niamh: kieran! you can play with the boys later. you've got to help me out. get the house all beautiful before granny gets here.

i think my dad might have gone to see niamh today. you will say, won't you, if i'm gettin' in your way? i will, yeah. how's it looking? i'll just juggle around these figures till i get them where i want them. i mean, it has gone on long enough, hasn't it? sorry, i wasn't listening to you--what? my dad. i think he's gone to visit niamh. well, that's good, isn't it? you're busy-- i'll leave you on peace. yeah.

call me later if you need any help. i know, i know. emma. lads, once you've done the hoovering, the windows need doing in there, eh? ( hears laughter ) oi! ah! ( moaning ) we were just takin' a little break. don't you say a word! he trusted me, and now this is completely ruined. it doesn't look good i'll admit but sure we can get it fixed. it is antique-- how are you gonna

fix this, huh? a specialist. what? an antique chair specialist. oh, just take that take it and go-- both of you, go!!! orla, you're lookin' very pale. ( geese honking ) hi, mairead, how are you? father, look, i really shouldn't have come to the audition. oh, no, i'm glad you did-- it was great. is your mother in? go on, mairead. i won't be long. bring the eggs in the house. sorry for dropping in like this. but you've come for mairead's sake. well, yes, something like that and for my own. you've succeeded in embarrassing her that's for sure. that wasn't my intention.

i'm sure. mairead came to audition for the choir... she has a wonderful voice. we are not... church-goers. but this is a once-off choral festival, and i'm sure she'd enjoy it. father, this is not about choir. what is it about? ask father mac. maybe you should discuss the matter with him. come on, mairead get up the back. just visiting? ( sighing: ) just going home. that's a shame.

( people shouting ) are you drunk, stupid, or what?! man: would you look at that mess! niamh, is that sean dillon down there? no. it can't be. you must be mistaken. i'm really sorry i thought i'd straightened up. and what's this-- an ornament? oi, here-- leave that alone.

sean! sean! liam: come on, danny say you'll mend it. i'm a farmer not a carpenter. you're as good with nails as you are with... manure. manure. it's an antique, is it? and we need it today-- come on, how much? i'll do it for free. what would you want in return? see that barn? yeah. and those fences? yeah. they need paint. they look okay to me. trust me, they need paint. all that for one chair? you did say it was mr. quigley's antique chair, didn't you? imelda: so how was it you found yourself in dublin?

i was passing by. so you thought you'd just pop in? something like that. can i have this? no. it's not yours and it's dirty. put it back. imelda: i'll take kieran to the park. thanks, imelda. come on-- we best get you a cup of tea or something. thank you. i went to see mairead reilly. kathleen mentioned something about that. ( pager goes off ) sorry. ( clears throat ) her mother doesn't seem to want her to join the choir. yes, it's a great shame for the girl's sake. i was wondering if you would have a word.

what makes you think that i can help? when i asked her what her objections were she suggested i talk to you. did she? any contact we had ended years ago. still, better coming from you than from a complete stranger. maureen reilly once accused me of betraying a trust. that was the last time she came to church. and did you? that's not a question i'd expect you to ask of me, father. i'm sorry, i-- there's nothing i can do to change things now. something on your mind? father aiden is right. the girl has got a beautiful voice.

you know as well as i do that maureen reilly can be a very determined woman. isn't it time to forgive? to forget? that's for maureen to decide, not me. what about mairead? someone has to make the first move. i'm really sorry about this. i was actually on my way home. you shouldn't have come. how did you know where i lived? brian told me. i'm sorry, i had no idea that ambrose's mother was going to be here. well, you should have rung first. i'll get the tea. milk, two sugars. i know.

danny? you shouldn't have come-- what about the farm? never mind that-- give us that trowel. what for? i'm gonna give you a hand. i plant one on the same day of every year. you've a cautious approach to gardening, then? no, it's to mark the anniversary of my mum dying. i've been really thick haven't i? you weren't to know. i wish you'd said. you did say? i'm glad my dad's gone to see niamh-- i just feel scared. why? because it's not mom he loves anymore... it's niamh. i'm not running away. no? what we did was wrong. we didn't do anything.

