Guest: Elizabeth Loftus.

Recent studies have shown that it's possible to make people believe they have had experiences they didn't have. They can also be led to believe that these experiences were extremely traumatic—or they would have been, if they had happened. Today on Focus, we're joined by well-known memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus from the University of California at Irvine. We'll talk about her work and review some of the controversy over recovered memories.

Guest: Paul Bloom.

Babies are born with inherent knowledge in two areas: the physical and the emotional. They are surprised when things disappear or defy gravity; they are able to read emotions and react with their own. Today on Focus, we're joined by psychologist Paul Bloom. He'll talk about how these two methods of thought give rise to the traits that we consider most uniquely "human," from humor to art to religion.

Guest: Gerald Edelman.

Scientists and philosophers across the ages have speculated on the nature of consciousness. Even today, with our knowledge of brain function, we still wonder how the activity seen in the brain results in our subjective thoughts and emotions. One of America's leading neuroscientists, Gerald Edelman, has spent his career trying to understand the origins of consciousness. He joins us today on Focus 580 to explain what recent advances in biochemistry and evolutionary biology can tell us about the connections between mind and body.