All in the Mind

Europe's largest brain bank is to be dismantled. The Corsellis Collection in west London contains tissue from 4000-6000 brains and includes a wide and unusual range of pathologies, some dating back as far as the 1950s. But now funding pressures mean that new homes must be found for as many as possible. Claudia asks which brains will be kept and hears about the value of brains without pathology.As the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 21, continues in Paris, Claudia talks to Dr Sander van der Linden in Princeton about how psychological science can help policy makers to communicate about climate change.We hear what being nominated for the All in the Mind Awards meant to last year's finalists in the groups category.And at Lancaster University English literature students have requested that trigger warnings be added to texts on their reading lists which contain potentially distressing passages. Richard McNally, Professor of psychology and expert in anxiety and trauma, talks to Claudia about the evidence.Producer: Lorna Stewart.

Claudia Hammond talks to Dr Catherine Loveday to find out why being bilingual can protect against the damage caused by a stroke. She explains why it might all be down to something called cognitive reserve. Kevan Jones MP explains why he chose to talk about his own experience of depression to parliament and explains his role as judge on this year's All in the Mind awards. In 2008 the government introduced 'Improving Access to Psychological Therapies' services for people with depression and anxiety across parts of England. IAPT has expanded in the 7 years since then but new figures just out reveal a huge variation in recovery rates and waiting times across England. Claudia talks to one of the founders of IAPT, Professor David Clark to ask why there is such a variety of success across the country and what can be done to improve it. Claudia visits Tate Liverpool and their 'An Imagined Museum' exhibition to find out how the brain remembers works of art.

Over the last decade mindfulness has grown in popularity and is recommended in many settings such as the NHS, schools, the work place and prisons. But how strong is the scientific data? Mental Elf blogger Andre Tomlin and Professor Willem Kuyken review the evidence.All in the Mind Awards Judge Marion Janner talks to Claudia Hammond on the mindfulness of gardening and how to take part in the awards.Plus the search for rest: is being slothful still a sin?New research from Valerie Voon, a Consultant Neuropsychiatrist at Cambridge University, uncovers what's happening in the brains of people with compulsive sexual behaviour. The results suggest that the constant supply of novel images from the internet can drive this behaviour and Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist Graham Music discusses how the findings could be translated to the clinic.

Claudia Hammond finds out why astronauts' experiences of seeing Earth from space can have profound effects on their feelings towards planet Earth. She talks to astronaut, Michael Lopez-Alegria, and trainee counselling psychologist, Annahita Nezami, about the Overview Effect and how the power of planet Earth may have therapeutic value for everyone back on terra firma. Clinical psychologist, Linda Blair, is one of the judges on the All in the Mind awards. She talks about how to have a conversation with someone who may be having problems with their mental health and what makes a good, empathetic listener. Thomas Dixon, Director of the Centre for the History of the Emotions at Queen Mary University, London, talks about the history of crying and why the stiff upper lip was just a blip in history. Also, Claudia talks to forensic psychologist, Bruno Verschuere, about his research into why we become worse at lying as we get older.

The launch of the 2016 All in the Mind awards. Judge and novelist Matt Haig tells us what he will be looking for and 2014 finalists Pat Rose and Maya Pillay give their top tips for winning entries. Plus can we recreate the human brain? The latest results from two major neuroscience projects with very different approaches are giving fascinating insights into how the brain works.

The Rest Test. What exactly is rest, are you getting enough and what's the best way to do it? A global investigation of rest needs your help to find out. Claudia Hammond talks to Dr Felicity Callard about why she wants to find out about the nation's resting habits. Arson costs the UK economy around £45 million every week. So why do people start fires and what can be done to change their behaviour? Professor Theresa Gannon discusses her research into the unique psychology of people who set fires and why her findings have helped her to develop a new treatment programme. Claudia also talks to Dr Lisa Cameron, the first clinical psychologist to become an MP. She talks about her plans for changing mental health and her psychological insights into the machinations of politics in the House.

As evidence accumulates that mental health problems are on the rise amongst adolescents, are services keeping up? Claudia Hammond is joined by a panel of experts to discuss teenage mental health.Professor Shirley Reynolds, Dr Dickon Bevington, Kimberley Robinson and Sarah Hulyer discuss the pressures teenagers face and how the mental health of our adolescents is changing. They also offer thoughts on how services could be reshaped to cope with this changing demand and what parents can do to help their teenagers.

