sure if science is capable of giving us insights into phenomenons we would not think would be in neuroscience like morality and economic decision making. >> rose: so this is bridging humanity and science? >> it's bridging the two things. and this is the beginning. we now have some methodologies, we have some strategies, we have some beginning insight. this is just opening up. so i think there's going to be a major impact on how people make decisions, about how we influence people to make appropriate decisions and also for making new kinds of diagnoses and developing new kinds of therapeutics. >> rose: tonight we look back at the series highlights. we begin with these simple questions: what does the brain do? what are its functions? why does it exist? here is our our guests answered those questions. >> i think we have to also ask the very fundamental question, perhaps the most fundamental question we can ever ask why do animals have brains? it's a fundamental questions because there are many species in our planets that don't have brains. so that's a question we should be taught on our first da

but it's not just doctors and nurses who are making their rounds in the neuroscience unit. meet the four-legged staff members, oliver, cayenne, shameus and what they bring to a patient doesn't come in a medicine bottle or an iv. >> i'm feeling fine now that i see a woman's best friend. >> they're the perfect prescription for a smile. vanessa williams was on life support when kayla and her dog oliver stopped in a month ago. kayla said what happened was remarkable. >> the minute i walked in, she opened her eyes, salt up in bed and asked for a piece of paper and write, because she wanted to share her experience with the dog and tell me thank you so much for bringing him in. >> research shows pet therapy can lower a patient's blood pressure and heart rate and has a calming effect. julian, a clinical nurse specialist started the program four months ago. because she knew it could provide something that medicine couldn't -- unconditional love. >> i wanted to do something that didn't use any type of drugs, sedatives, they needed something to relax and go through all of the pain and

robert clark and another doctor have published a study in the journal of neuroscience that shows a drug now used to treat various cancers may slow down parkinson's disease. >> when we do experimental studies we see that if you use that drug, it's going to preserve the neurons that are affected during the parkinson's disease. >> reporter: the initial studies in mice show it helps parkinson's by clearing up proteins that accumulate and destroy brain cells. >> i think we have an opportunity to develop a treatment for parkinson's disease that will actually slow down the progression of the disease rather than simply diminish the symptoms. >> reporter: the experiments here have been going on for three years now. while the drug is promising, it doesn't penetrate the brain tissue as well as researchers would like but but other drugs in the same class may prove more effective. parkinson's disease affects half million americans and it's rising. >> so we night be able to completely cure the disorder with gleevec but we can slow it down in terms of its progression. >> and dr. kim says this is basic

from the chief of neuroscience and your surgery and doctors rhee, chief of trauma, critical care, an emergency surgery. i offer our appreciation and thanks for the remarkable skills of these individuals. the university of arizona is proud to be associated with ua health care and to play a role with this. now all it is my pleasure to introduce the chair of surgery here at the university of arizona. >> i will be very brief periods is obviously a sad day for the families, for the community, for the state of arizona and for the nation. our hearts go out to the families of the victims. this is something we are rarely prepared for as we think, but yesterday we were fortunate enough to have the doctors here. within an hour we had six patients in the operating room. we had for trauma surgeons in the operating rooms, two neurosurgeons were here, and other drastic surgeon was here. to 38 minutes for the most critically injured person to be transferred to the operating room. it is my great pleasure to introduce to individuals who were crucial in the recovery of the victims. dr. peter rhee who h

in terms of, we've, we've learned a lot in the last 25 years in terms of i think particularly neuroscience findings, that have really elucidated the mechanisms, the kind of brain damage that occurs as a function of chronic exposure to alcohol and other drugs. and this has really helped us really understand what's really going on and why people who historically have been viewed as having weak character and weak will, is really a function of brain damage which impairs their ability to regulate those impulses. and that's i think very, very important. and i think given that understanding, i think it's very important that we establish and convey the new terms as people have talked about. for example, calling it a disorder, if it's a disorder, a substance abuse disorder, and of course when you use the term substance, according to someone, as having a substance abuse disorder as, as opposed to a substance abuser. the distinction there i think can be, when you stop and think about it, can be quite clear. one's more of a medical connotation, the other one's more of a judgmental in identifying the i