you know that's not the case. all right-- we fell in love, that's what we did. maybe i should have rung before i came. why didn't you? because it wouldn't have made any difference. i would have come anyway-- you weren't about to come home. you know i can't cope with ballykea. i didn't set out to hurt you. i thought leaving was the best thing to do for us. well, maybe... imelda: niamh-- ( distraught: ) i can't find kieran anywhere-- he ran off in the park! what...? oh, my god! he can't have gone far!

it's just down there on the right, sean. imelda: i'll catch up w ith you-- he was down by the stream! kieran! both: kieran! kieran! my god, he could be anywhere-- he'll be terrified! man: any of youse lost yourselves a kiddie? yes! sean: s tay where you are! don't move! give me that child! kieran! mummy's here, darling, everything's doing to be okay! what's going on? he was playing on the swing and the rope broke. is he hurt? no, he's all right. kieran: i like horses.

kieran: oh, you've got all wet. can you see any fishes in the water? oh, darling, come here. you frightened the life out of us. oh... niamh: thank you. maureen: get to the point-- mairead will be home soon, i don't want her seeing you here. a choir festival-- where's the harm in that? don't waste your breath. look, i know i should have come here before now but i was reluctant. so well you might. it was a long time ago-- it's in the past. mairead wakes up every morning without a father--

it's not in the past for us. i'm very sorry. i trusted in you and your church. i wanted to help. telling my husband i was seeing someone else, was that supposed to help? you're not even going to deny it, are you? if i did would you believe me? he had his fist to help him when he couldn't find the words. i never wanted you to suffer. i did suffer! mairead suffered! but preventing her from singing that's not going to help her. this is about mairead, it's not about you and me. i thought pigs were supposed to be clever. not mine. will you manage? it's under control i think. the question is why i bother. you love that farm. most people kill themselves keeping a farm because they've a family for their kids i haven't got that motivation.

you're lonely, aren't you? no. i'm on me own. siobhan's right, you are stubborn. hmm. and sometimes very sweet. sweet? easy. let's go for a walk. okay. emma: i'm stronger than you think. danny: i don't doubt that-- at all. i mean, all this stuff with the pigs and the paint, you didn't want to tell me you think i've got enough to deal with-- is that about right? i suppose, yeah. well...i can cope. so talk to me-- that's what friends are for. friends? good friends. come on, you little article, let's get you cleaned up.

i'll just head on. ah, no, stay and get yourself sorted. i just want to get him settled. goodnight, cowboy. say goodbye. i want a horse. didn't he give you a dog already? she dotes on kieran. he's a fine young man. he's a credit to both of you. thank you, sean. how have you been? since ambrose died? yeah. it doesn't get any easier. he was a fine man, too. do you really mean that? i do. i'd give anything to have him among us. it's hardest on niamh. i know-- i understand grief. sean...i tried to tell her. it's up to you now. tell her what?

to let go and move on. i brought ambrose up on my own, a foolish thing to do if there's a choice. well, niamh's her own woman. you talk to her, sean. after all, that's why you're here, isn't it? i'll just go and say goodnight to kieran. orla: it looks all right. liam: it's perfect. you can't even see the joins. how much did it cost? nothing. sort of. we done a deal with danny. i'm impressed. we wanted to get it all sorted out. we should have risked the choir. what? we're here to avoid your brother. and to help you out. but mainly to avoid the choir. and that's no disrespect to father aiden. he's making a smashing job of that choir of his. i still have to talk to quigley, you know. tell him how things are.

it's a good job we got that chair fixed? but if brian asks about the house and i don't mention this that'd be like... lying, wouldn't it? i wouldn't worry about that. but how could i lie to brian? he's been like a father to you. you wouldn't tell him, would you? ( sighs ) i might. unless...? you join the choir. ( out of tune: ) ♪ holy god ♪ ♪ we praise thy name ♪ ♪ lord of all we know ♪ stop! stop! stop! it's off key! come on, lads, who dropped the note? i was in tune. yeah, but whose tune? now, lads, be serious. once again.

