Unlocking the Mysteries of the Social Brain with Dr. Bruce Miller

Apr 1, 2025

In a captivating conversation, Dr. Bruce Miller, a leading expert in neurology and psychiatry, unpacks the complexities of the social brain. He reveals how dementia can sometimes bring unexpected traits like enhanced empathy and creativity. The discussion highlights the brain's intricate social networks and their impact on morality and human behavior, as well as the role of caregivers in navigating neurological challenges. Dr. Miller also addresses the rising loneliness in a tech-driven world and the invaluable wisdom elders bring to society.

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ANECDOTE

Caregiver's Compassion Amid Aggression

Bruce Miller describes a patient, Jamie, who suddenly became aggressive during an exam, grabbing her partner by the throat.
Despite this, her partner understood it was biological and leaned into caregiving supportively.

INSIGHT

Frontotemporal Dementia's Social Impact

Frontotemporal dementia hits the brain's front parts impacting empathy and impulse control.
This causes social collapse, disinhibition, and loss of moral behavior distinct from Alzheimer's disease.

ADVICE

Lifestyle Protects Brain Health

Being cognitively active, socially connected, and exercising can delay symptoms in genetic dementia cases.
Lifestyle choices play a protective role even with inherited forms of dementia.

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In this powerful episode of Inquiring Minds, host Indre Viskontas reconnects with her longtime mentor, Dr. Bruce L. Miller—one of the world’s foremost authorities on dementia, empathy, and the neuroscience of human behavior. Dr. Miller is a Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he founded both the UCSF Memory and Aging Center—the world’s largest research group dedicated to neurodegenerative diseases—and the Global Brain Health Institute, a pioneering global initiative training future leaders in brain health from over 50 countries.

As a clinician and researcher, Dr. Miller has spent decades at the forefront of understanding how aging and neurodegenerative conditions alter not only memory, but emotion, identity, and creativity. His forthcoming book, Mysteries of the Social Brain: Understanding Human Behavior Through Science (co-authored with neuroscientist Virginia Sturm), brings together compelling case studies and cutting-edge science to explore how changes in brain function can reveal surprising truths about what makes us human.

In their conversation, Indre and Dr. Miller explore:

Why do some individuals with dementia develop new depths of empathy or even unlock hidden artistic talents?
How the brain's social networks shape morality, altruism, creativity, and respect—and what happens when these networks deteriorate.
The paradoxes of frontotemporal dementia and how it differs from Alzheimer’s disease in profound and unexpected ways.
How caregiving not only strengthens emotional circuits in the brain but may be one of the most meaningful human endeavors.
Why openness and interpersonal connection are essential to healthy aging and resilient societies.

They also discuss the promising future of neurodegenerative disease treatment—from CRISPR-based gene therapies for inherited forms of dementia to new clinical trials exploring the effects of social engagement, exercise, and lifestyle on brain health.

With warmth, insight, and deeply human stories, Dr. Miller challenges the traditional view of dementia as a simple unraveling, revealing instead the complexity—and at times, the unexpected beauty—of the aging brain.

Mysteries of the Social Brain is available now wherever books are sold.

Resources:

Get Dr. Bruce Miller’s new book Mysteries of the Social Brain on Amazon and Routledge

Connect with Indre on LinkedIn

Inquiring Minds Homepage: https://inquiring.show/

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