This is part 1 of our interview with neuroscientist Dr Mark Williams. Dr Mark shares his remarkable transformation from an angry student whose principal thought he'd end up dead or in prison to a professor of neuroscience. He takes us on a lightning tour of the parts of the brain involved in decision making and describes the remarkable way our brain presents us with an illusion of the world around us.

Like to know more about Dr Mark? Visit Dr Mark's website - www.drmarkwilliams.com where you can pre-order his new book 'The Connected Species'. And make sure you tune in for episodes 2 and 3 of this fascinating discussion

Keen to dig deeper? Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMQIuLQG09o for a really nice, simple video, 20 minutes in length, that explains the body's fight-flight response. This introduces you to the roles of the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, autonomic nervous system/sympathetic nervous system, adrenal gland (and the hormones norepinephrine, adrenaline and cortisol) and the cortex with some nice diagrams.

Like what you're hearing? If so, we'd be most grateful if you could take two minutes and drop us a rating and review on your podcast player. Thanks!