Stressed Out

Ask A Biologist Podcast

Chapters
0:00
Intro
1:18
What is stress? [Stressors and stress responses]
2:27
What effect does stress have on the body?
2:45
Neurons (brain cells) and hormones (chemical messengers).
3:20
Cortisol (hormone) also known as hydrocortisone.
5:07
What happens when you have too much stress?
6:45
Things you might experience with too much stress.
7:33
Genes and DNA.
7:48
Does stress affect DNA?
8:46
Hypothalamus and the hippocampus - where are they and what do they do?
9:49
Hippocampus - learning and memory.
9:58
Hypothalamus controls the start and stop of hormone cascades and primitive activities.
10:42
Do the hypothalamus and hippocampus work together?
11:12
Basics about the hypothalamus and hippocampus - size and location.
12:24
Can we control unwanted stress?
12:46
What role does the hippocampus play in learning - the need for sleep.
14:10
After a certain age does the brain only have neurons die and never generate new ones? [Adult neurogenesis]
16:04
What happens to brain neurons as we age?
17:10
Bull frogs and brains.
18:07
Recording of bull frog call.
18:28
What have we learned from bull frogs?
21:08
Do other animal brains show neurogenesis?
21:53
How do you catch a bull frog?
24:00
Invasive species - food web - story of Guam and brown tree snakes.
25:15
When did you know you wanted to be a biologist or scientist? (Unusual answer)
26:34
I bet you had some interesting jobs.
27:52
If you weren't a biologist what would you be?
28:28
What advice do you have for people wanting to become a biologist? It's okay to make mistakes and avoid specializing.
Ask A Biologist Podcast
Stressed Out
May 18, 2007 Episode 12
Dr. Biology Talks with Miles Orchinik

What is stress? We often know what stress feels like, but what is it and what causes it? We get a chance to learn about stress, the brain, and two very important areas in the brain: the hippocampus and hypothalamus. We also learn how the very vocal bullfrog is helping biologist Miles Orchinik learn about stress and the brain. Listen to a ribbiting show.

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