Claudia Hammond talks to Chris French, Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths University of London about conspiracy theories. Are they really harmless, and why is it that some people believe in them but not others? She meets two newly elected MPs, Naz Shah from Bradford West and Johnny Mercer from Plymouth, to discuss their plans for mental health and how to get things done as a new back bench MP. Also in the programme, Claudia visits Raw Sounds' studio in Brixton, South London - an innovative music project where people with mental health problems can make and perform music with the help of professional music producers.

Claudia Hammond with the latest in psychology, neuroscience and mental health. What happens in the brain when someone goes on a drinking binge? Twins Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken took up the challenge to drink 21 units a week for a month for Horizon on BBC 2.Chris drank 3 drinks a day and Xand 21 units in one day. For the experiment their livers and immune systems were monitored, but All in the Mind wondered how alcohol impacted on the neurotransmitters in the brain. Addiction expert Sally Marlow explains.Children who fidget in the classroom are often in trouble for not sitting still but new research by Mark Rapport at the University of Central Florida suggests that children with ADHD need to wriggle to help them learn."held" is the title of an exhibition opening soon at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind and artist Jane Fradgley explores some of the issues around restraint through photographs of strong dresses which patients were sometimes forced to wear.It has been known for a long time that music in different keys is associated with different emotions but much of the research focuses on Western music. Now Dr Bhishma Chakrabati from Reading University has been studying the effects of classical Indian ragas on mood.

Claudia Hammond investigates Body dysmorphic disorder and asks if social media can really cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She also talks to the psychologist who explains why describing events in terms of the number of days away they are, rather than years could help prevent people procrastinating.

Claudia Hammond with the latest in psychology, neuroscience and mental health. This week her studio guest is neuroscientist Phil Beaman from Reading University. His latest research suggests a novel way to prevent those irritating earworms that plague most of us at one time or another. Plus that dress: earlier in the year pictures of a dress went viral and it divided families. But does it matter if you think it's blue and black or white and gold? Researcher Brad Pearce asks an audience at the Wellcome Collection. And how to be invisible: researchers in Sweden have discovered a way to trick the brain so people feel invisible.

As the general election approaches, Claudia Hammond finds out who is saying what about mental health. She talks to BBC health care and social affairs analyst, Emily Craig, who has been through the parties' manifestos. Claudia meets Matt Haig to discuss his new book, a surprise bestseller about his recovery from depression; and psychopharmacologist, Val Curran talks about her drug trial to tackle cannabis addiction using an ingredient found in the older versions of the drug, cannabidiol. And psychologists from Ohio have been trying to find out why paracetamol can blunt both positive and negative emotions. Do physical and emotional pain share the same brain systems?

Claudia Hammond examines the evidence asking whether screen time is bad for young people.

As the ten year anniversary of the 2005 London bombings approaches, Claudia Hammond talks to Rachel Handley, a clinical psychologist whose first job was to treat people for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and travel phobia after the bombings. She talks about the overwhelming guilt felt by many people she counselled and how cognitive behavioural therapy helped stop people experience terrifying flashbacks. She explains why PTSD can also have a delayed onset, even as much as ten years after the original event. Also in the programme, Gary Klein discusses his research into insights and whether it's impossible to improve our own capacity to have them. Claudia is joined by cognitive neuropsychologist, Catherine Loveday to talk about new research into emotions and the brain.

Are you an undecided voter? Claudia Hammond finds out what psychology can tell us about some of the influences on our decision making in the run up to the election. Cognitive psychologist, Professor Colin Davis talks about his research on TV election debates and the influence of the on screen 'worm' used to show what a group of undecided voters think about what's being said throughout the debate. How is mental health portrayed in the media? Paul Whitehouse's recent comedy, Nurse, showed him playing a range of people being visited by community psychiatric nurse, Liz. Is it funny and does it matter if people with mental health problems are used as the subject of comedy? Claudia is joined by real life CPN, Lin, and by anti-stigma campaigner, Nikki Mattocks, to discuss the programme. Also - the call for picture editors not to use 'head clutching' shots to accompany stories about mental health in the media. Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change explains. And what would an ideal asylum look like? Artist James Leadbitter shows reporter, Victoria Gill, his creation.

