From Our Neurons to Yours

Psychedelics are a hot topic in psychiatry today. They’re producing dramatic reversals for patients with severe depression, PTSD, and other mental health conditions. But scientists still have fundamental questions about why these drugs are so effective. For example, is the "trip" even necessary? Some think it is not and are working to design drugs with similar brain chemistry but no psychoactive effects — “Taking the trip out of the drug.” Others suspect that many of the benefits of psychedelics can be attributed to hype and expectation: People expect to get better, so they do. Normally scientists control for placebo using a blinded study where patients don't know if they're getting the real treatment or a sugar pill. But how are you going to do this with mind-altering substances? Patients are probably going to figure out pretty quickly whether they got a sugar cube with or without LSD. Today's guest, Stanford anesthesiologist Boris Heifets, has come up with a particularly clever strategy to tease apart the psychedelic experience, biochemistry, hype and placebo. Listen for the whole story! Learn more: The Heifets Lab at Stanford MedicineDepression, ketamine & anesthesia: Randomized trial of ketamine masked by surgical anesthesia in patients with depressionKetamine’s effect on depression may hinge on hopeAnesthetic dreams and trauma recovery: Case report 1: dreaming & knife attackCase report 2: dreaming & PTSDCould anesthesia-induced dreams wipe away trauma? Video: Mothers with PTSD following their sons' deaths talk about dreaming of their sons under anesthesiaRelated episodes: S1 E1: Psychedelics and EmpathyS3 E3: OCD and KetamineEpisode credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

This week on From Our Neurons to Yours, we're talking about the neuroscience of climate change with neuroeconomist Nik Sawe. If you follow the science or the news, you know how big of a risk climate change is. Storms, coastal flooding, heat waves, extinctions, mass migration — the list goes on. But — as you can probably also appreciate — it’s really hard to properly perceive that risk. It’s much easier to focus on today’s emergency, this week’s looming deadline, this quarter’s economic forecast — where the risks are objectively much smaller, but feel more pressing. This is where neuroscience comes in: Why are our brains so bad at perceiving this existential, long-term risk to our society and our planet? And are there ways we could work with our brains' limitations to improve our decision-making around environmental issues and the future more broadly? To answer this question, we spoke with Nik Sawe, a neuro-economist who uses brain imaging to study environmental decision making in the lab of Brian Knutson in the Stanford Department of Psychology. Nik is also a policy analyst at the think tank Energy Innovation, where he is working on policy avenues to reduce carbon emissions in the industrial sector. References Parks donation FMRI studyEcolabeling/energy-efficient purchasing FMRI study"Price of your soul" study by Greg BernsDan Kahan science literacy/numeracy and climate change risk studyBrain stimulation for perspective-taking of future generationsEpisode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

This week we’re doing something a little different. My good friend Michael Osborne, who produces this show also has his own podcast, called Famous & Gravy – Life Lessons from Dead Celebrities. I recently guest-hosted an episode about one of my all time scientific and writerly heros, Oliver Sacks, which we're releasing for both our audiences. I hope you enjoy! --- We've concluded Season 3 of From Our Neurons to Yours! Stay tuned for more conversations from the frontiers of neuroscience in Season 4 — from psychedelics to cancer neuroscience to hypnosis — which we’ll share in just a few weeks. --- Who was Oliver Sacks? Oliver Sacks, born on July 9, 1933, was a British-American neurologist, author, and professor known for his groundbreaking work in neuroscience and his compelling narratives exploring the human mind. His unique ability to blend science with storytelling made him a beloved figure in both the medical and literary worlds. Sacks' career in neurology began in the 1960s, where he studied and treated patients with various neurological disorders. His observations and insights into the complexities of the brain led to significant advancements in the field. As an author, Oliver Sacks gained widespread acclaim for his books, including "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" (1985) and "Awakenings" (1973), which was adapted into a successful film starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. His writings, characterized by empathy and curiosity, explored the human condition through the lens of neuroscience. Throughout his life, Sacks remained committed to understanding and humanizing neurological conditions. He championed the importance of empathy and compassion in medical practice, advocating for a holistic approach to patient care. In addition to his literary contributions, Oliver Sacks was a revered educator, teaching at prestigious institutions such as Columbia University and the New York University School of Medicine. His lectures and writings inspired countless students and professionals in the field of neurology. Oliver Sacks' legacy continues to resonate, shaping our understanding of the brain and its complexities. His work transcends disciplines, reminding us of the profound connections between science, humanity, and storytelling. Episode Credits Famous and Gravy was created by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Evan Sherer with production assistance from Claire McInerney. Original theme music by Kevin Strang. