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Welcome to the podcast, Full PreFrontal: Exposing the Mysteries of Executive Function hosted by Sucheta Kamath. Executive Function is a core set of cognitive skills that allow humans to focus attention, block out distractions, plan ahead, stay engaged, temper emotions, and think flexibly while creatively solving problems to fulfill personal and social goals. The prefrontal cortex region of the brain, which governs Executive Function, is often compared to an air traffic control system at a bu ...
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Ep. 136: Holiday Rewind 2: 10 Takeaways from 100 Conversations on the Science of Learning
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Randomly scattered stars light up the night sky, but it is human inventiveness and imagination that has connected these cosmic dots into the constellations we know so well. As the podcast Full PreFrontal: Exposing the Mysteries of Executive Function celebrates its 100th episode, we have the same pleasure of connecting the scattered ideas that exper…
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Ep. 135: Holiday Rewind 1: Suvrat Bhargave, MD – You’re More Than What You Feel
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This is a repeat of episode 101 brought back as one of my favorite episode. Uncertainly, unceasing demands, and all around unrest can provoke the feelings of restlessness, a state of irritability, and intense worrying and general dissatisfaction. But clinically speaking, these feelings of being on the edge are the signs of anxiety and often when th…
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Ep. 134: Edward "Ned" Hallowell, M.D. - ADHD: Marvelous, Magical, and Manageable
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If you come across a Wall Street trader, an ER physician, a trial lawyer, a sky-diving instructor, a trapeze artist, or a stand-up comedian, more than likely there is a race-car brain that has been well channelled in spite of its high propensity for intense stimulation and a desire to live on the edge. Experts say that a perennially super-charged a…
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Ep. 133: Dr. Kelly Mahler - Interoception & Executive Function
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Our body is a screen onto which our inner experiences are frequently projected. Authors, through their writings, vividly illustrate the imprint of the mind onto the body; for example, Caroline Hanson says “Nervousness made her feel nauseous, almost like she had two hearts frantically beating in her chest, instead of one.” The human interoception sy…
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Ep. 132: George McCloskey, Ph.D. - Evolution of System 2
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Nobel prize winner behavioral economist, Daniel Kahneman's remarkable work brought the concepts of System 1 and System 2 into the mainstream. Contrary to the conventional wisdom which associates human capacity with rational thought and logical thinking (features of system 2), our system 1 (the autopilot) has a much stronger hold on our psyche. It i…
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Ep. 131: George McCloskey, Ph.D. - Self-Regulate to Self-Realize
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In her book Mirror: The History, author Sabine Melchoir-Bonnet tracks the curious journey of a tiny reflective glass once thought to be the most fascinating invention which over time eventually has gotten demoted to the status of an ordinary gimmick. The mirror that captures the presentation of self in everyday life comes through with its promise o…
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Ep. 130: Elizabeth Sautter MA, CCC-SLP - Make Social-Emotional Learning Stick
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The most vital skills of making and keeping friends, figuring out COVID-19 social etiquette, and navigating the social world with adaptive flexibility is far from being innate or natural. While we have barricaded ourselves in our homes and in spite of 24/7 access to the internet that gives us the illusion of hyper-connectivity, many are struggling …
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Ep. 129: Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson - From Socially Awkward to Socially Outward
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Japanese author Haruki Murakami said it well, “A person's life may be a lonely thing by nature, but it is not isolated. To that life other lives are linked.” A key ingredient in transforming lonely human nature into a well-linked life is the faculty of mature social skills which make it possible to show interest in others, know how to make friends,…
Legend has it that after forgetting the lyrics to one of her well rehearsed songs during a concert at New York’s Central Park, celebrated singer and actress, Barbra Streisand, lost her confidence. Petrified by the embarrassment and riddled with anxiety, Streisand withdrew from public performances for almost 36 years. Clearly, a bad experience can l…
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Ep. 127: Dr. Laila Sanguras - When Grit is a Goal, Grit is Gold!