one, two, three-- ♪ holy god ♪ ♪ we praise thy name ♪ ♪ lord of all ♪ ♪ we bow before thee ♪ is that really liam and donal? aiden: it's liam and donal, all right. good of you to join us. we know how busy you are. i was only curious. ah, it means a lot to the choir. for the new gard to be showing an interest. i don't believe this. help me. sorry, i can't hear you. you're a terrible man-- i can't sing you'll regret it. but you won't. ♪ everlasting is thy reign ♪ ♪ cherubim and seraphim ♪ father mac: father aiden. ♪ would unceasing chorus raising

♪ ♪ ever sing with sweet accord ♪ ♪ holy holy holy lord ♪ it's...a shame her mother couldn't come. she won't have anything to do with the church. thank you. for what? for mairead. ( sighs ) if there's anything i can do to help...? no questions-- that would be help enough.

i'm sorry if i caused a problem with the choir. don't be hard on him. the whole business was... painful for him then. i don't suppose it's any less now. he's fallen asleep. that's some adventure he had. well, i'd better be off. you must me hungry-- let me fix you something. no, i'm fine. nice to see you, sean. and you. i'll phone you in a day or two, love. thanks. you take care of her, now. no, no-- i'll see myself out.

bye. bye. i hope you're hungry. are they ready yet? nearly. i want these silver bits. i know. this looks like fun. are you mad? we're going to look great. they have me driven round the bend. we've got our music worked out and rehearsed everything. rehearsals... can you believe it? my two like this over the choir. oh, the choir... you all right? oh, yeah, uh-- could you spare me for a couple of minutes? sure i can. is there something wrong? oh, er, i'll tell you later. you lied. i could video it. don't bother. but you could still stay in the choir. no thank you i didn't really like it anyway.

mum and dad are going to be angry with you. yes, grainne i suppose they will. good. well done. i was only trying to help. by bringing the children here under false pretenses? yeah. it's always the children who suffer. don't make it worse than it is. relax, you have done me a favor-- they were an absolute nightmare. let me tell you this-- they are not gonna let you get away with this, either. ( sighs ) dermot: don't stop there's loads left. paul-- you agreed-- it's only fair. you lied to us. yeah, and i swear i'll never do it again. whoa-- what are these? they're chairs, orla.

quigley bought them for the pub. you'd think they were expensive, but they only cost him fifty pence a chair. fifty 'p'? yeah, danny cleaned 'em up for him. d'you know, he came today and bought one for himself. paid the full fifty pence. orla: all that for fifty pence of firewood. dermot: come on, orla, back to work. don't stop-- there's loads left. well, i'll say one thing there's never a dull moment with you. excuse me. i was going along quite nicely leading a rather boring yet wholesome life until you crashed onto the scene. well, how did i know that a marching band was gonna go right through the middle of a fruit market? ( both chuckling ) it was good fun, though. eventually. so how do we top that? i could start a driving school.

you could give guided tours around dublin. and...we could get married. kieran: mum, i'm finished. i'm coming. i'm finished cleaning my teeth. ♪ i once was lost ♪ ♪ but now am found ♪ ♪ was blind ♪ ♪ but now i see ♪ ♪ t'was grace that taught ♪ ♪ my heart to fear ♪ ♪ and grace my fears relieved ♪ where'd you find her? she found us. ♪ ...precious did that grace appear ♪ ♪ the hour i first believed ♪

you meant it. yeah. will you say it again, please? will you marry me? i love you. captioned by captioneering your closed captioning resource

>> announcer: explore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> dr. tanzi: simply put, you need to realize that you are not your brain. that's right. you are not your brain. you are the user of your brain. your brain serves you. you shouldn't be serving it. >> announcer: dr. rudy tanzi is a professor of neurology at harvard university and director of the genetics and aging research unit at massachusetts general hospital. >> dr. tanzi: you need to become the master of your brain. you need to balance all three parts of your brain so that they work in perfect harmony and balance.