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Today: the clocks in your body. We're talking again this week with Tony Wyss-Coray, the director of the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience here at Wu Tsai Neuro. Last year, we spoke with Tony about the biological nature of the aging process. Scientists can now measure signs of aging in the blood, and can in some cases slow or reverse the aging process in the lab. We discussed how this biological age can be quite different from your chronological age, and why understanding why people age at different rates has become a hot topic for researchers who study aging. Since we last spoke, Professor Wyss-Coray and his lab have published some exciting new work that takes this idea from the level of the whole body down to the level of specific organs and tissues. We can now ask: are your brain, your heart, or your liver aging faster than the rest of you? The implications of this idea could be profound for both neuroscience and medicine more broadly. Listen to the episode to learn more! Further reading Wyss-Coray lab Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience Organ aging study in Nature: Organ aging signatures in the plasma proteome track health and diseaseNatureStudy coverage: Stanford Medicine-led study finds way to predict which of our organs will fail firstStanford MedicineYour Organs Might Be Aging at Different RatesScientific AmericanTony Wyss-Coray: The Science of AgingGround Truths with Eric TopolRelated reading: You can order a test to find out your biological age. Is it worth it?NPRWhat’s Your ‘Biological Age’?New York Times Episode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Today on the show, a new understanding of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders — right after Alzheimer's disease. It's familiar to many as a movement disorder: people with the disease develop difficulties with voluntary control of their bodies. But the real story is much more complicated. This week, we speak with Kathleen Poston, a Stanford neurologist who is at the forefront of efforts to redefine Parkinson's disease and related disorders based on their underlying biology — not just their symptoms. As Poston says: "The biology is the disease." Join us to learn about exciting advances in our ability to detect the brain pathology driving these disorders much earlier, even before symptoms arise, and how this is opening doors for early intervention and — hopefully — prevention. Learn More Poston Lab at Stanford MedicineLewy Body Dementia Research Center of Excellence at StanfordUnderstanding Parkinson's Disease: Stanford's Dr. Kathleen Poston on latest advancesCBS News Bay AreaA biological definition of neuronal α-synuclein disease: towards an integrated staging system for researchThe Lancet - NeurologyInternational Working Group Proposes New Framework for Defining Parkinson Disease Based on Biology, Not SymptomsEpisode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

This week on From Our Neurons to Yours, we sit down with Stanford neurobiologist Lisa Giocomo to explore the intersection of memory and navigation. This episode was inspired by the idea of memory palaces. The idea is simple: Take a place you're very familiar with, say the house you grew up in, and place information you want to remember in different locations within that space. When it's time to remember those things, you can mentally walk through that space and retrieve those items. This ancient technique reveals something very fundamental about how our brains work. It turns out that the same parts of the brain are responsible both for memory and for navigating through the world. Scientists are learning more and more about these systems and the connections between them, and it's revealing surprising insights about how we build the narrative of our lives, how we turn our environments into an internal model of who we are, and where we fit into the world. Join us to learn more about the neuroscience of space and memory. Learn more: Lisa Giocomo’s researchthe story of Henry Molaison2014 Nobel Prize in medicineMemory PalacesEpisode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

In this episode of "From Our Neurons to Yours," we're taking a deep dive into the neuroscience of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and the recent discovery that the anesthetic ketamine can give patients a week-long "vacation" from the disorder after just one dose. Join us as we chat with Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez, a leading expert in the field, who led the first clinical trial of Ketamine for patients with OCD. She sheds light on what OCD truly is, breaking down the misconceptions and revealing the reality of this serious condition. Dr. Rodriguez, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford Medicine, discusses her research on ketamine for OCD, current hypotheses about how it works in the brain, and her approach to developing safer treatments. Listeners are encouraged to seek help if they or a loved one are struggling with OCD. Learn more: Rodriguez's OCD Research Lab (website) Rodriguez at the World Economic Forum (video - WEF) International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) (website) Rodriguez pioneers VR therapy for patients with hoarding disorder (video - Stanford Medicine) The rebirth of psychedelic medicine (article - Wu Tsai Neuro) Researcher investigates hallucinogen as potential OCD treatment (article - Stanford Medicine) Episode credits: This episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Welcome