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Imagine being more than 2,500 feet above the ground; with no harness, no ropes and no safety equipment. Alex Hannold scaled Yosemite’s El Capitan solo, seemingly effortlessly and with great command over the rock. The most remarkable aspect of the near impossible feat of accomplishment is Alex’s grit, a strength-based psychological skill that propel…
Every Halloween, when the late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel invites parents to video tape lying to their children having eaten all of their Halloween candy, it never fails to produce funny, hilarious, and some heart-wrenching videos of kids having officially lost their mind over the prank. However, it’s truly astonishing to find a kid or two w…
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Ep. 125: Elaine Taylor-Klaus - Sideways Stories of Complex Kids
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“The builder said he was very sorry” writes Louis Sachar in the introduction to his children’s book, where instead of building a school one-story high with thirty classrooms, he ends up building a thirty stories high Wayside School with one classroom per floor. Readers discover that, none the less, the stories from such a strange and silly place ar…
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Ep. 124: Peter Shankman - Truly Faster than Normal
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Napoleon Hill once said, “strength and growth comes from continuous struggle and effort,” but what about those who struggle to know how best to direct their effort during the ongoing struggle? Children and adults with ADHD suffer from this exact problem which makes it hard for them to find their voice, fit in, and fully flourish with all the gifts …
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Ep. 123: Dr. John E. Deasy - Lessons in Leadership
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Solving BIG problems requires big thinking. John Wooden once said, “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” Even though preparing children to take charge of their learning and their future happens in the classrooms, in actuality, it is set in motion through the mission and vision of personal and institutional leadership; with…
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Ep. 122: Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal - Setbacks are a Feature, Not a Bug
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How to nurture a healthy relationship with life experiences, particularly undesirable, uncomfortable or unfavorable ones, is best captured in Pema Chodron’s quote “Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.” However, setbacks may lead to more setbacks for those with under-developed executive function including a lack of self-a…
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Ep. 121: Dr. James Danckert - Nothing Humdrum About Boredom
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None of us are fans of being bored; a state often marked by restlessness and mild forms of agitation. That’s why we all try and avoid the angst that seems to be associated with boredom. But surprisingly, scientists who study the brain, suggest that boredom isn’t too bad for us, but rather the brain’s nudge to get out of that state, take action, and…
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Ep. 120: Dr. David Burns - Feeling Good Yet?
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Emotions are the heartbeat of human existence and the human drama that is full of anxiety, sadness, anger, fury, joy, or love feels like we are either riding a roller-coaster or floating gently in a boat that’s in a calm and placid lake. Emotions that disrupt our relationship with the world require regulation, but conventional wisdom approaches mig…
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Ep. 119: Dr. Laura Markham - Your Influence is Your Relationship
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The parents’ job is to protect their children, offer safety and security, and above all, love them unconditionally. But there are visible and invisible barriers and everyone struggles. In order to raise children with strong executive function, parents need to help cultivate a strong foundation where the brain knows not to go into overdrive or over-…
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Ep. 118: Dr. Lyn S. Turkstra - Renewing the License to Get Along
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Popularized by the business community, the term "soft skills" might imply that these skills are neither nuanced nor hard to obtain. But scientists and researchers who study these skills refer to them as pragmatics, the way one uses language and communication to achieve social and interpersonal goals and believe that soft skills are critical to conv…
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Ep. 117: Cheryl Rice - Meet Where They Are
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We are often astonished to read or hear in the news about a kid who grabs a classmate’s hair, or snatches food from their tray, or even kicks their teacher. The average person might focus on the obvious disrespectful and unacceptable in-school behaviors. However, we will be missing point if we think that kids should come to school already fully kno…
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Ep. 116: Dr. Tim Elmore - Beyond FOMU (Fear of Messing Up)
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There is no generation like Gen Z whose stressors have been quadrupled by the times they have grown up in - the economic dotcom burst, highly skilled stressed out parents always in-between jobs, anxiety of a flattening world, and a technology/social-media enabled personal life. Naturally, the question emerges as to how do we help this generation of…
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Ep. 115: Barbara Oakley, Ph.D. - Learning as a Gift, Skill, and Choice
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Nothing is more invigorating than watching a young mind at work. Fascinated by curiosity and deeply enthralled in untangling its pieces, learning brings joy and satisfaction to both the teacher and the learner. But how does one make sure that the learner falls in love with learning? How much of that is the responsibility of an educator versus a par…
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Ep. 114: Mary Helen Immordino-Yang – Emotions in Learning Matters
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Do emotions mess up clear headed thinking? For centuries, culture and science has dismissed the value of emotions when it came to thinking about intelligence, learning, and critical thinking. This may have led to classrooms with a certain level of sterility and emotional reciprocity. Instead however, by focusing on how students feel, what emotional…
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Ep. 113: Doug Fisher, Ph.D. – Shifting from Surface Learning to Deep Learning
