Smooth Brain Society

What if playing a mobile game could help scientists understand how our brains navigate? and potentially identify early signs of Alzhiemer's Disease?
In this episode, we sit down with computational neuroscientist Dr Emre Yavuz to explore the fascinating science of spatial navigation and its links to cognitive health.
Emre discusses how Sea Hero Quest, a mobile navigation game played by millions of people, has created an enormous dataset for researchers studying how humans find their way around the world. We explore what navigation performance can tell us about cognitive differences, including research looking at Alzheimer's-related risk factors, and why navigation may eventually become a useful behavioural marker for cognitive decline.
We also dive into the everyday things that might shape our navigation abilities. How does video gaming relate to navigation? Does relying on GPS actually make us worse at finding our way? What can driving independently at a young age tell us? And why might sleep duration affect navigation differently across men and women?
Then things get even more futuristic. Emre talks us through his research using mobile brain imaging to record two people's brains simultaneously while they collaborate in a virtual Minecraft environment. We discuss brain-to-brain synchrony, the role of the prefrontal cortex, social navigation, and what studying two brains at once could reveal about how we interact with other people.
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In this short episode, newly titled Dr. Bethany Facer shares insights from her PhD research on Parkinson's disease. Sahir and Bethany also discuss their upcoming podcast series on cross-cultural research funded by the International Association of Cross Cultural Psychology (IACCP).

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We sit down with Dr. Erin Beeston, a Research Associate at the University of Manchester, to discuss her uniquely winding career path. Erin takes us through her journey from history of science and industrial heritage, which includes her PhD on the world's oldest railway station, to her current, impactful work researching health inequalities for the autism community. We dive into what "autism-informed" care actually looks like, why sensory and executive function barriers in healthcare are so significant, and how lived experience shapes her collaborative research approach. Erin also shares insights into her work on Parkinson’s, the importance of co-production in research, and how we might bridge the gap between healthcare systems and the needs of neurodivergent patients.
Dr: Erin Beeston: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/erin-beeston/
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Do police officers drink more than the general population? How does racial discrimination affect mental health? And what can large-scale data tell us about health inequalities?
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Patsy Irizar from Liverpool John Moores University to explore two seemingly different but deeply connected areas of research: alcohol use and mental health in the police and military, and the impact of racial discrimination on psychological wellbeing.
Dr. Irizar shares her journey, discussing her groundbreaking PhD work examining alcohol use among UK police officers and the culture surrounding drinking in policing. We unpack findings from a dataset of 40,000 officers, challenge stereotypes about the “hard-drinking cop,” and explore the complex relationship between alcohol and mental health.
The conversation then turns to health inequalities, where Patsy explains how the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted long-standing racial disparities in health outcomes. We discuss how discrimination can become biologically and psychologically embedded, why social determinants matter, and what researchers are learning from the largest survey of minoritized ethnic groups conducted in the UK.
Along the way, we talk about:
 Why people use alcohol to cope with mental health difficulties 
 The changing drinking culture within UK policing 
 The “sick quitter” hypothesis 
 Trauma, occupational stress, and mental health 
 COVID-19 and ethnic health inequalities 
 Structural and institutional racism 
 How discrimination affects mental health over time 
 Improving mental health services and treatment pathways 
 The role of research in creating meaningful social change 
Whether you're interested in psychology, public health, policing, addiction research, or social inequality, this episode offers a fascinating look at how our environments shape mental health.
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email: thesmoothbrainsociety@gmail.com

What happens inside a child's brain when they're told not to touch something… and immediately reach for it anyway?
In this episode we sit down with developmental neuroscientist Dr. Abigail Fiske from Lancaster University to explore how self-control develops in infancy and early childhood.
Dr. Fisk studies executive functions, which are the mental skills that help us focus, regulate behaviour, and resist impulses. Using child friendly brain-imaging technology (FNIRS) and longitudinal research, she follows children from infancy through early childhood to understand how these critical abilities emerge and develop.
We discuss:
Why toddlers struggle with self-control
What executive functions actually are
How inhibitory control develops in the brain
Measuring brain activity in babies using non-invasive neuroimaging
The role of the prefrontal cortex in early development
Lessons from the classroom that inspired Dr. Fisk's research career
Why the first five years of life are so important
Early intervention, education, and the future of child development research
Whether you're a parent, educator, psychology enthusiast, or simply curious about how the brain develops, this conversation offers fascinating insights into the science behind self-control and learning.
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email: thesmoothbrainsociety@gmail.com