>> announcer: based on the latest research in neuroscience, dr. tanzi gives us the roadmap on how to unlock the hidden powers of our brain. >> dr. tanzi: what can you expect from a super brain? well, you'll find it easier to solve everyday problems, you'll find yourself making better decisions with a greater sense of intuition. you'll have a better memory. you'll be less stressed. you'll even find it easier to lose weight. >> announcer: introduced by his co-author and world-renowned colleague dr. deepak chopra, please join dr. rudy tanzi for "super brain." (applause) >> dr. chopra: i'm dr. deepak chopra. as you may know, my training is in internal medicine and endocrinology. for the last 25 years, i've been working on the mind/body connection and how it relates to your physical, mental and

spiritual well-being. but today, i'd like to introduce you to my friend and colleague dr. rudy tanzi. he is professor of neurology at harvard medical school in mass general hospital and he's a leading expert in alzheimer's research. today, he's gonna talk to us about the mind/brain connection and how to create a super brain. remember, you can't have a mind/body connection unless you have a mind/brain connection. rudy? >> dr. tanzi: thank you, deepak. (applause) over the next 60 minutes, i'm going to share with you some amazing facts about the brain, and i'm going to tell you how you can transform your brain into a super brain. a super brain. what can you expect from a super brain? well, you'll find it easier to solve everyday problems, you'll

find yourself making better decisions with a greater sense of intuition, you'll have a better memory, you'll be less stressed, you'll even find it easier to lose weight, your relationships at home and work will improve, and finally, you'll be able to reduce your risk for our worst nightmare as we age, dreaded alzheimer's disease, which i've devoted my professional career to studying. i know, this sounds like a lot and it sounds all too good to be true, but believe me, the science is there to back it up. as a neuroscientist, i can tell you that. so let's start. first, i'm going to tell you the single most important thing you need to know about how to create your super brain. simply put, you need to realize that you are not your brain. that's right. you are not your brain. you are the user of your brain. your brain serves you. you shouldn't be serving it. and this will be a recurring theme throughout this presentation. for now, our task is to think about how to age and at the

healthiest way, keep our brains healthy, and that means how can we develop a super brain? let me that begin by telling you a little bit about your own brain. what you may not know is that one of the reigning ideas about how the brain is organized is the triune brain, meaning that the brain has three major parts, okay? so to demonstrate this, i'm going to use my hand. this is called the handy brain and this was developed by ucla neuropsychiatrist dan siegel the handy version of the brain. so put up your hand. okay. now, fold your thumb inside and make a fist. so i want to show you the three regions of the brain. down here in the fleshy part of your palm, that's called the reptilian brain. it's the back of your head. open your hand. in the middle, that's the limbic system or emotional brain. and then over the top is the rest of the brain. that's all these real estate here that's still under development, the intellectual

brain. now we'll go one by one, okay? let's start with that reptilian brain. the reptilian brain is about 300 million years old. it first showed up in a little lizard. the reptilian brain is your instinctive brain, so the way to think about it is can you remember the last time you got really scared? or maybe you wanted to attack someone because they threatened you? well, you know, hopefully not. but this often happens, for example, in bad dreams, right? you have a frustration dream. you want to lash out and attack something. this is coming from your reptilian brain. the reptilian brain is concerned with four main functions-- feeding, making sure you get food, fighting, you know protecting what's yours unless the other guy's bigger, and fleeing is the third function, and the fourth function is reproduction, making sure the species continues, okay? so you really need this. and we'll get back to reptilian brain a little later. let me move on now to the limbic brain or the emotional brain. that's the one represented by your thumb tucked inside--deep

inside the brain. this is the second oldest part of your brain. it's about 100 million years old, and it controls your emotions and your short-term memory. now, when you're feeling connected with those around you, a good connection, this brain region is really good to you. it lets you experience healthy emotions. you feel emotions like love, compassion, peace and joy. your entire body and your brain feels in balance. life is good. but when we're lonely, when we're disconnected from others this brain region's not happy. it feels hostility, resentment guilt, shame, anxiety. when your brain and body are out of balance, life is not so good. so this is the part of the brain that works best for you when you try to stay connected with others, staying socially engaged. the bottom line is never try to isolate yourself. we are by nature social beings. we weren't intended to live

alone. we're intended to interact with each other. and it's the limbic or emotional brain that ensures that you will be a happy person if you do so. so now, let's move on to that third part of the brain, and that's the neocortex, the intellectual brain. this showed up about 4 million years ago, so not so long ago compared to the others. it's a pretty new part of the brain, and that's the bulk of your brain. there's a lot of real estate there still under development. this is the part of your brain that controls your intellect and actually, you're using this part of the brain right now to understand what i'm telling you. well, at least i hope you are. (laughter) it allows us to have long-term memories, to plan things, to predict things, to be reasonable and rational, but perhaps most importantly, it gives us free will. free will allows us to make our own choices and decisions. you know, that little lizard with just a reptilian brain, he can't make decisions. he just--it's automatic, you know?

