POPULARITY
Music is one of the most powerful forces of all time for human connection, cognitive stimulation, and therapeutic introspection. We've seen music help Alzheimer's patients find their voice, children with speech disorders unlock new ways to communicate with rhythm and melody, and communities express their identity through song. In this episode, we discuss: • The cognitive, psychological, and mental benefits of music • Why learning to play an instrument is one of the best things you can do for your brain • The power of music as a means of connecting with others • Therapeutic uses of music for patients living with neurodegenerative diseases • The neuroscience of how we process sounds and perceive music We're absolutely thrilled to be speaking to THREE incredible experts on music and cognition today, discussing an element of the human experience that does so much for our brains without us even thinking about it. In this episode, we're joined by: DR. ANI PATEL, PhD, a cognitive psychologist at Tufts University known for his research on music cognition and the neuroscience of music. DR. CHARLES LIMB, MD, a surgeon, professor of otolaryngology, and musician at University of California in San Francisco. JONATHAN BISS, renowned pianist and author of the book ‘Unquiet', which explores the intersection of music and mental health. This is... Your Brain On Music. ‘Your Brain On' is hosted by neurologists, scientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai. ‘Your Brain On...' is supported by the NEURO World Retreat, taking place in San Diego, September 2–5 2025: https://neuroworldretreat.com/ ‘Your Brain On... Music' • SEASON 4 • EPISODE 10 This is the Season 4 finale. We'll be back in a few weeks with Season 5! ——— LINKS Dr. Ani Patel, PhD At Tufts University: https://as.tufts.edu/psychology/people/faculty/aniruddh-patel The Sound Health Network: https://soundhealth.ucsf.edu/ Dr. Charles Limb, MD At UCSF: https://ohns.ucsf.edu/charles-limb Dr. Limb's TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_limb_your_brain_on_improv Jonathan Biss Jonathan's website: https://www.jonathanbiss.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan_biss_official/ Jonathan's book, ‘Unquiet': https://www.jonathanbiss.com/projects/unquiet ——— FOLLOW US Join the NEURO Academy: NEUROacademy.com Instagram: @thebraindocs Website: TheBrainDocs.com More info and episodes: TheBrainDocs.com/Podcast
Do you know what happens to the brain when we improvise? How does it differ from our brain activity during hypnosis? In this episode, Actor/Improvisor, Colin Mochrie will share his eye-opening experience when he collaborated with Dr. Charles Limb to unravel how the brain works during improv. Colin found himself improvising inside an MRI scanner for 1.5 hours, and the findings revealed a decrease in activity in the brain region responsible for self-criticism, coupled with an increase in creativity. Colin also shared that this is also the same thing that happens during hypnosis, part of the brain stops producing self-doubt and worry. Empower your mind to silence self-doubt, let your brain ignite the fire of possibility and propel you towards your greatest achievements. In this episode: Who we are as people is amplified during hypnosis. Colin learned from his debut on “Whose Line Is It Anyway” that he preferred taking action over doing nothing whatever the outcome may be. An artist is someone who is never content with what he/she is doing; you have to be curious about the world and other people. A little about Colin: ‘Colin Mochrie is an alumnus of Toronto's famous Second City comedy troupe. After nine years as a regular on the British improvisation series ”Whose Line Is It Anyway?'‘, he became a regular on the American version hosted by Drew Carey, which ran six years and is now being rebooted by the CW network. Colin was a cast member of CBC's ”This Hour Has 22 Minutes'‘ 2001- 2003. With his wife, Debra McGrath, he produced, wrote and starred in the CBC show ”Getting Along Famously” Currently, he is part of a very successful tour with “Whose Line” cast mate Brad Sherwood, performing a live improv show across North America. Follow Colin! Online: http://www.colinmochrie.com Facebook: Colin Mochrie X: @colinmochrie Instagram: @colinmochrie7591
Dive into the groundbreaking study by Dr. Charles Limb, who explored the neural dynamics of jazz musicians during improvisation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This research reveals the unique brain activity patterns that underlie creative processes and flow states, offering profound insights into improvisation not just in music, but in everyday creativity and problem-solving. Discover how these findings illuminate the pathways to innovation and peak performance. Key Takeaways: ✅ Dr. Limb's research highlights the brain's capacity for creativity through the deactivation of self-monitoring areas during improvisation. ✅ Increased activity in regions associated with self-expression points to the brain's innate ability to foster creativity when freed from constraints. ✅ The principles uncovered in this study have far-reaching applications, suggesting methods to enhance creativity across various disciplines.
