Burban Chloé, Rahain Magali, Sorbet Maureen.
This netflix web documentary (2019) directed by Ezra Klein and narrated by actress Emma Stone explores brain mechanisms through five episodes of twenty minutes that are about memories, dreams, anxiety, mindfulness and psychedelics. Each episode is built in a fun way to reach an inexperienced public, new to the field of expertise thanks to caricatures, drawings, archives, testimonies etc.
The first episode discussing memory focuses on memories. By citing traumatic events, a neuroscientist shows that 50% of the details can change over the course of a year, that the memories are changeable. Producers evoke Loftus’ famous works on memories, pointing out that memory is constantly being reconstructed. They highlight through other testimonials that memory performance is higher thanks to specific learning. Indeed, experts in memorization propose to memorize a large amount of information in the form of images or lists. Others also use meditation to perpetuate certain memories. From a neuroanatomical point of view, the hippocampus plays a considerable role in memory.
The second episode about dreams, offers an answer to how and why we dream. It explains that dreams have been a concern for everyone since Mesopotamia, and their interpretations have evolved over time, including by approaching the works of Freud, Jung, Ramon and Cajal. In the same way, the episode explains that our dreams would occur during the paradoxical sleep and that we would feel them thanks to the activation of the amygdala and the hippocampus all the more active during the state of sleep. In the continuity of a neuroanatomical point of view, the producers invoke the frontal region twice. The first time is that, during sleep, this area involved in logical judgment would be inactive, which would explain why our dreams do not make sense. Secondly, when they suggest the possibility to have lucid dreams which means the person who dreams is aware that she is dreaming. In this state of sleep, the prefrontal part of the brain is then activated, and it is role is the verification of reality. To sum up, our dreams would be built from our memories. Finally, they are representations or continuities of the real life of the one who dreams.
The third episode addresses anxiety and begins with a description of a panic attack by several witnesses and a psychologist. The neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky explains that anxiety is a natural reaction and preparation of the body to a threat, which will automatically lead to a response called “fight or flight”. Experts cite few numbers associated with anxiety and describe the different types of anxiety that are most prevalent. Researchers link anxiety to depression, in part because they share mechanisms and a common neurotransmitter. They add that social networks are today strongly correlated with anxiety, especially among young people. Finally, they expose the various ways to fight back anxiety, which range from the most harmful, such as taking alcohol or THC, to the most effective ones such as medications and therapies (especially with the example of CBT), which are even very effective when they are combinated.
The fourth episode deals with mindfulness. It invites a Buddhist monk, an expert in meditation, who has been studied in fMRI to check the impact of meditation on his brain revealing an increase in the activity of circuits of empathy and the whole brain. This expertise requires practice. Mindfulness is a form of meditation in which one pays attention to one’s body, one’s feelings and one’s thoughts and emotions in a very careful way. This technique is taught in American schools and businesses to improve performance. The craze for mindfulness and meditation is argued through two very popular apps, from books and shows to even Hollywood movies. Mindfulness helps manage panic attacks, anxiety, depression and pain.
The last episode addresses the theme of psychedelics. It begins with the exposure of several studies that have helped decrease anxiety in cancer patients or stop smoking. The episode mainly recalls the discovery of LSD, its effects and its cultural involvement. So much so that these psychedelics have been banned and classified as dangerous drugs. Despite the fact that the negative effects associated with these drugs are discussed and questioned, they are still forbidden. Intentionality is paramount in the use of drugs, because the context greatly influences the effects.
Discussion
In this part, we wanted to explain what we have thought about this Netflix Series. To our point of view, this series is interesting because we can really learn many information about brain, specially its functioning during variable situations. Actually, all scientific information are digest in a vulgarization way to be accessible for a wide part of population and the references are viewable all along the episodes. In fact, it enables to people who are interested or curious about the subject to explore and increase them understandings. To finish, the short size of episodes (approximatively 20 min) enables us to see one of them when we want, maybe during breakfast or between two activities. However, we have found some drawbacks to this kind of visual format. Because of the short size, information are reduced, summarize and condensed. That is why, sometimes we can have the feeling that we are overwhelm by new information. This feeling can conduct to incomprehension, therefore sometimes to play the video twice or in the most annoying case to an uncoupling or a jerky vision by cutting the viewing. Moreover, when we are student in a cognitive branch, some episodes may be off-putting.
To conclude, we think this Netflix web series is good to the public when you want both to learn and understand simple things about brain functioning. Further, we find this series useful to cut from prejudices, received ideas and misconceptions, do not hesitate to take a look : you may be surprised. You would not lost your time to watch one episode, just try !
What we learnt :
Mindfulness = la pleine conscience
Harmful = nocif
The craze = l’engouement
Overwhelm, to be submerge = être submergé(e)
Uncoupling = un décrochage
Off-putting = rébarbatif
Jerky = saccadé(e)