you're walking--you know, if you're walking around in florida and you see a gecko, the gecko scurries into the bushes. it can't help it. okay? fight or flight. but when you have a--this new part of the brain, you can make choices about what you want to do. and when all three parts of the brain are in balance, working in harmony, the greatest achievements of civilization are possible. the symphonies of mozart, the works of shakespeare, the insights of einstein, da vinci and galileo. and when this balance is ultimately achieved, well, this is what we call a super brain. and i'm here today to show you how to get one, okay? so how's that sound? would you like a super brain? >> yes. (applause) >> great. next, i want to show you how you can bring maximal health and benefit to your life by regulating each of the three parts of the brain. your reptilian brain, which is back here, as i told you, is very important, okay? it's--you need it for survival. but the problem is it can get

you into trouble. you know, unless your actual survival is threatened, it's better to just keep this brain region in check. you need it but you can't let it get out of hand. let me give you an example. suppose you're driving on the highway, someone cuts you off, and then, to add insult upon injury, they blow their horn at you. and your natural instinct is to respond aggressively. but here's a formula you can use over and over again to override those negative instinctive reactions that are gonna come up when something like that happens. your brain stem's gonna try to get you upset and try to get you stressed, but if you can remember this, here's a way to just nip it in the bud and move on. and to remember this, we used the acronym s.t.o.p. s-t-o-p. "s," as you might have guessed stands for "stop." just stop, hold on, wait a minute. okay, yeah, you just got cut off, the guy blew his horn at me, but just stop. "t" stands for take three deep

breaths. (breathing deeply) those are deep. (breathes deeply) and after you do that, smile. and don't just smile. try to make your whole body smile. try to do that. pretend your whole body's smiling. i can feel it, okay? so you're driving while you're doing this, be careful. um--(laughs) now "o" stands for observe what's happening inside of you. you may still be upset, and it may not feel very good, but if those three breaths happened and they did you well and you're smiling, you might feel okay. and finally, "p." "p" stand for "proceed with awareness and kindness," okay? so "s," stop, "t," take three breaths and smile, "o," observe how you're doing, "p," move on proceed and stay aware and be kind. and what will happen is if you do this, every time your

reptilian brain tries to stress you out or get the better of you, you'll be able to stop it. it's amazing how well it works. you know, the key is to be able to do this all the time. if you get into the habit of doing this, your brain is incredibly susceptible to repetition and persistence. it will follow suit. it will do this automatically if you keep training it to do so. and the reason for this is there's a saying in neuroscience that goes, "nerve cells that fire together, wire together," okay? "the nerve cells that fire together, wire together." so every time you repeat something, your brain's rewiring itself to make it easier next time to reign in your reptilian brain when you're starting to feel stressed. in other words, rather than your reptilian brain controlling you, you're using your reptilian brain. you are the user of your brain. that's the key. and as you repeat this process you will be transforming your brain. you'll be taking the first step into creating your super brain.

so again, i'm gonna emphasize, instead of your brain using you, you need to learn that you use your brain. take control of your brain okay? so now, let's move on to the limbic brain or emotional brain inside the hand. that's the one tucked in here. now, besides controlling your emotions with a part of the brain called the amygdala, the limbic brain is also responsible for your short-term memory. so as you're listening to me speak, this information that's coming in is being stored short term in this area called the hippocampus. the hippocampus is latin for seahorse, and if you make two c's with your hands and put them together and link them like that, looks kind of like a seahorse. that's why it's called the hippocampus. and it's actually tiny if you look inside here. here's this big giant brain and the hippocampus is just this little tiny piece in here. so if you think about it, it's kind of weird, right? because, you know, every bit of information you're taking in has to be stored there first before