This podcast is a commentary and does not contain any copyrighted material of the reference source. We strongly recommend accessing/buying the reference source at the same time. ■Reference Source https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_limb_building_the_musical_muscle ■Post on this topic (You can get FREE learning materials!) https://englist.me/176-academic-words-reference-from-charles-limb-building-the-musical-muscle-ted-talk/ ■Youtube Video https://youtu.be/psFADfb5jSE (All Words) https://youtu.be/wvUkHDYpxwU (Advanced Words) https://youtu.be/WIyOsw9cNPA (Quick Look) ■Top Page for Further Materials https://englist.me/ ■SNS (Please follow!)
This podcast is a commentary and does not contain any copyrighted material of the reference source. We strongly recommend accessing/buying the reference source at the same time. ■Reference Source https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_limb_your_brain_on_improv ■Post on this topic (You can get FREE learning materials!) https://englist.me/183-academic-words-reference-from-charles-limb-your-brain-on-improv-ted-talk/ ■Youtube Video https://youtu.be/WuzQRIEkdBg (All Words) https://youtu.be/NkgGCeTneTE (Advanced Words) https://youtu.be/ljB7UDLi92E (Quick Look) ■Top Page for Further Materials https://englist.me/ ■SNS (Please follow!)
Meneire's disease is one of the toughest conditions for otolaryngologists to successfully treat. In this episode, Hugo Peris, CEO of Spiral Therapeutics and their Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Charles Limb, shed light on their company's clinical trials involving a new drug delivery system for treatment of Meniere's disease. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest episodes each week, and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/company/this-week-in-hearing/ https://twitter.com/WeekinHearing
Combining his passion for music with his ability to peer inside the brain as it's working, neuroscientist Charles Limb finds that creativity needs reasoning to get out of the way.
Alan and Executive Producer Graham Chedd chat about and play excerpts from Alan's conversations with some of the guests in the new season, beginning next week. Guests include neuroscientist Charles Limb, philosopher Scott Hershovitz, and former director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid
Not following rules and letting go might actually make you feel better. Just ask musicians who improvise and make up music on the fly. Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with Dr. Charles Limb about his study on musical improvisation and its impact on the brain. Plus, “Saturday Night Live” jazz saxophonist Ron Blake shares life-changing lessons from music that we can apply to our everyday lives. And to top it off, Sanjay attempts some freestyle rap. Spoiler alert: he's pretty good at it. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
ABOUT DR. CHARLES LIMB:USSF Health: https://www.ucsfhealth.org/providers/dr-charles-limbhttps://ohns.ucsf.edu/charles-limb https://profiles.ucsf.edu/charles.limbWikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_LimbTED Profile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_LimbTED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_limb_your_brain_on_improvKennedy Center:https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/l/la-ln/charles-limb/https://www.kennedy-center.org/video/center/discussionspoken-word/2017/jazz-creativity-and-the-brainsound-health-music-and-the-mind/https://www.kennedy-center.org/video/digital-stage/discussionspoken-word/2019/music-and-the-voice-brain-mechanisms-of-vocal-mastery-and-creativity--sound-health/https://www.kennedy-center.org/video/center/discussionspoken-word/2019/sound-health-inside-esperanza-spaldings-brain--the-kennedy-center/https://www.kennedy-center.org/video/center/classical-music/2018/music-and-the-mind-with-piano-prodigy-matthew-whitaker/The Art of The Spark: Musical Creativity Explored with Dr. Charles Limb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQmGOVr8aJ0Articles: https://www.artsandmindlab.org/charles-limb-md-mapping-the-creative-minds-of-musicians/On Creativity: mihaly csikszentmihalyihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi DR.CHARLES LIMB Bio:Dr. Charles Limb is the Francis A. Sooy Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Chief of the Division of Otology, Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery at UC San Francisco. He is the Director of the Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant Center at UCSF and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Limb received his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, medical training at Yale University School of Medicine, and surgical residency and fellowship training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in functional neuroimaging at the National Institutes of Health. He was a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Peabody Conservatory of Music and the School of Education between 1996 and 2015. Dr. Limb joined the UCSF Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 2015.Dr. Limb is the 2021-22 President of the American Auditory Society and the Co-Director of the Sound Health Network sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, NIH and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is the PI of an NEA Research Lab and Co-PI of an NIH R61/R33 grant. He is the past Editor-in-Chief of Trends in Amplification (now Trends in Hearing), and an Editorial Board member of Otology and Neurotology. Dr. Limb was selected as the 2022 NIH Clinical Center Distinguished Clinical Research Scholar and Educator in Residence. He was also named in 2022 as one of the Kennedy Center's Next 50, a group of fifty national cultural leaders who are “moving us toward a more inspired, inclusive, and compassionate