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Summary: The belief by many medical professionals is that better understanding of neuroscience will be achieved through investment in technology that focuses on such. But Dr. Allan Ropper believes that learning from talking, feeling, and watching is just as important as fancy scans and MRI's. As he talks about in his interview, administering bedside tests can, and will give you results that would have never been retrieved by using a machine. For example, Dr. Allan Ropper conducted an experimental test on a woman who was having muscle troubles, and by using a blood pressure pump, he discovered that she has a disease that weakens muscles with repeated use. The other doctors believed earlier that it was a stroke that made her feel weak, but Dr. Ropper proved them wrong. In Ropper's new book "Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole", he delves deeper into why neuroscience should use bedside tests more often, because in times like the one described, it's the only way to get the true answer.

Summary: The belief by many medical professionals is that better understanding of neuroscience will be achieved through investment in technology that focuses on such. But Dr. Allan Ropper believes that learning from talking, feeling, and watching is just as important as fancy scans and MRI's. As he talks about in his interview, administering bedside tests can, and will give you results that would have never been retrieved by using a machine. For example, Dr. Allan Ropper conducted an experimental test on a woman who was having muscle troubles, and by using a blood pressure pump, he discovered that she has a disease that weakens muscles with repeated use. The other doctors believed earlier that it was a stroke that made her feel weak, but Dr. Ropper proved them wrong. In Ropper's new book "Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole", he delves deeper into why neuroscience should use bedside tests more often, because in times like the one described, it's the only way to get the true answer.

This VPR radio program visits the topic of emotion in animals. Virginia Morell is an animal researcher and author of the book "Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures." Morell studies the emotions of different animals and their means for communicating those emotions. The large topic of interest in this short VPR news special is about whether humans have a special connection with dogs. Morell's answer is yes, dogs and humans have a similar way of communicating with facial cues and body language which makes our two species somewhat appealing to one another. This helps my research a lot in that it brings out not only the similarities between K-9s and humans but also the mysterious draw of one animal to the other. Since the domesticated dog is so closely related to the wolf, it is true that wolves have similar body language, facial expression and social behavior tendencies. Morell speaks about her topic of expertise with great ease and it is fun to listen to because she is so smart.