it can go to the big hard drive here in your frontal cortex. now, the problem is how do you keep this short-term memory going strong as you age. the first thing you need to know is this. short-term memory is reinforced by emotion. the stronger the emotion that comes with some event, the greater the odds that you're going to remember it later. we learn best when we learn with passion. we learn best when there's lots of emotion associated with what is being taken into your brain. for example, we all remember like it was yesterday where we were on the morning of 9/11. i mean, think about 9/11, do you remember every detail of where you were when you saw this happening? and why is this? because this incredibly intense emotions, in this case, shocking emotions that were associated with those events reinforced those memories. so now, do this, try to remember your first kiss.

too many of you are smiling. (laughter) must have been a good first kiss. now, try to remember the first congressman you voted for. hmm, not as many smiles. so i know which one you probably remembered better, right? because there was emotion associated with that first kiss not with who you voted for. emotion is what will hardwire memories. now, young children have incredible memories. you ever think about why? it's because everything in their lives, for a young child, is just so darn intense all the time. every moment is a wow moment. for--our little daughter, laila, 4-year-old laila, every single minute, every single second of the day is just incredible, you know. over the weekend, she was in the pool and a beetle flew into the pool and landed on the water. all of a sudden, i heard her shrieking, saying, "daddy, daddy, look, look, look." i'm like, "what? what?" i thought something was wrong. "there's a beetle in the pool." i'm like, "ah, good." so you know, i mean, she's gonna

remember that little swimming beetle for a long time because that was an incredible event for her. her emotional brain hardwired that memory just like that. so, how can you use your emotional brain for your maximum benefit? well, to do so, i'd like you to get into the habit of, whenever possible, asking yourself two questions. try to do this on a regular basis, but just don't do it out loud. people will think you're crazy. the first thing is ask yourself, "what am i feeling right now?" ask yourself, "what am i feeling right now?" the second question is, "hm, is that feeling good for me?" two simple questions, how am i feeling right now and is that feeling good for me. and if whatever you're feeling right now is making you emotionally distressed, well that's not good. that's not good for your brain or your body. well, here's what you can do. you know, sometimes, you know, you just say, "how i'm feeling?" you just feel bad. you don't even know why, okay? don't try to figure out why. just do this instead, try to recall a memory that evokes joy,

love, happiness, harmony. like a beautiful sunset while you're on vacation, or the day your child was born. okay, so now, i know this is starting to sound a little, you know, touchy-feely, you know especially for a scientist. but the fact is, there is science behind this to back it up, so just bear with me. when you simply recall the experience of love or joy, your brain will actually react and start to release neurochemicals. chemicals like oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. and they will instantly make you feel better, okay? it's neurochemistry. these are the molecules of emotion. and guess what, as they get released by your brain, just 'cause you're thinking about something really nice, it will also serve to improve your health. these chemicals have been shown to enhance your immune system. there's a whole part of neuroscience called neuroimmunology that studies how your emotional well-being can work to enhance your immunity against, you know, getting a

cold or just getting sick. so as you repeat this process every day, you will increasingly become the user of your emotional brain rather than letting it use you, and you'll be taking the next step toward creating your super brain. now, let's talk about that newest part of the brain, the newbie on the block, 4 million years old. the neocortical or intellectual brain, the big daddy over here. lots of real estate. this is the part of your brain that allows you to reason, to plan, to be creative. it's perhaps the most important part of your brain because it also provides you with imagination, free will and choice. the neocortex also gives us meaning. it allows us to apply meaning to everything we experience. this is one of the special things about being human is we can apply meaning to our lives. so now, let's think about how you can use your intellectual brain to your greatest advantage. well, the way you do this is by

taking the time whenever you can to consciously reflect on the meaning of your life, the purpose of your life. now i know that may sound cliche and most of us don't think about this anymore. we get older. you know, when you're younger, especially in college we might think, what's the meaning of life? you know, why am i here? but you know, it's worth thinking about that even when you're an adult because it activates a part of your intellectual brain that is providing the most imagination and creativity. take the time to ask, "what is the meaning of life? what is my purpose? what would i like to do with my life?" by searching for meaning, you're activating parts of your neocortex that are gonna serve you well. and when you ask and if you keep asking these questions, the answers are gonna come to you naturally. they're gonna come to you intuitively. and this has--brings us now to one of the greatest and newest frontiers of neuroscience where we're thinking about how intellect begins to emerge with your overall state of awareness an intuition. how can we train ourselves to be more aware, more intuitive?

