All Episodes
Episode 4: The Migraine Brain – What Happens to Cognition During an Attack?
In this episode, I’m breaking down what migraine actually does to your cognitive abilities. The short answer: it’s not just a headache; it temporarily disrupts how your brain processes information.
Migraine is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting about one in seven people. But beyond the well-known pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light, there’s a less visible but significant impact on thinking. Research shows that during an attack, and sometimes even before and after, people experience real, measurable difficulties with memory, attention, and processing speed.
This cognitive fog isn’t random. It follows the timeline of the migraine itself. In the prodrome phase before the headache, during the acute pain phase, and even into the postdromal “hangover” phase, the brain struggles. Empirical studies show that individuals with high attack frequency perform worse on tests of episodic memory, visuospatial skills, and executive function compared to matched controls. The proposed reasons involve cortical spreading depression, changes in cerebral blood flow, and the influence of the condition itself on neural processing.
However—and this is a crucial distinction—this impairment is not the same as dementia or a progressive, degenerative condition. For most people, cognitive performance returns to baseline between attacks. The deficits are episodic and tied to the migraine cycle. Factors like attack frequency, psychiatric comorbidities, and medication can influence the severity, but the evidence suggests the effects are largely reversible.
This matters because these cognitive symptoms contribute heavily to the functional disability of migraine—impacting work, social participation, and quality of life. Recognizing them as a core part of the disorder is essential for holistic management.
🎧 Listen to the episode titled: The Migraine Brain, What Happens to Cognition During an Attack?
(March 4th, 2026)
Episode 3: When Does Cognitive Development Really Start?
In this episode, I’m looking at when cognitive development actually begins. The short answer: months before birth.
There’s a specific timeline that plays out in the womb. At three to four weeks, the neural tube forms. By five weeks, basic brain regions are taking shape. Between six and twenty-four weeks, neurons migrate to their precise locations. The cortex starts forming its six layers around eight weeks, but stays smooth until the third trimester, when it rapidly folds to fit inside the skull.
While this structural development is happening, the fetus is also starting to process information. By the third trimester, there are sleep-wake cycles. Fetuses respond to stimulation and show habituation, which means they get bored with repeated sounds. That requires forming simple memories. They also learn statistical patterns from the language their mother speaks, which is why newborns prefer their mother’s voice right after birth.
I also look at what happens when this timeline is disrupted. Premature birth, pregnancy complications, and problems with cortical folding all affect cognitive outcomes years later. The point is straightforward: the cognitive abilities you use every day depend on developmental processes that started before you were born.
🎧 Listen to the episode titled: When Does Cognitive Development Really Start?
(February 24th, 2026)
Episode 2: Therapist Power: Wilbur, Sybil, and Memory Making
In this episode, I’m talking about Sybil — the woman reported to have sixteen personalities and her therapist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur. I’ll walk through their long, intense therapy, how ideas like transference and repressed memories played out, and where things may have crossed important ethical lines.
I’m interested in a simple question: was this genuine help, or did the therapy itself shape the story more than anyone admitted? Stick around as I break down the science, the doubts, and what this case can still teach us about the power therapists have over the stories their patients come to believe.
Listen to the episode titled: Therapist Power: Wilbur, Sybil, and Memory Making
(Feb 14th, 2026)
Episode 1: Freud, Memory, and the Modern Mind
Visiting Freud’s study prompts a practical question: can his foundational ideas about the unconscious and repressed memory find any support in modern cognitive science? This episode examines the documented evolution of psychoanalysis and investigates whether contemporary research on learning and working memory offers a new language for old clinical insights.
Listen to the episode titled: Freud, Memory, and the Modern Mind.
(Jan 30th, 2026)
About me
Dorota Styk
I am an experimental psychologist, cognitive neuroscientist and psychotherapist whose work centres on understanding how people think, learn, adapt, and change. My PhD researchexamines how working memory is instantiated in the brain and the conditions under which its training transfers or fails to transfer to everyday learning, with a particular focus on individual differences in far transfer.
My academic work uses machine-learning driven experiments within NeuxScience®, a proprietary research platform, to investigate how changes in WM and other higher-order cognitive processes manifest in real-world behaviour. My long-term aim is translating these findings into evidence-based cognitive and psychotherapeutic interventions for people with neurodevelopmental conditions, neurological conditions, and reduced or impaired cognitive capacity.
I am a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS), American Psychological Association (APA), Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), British Neuroscience Association (BNA), Experimental Psychology Society (EPS), and British Association for Cognitive Neuroscience (BACN). These affiliations reflect my commitment to rigorous research, ethical practice, and ongoing professional development across psychology and neuroscience.
I hold qualifications in counselling and psychotherapy awarded by Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB) and National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), on a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accredited route. I have completed over 252 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certifications in psychology.