Claudia Hammond finds out how neuroscientists are understanding musical hallucinations by looking at the brains of those who experience them. Tim Griffiths and Vicky Williamson talk about their research into musical imagery and what it reveals about the workings of the brain and why musical hallucinations are more common in people with hearing loss. Nathan Filer and Matt Haig join Claudia to talk about their novels: The Shock of the Fall and The Humans and why they chose to write about mental health. Dr Catherine Loveday discusses recent research into why some people are hard-wired to be better navigators than others and why drawing could improve learning.

A show with a touch of magic, as Claudia discovers how magicians and conjurers use the power of our own beliefs as well as the power of suggestion, to perform their tricks. Professor Chris French, Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, describes his latest study where a fake psychic bends keys using "psychokinetic" energy. Belief in the paranormal and the influence of others who claim to have seen the key bend, both affect what we see and remember. And the use of hypnosis in science and medicine. Former President of the Section for Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine at the Royal Society of Medicine, Dr Peter Naish, describes how this altered brain state is providing a useful new tool for researchers investigating how our brains function, as well as clinicians treating patients in the NHS. Claudia visits the hypnosis unit at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College, London, and finds out about a unique study that has volunteers, hypnotised, in a brain scanner while "thoughts" are inserted in their brains. The result: automatic writing. Just like Caravaggio, 400 years ago, painted St Matthew, inspired and directed by an angel as he wrote the Bible, volunteers in this study are told "an engineer" is inserting thoughts into their heads and controlling their hand movements as they write. Dr Quinton Deeley, Dr Eamonn Walsh and Dr Mitul Mehta tell Claudia how their research is shining light on our brains and the nature of thought and consciousness.Producer: Fiona Hill.

Claudia Hammond investigates an often hidden condition: perinatal obsessive compulsive disorder which can affect pregnant women or new mothers. Women with perinatal OCD can have obsessive thoughts about contamination and cleanliness or a less well known aspect of the condition which is compulsive thoughts and intense fear of seriously harming their children. They go to extreme measures to prevent themselves doing any harm, although they never would. Women can be treated successfully with cognitive behavioural therapy. Claudia talks to Fiona Challacombe, clinical psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry about the condition and its treatment. Also in the programme, the brains cells that have been described by one neuroscientist as underpinning civilisation - have they been overhyped? Claudia talks to mirror neurons expert, Cecelia Heyes from Oxford University. And does a baby pick up anxiety more from its mother or father? Claudia talks to researcher, Eline Moller from Amsterdam University.

Stockpiling possessions and collecting obsessively can tip into Hoarding Disorder, a condition recently recognised as a diagnosable mental health condition. Martin tells Claudia Hammond how his growing collection of cars, trucks and bikes awaiting "renovation" was growing out of control, and how a self help group for hoarders helped him to come to face up to his problem. NHS Clinical Psychologist Sophie Holmes describes the need for services to provide help and support for this often hidden group of people and tells Claudia about the success of the self help group set up with the Mary Francis Trust in Surrey in supporting those struggling with hoarding problems.The test for whether somebody is fit to plead and face a criminal Crown Court trial in England and Wales dates back almost 200 years, and it's universally accepted that these ancient rules are hopelessly out of date and need urgent reform. Many are concerned that people with serious mental illness and intellectual disabilities are finding themselves in the dock, when they're not fit to stand trial, creating a real risk of miscarriages of justice. The Law Commissioner is putting the finishing touches to a new Report and Draft Bill that will go before parliament next year and Ronnie Mackay, Professor of Criminal Policy and Mental Health at Leicester's De Montfort Law School in Leicester tells Claudia why the current law isn't fit for use in the 21st Century.Apps for smart phones and tablets that track our mood and our emotions is a growth area, but how many of the latest offerings are based on sound psychological principles, and could some do more harm than good? Clinical psychologist Lucy Maddox reviews a selection of these apps for All in the Mind (Headspace; Mindfulness in Schools; Mindshift; Dream:ON; Moodtracker; Thought Diary Pro; Mood Kit).Producer: Fiona Hill.

Driving and distraction from mobile phones - a new study from Canada shows that if someone phoning a driver can see the driver's road ahead the driver is far less likely to have an accident. The programme explores why using mobile phones while driving, even if they are hands free is so distracting and dangerous. Claudia talks to Nick Grey about an intensive 7 day course for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He explains why it is just as effective as giving the same course of cognitive behavioural therapy over 3 months. But can this method work for everyone? Claudia finds out about two new potential drugs to treat symptoms of psychosis, one hopes to improve memory and thinking, the other could target the delusions and hallucinations and is based on compounds found in older varieties of cannabis. Also in the programme, guest Catherine Loveday from the University of Westminster discusses recent research on the effect of music on people in a vegetative state and why some professions may keep your memory more robust later in life.

