Produced by China Media Group (CMG) and broadcast on China Central Television (CCTV)’s documentary channel, Delving into the Brain, the first documentary series in China to systematically focus on brain science research, has gone viral online and attracted attention from Chinese scientists. The documentary features the achievements of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute (TCCI) and acknowledges the support of the TCCI-produced brain science documentary Minds Wide Open at the end of the first episode.

The documentary series consists of six episodes focused on six topics, namely: Planet Brain, Remodeling the Brain, The World inside the Brain, The Strongest Brain, The Opposite Brain and The Brain Map. It took two years of filming and interviews with 40 Chinese key scientific institutes and more than 50 top brain science experts from hospitals including six academicians to complete the production of the documentary. The filming team selected various filming locations such as labs and surgical rooms to create rich content and an easy-to-understand storyline.

The film crew interviewed Professor Ying Mao, President of Huashan Hospital and Director of the TCCI Translational Center, who explained our understanding of the brain from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, outlined progress made using new technologies such as brain-machine interfaces to combat brain diseases, and shared the prospect of how neurosurgery can play a unique role in actively supporting brain research.

Professor Tiger Tao was also interviewed. As the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of Chinese Academy of Sciences and also a TCCI-affiliated investigator, he showcased the technical progress of China’s newest invasive brain-machine interfaces which employ flexible electrodes using fibroin as the main material and discussed how brain-machine interface technology might be used to cure diseases and even enhance the brains of healthy people. Additionally, the documentary was to use content from Minds Wide Open, a TCCI-produced documentary that won eight international film and TV festival awards for best science and technology documentary.