab.com Translating Time: https://www.translatingtime.org

  7. Oct 12

    Can Duolingo Make You Fluent? How Your Brain Learns a Language

    In this episode, host Collin Adams and neuroscientist Dr. Ramona von Leden dig into how the brain learns, understands and produces language. They also answer the question millions of people ask every day: can you really learn a new language from your phone? In this episode: •     Why your brain starts preparing a reply before the other person stops talking •     How pattern prediction lets you read jumbled words, and why masks and texts make people harder to understand •     Why language is a whole-brain, whole-body process, not just Broca's and Wernicke's areas •     How babies pick up language, and why Ramona says to skip the baby talk •     How the tone you use with a child shapes how they hear your words •     Collin's 1,830-day Duolingo streak, and why he still freezes in real conversations •     Why learning a language young is easier: two "train tracks" instead of one •     What Duolingo does well (repetition, retrieval practice, instant feedback) and what it can't give you (body language, slang, accents) •     What happens in the brain when you stop translating in your head Chapters 00:00     How your brain turns sounds into meaning 00:37     You're replying before they finish talking 01:56     Jumbled words, messy handwriting and pattern prediction 03:13     Masks, texts and the context we lose 05:11     Language is a full-brain, full-body process 05:56     How babies learn language 07:09     Why to skip the baby talk 07:46     How tone shapes a child's development 09:36     A 1,830-day Duolingo streak 10:33     Learning young: two separate train tracks 12:48     Immersion vs. learning on an app 13:19     What Duolingo gets right, and what it can't teach 15:39     Big vocabulary, frozen in conversation 16:42     Why speaking is harder than listening 17:55     Learning a culture through its language 19:14     When you stop translating in your head 21:34     Key takeaway If this conversation made you think about how you learn, share it with someone who's working on a new language. Follow @hellobrainpod for more conversations about your brain.

  8. Oct 8

    Why Overthinking Kills Your Flow (and How to Get Back In)

    Ever had a moment where everything just clicks, and you stop thinking and simply perform? That's flow, the state where you feel and perform at your best. In this episode of Hello, Brain :), host Collin Adams sits down with neuroscientist Dr. Ramona von Leden to unpack what's actually happening in your brain when you're "in the zone," why overthinking pulls you out of it, and how to get back in. It's the first of several conversations on flow. In this episode: What happens in the brain during flow: the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, basal ganglia and reward system How practice and repetition put skills on autopilot Why pressure and performance anxiety break flow, from Collin's pitching days to Ramona's college softball career How clear goals and dopamine help you get into flow Why a messed-up morning throws off your focus, and the "quick win" that resets it Back-to-back meetings, depletion and learning to come out of flow Treating your day like an athlete: performance and recovery Chapters 00:00 What is flow, or being "in the zone"? 01:25 Flow on the pitcher's mound 02:31 What's happening in the brain during flow 05:47 Flow vs. ADHD: brainwaves and focus 08:00 Driving stick shift: how skills go on autopilot 10:10 How stress and pressure break flow 12:06 Performance anxiety: Ramona's college softball story 14:40 Playing the game vs. watching yourself play 15:43 Goals, dopamine and getting into flow 17:23 Morning routines and the "quick win" reset 21:37 Back-to-back meetings and coming out of flow 22:55 Natural endpoints: sport, yoga and working from home 24:16 Performance and recovery, like an athlete 25:26 Key takeaway: be present If this conversation resonated with you, share it with someone who might benefit. Follow @hellobrainpod for more conversations about your brain.

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About

Hello, Brain :) is where brain health steps out of the lab and into real conversation. Each episode brings host, Collin Adams, together with a standing panel of three PhD-level neuroscientists: Dr. Ramona Von Leden, Dr. Dan O'Brien, and Dr. Laura Davis, to break down brain health topics in a way that’s fun, relatable, and refreshingly honest. We’re not afraid to challenge norms, laugh a little, or color outside the lines as we explore how the brain actually works and how to support it in real life.

Information

  • Creator
    Brainnovation Network
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Brainnovation Network
  • Show Website
    Hello, Brain :)

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