Daniel J. Levitin

Some of us can't. We don't really understand the body's ability to fight these invaders very well. I see. Which is why long COVID is still a thing. We haven't figured that out. Some people get it. Some don't. Seems not to be particularly related to which strain of COVID you got or how severe your case was. So Captain Kirk used to say space, the final frontier. Yeah.

I think the brain is the final frontier. Yeah. It's a vast, undiscovered, uncharted territory.

I think the brain is the final frontier. Yeah. It's a vast, undiscovered, uncharted territory.

I think the brain is the final frontier. Yeah. It's a vast, undiscovered, uncharted territory.

No, I think this is different. I think that is attributed to a sudden burst of adrenaline and some other factors. We're not talking about adrenaline here in a fight or flight emergency response. I think a better analogy is what happened with Gabrielle Giffords.

No, I think this is different. I think that is attributed to a sudden burst of adrenaline and some other factors. We're not talking about adrenaline here in a fight or flight emergency response. I think a better analogy is what happened with Gabrielle Giffords.

No, I think this is different. I think that is attributed to a sudden burst of adrenaline and some other factors. We're not talking about adrenaline here in a fight or flight emergency response. I think a better analogy is what happened with Gabrielle Giffords.

congresswoman from arizona shot in the head in 2011 and she was shot the bullet entered a part of the brain that is involved in speech broke his area and she could not speak after the injury But she learned to speak and you can hear her give speeches now in 2025. And she sounds quite fluent. She used what was a technique called melodic intonation therapy.

congresswoman from arizona shot in the head in 2011 and she was shot the bullet entered a part of the brain that is involved in speech broke his area and she could not speak after the injury But she learned to speak and you can hear her give speeches now in 2025. And she sounds quite fluent. She used what was a technique called melodic intonation therapy.

congresswoman from arizona shot in the head in 2011 and she was shot the bullet entered a part of the brain that is involved in speech broke his area and she could not speak after the injury But she learned to speak and you can hear her give speeches now in 2025. And she sounds quite fluent. She used what was a technique called melodic intonation therapy.

It turned out she, this has been well known for a hundred years. Some people who can't speak can still sing. And so she was taught to sing things, simple things, but necessary things like, show me to the bathroom or I need a glass of water. And by repeating these songs, In the intact music system, the musical circuitry is separate from the speech circuitry.

It turned out she, this has been well known for a hundred years. Some people who can't speak can still sing. And so she was taught to sing things, simple things, but necessary things like, show me to the bathroom or I need a glass of water. And by repeating these songs, In the intact music system, the musical circuitry is separate from the speech circuitry.

It turned out she, this has been well known for a hundred years. Some people who can't speak can still sing. And so she was taught to sing things, simple things, but necessary things like, show me to the bathroom or I need a glass of water. And by repeating these songs, In the intact music system, the musical circuitry is separate from the speech circuitry.

You're still making very similar movements with the jaw and the lips and the tongue and the larynx, but it's music. So it's a different system. And this gets to a fascinating evolutionary issue, which is the brain wasn't designed. It's a Swiss army knife that evolved to solve a bunch of different adaptive problems. And so there's a speech system that evolved separately from the music system.

You're still making very similar movements with the jaw and the lips and the tongue and the larynx, but it's music. So it's a different system. And this gets to a fascinating evolutionary issue, which is the brain wasn't designed. It's a Swiss army knife that evolved to solve a bunch of different adaptive problems. And so there's a speech system that evolved separately from the music system.

You're still making very similar movements with the jaw and the lips and the tongue and the larynx, but it's music. So it's a different system. And this gets to a fascinating evolutionary issue, which is the brain wasn't designed. It's a Swiss army knife that evolved to solve a bunch of different adaptive problems. And so there's a speech system that evolved separately from the music system.

And of course, if you were to design it now, you'd design it entirely differently. You'd make them a single system. Why wouldn't they be? They use a lot of the same capacities, a lot of the same operations, but they evolve separately. For that matter, the neurochemical system that evolved, there are a hundred different neurochemicals. Crazy. You don't need 100 neurochemicals.

And of course, if you were to design it now, you'd design it entirely differently. You'd make them a single system. Why wouldn't they be? They use a lot of the same capacities, a lot of the same operations, but they evolve separately. For that matter, the neurochemical system that evolved, there are a hundred different neurochemicals. Crazy. You don't need 100 neurochemicals.

And of course, if you were to design it now, you'd design it entirely differently. You'd make them a single system. Why wouldn't they be? They use a lot of the same capacities, a lot of the same operations, but they evolve separately. For that matter, the neurochemical system that evolved, there are a hundred different neurochemicals. Crazy. You don't need 100 neurochemicals.

And by the way, the neurochemicals don't do anything. I see. Themselves. We say a dopamine motivates you and oxytocin makes you feel bonded. That's a very sloppy shorthand. Okay. Your listeners are going to hear this first because most neuroscientists won't tell you this.