world”.His current areas of research focus on the study of the neural basis of musical creativity and the study of music perception in deaf individuals with cochlear implants. His work has received international attention and has been featured by National Public Radio, TED, 60 Minutes, National Geographic, the New York Times, PBS, CNN, Scientific American, the British Broadcasting Company, the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sundance Film Festival, Canadian Broadcasting Company, the Kennedy Center, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Discovery Channel, CBS Sunday Morning, and the American Museum of Natural History.SHOW INTRODUCTION:A number of years ago I attended a series of lectures at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC that focus on music and the brain and as I sat and watched and listened to these presentations, I was absolutely amazed with the interrelationship between brain activity, spontaneous creativity, music, language meaning and all these things that we share as human beings.For years I've been fascinated with the creative process. It seems natural I suppose given that I'm an architect, an artist, an author and occasionally I might even consider myself a novice musician because I can bang out five chords of a James Taylor song on my guitar. I do however have the extraordinarily good fortune of living with three musicianS. MY sons who are jazz musician, a pianist and a drummer, and a wife who is also a pianist and composer/songwriter and have been surrounded by music and love it for years.In fact, when I paint, and I happen to be focusing on a series of portraits of famous jazz musicians and other musical artists, I only listen to their music as I'm creating. Somehow I think I'm channeling John Coltrane or Miles Davis or Keith Richards or Janis Joplin or Prince.But it helps, it really does. It gets me into a flow state and the world outside me just disappears. For a long time now I have held that creativity is part of who we are. We are equally Homo Faber man the maker as we are Homo Sapiens man the wise.I deeply believe that the creative process is something that is intrinsic to building community and connections with other people for years. We have danced around fires and stamped out meaning with our feet and sang songs and beat on drums and created extraordinary symphonies or rock concerts and in doing so we come together and better understand ourselves our community culture and, in some strange cosmological sense, our relation to the larger whole of humanity.It seems to me that vocal utterances (not speech as we now know it) or producing melodic or rhythmic sounds, beating on drums etc., predated organized or syntactic speech. Since adapting to changing circumstances in the environment around you required some degree of creativity, it seems that there would be a natural connection between the development of creative thinking processes as a matter of survival and what we now know as music as a way to exchange these ideas. Music and music with language, lyrics, are extremely powerful mechanisms to evoke and share emotion and communicate with each other. Building strong social groups and the use of communication tools like language and certainly music has been part of our evolutionary process. Our brains have evolved into these immensely complex systems of functional areas that provide us with the magic of music and art and creative invention. We humans have survived at the top of the food chain not because we have bigger brains than other creatures on the planet, but as I understand it, because our brains are wired differently. And how all of this relates to creativity is particularly interesting. When you see jazz improvisation happening, what has always amazed me is the speed with which the brain is making decisions and the amount of information it is processing:…what note to hit next? – how does it related to the last? – where is the improv going? - is there a structure of any kind? – how the brain makes those decisions and then send signals to motor areas and then electrical impulses to muscle groups that produce fine motor movements in hands and /or other body parts to create sounds… this is all happening with electricity and chemicals moving between cells…this is a bit overwhelming to figure out! It's like the brain is out ahead of the body in its thinking…When I sat in the audience of those early Kennedy Center music and the brain sessions, there was one that was particularly interesting to me. Dr. Charles Limb had intriguing conversations with musicians including Jason Moran - the Artistic Director for Jazz at the Kennedy Center - and he described some of the work he was doing with trying to understand the neural correlates of creativity.How was he doing that? Well, he was taking some of the best jazz musicians on the planet and putting them into fMRI machines and observing their brain activity while they were in moments of spontaneous creation - jazz improvisation. And what he's begun to discover is something pretty remarkable.Certain areas of the brain are deactivated in these moments of spontaneous improvised creation while others are lit up.From Dr. Limb studies, it seems that conscious self-monitoring, a function of the Prefrontal Cortex, is deactivated opening a gateway for spontaneous creation unencumbered by self-monitoring or concerns about inappropriate or maladaptive performances and areas that are connected to autobiographical narratives are more active.