Home Secretary Theresa May says the UK is facing a terror threat "perhaps greater than it has ever been", and this week's anti-terrorism bill includes tighter airport security. But two psychology professors say current screening methods used at airports, where security agents check the behaviour of passengers for "suspicious signs", need an urgent upgrade. Professor Tom Ormerod from Sussex University and Coral Dando from the University of Wolverhampton, designed a new conversation-based screening method and when they tested it at international airports, including London Heathrow, they found it was 20 times more effective at catching airline passengers with false cover stories than the traditional "suspicious signs" method. Claudia Hammond asks them how the results from this study will affect airport security screening.If you have extremely suspicious thoughts, or you hear voices that other people can't hear, traditionally these are seen as signs of a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia. On Thursday this week a major new report from the British Psychological Society will call for a radical change in the way we think and offer help to people who are experiencing psychosis. Claudia Hammond discusses how our knowledge, attitudes and treatment of psychosis and schizophrenia have changed over the past decade with anti-stigma campaigner for Time to Change, Nikki Mattocks, author of "Eyebrows and Other Fish", Anthony Scally, consultant psychiatrist Dr Shubulade Smith and BPS Report Editor, clinical psychologist Anne Cooke.Thirty years ago psychologists found that if people were instructed to open their mouths in a smile, their mood improved...even though they didn't know they were smiling. When we feel happy, we smile, and the brain gets so used to this that it seems to happen the other way round too. Now new research suggests the same thing could happen when we walk. Johannes Michalak from Witten Herdecke University in Germany, found that when people were trained to walk in a happy style, their memories became more positive.Producer: Fiona Hill.

Claudia Hammond talks to Henrietta Bowden-Jones who runs the only NHS clinic for problem gamblers. Based in Central London it offers help to problem gamblers across the country. Treatment is mainly group based cognitive behavioural therapy. As many as 8 out of 10 patients, who are mostly men, have stopped gambling after 8 weeks of treatment at the clinic. But should more similar treatment centres be set up across the country for an addiction which often remains hidden? Also in the programme, Christian Jarrett joins Claudia to discuss why owls and larks could soon be joined by two new types of people based on how energetic they feel. Also, psychologist Stephen Reicher questions some of Stanley Milgram's conclusions about his infamous obedience experiments of the 1960s. And why if you're depressed you may find you lose your gut instinct.

"One in Four" has been a prominent slogan in campaigns to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental health problems. But Clinical Psychologist Martin Seager tells Claudia Hammond why he believes saying 'one in four' people will experience mental illness in any one year actually increases prejudice, artificially separating our mental health from our physical health. The Director of Time to Change, Sue Baker, disagrees, and argues that this statistical campaign tool has helped to normalise mental illness and played an important part in changing public attitudes.Humans vary in their ability to "keep a cool head" in emotionally charged situations, and difficulty to regulating emotions is linked to many psychiatric disorders. Dr Tim Dalgliesh from the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge tells Claudia about new research which suggests our brains could, with practice, be trained to focus on the goal at hand, and not get diverted by overwhelming emotions.TV dramas, plays and films can be ruined when scriptwriters get the science wrong. The Wellcome Trust's first ever screenwriting fellowship is an attempt to give film makers the chance to immerse themselves in science and explore their interests with the country's top scientific brains. Award winning film maker Clio Barnard (The Arbor and The Selfish Giant) has spent a year trawling the Wellcome archives and meeting psychologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists investigating memory, perception, hallucination and the impact of trauma: all themes which recur in her movies.Producer: Fiona Hill.

Claudia explores pioneering new research into radicalisation. She talks to Professor Kamaldeep Bhui who is doing research to try and prevent radicalisation in the early stages. His idea is, if we can understand what makes someone sympathetic to violence and terrorist actions then radicalisation can be stopped before it starts. He explains why vulnerability to radicalisation is linked to depression. Also in the programme, 50 years after a murder which spawned a whole new area of psychology. Did 38 people really watch the murder of Kitty Genovese and no one call the Police or help her? Claudia talks to author, Kevin Cook and psychologist, Rachel Manning about the misreporting of the case yet its continuing legacy for psychology in understanding why people do or don't help others. Claudia talks to James Withey, creator of the Recovery Letters, a website of letters from people who have been depressed to help those who are now.