to "From Our Neurons to Yours," from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. Each week, we bring you to the frontiers of brain science — to meet the scientists unlocking the mysteries of the mind and building the tools that will let us communicate better with our brains. This week, we're tackling a BIG question in neuroscience: why do we do what we do? Specifically, we're talking about dopamine, and why the common understanding of this molecule as a "pleasure chemical" in the brain may be missing something fundamental. Join us as we explore the distinction between 'liking' and 'wanting', between reward and motivation, and how this could help us more deeply understand how dopamine shapes our behavior. Tune in to gain insights into addiction, Parkinson's disease, depression and more. Don't miss out on this thought-provoking discussion with Neir Eshel, a psychiatrist and leading Stanford expert on dopamine and behavior. (Including a conversation about a recent paper published with Rob Malenka, who we spoke with back in our very first episode!) Learn More Eshel Lab website Stanford Medicine study reveals why we value things more when they cost us more (Stanford Medicine, 2023) Striatal dopamine integrates cost, benefit, and motivation (Eshel et al., Neuron, 2024) The Economics of Dopamine Release (Stanford BioX Undergraduate Summer Research Program lecture) Youtube video of classic James Olds rat brain stimulation study Episode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler, at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Imagine being trapped in your own body, unable to move or communicate effectively. This may seem like a nightmare, but it is a reality for many people living with brain or spinal cord injuries. Join us as we talk with Jaimie Henderson, a Stanford neurosurgeon leading groundbreaking research in brain-machine interfaces. Henderson shares how multiple types of brain implants are currently being developed to treat neurological disorders and restore communication for those who have lost the ability to speak. We also discuss the legacy of the late Krishna Shenoy and his transformative work in this field. Learn more Henderson's Neural Prosthetics Translational Lab BrainGate Consortium – "Turning thought into action" Commentary on Neuralink's brain-interfacing technology by Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Faculty Scholar Paul Nuyujukian (WIRED, 2023; NBC Bay Area, 2024) Brain Implants Helped 5 People Recover From Traumatic Injuries (New York Times, 2023) Nature Medicine, 2023Brain to text technology is about more than Musk (Washington Post, 2023) Nature, 2023The man who controls computers with his mind (New York Times Magazine, 2022) Software turns ‘mental handwriting’ into on-screen words, sentences (Stanford Medicine, 2021) Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, 2021Nature, 2021 Learn about the work of the late Krishna Shenoy Krishna V. Shenoy (1968–2023) (Nature Neuroscience, 2023) Krishna Shenoy, engineer who reimagined how the brain makes the body move, dies at 54 (Stanford Engineering, 2023) Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Imagine an electrical storm in your brain, a power surge that passes through delicately wired neural circuits, making thousands of cells all activate at once. Depending on where it starts and where it travels in the brain, it could make your muscles seize up. It could create hallucinatory visions or imaginary sounds. It could evoke deep anxiety or a sense of holiness, or it could even make you lose consciousness. This kind of electrical storm is what we call a seizure. If your brain is prone to seizures, we call it epilepsy. This week we're joined by Fiona Baumer, a Stanford pediatric neurologist and researcher, to dive into this misunderstood and often stigmatized disorder. In addition to treating children with seizure disorders, Dr. Baumer conducts research at the Koret Human Neurosciences Community Laboratory at Wu Tsai Neuro. There she uses transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paired with EEG, to stimulate and read out patterns of activity moving across the brain in children with epilepsy. In our conversation, we discuss what neuroscience has taught us about where seizures come from and how new technologies are giving us insights not only into potential treatments for the disorder, but also providing a window into some of the brain's hidden patterns of activity. We're taking a break over the next few weeks. We'll return with new episodes in the new year. In the meantime, if you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Links Baumer's Pediatric Neurostimulation Laboratory Northern California Epilepsy Foundation Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Imagine Thursday. Does Thursday have a color? What about the sound of rain — does that sound taste like chocolate? Or does the sound of a saxophone feel triangular to you? For about 3% of the population, the sharp lines between our senses blend together. Textures may have tastes, sounds, shapes, numbers may have colors. This sensory crosstalk is called synesthesia, and it's not a disorder, just a different way of experiencing the world. To learn about the neuroscience behind this fascinating phenomenon and what it tells us about how our brains perceive the world, we were fortunate enough to speak with David Eagleman, a neuroscientist, author, and entrepreneur here at Stanford. Eagleman has long been fascinated by synesthesia and what it means about how our perceptions shape our reality. We also discuss Eagleman's work with Neosensory, a company that develops technology to help individuals