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When talking about independence and self-sufficiency in their students, educators often use the term “Personal Responsibility” which refers to the set of mental skills that neuroscience describes to be Executive Function. Teachers recognize that in order to develop a level of independence and agency, educators must have a plan to transfer the “proc…
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Ep. 112: Sharon Saline – Counterbalancing Patterns of Failure
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Having difficulties can be discouraging and counterproductive. Children with ADHD experience far more defeats and discouragements compared to their counterparts. It’s no surprise that promote thriving in struggling learners depends on the right support, the right tools, but above all, the right environment that conveys a message of acceptance and h…
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Ep. 111: Daniel Willingham – Cognitive Advantages to Teaching the Right Way
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What do cooking, fishing, putting together a bookshelf, and a fixing a wall mount in the garage for your bike have in common? They are far easier to do by yourself than to teach it to someone. Those who teach recognize the challenge in going beyond learner engagement and external rewards or punishment; instead setting learners’ intrinsic motivation…
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Ep. 110: Big Picture 7 – Age of the Resilient Family
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Vincent van Gogh once wrote, “If I cease searching, then, woe is me, I am lost. That is how I look at it – keep going, keep going come what may.” Of course, this kind of striving and searching van Gogh is referring to is likely to guarantee one thing and that one thing is – encountering unsurmountable challenges. Sometimes we don’t even go looking,…
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Ep. 109: Dr. Raun Melmed – A Prescription by Description
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Children are an enigma! Full of surprises and full of promise. However, one can be easily baffled when their boisterous high energy turns into an unmanageable rambunctiousness disrupting the household and relationships. Until recently, it was unconceivable for kids to have a mental disorder which made it hard to navigate the impact of various condi…
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Ep. 108: Margaret Sibley, Ph.D. – A Field Guide to Engaging the Inner Rebel
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The struggles of kids with ADHD are unmistakably unique and undoubtedly complex, but their lack of mental readiness to accept help is equally confusing. Nothing is more discouraging or draining for educators and parents than kids who resist direction instead of leaning into the help they receive. Since disrupted executive function in ADHD kids ofte…
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Ep. 107: Adele Diamond – Becoming More Self-Possessed
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The brain’s prefrontal cortex is often described as the “work in progress” intimating that there exists a continuum of neural development shaped by an interplay between biology and behavior; each influencing the other. Naturally, Executive Function, a set of skills controlled by the prefrontal cortex, emerges slowly allowing humans to form future g…
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Ep. 106: Linda Graham – Bouncing Back Like a Skilled Ninja
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Nothing about the COVID-19 pandemic is business as usual. In fact, the social and economic stressors are taking a toll on every single person’s sense of well-being. Those taking care of children and those in frail health have the added burden of creating a safe home environment while providing critical support with patience, compassion, and positiv…
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Ep. 105: Natalie Wexler – The Knowledge Gap Kids
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What do extinct dinosaurs, shrinking planet Mercury, pygmies from Africa, Mesopotamian pottery, Roman bath houses, and the COVID-19 virus have in common? These are topics that once children know about, can build their knowledge of the world and expand their world view. Considering that in modern America, education is the best hope in minimizing the…
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Ep. 104: Kim Bearden – The Teacher Artisan
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There is a widespread acknowledgement that experts are made and not born and those who investigate how experts become experts that have studied the fields like surgery, computer programming, chess, ballet, music, or even firefighting agree that excellent training, deliberate practice, and exposure to masterful mentors are some key ingredients that …
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Ep. 103: Chris Herman, M.Ed – The Opposite of a “Won’t Do” Mindset
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The classroom neurodiversity happens to pose a challenge to educators not because we have a surge in the neurodiverse student body but more likely that we have acquired newer insights into how to differentiate different learners. The question remains however, what do we know about ways in which to impart knowledge and teach skills needed for their …
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Ep. 102: Dr. William Stixrud – Recreating the Personal 2.0 Self
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All parents want their children to grow up, be independent, and find happiness. Their conventional wisdom says, let me push my child to do well in school, work hard on stuff, and take part in various activities to “find” themselves. Because to a parent, the path to success has a formula “Education + Passion + Excellent Performance = Career” which e…
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Ep. 101: Suvrat Bhargave, MD – You’re More Than What You Feel
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Uncertainly, unceasing demands, and all around unrest can provoke the feelings of restlessness, a state of irritability, and intense worrying and general dissatisfaction. But clinically speaking, these feelings of being on the edge are the signs of anxiety and often when they exceed the threshold of bearability a sense of unending despair can follo…
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Ep. 100: 10 Takeaways from 100 Conversations on the Science of Learning
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Randomly scattered stars light up the night sky, but it is human inventiveness and imagination that has connected these cosmic dots into the constellations we know so well. As the podcast Full PreFrontal: Exposing the Mysteries of Executive Function celebrates its 100th episode, we have the same pleasure of connecting the scattered ideas that exper…
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Ep. 99: Thomas Brown, Ph.D. - Ready. Fire. Aim!
