Giftedness is more than good grades. It’s a brain wired for rapid signal flow between the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus — producing fast thought, big memory, and constant “aha” moments.

But the experience isn’t all brilliance. It’s confusion, alienation, neglect, risk of psychosis, and real physical cost. In this episode of Strange Life, I explore:

• Why gifted brains develop the way they do

• The psychological toll: confusion, alienation, neglect, madness

• The physical toll: stress, exhaustion, even immune dysfunction

• And why recognition and support matter so much

📖 Further Reading & References:

• Hebbian Learning — https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/hebbian-learning

• Science: “Memory—A Century of Consolidation” — https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.287.5451.248

• Psychology Today on memory — https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/memory

• NIMH on ADHD — https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd

• VA on Complex PTSD — https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/types/complex_ptsd.asp

• Frontiers in Psychiatry: giftedness and psychosis risk — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.662558/full

• Britannica on Stephen Hawking — https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-Hawking

• Hank Green on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usQ0rSe-C9Q

• SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) — https://www.sengifted.org/