with hearing loss by translating sound into vibrations on the skin. The episode highlights the adaptability and plasticity of the brain, offering a deeper understanding of how our perceptions shape our reality. In addition to his research, Eagleman is a prolific communicator of science — the author of several books including Livewired and Incognito and host of the PBS series "The Brain with David Eagleman" and the new podcast series "Inner Cosmos". Enjoy! Links LivewiredIncognitoWednesday Is Indigo BlueNeosensorySynesthete.orgInner Cosmos with David Eagleman Episode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Cover art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Welcome back, neuron lovers! In this week's episode of From Our Neurons to Yours, we're talking about the neuroscience of sleep. Why is slumber so important for our health that we spend a third of our lives unconscious? Why does it get harder to get a good night's sleep as we age? And could improving our beauty rest really be a key to rejuvenating our bodies and our minds? To learn more, I spoke with Luis de Lecea, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford, who has been at the forefront of sleep science since leading the discovery of the sleep-regulating hormone hypocretin 25 years ago. De Lecea's research aims to understand the mechanisms behind sleep regulation and develop interventions to improve sleep quality and efficiency. With support from the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Wu Tsai Neuro, De Lecea is collaborating with Stanford psychiatry professor Julie Kauer and colleagues to understand the role of sleep centers in neurodegeneration. In our conversation, de Lecea explains the role of the hypothalamus and the sleep hormone hypocretin in regulating sleep and we discuss how lack of sleep can cause damage to cells and organ systems, leading to effects similar to premature aging. As usual, Shakespeare put it best: “Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, Chief nourisher in life's feast.” —Macbeth Links Learn more about the de Lecea laboratoryWhy Does My Sleep Become Worse as I Age?Losing sleep in adolescence makes mice less outgoing as adultsSleep and the HypothalamusHyperexcitable arousal circuits drive sleep instability during agingEpisode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Cover art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Welcome back to "From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. In this episode, we explore the collective intelligence of ant colonies with Deborah Gordon, a professor of biology at Stanford, an expert on ant behavior, and author of a new book, The Ecology of Collective Behavior. We discuss how ant colonies operate without centralized control, relying on simple local interactions, such as antennal contact, to coordinate their behavior. Gordon explains how studying ant colonies can provide insights into the workings of the human brain, highlighting parallels between different types of collective behavior in ants and the modular functions of the brain. Listen to the episode to learn more about the intelligence of ant colonies and the implications for neuroscience. Links Dr. Gordon's research website What ants teach us about the brain, cancer and the Internet (TED talk) An ant colony has memories that its individual members don’t have (Aeon) The Queen does not rule (Aeon) Local links run the world (Aeon) The collective wisdom of ants (Scientific American) Deborah Gordon: Why Don't Ants Need A Leader? (NPR) What Do Ants Know That We Don't? (WIRED) Episode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Cover art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Welcome back to "From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast where we criss-cross scientific disciplines to take you to the frontiers of brain science. This week, we explore the science of dizziness with Stanford Medicine neurologist Kristen Steenerson, MD, who treats patients experiencing vertigo and balance disorders. In our conversation, we'll see that dizziness is not a singular experience but rather a broad term encompassing a variety of different sensations of disorientation. We learn about the vestibular system, a set of biological "accelerometers" located deep within the inner ear that detect linear and angular acceleration, helping us perceive motion, orientation, and our connection to the world around us. We also discuss a wearable medical device Dr. Steenerson and colleagues at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute are developing a wearable device to measure the activity of the vestibular system by tracking a patient's eye movements. With the ability to study this mysterious system in unprecedented detail, we're on the verge of learning more than ever about this misunderstood "sixth sense." Learn More Dr. Steenerson's Stanford academic profile Dr. Steenerson's Stanford Healthcare profile (Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Otolaryngology) The wearable ENG, a dizzy attack event monitor (DizzyDx) References Popkirov, Stoyan, Jeffrey P. Staab, and Jon Stone. "Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD): a common, characteristic and treatable cause of chronic dizziness." Practical neurology 18.1 (2018): 5-13. Harun, Aisha, et al. "Vestibular impairment in dementia." Otology & Neurotology: Official Publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology 37.8 (2016): 1137. Brandt T, Dieterich M. The dizzy patient: don't forget disorders of the central vestibular system. Nat Rev Neurol. 2017 Jun;13(6):352-362. