Educational Media Reviews Online

Me, My Brain and I was produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for the program The Nature of Things, and presents research on injuries to the forehead which resulted in frontal lobe brain damage. The film presents a study of patients with changes in personality, emotional response, memory and judgment, all results of frontal lobe impairment. How the brain functions, the role of the frontal lobes in shaping behavior and identity, and what makes us human is also discussed.

Donald Stuss, Director of the Rotman Research Institute at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto, explains the architecture of the brain and raises questions related to frontal lobe function and brain chemistry. The viewer is introduced to four people who have suffered brain damage due to accidents, profound depression and epileptic seizures. They are interviewed, along with their families, and the film shows them participating in daily activities at home and work. Other researchers are briefly shown interacting with the patients or commenting on the cases.

The production is well balanced, interspersing comments from medical professionals with patient interviews. It integrates music, video clips and a 3d brain model into the program at appropriate times, and relates the unique abilities of the brain to the world around us so that it can be understood by the non-medical public. This film would enhance college, hospital or medical school library collections best, and could fit into consumer health or patient education library collections.