Claudia Hammond hosts the All in the Mind Awards Ceremony from the Wellcome Collection in London, and meets all the finalists.

Claudia Hammond asks is autism underdiagnosed in girls? And this week's finalist in the All in the Mind awards is Dr Alan Barrett from Military Veterans.

Claudia Hammond meets two more finalists in the All in the Mind 25th anniversary awards. She talks to a mother who's been nominated by her daughter with anorexia. For years she has tried to help her, staying up at night to check her pulse and as her daughter put it "even when I was a bag of bones, all pointy-edged and cold she'd sit and cuddle me". We hear why she feels she went way beyond her parental duties. Claudia also hears from the man who nominated Maytree, a sanctuary for the suicidal and the only place of its kind in the UK, about why Maytree saved his life. Also in the programme Professor Janet Treasure discusses new research on the so-called love hormone oxytocin and why it can disrupt the way that people with anorexia view food and body shape.

All in the Mind AwardsOne in Four is a support group for people who have been sexually abused as children. The group offers counselling and advocacy and is a finalist in the All in the Mind Awards.Sporting MemoriesClaudia discovers how remembering sporting events are an important way to trigger memories and we have a report from the Sporting Memories group in Haddington East Lothian.Therapists Dreaming Professor of Psychology Clara Hill's research on therapists who dream about their clients.

Magician Chris Cox tricks Claudia Hammond's attention system and Professor Nilli Lavie explains what is happening in our brains when our visual system is overloaded; Claudia hears from Mike who nominated Pat in the professional category of the All in the Mind Mental Health Awards after she guided him through addiction and mental health problems lasting 15 years; and psychologist Guy Holmes discusses the difficulties of navigating professional boundaries.

Claudia Hammond hears from finalists, Andrew and his ex boss Steve in the All in the Mind awards and how Steve went the extra mile to help keep Andrew in a job. Also tips on how to help a friend or family member who has or you suspect has a mental health problem. Also why senior City executives are calling for urgent changes to mental health provision for workers in the Square Mile and beyond.

Why does one child become rebellious and another not? Claudia Hammond talks to Mark McDermott from the University of East London about new research into parenting and rebelliousness. She also hears from another shortlisted entry to the All in the Mind mental health awards. Plus, a scheme to fast track mental health social workers. Will this improve the image of the profession? Claudia Hammond reports on the new Think Ahead proposals.

Are mental health services in crisis? Claudia Hammond talks to Sue Bailey, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, about her fears that mental health is at a tipping point and could be heading towards its own Stafford Hospital style scandal. Martin McShane from NHS England and Minister for Care and Support, Norman Lamb, respond. Claudia talks to historian, Jay Winter about why he believes shell shock in World War One was hugely underdiagnosed. And she hears from Mindout, a support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Brighton and a finalist in the All in the Mind mental health awards.

Claudia Hammond is joined by mental health campaigner, Marion Janner to discuss some of the entries to the All in the Mind mental health awards. She hears from one pair of finalists, Helen and Lin. Helen nominated her mental health nurse, Lin in the professional category. Helen explains the difference Lin's help made and how she believes she saved her life. Also in the programme in World War I the Craiglockhart hospital near Edinburgh was a military psychiatric hospital treating shell shocked soldiers. Claudia travels to the hospital to see recently discovered editions of The Hydra - a magazine produced by patients and edited by Wilfred Owen with poems by Siegfried Sassoon who were both patients. Claudia hears how the magazine didn't talk directly about treatment or how soldiers were ill, referring instead to someone feeling a little seedy or not at the top of their game. And while the celebrated poets have made the magazine famous she finds out that the other contributions from regular soldiers are as equally moving.

Claudia Hammond reports on a mental health triage scheme being run by Leicestershire police force, which has led to a decrease in the number of people with mental illness being detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.Praising children with low self-esteem may seem like a good way to boost their confidence, but a new study by psychologist Eddie Brummelman of Utrecht University suggests that this can backfire and make them less likely to take on new challenges.Scott Stossel describes himself as "a twitchy bundle of phobias, fears and neuroses". He has a fear of heights, flying, public speaking and vomiting and nearly couldn't attend his own wedding. In his new book "My Age of Anxiety" he describes how until thirty-five years ago, anxiety did not exist as a diagnostic category, yet all through history descriptions have existed and each age thinks they are uniquely anxious. Scott explores the theories surrounding anxiety, including the potentially positive sides of the condition.