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2017.58. Epub 2017 Apr 21. PMID: 28429801. Allison S. Young, Corinna Lechner, Andrew P. Bradshaw, Hamish G. MacDougall, Deborah A. Black, G. Michael Halmagyi, Miriam S. Welgampola Neurology Jun 2019, 92 (24) e2743-e2753; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007644 Episode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Cover art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Welcome back to our second season of "From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast where we criss-cross scientific disciplines to take you to the cutting edge of brain science. In this episode, we explore how sound becomes information in the human brain, specifically focusing on how speech is transformed into meaning. Our guest this week is Neuro-linguist Laura Gwilliams, a faculty scholar at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and Stanford Data Science based in the Stanford Department of Psychology. In our conversation, she breaks down the intricate steps involved in transforming speech sounds into meaning. From the vibrations of the eardrum to the activation of specific neurons in the auditory cortex, Gwilliams reveals the remarkable complexity and precision of the brain's language processing abilities. Gwilliams also delves into the higher-level representations of meaning and sentence structure, discussing how our brains effortlessly navigate interruptions, non sequiturs, and the passage of time during conversations. Join us as we unravel the mysteries of speech comprehension and gain a deeper understanding of how our minds process language. Learn more Laura Gwilliams' research website and Stanford faculty profile Episode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

We all know exercise has all sorts of benefits beyond just making us stronger and fitter. It lowers and inflammation. It buffers stress and anxiety. It clarifies our thinking. In fact, regular exercise is one of the few things we know with reasonable confidence can help extend our healthy lifespan. But for all the evidence of the benefits of exercise, it's a bit surprising that we don't know more about how exercise does all these great things for our bodies and our brains. Today's guest, Jonathan Long, recently discovered a new molecule produced when we exercise a compound called Lac-Phe. Lac-Phe appears to be linked to a number of health benefits from regulating appetite to boosting learning and memory. Long is a chemist by training — and an institute scholar of Sarafan ChEM-H, the Institute for Chemistry Engineering and Medicine for Human Health, our sister institute here at Stanford. So I started our conversation by asking him how his background as a chemist informs how he thinks about studying exercise and human health. NOTE: Thanks to everyone who's tuned in to our first season! We're going to take a break for the summer to get ready for next season, but we'll have more tales from the frontiers of brain science for you in the fall. Learn More Organism-wide, cell-type-specific secretome mapping of exercise training in mice (Cell Metabolism, 2023) Understanding how different cell types respond to exercise could be key step toward exercise as medicineAn exercise-inducible metabolite that suppresses feeding and obesity (Nature, 2022) ‘Anti-hunger’ molecule forms after exercise, scientists discover Why Does a Hard Workout Make You Less Hungry? An exercise molecule?Mechanistic dissection and therapeutic capture of an exercise-inducible metabolite signaling pathway for brain resilience (Innovation Award from the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute) Episode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

When we're kids, our brains are amazing at learning. We absorb information from the outside world with ease, and we can adapt to anything. But as we age, our brains become a little more fixed. Our brain circuits become a little less flexible. You may have heard of a concept called neuroplasticity, our brain's ability to change or rewire itself. This is of course central to learning and memory, but it's also important for understanding a surprisingly wide array of medical conditions, including things like epilepsy, depression, even Alzheimer's disease. Today's guest, Carla Shatz, is a pioneer in understanding how our brains are sculpted by our experiences. She's credited with coining the phrase neurons that fire together, wire together. Her work over the past 40 years is foundational to how we understand the brain today. So I was excited to talk to Shatz about our brain's capacity for change, and I started off by asking about this sort of simple question, why exactly do we have this learning superpower as kids to do things like pick up languages and why does it go away? Shatz is Sapp Family Provostial Professor of Biology and of Neurobiology and the Catherine Holman Johnson director of Stanford Bio-X. Learn More In conversation with Carla ShatzCarla Shatz, her breakthrough discovery in vision and the developing brainMaking an Old Brain Young | Carla Shatz Carla Shatz Kavli Prize Laureate LectureStanford scientists discover a protein in nerves that determines which brain connections stay and which goEpisode Credits This episode was produced by Webby award-winning producer Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a technology that uses magnetic fields to stimulate or suppress electrical activity in brain circuits. It's part of a transformation in how psychiatrists are thinking about mental health disorders that today's guest calls psychiatry 3.0. Nolan Williams has recently pioneered a new form of TMS therapy that has just been approved by the FDA to treat patients with treatment-resistant