Tag: a-sensory-world

“Surely the part of my brain that I used to read with must have shut down at the same time as my sight?” asks Red Szell in this video. The 53-year-old Londoner lost his sight several years ago due to the degenerative eye condition Retinitis pigmentosa – and has used audiobooks ever since.

But earlier this year, Szell decided to learn Braille, with unexpected results – as he outlines in this video for BBC Culture’s A Sensory World series. In it, he interviews a brain scientist whose studies have revealed surprising findings.

Video written and presented by Red Szell; filmed and edited by Chris Griffiths; animation by Archie Crofton.

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Frisson is the French word meaning “shiver”, but in this case, we’re not shivering because we’re cold, we’re shivering because we’re stimulated by music.

When we hear a certain piece of music or view a particular work of art, there may be an intense psychological and physiological reaction. “You have this sudden rush of dopamine,” explains psychologist Dr Rebecca Johnson-Osei. “It’s a similar pathway that gets activated with sex and other things that are rewarding to our brains.” 

Filmed and presented by Greg Dukes

Commissioning Editor: Griesham Taan

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