Keyword: neuroplasticity

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The Gifts of Neurodiversity with Dr. Thomas Armstrong June 22, 2010

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

What if autism, depression, anxiety, and ADHD carry genuine strengths alongside their challenges? Dr. Thomas Armstrong argues that reframing these conditions as brain differences rather than disorders reveals hidden gifts, and Armand and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW explore how safe relationships and tailored environments help neurodiverse people thrive.

The Gifts and Losses of Growing Old September 17, 2009

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Aging & Mortality, Personal Growth & Change

Getting older is full of gifts that youth misses entirely: steadiness, perspective, freedom from reactive chemistry. Armand DiMele makes the case for aging with dignity rather than fighting it, drawing on caller stories, brain science, and the value older workers bring to any room.

Fear Conditioning and the Dentist November 15, 2007

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Anxiety & Fear, The Mind & Neuroscience

Why do so many people dread the dentist? Armand DiMele uses dental fear as a window into how the brain wires pain to neutral stimuli, how that wiring buries itself under layers of displacement, and how extinction learning and reward associations can undo it.

How Emotion Shapes Memory September 19, 2007

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atti
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Memory is not just repetition but emotion: the stronger the feeling, the deeper the imprint. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti trace memory from DNA and evolutionary survival through neuroplasticity, PTSD, and the chemical trio of acetylcholine, dopamine, and norepinephrine, showing why stuck emotions block us from moving on.

The Burning Brain of OCD August 9, 2007

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Anxiety & Fear, The Mind & Neuroscience

OCD is a physical brain disorder, not just a behavioral one. Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW, examine the neural circuitry behind obsessive loops, explain why stuck thought patterns generate what Armand calls “brain burn,” and offer practical strategies for manually shifting gears to break the cycle.

How Relationships Reshape the Brain Undated

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Linda Vanella, Lisa Arnone
Category: Love & Romantic Relationships, The Mind & Neuroscience

Relationships literally rewire us, and Armand DiMele unpacks why with co-hosts Linda Vanella, LCSW-R and Lisa Arnone, LCSW. Drawing on Norman Doidge’s neuroplasticity research and a Diane Ackerman essay on the brain in love, the conversation covers pheromones, mate selection, physical intimacy, and how what we attend to defines who we become.

The Brain That Changes Itself with Dr. Norman Doidge Undated

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Norman Doidge
Category: Personal Growth & Change, The Mind & Neuroscience

The brain is not fixed machinery but a living structure that rewires itself through thought, learning, and practice. Dr. Norman Doidge, author of “The Brain That Changes Itself,” joins Armand DiMele to discuss how neuroplasticity challenges Cartesian mind-body dualism, what brain training can do for age-related cognitive decline, and why mental rehearsal reshapes the brain as powerfully as physical practice.