logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
24m 9s

Focus - When We See Faces

The Bertarelli Foundation
About this episode

How do we recognise faces? What part of the brain helps us discern a stranger from a friend? And could you be a Super Recogniser?  

In this focus episode of How We’re Wired, join producer Dr Eva Higginbotham as she explores the science of facial recognition, from face blindness to the brains of those who are exceptional at recalling faces, and the tests you can do to discover if you have the skill. 

With special thanks to Josh Davis.  

How We’re Wired is a Fresh Air Production for The Bertarelli Foundation. Follow now so you never miss an episode 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Nov 2023
When We Ask You A Question
What do you want to know about the brain? What mysteries of human behaviour do you want to understand? And what incredible awards has How We're Wired won in the 13th Annual Lovies? In this special episode, Dr Anna Machin shares some good news, and asks a quick favour... Send ques ... Show More
2m 15s
Jul 2023
Finale - How Are We Wired?
How do our brains get wired up in the womb? Why is it important that nerve cells find the correct partners to form connections? And how has our understanding of this vital process changed over the last 40 years? In this special episode, join evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Ma ... Show More
35m 41s
Jul 2023
Introducing... Ocean Matters
How We're Wired season 1's final episode will be with you next week, but in the meantime, why not check out our sister podcast Ocean Matters? Our ocean is the earth's defining feature. But the blue of our blue planet is so much more than just a colour. It is rich with life and pl ... Show More
4m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 12
Unpacking the Brain’s Role in Inventing Your Perception
Human brains don’t just perceive reality—they invent it. In this episode of Science Quickly, cognitive neuroscientist Daniel Yon speaks with host Rachel Feltman about how perception is an active process of prediction in which the brain constructs theories about the world that can ... Show More
15m 37s
May 2025
Do I Know You? (A Hidden Brain-Revisionist History special on facial recognition)
Have you ever encountered someone who clearly knows you, but you have no idea who they are? This week, we feature a classic Hidden Brain episode about people on opposite ends of the facial recognition spectrum. Then, in the second part of the show, we bring you another perspectiv ... Show More
56m 20s
Jun 2024
Ep63 "Why do brains love faces?"
Why do we have so much circuitry in the brain devoted to faces? Why does your electrical plug seem to look like a little face? Did aliens plant a signal for us on Mars, or are we looking at a quirk of our own brains? What is face blindness and what is a super recognizer? What doe ... Show More
36m 18s
Aug 18
How Our Brains Learn
Have you ever fallen asleep in school or during a work meeting? Maybe you felt your eyes glaze over as your boss or a teacher droned on and on about a topic that had no relevance to you. What's missing from these classrooms and conference rooms is engagement: A state of being abs ... Show More
1h 22m
Aug 24
Christopher Kemp, "Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation" (Norton, 2022)
Inside our heads we carry around an infinite and endlessly unfolding map of the world. Navigation is one of the most ancient neural abilities we have―older than language. In Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation (Norton, 2022), Christopher Kemp embarks on a jour ... Show More
50m 51s
Sep 24
10. The woman who discovered the opiate receptor in the brain + someone is LIVING in the lab?
🧠 welcome to the LAST episode of OVERLOOKED, the series where we shine a light on the women in STEM who history often left in the shadows. For our last episode, we’re talking all about Candace Pert, the groundbreaking neuroscientist who discovered the opioid receptor. Her work n ... Show More
44m 47s
Aug 2020
Rana el Kaliouby: What if computers could read our emotions?
For many, the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions has isolated us from the people we love, reducing our social life to screens and Zoom meetings. But even with the added visual, communicating online still isn’t as straightforward as being in-person. It can feel like jo ... Show More
37m 33s
Oct 9
Essentials: Time Perception, Memory & Focus
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explore how biological rhythms and neurochemicals impact our perception of time. I describe how the body aligns with daily and seasonal light cycles to regulate hormones that influence energy, mood and motivation throughout the year. I s ... Show More
33m 55s
Oct 9
Why Brains Need Friends w/ Dr. Ben Rein
This week, Scott sits down with Dr. Ben Rein, a Stanford neuroscientist and one of today’s most engaging science communicators. Dr. Rein has spent over a decade studying the neuroscience of social interaction, and his new book, Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social ... Show More
1h 3m
Sep 4
Is curiosity the key to ageing well?
Psychologists have traditionally believed we become less curious as we age, but recent research has shown that curiosity actually becomes more targeted and specific in our later years. To find out why this happens, and how maintaining broad curiosity into older age can help keep ... Show More
16m 6s