Earlier this week I wrote about Paul Allen's involvement in a new PBS series "This Emotional Life," which wrapped up last night (but can still be watched on the Web site).

It takes a fascinating look at the latest research into human emotion, combined with real-life stories of people coping with emotional issues. Based on comments I've received and a look at some of the conversations on Facebook, the topic resonated deeply with a public searching for more meaning in life.

Some suggested it should be a weekly show. At this point there are no plans to re-broadcast the series, but it is available on iTunes and here on the PBS Web site.

Allen said he intended the TV series to be just the starting point of the project. Now a two-year outreach program begins, both online and in communities around the country.

The PBS Web site can be searched by topic or location to find resources such as Meetup groups and other organizations, and anyone can register and contribute new resources to the database.

COURTESY OF THIS EMOTIONAL LIFE

Dr. Michael Maddaus talked about his path from a troubled youth with alcoholic parents, time in jail and little education, to a successful surgeon with a happy family, thanks to a single mentor.

In an unusual effort for a film company, Vulcan Productions is spearheading the project, developing kits to address early attachment for parents, and emotional challenges for members of the military and their families. Both will combine online resources with booklets to be distributed through partner organizations such as Blue Star Families and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

"Early Moments Matter" is aimed at high birthrate hospitals, offices and clinics, targeting expecting and new parents, while "The Family Guide to Military Deployment" will go to government organizations and branches of the armed forces.

Two local researchers were involved in the series, Dr. John Gottman, a psychologist who specializes in conflict resolution and is founder of the Gottman Institute in Seattle, and Dr. Andrew Meltzoff, a psychology professor at the University of Washington who specializes in infant development and connection to parents.

Meltzoff and his team at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences won a $4 million grant from the Life Sciences Discovery Fund. Later this year they plan to set up the first machine that can measure emotional development in babies using a new technology called magnetoecephalography (MEG).

Washington state Rep. Ruth Kagi, who chairs the House Early Learning & Children's Services Committee, said she is studying implications of the science on policy.

If, as Meltzoff's research shows, humans develop the emotional circuitry for their entire lifetimes in the first three years, making the most of that time would seem a critical task not only for parents but for all of society.