Claudia Hammond asks whether the use of physical restraint in mental health services should be eliminated. She's joined by Jimmy Noak, director of nursing at Broadmoor Hospital, and by service user consultant, Jane McGrath, to find out what restraint involves, when it's used, when it goes wrong and why some people even ask for restraint for themselves when they are in crisis. Also Claudia talks to Sophie Forster from Sussex University about her research into mind wandering and asks whether mind wanderers are less happy than others. And what are the challenges of starting a new business when you have a serious mental health problem? Claudia talks to one listener about her journey to self employment.

Claudia Hammond finds out why your exercise regime could be hindered if you have been taxing your brain too much. She talks to Professor Samuele Marcora from the University of Kent about his research on why the chemical by products of being mentally exhausted can actually make physical exercise much harder. He discusses his new research with the Ministry of Defence where he is finding that soldiers can be trained to resist the overwhelming effects of cognitive fatigue. Also in the programme the moral distress experienced by nurses and more results from the BBC Stress test and what it reveals about mental well-being.

Claudia takes a musical journey inside the brain looking at the very latest neuroscientific research on everything from how we notice patterns in music to why the beat can be so powerful.We're not born with musical ability, but the brain is an efficient machine that lets us learn the rules. But what about the people who can't understand music? And how can our emotional responses to music be used therapeutically?When it comes to understanding the mind and the brain, the beauty of music is that there are so many dimensions to it - there's pitch, rhythm, melody, our memories and that all-important emotional element. These are rich pickings for those using it to try to understand the workings of the mind better and to develop new therapies.

Why rituals like blowing out candles on a birthday cake table before eating it can improve the taste. Claudia Hammond talks to Michael Norton from Harvard University about his new research on the powerful effect of rituals on food and how it can work for chocolate and even carrots. Why people with an extraordinary ability to remember every details of their life and the events going on years ago are still susceptible to false memories. What does this reveal about how our memories work? More on the All in the Mind 25th anniversary mental health awards with awards judge, Marion Janner. What are the rules for people on medication for a mental health condition who want to give blood? Claudia talks to Jennie Naylor from NHS blood and transplant. Also in the programme why a meaningful life might not be a happy one and Claudia is joined by cognitive neuroscientist and blogger, Christian Jarrett to bust the myths about the differences between male and female brains.

Claudia goes behind the scenes of the Science Museum's new psychology exhibition, Mind Maps.How do you change teenagers' negative body images? Psychological strategies can help young people defend themselves against unrealistic expectations and stop them "fat talking". Claudia Hammond reports on a new study by Dr Helen Sharpe of Kings College LondonLast week All in the Mind launched its 25th anniversary Awards scheme. This week clinical psychologist and All in the Mind Award judge Guy Holmes explains what makes a good therapeutic group.Learning complicated dance steps can be challenging, as the celebrities on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing discover every week. New research by Professor Margaret Wilson has shown that one technique used by dancers known as marking can improve performance. Claudia cha cha challenges her two left feet with Strictly star Robin Windsor.

For its 25th anniversary All in the Mind launches 3 new awards to recognise outstanding help, support or advice in the field of mental health. Claudia Hammond explains the categories and how to nominate. Also in the programme, a new look at one of the most famous and controversial psychology experiments ever. In 1961 Stanley Milgram ran a series of experiments where unwitting volunteers were ordered to give increasing electric shocks to a man they'd never met under the guise of research into memory. Many gave a series of increasing shocks up to 450 Volts despite hearing screams and calls for help from the unseen 'victim'. But it was a set up. The shocks were fake and the victim was an actor. The results of Milgram's obedience research caused a worldwide sensation. Milgram reported that people had repeatedly shocked a man they believed to be in pain or even dying and he linked his findings to Nazi behaviour. But was his version of the results really what happened? Claudia Hammond talks to Gina Perry who has researched Milgram's unpublished papers and spoken to those who took part in the experiment. Her findings reveal a story far from Milgram's own version of his obedience research.