“In jazz music, improvisation is considered to be a highly individual expression of an artist's own musical viewpoint. The association of the MPFC activity with the production of auto biographical narrative is germane in this context, and as such, one could argue that the improvisation is a way of expressing one's own musical voice or story.”Dr. Limb's own story is nothing less than remarkable. From his early years as a young musician, to his study of medicine, he has become one of the preeminent scientists looking into music, the brain and the neural correlates of creativity.His list of professional accomplishments and appointments to various medical institutions is extensive and include:Being the Francis A. Sooy Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Chief of the Division of Otology, Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery at UC San Francisco. The Director of the Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant Center at UCSF and he holds a joint appointment in the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Limb received his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, medical training at Yale University School of Medicine, and surgical residency and fellowship training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Peabody Conservatory of Music and the School of Education between 1996 and 2015. Dr. Limb is the 2021-22 President of the American Auditory Society and the Co-Director of the Sound Health Network sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, NIH and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was also named in 2022 as one of the Kennedy Center's Next 50, a group of fifty national cultural leaders who are “moving us toward a more inspired, inclusive, and compassionate world”.His current areas of research focus on the study of the neural basis of musical creativity and the study of music perception in deaf individuals with cochlear implants. His work has received international attention and has been featured by TED, 60 Minutes, National Geographic, the. New York Times, PBS, CNN, Scientific American, the Smithsonian Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sundance Film Festival, the Kennedy Center, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Discovery Channel, CBS Sunday Morning, and more.It is my distinct honor to be able to talk with Dr. Limb about music, creativity and the brain. ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645 (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why', ‘what's now' and ‘what's next'. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott's “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently shares his experience and insight on various industry boards including: VMSD magazine's Editorial Advisory Board, the Interactive Customer Experience Association, Sign Research Foundation's Program Committee as well as the Center For Retail Transformation at George Mason University.He has held teaching positions at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore. In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.
What Neuroimaging Can Tell us About Improvisation in Music. Jazz Guitar Legend Pat Metheny and neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Limb talk language and music connection, freestyle rap brain scans and more!
It's been said many times that it is important that people know, like and trust you. Likeability and reliability don't seem like the sexiest of success traits and yet, they are some of the most underrated ones, especially when we move away from the stereotypes of successful people being uncaring and lacking in empathy and we are awakening to the need to have a good relationship with our customers and the people whose products and services we buy. My guest Jackie Goddard has always had a passion for theatre and the dramatic arts and she saw a great opportunity to bring her experience and knowledge from that industry over to the world of communication skills and presentation training. Jackie's business and her podcast both share the name 'The Power to Speak' and if you want to hear me being a guest on Jackie's show, you can go here: https://apple.co/3vGA036 In this episode: How one person can directly affect the course of your life for good or bad Likeability & reliability as influence tools What it's like working with Dame Judi Dench What can we learn from theatre and the arts? How to bring out our joy and uniqueness You have to memorise to _________? What improv does to your brain and more... The Ted talk Jackie mentions is by Charles Limb and can be seen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BomNG5N_E_0 Jackie also mentions several books (if you buy them using our affiliate links it helps to support the show): Plato's Lemonade Stand by Tom Morris https://amzn.to/3MnA2CV The God of Small Things by Arrundhati Roy https://amzn.to/35SeJbL The Secret by Rhonda Byrne https://amzn.to/35SeMUZ (regular listeners will know my thoughts on this book but make up your own mind) Coming soon, my first book review episode about How to win friends and influence people and a very fun and insightful chat with Alex Sanfilippo from Podmatch and Podpros. Don't miss them Get the best help with your business branding by visiting our sponsor Brand Face HTTP://learnaboutbrandface.com (HTTP://learnaboutbrandface.com)
Thinking on your feet is something most people can do. But being so good at it that you can charm huge crowds and win competitions? That's a rare skill – almost magical. Meet three performers whose art would be nothing without the ability to think on the spot. Hear from rapper Reverse, the reigning Red Bull Batalla USA champion; freestyle dancer Angyil, newly crowned Red Bull Dance Your Style USA champion; and anarchic stand-up comedian Russ Hicks, whose quick-fire retorts to hecklers are legendary. They share what inspires them, and how you can master the skill too. And if you want to know what goes on in the brain when artists are improvising, neuroscientist Dr Charles Limb explains.Make sure you hit follow to be the first to hear the latest episodes. Discover more about Beyond the Ordinary at redbull.com/beyondtheordinary.