alexander dromerick is co-director of the neuroscience research center at the national rehabilitation hospital, and practices at georgetown university hospital in washington. and dr. christina kwasnica is director of the neuro- rehabilitation program at barrow neurological institute at st. joseph's hospital in phoenix, arizona. >> thank you both for being with us. dr. dromerick, let me start with you with this new information that we heard from this medical team in houston. and i made some notes. alert, awake, calm. we just heard the nurse talk about a sense of awareness. the doctor talk about good movement on the left side of her body. they said not sure about movement in her arms and they said she seemed to want to keep her eyes closed when they shown a light. what does all that say to you? >> so, in the context of somebody who has had a gunshot wound to the brain, that's pretty good news. she is clearly awake for at least parts of the day. she's clearly aware of her surroundings. she's having meaningful interactions with people. and the left side of her body is moving well. sounds

you will hear as kevin said, from the doctor who is chief of neuroscience and neurosurgery and dr. chief of trauma, critical care and emergency surgical care. i offer on behalf of the entire university of arizona community, tucson, arizona, and beyond that, our appreciation and thanks for the remarkable skills of these individuals. the university of arizona is proud to be associated with ua healthcare and play a role in this. now, it's my pleasure to introduce dr. grisner, chair of surgery here at university of arizona and at ua healthcare umc. >> thank you, dr. shelton, i will be brief. this is obviously a sad day for the families, for the community, for the state of arizona and for the nation. our hearts go out to the families of the victims. this is something we are rarely prepared for as we think, but yesterday we were fortunate enough to have the doctors here within an hour in the operating room. we had four trauma surgeons in the operating rooms, two neurosurgeons, who are here. we had a vascular surgeon here. it took 38 minutes for the most critically injured person to be tr

the fact is that a lot of computer-based, neuroscience driven things are emerging that can help tailoron to individual kids so that they can progress at their own pace and learn more. host: do other countries do that? guest: nobody is doing this on a massive scale. worked out of carnegie mellon iuniversity and others are beginning to develop these schools. i believe, in the united states and other parts of the world, in due course, the use of information technology and computers for learning is going to increase. at the end of the day, education is a human endeavor. it takes both. host: debbie on the line for democrats. go ahead. caller: i am listening to you talk and i agree with you that matt has gone down. my son is in ninth grade in new york city public schools. i was informed that algebra, geometry, calculus would not be taught. it was too difficult for the kids. this was in 1995. when i went up to the school to ask them why this was done, they said -- we would like to have the kids graduate, so we are lowering the bar. i said, what about college? they said that was not going to b

the fact is that a lot of computer-based, neuroscience driven things are emerging that can help tailoreducation to individual kids so that they can progress at their own pace and learn more. host: do other countries do that? guest: nobody is doing this on a massive scale. worked out of carnegie mellon iuniversity and others are beginning to develop these schools. i believe, in the united states and other parts of the world, in due course, the use of information technology and computers for learning is going to increase. at the end of the day, education is a human endeavor. it takes both. host: debbie on the line for democrats. go ahead. caller: i am listening to you talk and i agree with you that matt has gone down. my son is in ninth grade in new york city public schools. i was informed that algebra, geometry, calculus would not be taught. it was too difficult for the kids. this was in 1995. when i went up to the school to ask them why this was done, they said -- we would like to have the kids graduate, so we are lowering the bar. i said, what about college? they said that was not goi

you will hear from the chief of neuroscience and neurosurgery. and the chief of trauma and surgical care. i offer on behalf of the entire university of arizona community, certainly tucson, arizona and beyond, our appreciation and thanks for the remarkable skills of these error -- skills of these individuals. it is my pleasure to introduce the doctor who is chair of surgery here at the university of arizona. >> thank you. i will be very brief. this is obviously a sad day for the families, the community, for the state of arizona and the nation. our hearts go out to the families of the victims this is something we are rarely prepared for, but we were fortunate enough to have a doctor here with than one hour, six patients in the operating room, for trauma surgeons in the operating rooms, to neurosurgeons who are here, we had a vascular surgeon and it took 38 minutes for the most critical injured person to be transferred to the operating room. it is my great pleasure to introduce the individuals who are crucial in the recovery of the victims to you no