Peter M. Vishton

What can neuroscience tell us about healthy eating? Can scientific insights help you curb unhealthy snacking? In this first of two lectures on food, see how simple changes such as cleaning your kitchen and changing your food's packaging may have a measurable effect on unhealthy eating habits.

Despite their numerous flaws, IQ tests can influence the trajectory of a child's life. Discover why you should remain skeptical of such assessments while learning how you can give your child an early leg up so she achieves high scores. Also get ideas promoting learning and achievement regardless of test results.

While physical education is often given low priority, it is a critically important aspect of development and can even boost brainpower. Learn how to foster your children's physical development, from reducing sedentary activities to getting them involved in team sports. Hear alarming information on the dangers of sports that involve repetitive impacts to the head.

Here, Professor Vishton considers the mechanisms behind anger, which leads to an explanation of how humans mirror each other's behaviors and emotions. Understanding the roots of our anger then provides a way to diffuse tense situations and gain better control of our emotional landscapes.

Consider why "encouraging" development shouldn't turn into "hurrying" development. See why it's wise to let children progress at their own pace and discover the things that interest them, in addition to providing ample time for an activity surprisingly crucial for full development: unstructured play.

Your senses aren't just a part of you-they define you. Nothing you experience would be possible without the intricate power of your senses. But how much about them do you really know? Your ability to sense and perceive the world around you is so richly detailed and accurate as to be miraculous. No tool in the entire universe of scientific exploration can come close to matching the ability of your brain to use information sensed by your eyes, ears,...

Research suggests children are capable of engaging in helping, sharing, and cooperating at far younger ages than was previously thought. Find out what you can do to promote these pro-social behaviors and a sense of empathy, including managing your temper and resisting the temptation to reward your children for doing nice things for others.

We all want to be happy, but achieving this state of being is the million-dollar question. In this first lecture on happiness, find out precisely why money truly doesn't buy happiness. You'll investigate the effects on your brain of earning a higher salary or winning the lottery, and then reflect on the way time is ultimately more valuable for happiness.

We all have a conception of what meditation is - but what actually happens inside your brain? Could it be that meditation built into our evolutionary makeup? And how can regular practice benefit us? Reflect on the answers to these questions and more in this eye-opening lecture.

Round out your course with some helpful tips for living a happy, fulfilled life. From exercising in green, natural surroundings to putting more value on your time, happiness is most definitely achievable - and it can even become a habit. All it takes is a little work to outsmart yourself.