This is She’s On Call, a weekly show hosted by NYC-based doctors ENT specialist Dr. Sujana Chandrasekhar and general surgeon Dr. Marina Kurian. We're talking about hearing health, cochlear implants, unsafe listening practices, and other issues with our guests, Shelly Chadha from the WHO's Programme for Prevention of Deafness & Hearing Loss, and Dr. Charles Limb, Director of the Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant Center. The physicians and their guests’ views are their own and do not represent any institution. Please contact your doctor for any personal questions. Please hit share and join us live on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube at @shesoncall. Hashtag: #ShesOnCall
This is She’s On Call, a weekly show hosted by NYC-based doctors ENT specialist Dr. Sujana Chandrasekhar and general surgeon Dr. Marina Kurian. We're talking about hearing health, cochlear implants, unsafe listening practices, and other issues with our guests, Shelly Chadha from the WHO's Programme for Prevention of Deafness & Hearing Loss, and Dr. Charles Limb, Director of the Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant Center. The physicians and their guests’ views are their own and do not represent any institution. Please contact your doctor for any personal questions. Please hit share and join us live on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube at @shesoncall. Hashtag: #ShesOnCall
I met Dr. Karen Chan Barrett when she gave a fascinating talk as part of a special presentation called Music and the Mind with world renowned soprano, Renee Fleming, at The Juilliard School in NYC. This program is inspired by Ms. Fleming’s collaboration with the National Institutes of Health in association with National Endowment for the Arts, called the Sound Health initiative, and created for general audiences, the program explores the power of music in relation to our health and neuroscience. This evening’s highlight was “ improvisation and the brain”. Dr. Karen Chan Barrett, Ph.D. representing Dr. Charles Limb's Music and Perception Lab at the University of California San Francisco discussed research on the neuroscience of musical creativity and improvisation. Dr. Barrett is also faculty at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, co-teaching a class on Music and the Brain with Dr. Indre Viskontas. Dr. Barrett was adjunct faculty at the Peabody Institute of Music and Johns Hopkins University, where she taught seminars on music cognition. Dr. Barrett has a Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Music Theory and Cognition and is an accomplished pianist. She tells us about the fascinating research on the impact that music and musical training has on our brain development, - hint, it’s not just about listening to classical music - she discusses how they gather data on creativity, even improv comedy, and the brain. Karen also tells us the surprising reason she, a classically trained pianist, pivoted to become a neuroscientist and how her husband, a classically trained cellist, taught himself into a whole new career. If you have kids taking music classes or kids who are interested in STEaM fields, get them to listen along with you. You may even get them to practice more and start the conversation about how all of these seemingly disparate fields connect! That was Dr. Karen Chan Barrett, mom, neuroscientist, classical pianist, showing us that STEM is really STEAM and you can definitely excel at more than one thing in life, and yes, lifestyle matters! Find out more about Dr. Karen Chan Barrett and Dr. Charles Limb's Music and Perception Lab and Renee Fleming’s work in the show notes at MindBodySpace.com podcast Episode #62 Look out for the upcoming monday meditation inspired by Music You can email me at podcast@mindbodyspace.com with questions for myself or my guests for the new Tuesday Q&A segment starting in 2021.
Anthony Veneziale, also known by his stage name ‘Two-Touch’, is the conceiver and co-creator of the improvisational hip-hop comedy musical group Freestyle Love Supreme, as well as the FLS Academy. He has been performing and teaching improv for more than 20 years and is a leader in the field of musical improvisation. Anthony has used these techniques for endeavors with names such as Tommy Kail, Lin Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs, and numerous others. He co-founded Speechless Inc, an “an improv thinking company that helps humans create, collaborate, and find their authentic voice”. For several years Anthony has worked with, and been involved in studies by, Dr. Charles Limb out of UCSF Sandler Center, who is renowned for his research on brain activity during musical improvisation. Anthony was most recently seen on Broadway in the limited run of Freestyle Love Supreme, and has appeared on TV in Sex and the City, All My Children, Looking, Bartlett, and the Hulu documentary We Are Freestlye Love Supreme, which documents the groups 15 year history. Never once did Anthony think he could make a living out of doing improv. But, he says, “I loved it so much that I continued to do it until people paid me for it”. During our conversation, Anthony reiterates how interested he is in the affects improvising has on people's brains. This is evident in his creation of and work with the companies Speechless Inc., and Freestyle Love Academy. Even more so, he is interested in the affects improv can have on a community. In their classes at FLS Academy, they work to create an environment where people feel authentically themselves, where they are seen and recognized as their authentic selves, and are then able to encourage others to do the same. Improv has proved to be “a fabulous tool to help people do that”. Anthony also shares more on the work he has been a part of with Dr. Charles Limb, who uses an fMRI machine to create 3D models of the brain, and identify when subjects are in a “flow state”. For some, this flow state is a “runner’s high” while running, and for others, improv is the key. In this episode, we talk about: The parts of the brain associated with a “flow state” Discovering hip hop music when he was 10 years old Auditioning for his college improv troupe How he got his stage name, Two Touch The mission and work of Freestyle Love Supreme Academy, and Speechless Inc. How isolation during COVID affects our brains Alan and Anthony play an improv game called Convergence Connect with Anthony: IG: @freestylelovesupreme, @FLS_Academy Twitter: @AnthVeneziale, @freestylelove, @FLS_Academy Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible! Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As we transition to our new host Manoush Zomorodi, Guy Raz looks back on some of his favorite episodes over the past seven years. This episode originally aired on October 3, 2014. We want to be creative but channeling our creative impulses is no small feat. Is creativity something we are born with or can we learn it? In this hour, TED speakers examine the mystery of creativity. Guests include musician Sting, neuroscientist Charles Limb, author and educator Sir Ken Robinson, and writer Elizabeth Gilbert.