depression. That actually describes a lot of people with serious depression — somewhere between a third to a half. At some point talk therapy doesn't work, drugs don't work, and for most people, there's not much else to try. TMS has been used for depression before, but Williams' team has taken a new, more targeted approach. It's called SAINT, which stands for Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy. Basically, it uses MRI brain imaging to precisely target intensive TMS stimulation to tweak the function of specific circuits in each patient's brain. Remarkably, after just one week in Williams' SAINT trial, 80% of patients went into full remission. The stories these patients tell about the impact this has had on their lives are incredible. We talked to Williams, who is a faculty director of the Koret Human Neurosciences Community Laboratory at Wu Tsai Neuro, about what makes this approach unique and what it means for the future of psychiatry. Additional Reading Researchers treat depression by reversing brain signals traveling the wrong way (Stanford Medicine)FDA Clears Accelerated TMS Protocol for Depression (Psychiatric News)Experimental depression treatment is nearly 80% effective in controlled study (Stanford Medicine)An experimental depression treatment uses electric currents to bring relief (NPR) Jolting the brain's circuits with electricity is moving from radical to almost mainstream therapy. Some crucial hurdles remain (STAT News)Episode Credits This episode was produced by Webby award-winning producer Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

One of the strangest and most disconcerting things about the COVID 19 pandemic has been the story of long COVID. Many COVID long-haulers have continued experiencing cognitive symptoms long after their initial COVID infection — loss of attention, concentration, memory, and mental sharpness — what scientists are calling "brain fog". For some patients, the condition is so serious that it can be impossible to go back to their pre-COVID lives. Today’s guest, actually had an early intuition that COVID-19 could trigger a neurological health crisis. Michelle Monje is a pediatric neuro-oncologist here at Stanford who treats kids with serious brain cancers. She also runs a neuroscience research lab that studies how the brain develops during early life. For the past decade, she has been focused on how chemotherapy triggers a cascade of inflammation in the brain that leads to so called “chemo-fog” — a very similar set of symptoms that we now see in many people with long covid. In this episode, Monje helps us understand what brain fog is, what seems to be causing it, and how her team and others are trying to develop treatments that could help with other conditions linked to inflammation in the brain, such as chronic fatigue syndrome. References Mild respiratory COVID can cause multi-lineage neural cell and myelin dysregulation.CellThe neurobiology of long COVIDNeuronRead more about Monje's work One of Long COVID’s Worst Symptoms Is Also Its Most Misunderstood Brain fog after COVID-19 has similarities to ‘chemo brain,’ Stanford-led study findsIn ‘chemo brain,’ researchers see clues to unravel long Covid’s brain fogEven Mild Covid-19 Can Cause Brain Dysfunction And Cognitive IssuesEpisode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Nearly one in five Americans lives with a mental illness. Unfortunately there’s a limited set of options for treating psychiatric disorders. One reason for that is that these disorders are still defined based on people’s behavior or invisible internal states — things like depressed mood or hallucinations. But of course, all our thoughts and behaviors are governed by our brains. And there’s a lot of research that makes it clear that many disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, and probably depression, may have their origin during early-stage brain development. The problem is that we still don’t know which brain circuits specifically are responsible for these disorders — or how they got that way. Studying human brain circuits as they develop is — obviously — challenging. But what if we could rewind the clock and follow the development of neurological circuits in real time? Believe it or not, new technologies may soon make this possible. Today's guest is Sergiu Pasca, Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine and Bonnie Uytengsu and Family Director of the Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Pasca and his team have developed techniques to create tiny models of a patient's brain tissue in the lab — models called brain organoids and assembloids. They can watch these models grow in lab dishes from a few cells into complex circuits. And they can even transplant them into rats to see how they integrate into a working brain. While all this may sound like science fiction, these techniques are fueling a revolution in scientists' ability to observe human brain development in real time, trace the origins of psychiatric disorders and — hopefully — develop new treatments. Further Reading Reverse engineering human brain by growing neural circuits in the lab | Wu Tsai NeuroHuman brain cells transplanted into rat brains hold promise for neuropsychiatric research | News Center | Stanford MedicineSergiu P. Pasca: How we're reverse engineering the human brain in the lab | TED TalkAssembloid models usher in a new era of brain science | Stanford MedicineHuman Brains Are Hard to Study. Sergiu Paşca Grows Useful Substitutes. | Quanta MagazineEpisode Credits This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Art by Aimee Garza. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.