and we'll get more into this later in the show. but for now, let's recap what we have learned so far. first and foremost, you are not your brain. i think you know that by now. you are the user of your brain. second, you learned about the three parts of your brain, the reptilian or instinctive brain the limbic or emotional brain and the neocortical or intellectual brain. and finally, i gave you some exercises to regulate these brain regions for your maximal benefit. when we come back, i will share with you even more information on how to use your brain to maximize your health, happiness and well-being. and later, i'll tell you how to keep your brain young and how to help stave off alzheimer's disease. see you then. (applause) >> wow, this is such great information. i hope you're enjoying this look into the world of neuroscience and i am delighted to be right here in the studio with dr.

tanzi. rudy, thank you so much for bringing this show to pbs, such fascinating information. >> well, it's great to be here at pbs. i mean, my family watches a lot of the show. my little daughter loves "thomas the tank engine." i've actually been on a number of "nova" episodes and we really love pbs. >> well, this is the place for your kind of science and we're delighted to have you here, and there's a lot more to come. and just so you know, dr. tanzi is one of the world's leading researchers in the field of neuroscience. he is the joseph p. and rose f. kennedy professor of neurology at harvard and the director of genetics and aging research at mass general hospital. and this pbs station, as you likely know, exist to serve you as a result of the tremendous financial support we received from people just like you. now we encourage your support in any amount, but we've got a couple of levels for you to consider starting at the affordable $60-a-year membership level. we will say thank you with the dvd of this lecture that includes everything on the

television broadcast, plus, over 30 minutes of your most frequently asked questions about how to enjoy the benefits of a "super brain" or you can move up to the $144 level of support and we'll show our appreciation with "super brain a user's manual." now this life-changing multimedia learning system includes a three-book set that will give you more science about the secrets to enjoying a super brain and it also includes a seven dvd library, and it has information and programs to help you manage your weight, deal with anxiety and fears, learn the latest about research on alzheimer's and there's even a download in it to help you get a better night's sleep. now, you're gonna enjoy all the benefits of a super brain with your gift of support right now. and please remember, this package is a pbs exclusive so please call or join safely and securely online. now, dr. tanzi, i got to ask you

a pretty simple question. i've watched now the first part with our viewers of the show but i still don't quite understand clearly this concept of a super brain. what do you mean by that? >> well, what i mean by a super brain is that you take the different parts of your brain, the three major parts of your brain, and you learn how to monitor them all, use them all and integrate them in a balanced manner so once they're harmonious, you'll find you have a healthier and happier life. >> you know what i love about it, rudy, is just what you said, the science is there to back it up. there's not one thing in this package, in the books, in the seven dvd library, whether you're exploring how to deal with stress or how to deal perhaps with getting to a more ideal weight for you, you're using the science, the neuroscience that you've studied and the work that deepak chopra has done, you've combined them to make a--really, a set of technologies that can help people do these things that you're suggesting 'cause there's one thing--a lot--you can get opinions from anybody, but it's really nice to get a really

step-by-step strategy for how to make changes in your life that you know is backed up by real science. >> yeah, you know, greg, i mean, i'm a professor--a working professor at harvard and mass general hospital. i run a large research group of about 50, 60 people working on alzheimer's disease and we publish probably, i don't know 3, 4 dozen papers a year about our research. so i'm not gonna give anybody information that's wrong. i'm a real scientist. and the point is, i wanted to reach out by working with deepak chopra to say, "let's combine what we know about science about how to exploit and use that mind/body but now mind/brain connection to have a healthier life. so we basically put the science out there and then give you very, very simple advice to develop skills and tools to make the optimum use of your brain, optimally using this incredible organ that you own. it's all yours. and then you turn it into a super brain and your life changes, your relationships. you make better decisions. your intuition goes up.