"Steven has done a wonderful job of balancing the promises, perils, and how-to prescriptions of engineering peak states such as ‘flow.’" - Tim Ferriss, #1 New York Times best-selling authorI don't really know how this happened but I had the chance to interview one of the peak performance great's of our time. Steven's worked with people like Elon Musk, Peter Diamandis, Sir Richard Branson, Ray Kurzweil, Arianna Huffington, and even Bill Clinton.Steven's written 9 Bestselling books like The Rise of Superman, Stealing Fire, Tomorrowland and Bold. 4 New York Times (NYT) Bestsellers, translated into 40 languages, and 2 Pulitzer prize nominations...I've been fascinated with FLOW ever since I decided a few years to make a major change in my life. Which involves picking up many new habits and getting rid of old ones that no longer serve me.The secret to doing that ...without much resistance is entering a state of FLOW.You're going to enjoy this!Flow is defined as an optimal state of consciousness where we perform our best and we feel our best but people that I was studying at the time have figured out how to use it to really amplify performance.*following is research from the Flow Genome Project*“Flow” is the term used by researchers for optimal states of consciousness, those peak moments of total absorption where self vanishes, time flies, and all aspects of performance go through the roof.In 2008, Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Charles Limb used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the brains of improv jazz musicians in flow. He found the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain best known for self-monitoring, deactivated. Self-monitoring is the voice of doubt, that defeatist nag, our inner critic. Since flow is a fluid state—where problem solving is nearly automatic—second guessing can only slow that process. When the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex goes quiet, those guesses are cut off at the source. The result is liberation. We act without hesitation. Creativity becomes more free-flowing, risk taking becomes less frightening, and the combination lets us flow at a far faster clip.A team of neuroscientists at Bonn University in Germany discovered that endorphins are part of flow’s cocktail and, as other researchers have determined, so are norepinephrine, dopamine, anandamide, and serotonin. All five are pleasure-inducing, performance-enhancing neurochemicals, upping everything from muscle reaction times to attention, pattern recognition and lateral thinking—the three horsemen of rapid-fire problem-solving.17 Triggers to Enter the State of FLOWThe following 17 flow state triggers come from research undertaken by the Flow Genome Project lead by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal. There are 4 groups of Flow Trigger: (4) Psychological; (3) Environmental; (9) Social and; (1) Creative.Psychological TriggersIntensely Focused Attention – One of the primary purposes of flow state is to help you focus on a particular task, however, to hack into the flow state in the first place, you must be in a position that allows you to strongly focus your attention to your goals. This also means multi-tasking is out. Flow demands singular and solitude action.Clear Goals – When you have clear goals, your mind doesn’t have to wonder what to do next. You know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Also, don’t focus on the finish line, focus on running the race, the NOW, the present moment. Many are getting distracted by their past, future, or self. Focus on the clarity of your goals. It gives you certainty.Immediate Feedback – This trigger is a partner with clear goals. Clear goals tell us what we’re doing, immediate feedback tells us how to do it better. If we know how to improve performance in real time, the mind doesn’t go off in search of clues for betterment.The Challenge/Skill Ratio – You may have heard about the concept of stress curve where there is a scale of low stress and low performance. At the other end, is the high stress and low performance but in the middle of the scale is the optimal level of stress correlating to peak performance. The Flow Challenge/Skill ratio exists near (but not on) the midline between boredom and anxiety. We need a progressive balance between boredom and anxiety or tension and relaxation. If you can keep yourself in that sweet spot, then you can drive attention into the present and maximize the amount of flow in your sports career.Environmental TriggersHigh Consequences – If your neck is on the line then you are driven into the zone. An athlete, big wave surfer, for example, may need to drop into a 50-foot wave to pull this trigger. But the shy guys may only need to cross the room and speak to an attractive woman to pull this trigger. This doesn’t always mean physical danger, this can also be an emotional, mental and social risk. You must be willing to take risks. It’s that sense of adventure and potential for failure that will drive you.Rich Environment – This means an environment with lots of novelty, unpredictability, and complexity. Novelty means surrounding yourself with a rich environment that involves finding things that will catch and keep your attention. Unpredictability means being able to step outside your comfort zone and facing the unknown. While complexity means increasing the depth and breadth of your knowledge by seeking out information from many different sources or