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When you shoot before you aim you get bad results. But that’s what everyday impulsiveness looks like for someone with ADHD. Pencil tapping, restless legs, inability to sit too long, distracted mind, interrupting others, and getting bored too quickly are some additional commonplace behaviors that highlight the habits and symptoms of those with ADHD.…
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Ep. 98: Louisa Moats, Ed.D. - The Truth About Reading
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The answer to the question “What percentage of 16 million children living below the poverty line have a book in their home?” is 33%. While that is devastating, the real question is, does this query truly capture the complexities of developing reading skills in children living in these disadvantaged circumstances and would the exposure to more books…
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Ep. 97: ExFiles – No More Square Peg in the Round Hole
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Violet is the first to admit that people like her, who themselves have ADHD, suffer from “foot in mouth disease”. Getting herself in a jam by blurting out things, starting things but not finishing, procrastinating, and allowing chaos to continue without intercepting it with some remedy were a few things that made Violet’s life with ADHD harder than…
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Ep. 96: Dr. Mary Ann Mulcahey, Eldrich Carr, and Carmen Mendoza - Pro-EF School Culture
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Thomas Wolfe said it best, “Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs”. A school culture and a home culture can have a profound impact on children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Executive Function engages the brain’s self-guiding system that takes us from challenges to mastery, from self-blindness to self-awareness, and from…
Well-cultivated attentional processes help orient us to the right information in the environment which in return, presents us with the greatest opportunities for learning and success. But research shows that those diagnosed with ADHD possess far less interest in tasks and particularly, those tasks that present with delayed rewards. The entire acade…
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Ep. 94: Christopher Chabris, Ph.D. - The Clash of the Titans
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Ancient wisdom has rightfully identified problems with the human mind which is ill-fitted to deal with the perceptual ambiguity that includes frequent gaps between one’s perceptions and reality. This creates a tussle between the intuitive system of the brain versus the reflective one, which often results in a “self-blind” mind that doesn’t know its…
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Ep. 93: Joan Green, SLP - Augmenting Life with Technology
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21st century living has put a strain on our brain’s capacity to plan for the future, process and retain information, and pursue the goals of a multifaceted life. And while moving through the highly-wired and totally connected world, one often wonders if we are truly benefitting from the advancements provided by the technology that has the potential…
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Ep. 92: Hanna Bogen Novak - Stuck in the Middle No More
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In their song “Stuck in the Middle With You,” Scottish folk rock band Stealers Wheel’s lyrics go something like this –”Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you, And I’m wondering what it is I should do, It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face. Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place.” These words capture the plight of a young and developing b…
According to Dr. Stuart Brown, “divinely superfluous neurons” orchestrate a seemingly purposeless voluntary act that we call play. But let’s not underestimate the necessity and impact of play on the developing mind and overall human flourishing. Even though play is natural to babies, exciting to children, and helpful to even adults, not everyone ge…
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Ep. 90: Prof. Suniya Luthar - When Having It All Doesn’t Translate Into Having It Easy
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Americans were never that concerned about the issues of educating children until it dawned on everybody that children are in fact “economically useless, but emotionally priceless” as described by Viviana A. Zelizer. Since then, being over-consumed by current competition and future career success, well-educated upper-middle class affluent families, …
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Ep. 89: Prof. Suniya Luthar - The Affluenza Tradeoff
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No one is spared from the drama and trauma of growing up, not even affluent kids. However, as hard as it is to imagine, the children of highly-educated parents with abundant material comforts and lifestyles of privilege have their own set of challenges, which surface in their own unique ways. They are growing up in highly-competitive environments w…
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Ep. 88: Michael Delman, M.Ed. - Beyond Just Semicolons & Fractions
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Seeing an under-producing, under-performing, or generally disengaged kid is quite painful. They often struggle to connect with purpose and persevere when school activities get challenging. Sometimes educators attempt to engage children with fear or praise or even by trying to entertain them, which too doesn’t always yield self-driven motivation. Th…
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Ep. 87: Dr. Christopher Willard - Working Out Your Heart
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What’s common between a soccer mom who has a flat tire on the way to her son’s game, a Wall Street dad who just got told to stay in the office for the markets in the East to open, and a middle school girl who just got her new smart phone? They are all struggling to cope with feeling either anxious, lonely, stressed out, or tired. A dysregulated fro…