you're happier and your whole body is healthier because your brain controls your body out. okay. once you see all these in the book, the dvds, the manual you'll see how easy it is. and, you know, i don't want to get too excited about it, but i'm just very excited about it. it's just a great thing. >> but i know people are out there are watching, watched the lecture so far, listening to us talk right now might be going, "can anybody take advantage of this?" do i have to be a 30-year-old and change my life in a big way? can i work it at 40? what if i've already got some disease states that i'm dealing with? can this help anybody?" >> yes, i mean, i want to emphasize. anybody can start creating this idea of a super brain right now. and the manual, the dvds, the book, every--the starting--getting started guide makes it easy, okay? we're gonna get across to you the science in a simple way of how amazing your brain is. just like carl sagan told us how amazing the universe is. your brain is just as amazing. i mean, the number of, you know, connections you can make in your brain is the number as the entire number of atoms and particles in the universe.

we tell you how to practice mind over brain. you know, how you can tap into your brain, to have it serve you. each of the dvds in the seven dvd library will get you closer to understanding how you can be the master of your brain, not the other way around. how to use your brain, not just simply be a servant to your brain. and we'll give you an understanding of the science in a very simple way. so you get both sides. here's the science that backs it up and here's what's it gonna do for you when you start creating your own super brain. >> wow. it's great, great stuff, and i hope you're looking forward to taking advantage of it. right now, it's time to go back to the next segment of "super brain," but we're gonna be back in the studio with dr. tanzi in a few short minutes. but please show your support for this program right now by using the telephone or using this station's website. now, if you already pledged your support, thank you. if you haven't done so yet, why not? please give yourself the power and freedom of the super brain as our way of saying thanks to you for your support of this pbs

station. >> announcer: welcome back to "super brain" with dr. rudy tanzi. (applause) >> dr. tanzi: thank you. so now i'd like to continue on this theme of how to create your super brain. i already told you that you need to become the user of your brain, and not let your brain use you. you need to realize that you are much more than the sum of your thoughts, and feelings, and sensations. you need to become the master of your brain. you need to balance all three parts of your brain, so that they work in perfect harmony and balance. now, in addition to being a scientist, i played piano for most of my life, including

professionally for a while. and you know, what i appreciate about music is that it can be used to activate these three different parts of the brain. now, i'm gonna show you a little bit on the piano. so let's start with the reptilian brain, right? this is, you know, usually the aggressive part, the fight or flight. so to represent a reptilian brain, we can think about a 2-4 beat, a march. (piano plays) you feel the aggression, you feel the marching, okay? 'cause the reptilian brain tends to want to take territory, and if it can't, it flees. it says take food. it says survive, survive survive. it's doing us a favor. and then the emotional brain comes in, and the emotional brain is--could be a thing of beauty. it could also be a negative emotion, but we'll choose a nice beautiful emotion. (piano plays)

you know, it evokes a feeling of peace, and calm, and beauty. this, you know, warm and fuzzy feelings. now, the third part of the brain is the neocortex. and i don't really know how to play an intellectual song, but i think it might sound like this. (piano plays) you know, like those computer commercials you see on tv, you know, when the little chips are going. so those--so this is just showing how music can turn on and represent different parts of the brain. the problem is, many of us tend to let just one brain area dominate our lives. so for example, you may have a pathological overeater, who may unknowingly spend most of his time in the reptilian brain. okay, so remember that reptilian brain sounded like this. (piano plays) now, picture i'm chewing while i'm doing that.

(piano plays) (laughter) another bag of chips. (piano plays) okay? it can get a real march rhythm going as you munch that food and you're not even thinking about it. instinctively trying to satiate the desire for that pleasure brought about by the sheer act of eating. and then you have the drama queen or king who dwells in that limbic system, immersed in a world of runaway emotions, negative or positive, and just loving it. so i'll do the positive one, you know, we have... (piano plays) and, you know, that's fine, but you know, that's not all there is to life. you need to kind of get out of the emotional brain once in a while. it can hold you back. and then you have, and i know a lot of these people, the hard-nosed intellectual who lives their entire life stuck in the neocortex, showing little sensitivity or compassion for those around them, okay? because all that matters is the intellect. (piano plays)