viewpoints.Deep Embodiment – This means total physical awareness. When you can harness the power of your whole body paying attention to the task at hand, you will feel unstoppable. This also means paying attention to multiple sensory streams at once. Not only our 5 senses but also our proprioception and vestibular awareness.Social TriggersSerious Concentration – In extreme sports, for example, concentration is highly required or injury or even death could happen. You need to be aware of your teammates and opponents. If they lose focus and start thinking about what it is for dinner, or other things, they’ll quickly be overrun. It can also help to ensure that everyone has their maximum attention to the here and now. Blocking off other distractions.Shared, Clear Goals – Groups need to be clear about what their collective goal is in order for the flow state to be achieved. Group flow is a progressive balancing act. Creating a goal that provides enough focus so each team member can tell when they are close to a solution, but one that is open enough for creativity to exist.Good Communication – A group flow needs constant communication. The conversation must flow forward. Listen closely to what being said, accept it, and build upon it. Nothing blocks flow more than ignoring or negating a group member.Familiarity – A sports team may compose of a group with different languages, cultures, and belief but everyone needs to be familiar with each other. Everyone needs to share a common language, a shared knowledge base and communication style based on unspoken understandings. There must be unity, in thoughts and in action. Everyone must be on the same page, and, when novel insights arise, momentum is not lost due to the need for a lengthy explanation.Equal Participation and Skill Level – When you have a team with an equal role in the project, flow is most likely to happen in your group. Teamwork is the key, and everyone must be involved. All members should have similar skill levels.Risk – It applies to groups in the same way that it applies to individuals. When there is an element of risk, people are more motivated to work hard and make things happen. Without challenges, the tasks may appear boring. There’s also no creativity without failure, and there’s no group flow without the risk of failure. This risk can’t be just physical, it also applies to mental, creative, etc.Sense of Control – It’s important to combine autonomy (being free to do what you want) with competence (being good at what you do) in group flow. Whatever the sports situation you are in, getting to choose your own challenges and having the necessary skills to surmount them is beneficial.Close Listening – When you are listening closely to the present conversation, your responses will flow, and conversation will progress naturally. Innovation shouldn’t be blocked in a group flow. But if one or more team members are talking simultaneously, you keep yourselves away from listening to what is really said and working from there.Always Say Yes – Now, don’t mistake this for always saying yes to everything. This means that interactions should be additive more than argumentative. This element is about being open to trying new things, even if they sound like a bad idea. All input into the group should be additive, not negative. The goal is the momentum, togetherness, and innovation that comes from intensifying each other’s ideas and actions.Creativity Triggers“Creativity triggers flow, then flow enhances creativity.”If you look under the hood of creativity, what you see is:Pattern Recognition – the brain’s ability to break down existing patterns, colors, data, shapes, movements, sounds, concepts, successes, risks, failures, etc., and create new ideas using those patterns by linking new ideas, andRisk-Taking – the courage to bring those new ideas into the world. Will the new concept be well received or will it be scanned? All creativity requires an element of risk and courage.LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-metry/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markmetry/Twitter - https://twitter.com/markymetryMedium - https://medium.com/@markymetryFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/Humans.2.0.PodcastMark Metry - https://www.markmetry.com/Humans 2.0 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Humans2Podcast
To date, cochlear implants are the most successful electronic device for restoring sensation in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. Yet these devices are not without flaws. For instance, pitch perception is extremely poor in these devices, and that can affect an implant user's ability to distinguish sounds in a noisy room. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Charles Limb, a UCSF ear surgeon who specializes in hearing loss and performs these cochlear implant surgeries. By incorporating complex elements of music, Dr. Limb and his team hope to improve the current cochlear implant model so those with hearing loss have a wider range and more sensitive ability to hear.
Have you ever wondered what’s going on in a musician’s head while they improvise? In our latest episode, Dr. Charles Limb gives us a window to peer into the process of creativity as it happens: scanning the brains of jazz musicians and rappers as they improvise. Tune in to learn what brain processes allow creative thought, why creativity matters, and whether or not you might compose the next great rock ballad.