In this special anniversary programme Claudia Hammond looks at developments in neuroscience and how our understanding of the brain has changed.In 1988 scientists predicted that new techniques of scanning the brain would lead to exciting innovative treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Researchers were enthusiastic about the possibilities of seeing what went on in the brain. Many had high hopes that this would help us understand how and why mental health problems develop. But how much progress has been made?Professor Irene Tracey, Director of the Oxford Centre for functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, and Professor Sophie Scott, from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, discuss with Claudia the major advances in this fast growing field. They also take a sceptical look and ask whether with highly ambitious big brain studies the science is still promising more than it delivers.

The first ever edition of All in the Mind was broadcast 25 years ago. In the second of three anniversary programmes Claudia Hammond and guests look back at archive editions of the programme to examine what impact psychology research has had on our lives over the last 25 years. How does evidence-based psychology affect policy decisions? Is psychology just 'proving the obvious' or has it offered insights into ourselves which we could never have guessed?

The first ever edition of All in the Mind was broadcast in October 1988. For its 25th anniversary, Claudia Hammond is joined by community psychiatrist, Graham Thornicroft, Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind and by the artist, Bobby Baker to look back at archive editions of the programme and explore how attitudes to mental health have changed in the last 25 years. Have campaigns to raise awareness of mental health been successful and how far is there still to go? More and more public figures are talking about their own experience of mental illness. Even last year MPs made history by opening up to the House of Commons about their own mental health problems. How much do these kinds of conversations help change attitudes?

The introduction of the equality act has focussed attention on mental health services for older people. Sixty five used to be the cut off point for adult services, after which people were referred to old age psychiatry departments. Now though there is a trend towards ageless psychiatry and a one size fits all service. As the Baby Boomers hit sixty five is this a welcome move or will it lead to a loss of expertise and worsening services?Understanding the structure of DNA has revolutionised how neuroscientists understand the brain, and a new exhibition "photo-51 From DNA to the Brain" at the Kings Cultural Institute celebrates the impact of DNA on neuroscience. The work will feature three artists: photographers Christine Donnier Vallentin and Marcus Lyon and glass sculptor Shelley James.Recipes for Life is a project where Vietnamese people with mental health problems meet once a week to cook together and they have developed a recipe to protect themselves from homesickness.

The Case of the Bipolar Sufferer and her Legal Battle for an Abortion S.B. is a 37 year old woman with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. She wanted a baby but when she was pregnant, became ill, and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. She then said she couldn't cope with having a baby and began requesting an abortion. Her husband, her mother and the psychiatrists treating her argued that the termination shouldn't go ahead, because S.B. wasn't of "sound mind". Deborah Bowman, Professor of Bioethics, Clinical Ethics and Medical Law at St George's, University of London, discusses why this case, which went to the Court of Protection, is so important for people with mental health problems. The Complex Psychology Behind Wind Farm Opposition National polls consistently show that a majority of people support wind power in principle, but when it comes to local schemes, there's often vociferous opposition. NIMBYs often get the blame. They're portrayed as selfish individuals who say no, for purely self interested reasons. Claudia talks to Dr Chris Jones, social and environmental psychologist from the University of Sheffield, on the windy hills North of the City, about why opposition to wind farms is a complex matter and that the "Not In My Back Yarders" can have valid and varied reasons for being turbine-rejectors. Syrian Children and the Mental Health Impact of War Hundreds of thousands of Syrian children have fled their country as the war there reaches new levels of brutality. All in the Mind has been following the efforts of one Syrian psychologist, Masa Al-kurdi, to provide targeted support for child refugees that specifically address the war trauma they have experienced. Her group of volunteers, the Arab Foundation for the Care of Victims of War and Torture, has been using interventions developed by the Children and War Foundation, specifically designed to teach coping strategies and techniques to as many children as possible. In Jordan, the courses are now in place and Claudia hears from Masa that thousands of children will have been through the courses by the end of 2013. Producer - Fiona Hill.

An ancient memory training technique is being used to help people with depression. When someone is depressed they can find it hard to remember happier times. Dr Tim Dalgleish's study used the method of loci, associating familiar places with positive memories.What is the best way to treat mental health problems around the world? Vikram Patel, a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Sangath Centre in Goa in India, and Professor Pat Bracken, Psychiatrist and Clinical Director of the Mental Health Service in West Cork in Ireland, debate the extent to which a western psychiatric model can be used in low and middle income countries.New research by Helen Weng from the University of Wisconcin Madison has shown that a short course in meditation can increase altruism.

