Hosts: Armand DiMele

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Jealousy and the Limits of Self-Awareness September 22, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Jealousy strips away self-awareness faster than almost any other emotion, and Armand DiMele argues that is no accident. He traces the biological roots of jealousy, explains the neuroscience of introspection (gray and white matter in the prefrontal cortex), and shows why even sophisticated people collapse into blame when hormones or threat responses take over.

The Roots of Jealousy September 21, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Love & Romantic Relationships

Jealousy poisons relationships yet has deep evolutionary roots. Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW trace the emotion from its origins in mate guarding and animal behavior through its cultural history, then break down the A-B-C jealousy triangle and how self-doubt, dominance, and fear of abandonment drive it. Callers share real struggles with trust and infidelity.

The Psychopath Brain September 16, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Identity & The Self, The Mind & Neuroscience

Psychopaths are charming, fearless, and wired differently. Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW break down the neuroscience behind psychopathy, examining how thinning in the paralimbic system impairs empathy, impulse control, and the ability to learn from punishment, and why that makes the bad boy so seductive.

Trauma and Depression After 9/11 September 14, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Depression & Mood, Trauma & Healing

Witnessing 9/11 left measurable changes in survivors’ brains four years later. Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW discuss Cornell MRI research on hyperactive amygdala responses, how trauma becomes consolidated in memory, and emerging interventions ranging from video games to medication that may interrupt that process. The second half covers depression’s physical and cognitive toll.

Alcohol Withdrawal and the Body with Dr. Kent Robertshaw September 8, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Kent Robertshaw
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, The Mind & Neuroscience

Alcohol dependence does something specific to the brain’s stress response, and sudden quitting can be medically dangerous. Dr. Kent Robertshaw, MD, psychiatrist, explains how cortisol and adrenaline surge during withdrawal, why tolerance builds, and how outpatient medication can safely bring someone down from heavy drinking. The conversation extends to chronic pain and fibromyalgia.

Nature Versus Nurture in Parenting September 7, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Family & Parenting, Identity & The Self

Can good parenting overcome bad genes? Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW, dig into the nature versus nurture debate through real cases: a mother baffled by her troubled teen, a neuroscientist who carries a psychopath’s genetic profile yet lives normally, and callers including an adoptee who found her musical gift written in her DNA.

The Chemistry of Falling in Love September 2, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Love & Romantic Relationships, The Mind & Neuroscience

Why do we bond so powerfully with other people? Armand DiMele walks through the neuroscience of love, from lust and adrenaline to dopamine, oxytocin, and vasopressin, then argues that the chemistry of bonding extends beyond couples to explain PMS, depression, ADD, and chronic illness as shared phenomena of the bonded pair.

The Illusion of Power September 1, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Depression & Mood, Emotions & Inner Life

Power is mostly illusion, Armand argues, and refusing to accept powerlessness is a fast road to depression, rigidity, and compulsion. Through caller conversations, he examines where the hunger for control really comes from, including how unmet childhood needs quietly drive adult behavior.

Extroversion and Introversion August 31, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

Where do you fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum, and does it matter? Armand DiMele and co-host Stephanie Dombrough break down the neuroscience and psychology behind each type, the myth that introversion equals shyness, and how misreading these differences creates conflict in relationships and households.

The Power of Yearning August 26, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lauren Sykes
Category: Depression & Mood, Emotions & Inner Life

Yearning is not a weakness but a biological imperative, as fundamental as photosynthesis. Armand DiMele explores how suppressed yearning shapes depression, stunted sexuality, and lopsided love, and why grief research now identifies yearning, not denial, as the defining feature of loss.