Neil deGrasse Tyson gets his improv on with legendary jazz musicians Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Featuring Chuck Nice, Sean Ono Lennon, Stephen Tyson, Mona Chalabi, Charles Limb, and the Columbia University Jazz House. NOTE: StarTalk All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free. Find out more at https://www.startalkradio.net/startalk-all-access/
Reesh talks about the Neuroscience of freestyle rap with samples from Dr. Charles Limb, Michael Ian Black, Jason Silva, Eminem, B.I.G., Q-Tip, J.Period, The Last Samurai, Bruce Lee, Kobe Bryant --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/medicineremixed/message
A conversation with Richard Penninger and Dr. Charles Limb about their study on perception of pure tones and iterated rippled noise for normal hearing and Cochlear Implant users. Read the full article here.
We hear from Dr. Charles Limb, who straps jazz musicians and freestyle rappers into an MRI machine and studies their brains while they create musical improvisations. His Ted Talk has over 1 million views. Also, two leading activists tell us how creativity informs their work.
The ancient Greeks prayed to the muses for creative inspiration. (They also practiced alchemy and believed the human body was made of four humors.) And while our understanding of science has become more refined over the millennia, the source of creativity is as mysterious to us today as it was in the age of mythical gods and goddesses. That might be about to change, though, as science tunes in to the human brain – at play. The Signal’s Aaron Henkin reports…
Charles Limb performs cochlear implantation, a surgery that treats hearing loss and can restore the ability to hear speech. But as a musician too, Limb thinks about what the implants lack: They don't let you fully experience music yet. (There's a hair-raising example.) At TEDMED, Limb reviews the state of the art and the way forward.
Charles Limb führt Operationen durch, in denen er so genannte cochleare Implantate einbaut, die Schwerhörigkeit behandeln und Gehör und Sprachverstehen wieder herstellen können. Aber als Musiker denkt Limb auch an die Dinge, die die Implantate nicht heilen können: Derzeit können die Patienten Musik nicht vollständig erleben. (Er gibt dafür ein haarsträubendes Beispiel.) Für TEDMED stellt Limb den Status Quo und die Zukunftsaussichten vor.
Charles Limb realiza implantaciones cocleares, una cirugía que trata la pérdida de audición auditiva para restaurar la capacidad de oír el habla. Pero como músico, Limb piensa en las carencias de los implantes: no permiten todavía disfrutar de la música plenamente . (Hay un ejemplo espeluznante.) En TEDMED, Limb revisa el estado actual de la técnica y las perspectivas para el futuro.
Charles Limb faz implante coclear, uma cirurgia que trata da perda auditiva e pode restaurar a capacidade de ouvir a fala. Mas como músico, Limb reflete sobre o que falta aos implantes: Eles ainda não permitem apreciar a música totalmente (Há um exemplo arrepiante). No TEDMED, Limb revisa o estado da arte e o caminho a seguir.
チャールズ・リムは聴力を失った人が会話を聞けるように、人工内耳移植手術を行っています。その一方で、リムは演奏者としての立場から移植に何が欠けているか考え、「移植は完璧に音楽を楽しめるようにすることはできないと教えてくれます。(身の毛がよだつような例が出てきます)。 TEDMED にて、リムは美に対する最先端と未来をご紹介します。
찰스 림은, 말을 알아 들을 수 있는 청력과, 청각을 회복하는 인공달팽이관 이식술을 보여준다. 또한 음악가로서 그는, 달팽이관 이식수술이 아직은 음악을 제대로 경험할 수 있도록 하지 못하는 부족한점에 대해 생각한다 (머리가 쭈뼛해지는 실례를 보여준다). 테드 메드에서 그는, 첨단기술과 아직 더 해결해야 할것들을 얘기한다.
Charles Limb réalise des implantations cochléaires, une chirurgie qui traite la perte de l’ouïe et peut restaurer la capacité d’entendre des discours. Mais en tant que musicien, Limb pense à ce qui manque aux implants : ils ne vous permettent pas encore de ressentir complètement la musique. A TEDMED, Limb passe en revue le dernier cri et la voie vers l'avenir.
Johns Hopkins otolaryngolost and jazz musician Charles Limb talks about "The Brain on Jazz"--Neural Substrates of Spontaneous Improvisation."
Johns Hopkins otolaryngolost and jazz musician Charles Limb talks about "The Brain on Jazz"--Neural Substrates of Spontaneous Improvisation."
Johns Hopkins otolaryngolost and jazz musician Charles Limb talks about "The Brain on Jazz"--Neural Substrates of Spontaneous Improvisation."