Education NeuromythsMany teachers are interested in the workings of the brain and how neuroscience might help their students to learn. But new research suggests that like the rest of the us, teachers have picked up many myths about the mind. Common neuromyths in wide circulation are that children have to be taught in their preferred learning styles in order to absorb information; that we only use 10% of our brains and that doing special co-ordination exercises helps the two hemispheres our our brains work together. Paul Howard Jones, reader in Neuroscience and Education at Bristol University, tells Claudia Hammond why he believes neuromyths are so widespread in the classroom.Prisons and PsychosisPrisoners are supposed to have exactly the same access to healthcare as everybody else, but in reality, there are big gaps in the service. When it comes to mental health care, the need for specialised care is clear to see. 5.2% of prisoners (compared to 0.4% of the general population) experience psychosis. Now a project in South East London aims to identify and treat prisoners before their illness escalates into a full-blown psychotic episode. Lucia Valmaggia of the Oasis in Prison project talks to Claudia about the sucess of this world-first project.The case of "H.M." and emerita Professor Of Neuroscience, Suzanne CorkinH.M., or Henry Gustave Molaison, is the world's most famous neurological patient. A case study in any neuroscience or psychology text book, Henry had amnesia, caused by an operation in 1953 to cure his serious epilepsy. His seizures were cured but the removal of a part of his brain left him unable to form new memories. For the next fifty years until his death in 2008, he was studied and researched, his condition revolutionising what we now know about memory. Emerita Professor of Neuroscience, Suzanne Corkin, at M.I.T. in the USA, and author of a new book, Permanent Present Tense, studied him for almost four decades. All in the Mind listeners get to hear original interviews, recorded back in 1977, whith Henry himself and Suzanne describes to Claudia, Henry the man and Henry's contribution to science.Producer: Fiona Hill.

In the US scientists are working out the details of President Obama's $100 million BRAIN initiative, and the EU is funding the billion euro Human Brain project. What will these expensive projects tell us, and are we even asking the right questions? Mind Hacker Vaughan Bell analyses the debate.Novelist Alex Peston talks about his essay on creativity and antidepressants, and Claudia Hammond asks Nooreen Akhtar of Aberdeen University about her analysis of how antidepressants are portrayed in the press.Noelle Blackman of Respond discusses the benefits of bereavement counselling for adults with learning disabilities.

Revision Techniques That WorkStudents up and down the UK are busy revising for exams. Claudia Hammond discovers which methods are effective from Professor John Dunlosky, and the results will send a shiver down the spine of those who've left their revision to the last minute.His review concludes that using a highlighter pen, underlining, reading and re-reading, and using mnemonics are the least effective techniques. Instead, students should do lots of practice tests and plan their revision sessions over time.Right or Wrong ? - Therapists Who CryLast week's research paper from the USA on therapists who cry when their clients disclose something sad prompted scores of All in the Mind listeners to share their experiences. Claudia reviews the responses and airs a range of views.Out Of Area Hospital Care for Detained PatientsAn investigation by Community Care journal has disclosed an increase in the numbers of patients, detained under the Mental Health Act, who are being sent, many miles away from their homes, to be treated in private hospitals. Community Editor, Andy McNicoll tells Claudia Hammond about suspicions that out-of-area care is linked to acute bed closures and describes the concerns this practice raises for the care of vulnerable patients.Psychological Treatments for Skin DisordersMore than half of the UK population experience a skin condition in any given 12 month period and the psychological impact on the individual can be enormous. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin has just published an updated report, a decade since they last investigated, criticising the lack of access to psychological help for sufferers and the trivialisation of skin disease in general. Dr Andrew Thompson, clinical psychologist and researcher at the University of Sheffield, talks to Claudia Hammond about the scale of unmet psychological need and Emma Rush, chairwoman of The Vitiligo Society, describes her personal experience of living with such a visible difference.Producer: Fiona Hill.

The new edition of the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will be launched later this month, Professor Simon Wessely discusses its potential impact in the UK. A new survey discovers that 72% of therapists have cried during a therapy session, Claudia Hammond asks should therapists cry? What is the link between sleep and mental illness? A study from Oxford University shows how chaotic sleep can be in people with schizophrenia.