Some elderly individuals remain cognitively ‘sharp as a tack’ despite the accumulation of large amounts of amyloid in their brains, whereas others exhibit profound cognitive impairment with less amyloid pathology. In this episode Columbia University Professor Yaakov Stern talks about the concepts of ‘cognitive reserve’ and ‘brain maintenance’ and h…

What are the foundational principles by which acquired information is organized and processed in the human brain? In this episode University of Rome Professor Anna Borghi talks about several prominent working theories of cognition including embodied cognition (interactions with objects and other people), inner speech, and abstract concepts. She tal…

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are a major cause of long-term disability and burden on families and health care systems. University of Cambridge Professor David Menon is a leader in global efforts to better understand and treat TBI. In this episode Dr. Menon talks about what happens to neurons, glial cells, and blood vessels in the brain after a TB…

Mitochondria are best known as the powerplants within cells. But recent research is revealing that mitochondria play fundamental roles in regulating the structure and function of neuronal networks and the behaviors that those networks control. Martin Picard directs the Mitochondrial Psychobiology Group at Columbia University. In this episode I talk…

Approximately 20 percent of people in the USA will experience clinical depression during their lifetime and there has been a recent surge in depression and suicide among teenagers and young adults. The early life environment plays a major role in one’s vulnerability to depression with childhood maltreatment greatly increasing the risk. Recent resea…

Historically, microglia were viewed only as the brain’s immune cells that respond to brain injury or infections. While this is true, recent research has shown that microglia play important roles in responding to and regulating neuronal network activity, and adaptations of the brain to physiological challenges such as exercise and intellectual chall…

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technology that enables stimulation (or inhibition) of specified neuronal networks in the brain. In this episode Alvaro Pascual-Leone, a Professor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, talks about the principle and practice of TMS and its use for the treatment of a range of brain disorders…

In 1997 Makoto Kuro-o and his colleagues reported that they had accidentally discovered a gene that encodes a protein that slows aging and extends the lifespan of mice. They named the protein ‘Klotho’ after the Greek goddess that ‘spins the thread of life’. During the past decade University of California San Francisco professor Dena Dubal has shown…

The brains of males and females are different and it is important to understand how these differences give rise to different behavioral traits of men an women. These sex differences arise during brain development, manifest throughout life and are controlled in part by estrogen and testosterone. The brains of females and males, and their differentia…

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes often dramatic shifts in a person’s energy and activity levels, and concentration. It affects approximately 1 in every 50 people worldwide and 6 million Americans. Many people with bipolar disorder exhibit remarkable creativity and productivity. This relationship between creativity and mania was note…

Ataxia Telangiectasia (AT) is a rare inherited disorder in which young children develop severe ataxia (inability to control body movements) as a result of degenration of ‘Purkinje neurons’ in the cerebellum. AT children are highly prone to cancers and usually die before the age of 20. In this episode Professor Tanya Paull talks about research that …

In this episode I talk with Dr. Bondy Lee, a psychiatrist who has devoted her life to advancing an understanding the causes of violence and developing ways to reduce violence. As a psychiatrist she is particularly interested in the behavioral features of people who are a danger to society, particularly those with psychopathic traits and behaviors s…

In this episode I talk with Stanford Professor and Nobel laureate Thomas Sudhof about his work that has advanced an understanding of the molecular machinery for neurotransmitter release, a remarkable process that is compex, occurs rapidly (milliseconds) and is highly localized (1 micrometer or less). We then talk about the even more difficult probl…

Regular exercise improves mood, reduces anxiety, enhances cognition, and protects the brain against depression, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. In this episode Harvard neuroscientist Christiane Wrann and I talk about recent research that has elucidated how exercise affects the structure, functionality, and resilience of the brain. The mechanisms in…

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the most common form of dementia for people under the age of 65. As its name implies FTD involves degeneration of neurons in the frontal and parietal lobes and depending upon which neurons degenerate symptoms may mainly involve changes in personality and social behavior, speech and language (aphasia), or difficulty …

Age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and genetic disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa are major causes of blindness. In this episode Professor Russ van Gelder at the University of Washington talks about exciting advances in vision restoration using retinal cell replacement, gene therapy, visual prosthetic devices, and…

The molecular and cellular mechanisms by which the human brain develops cannot be directly studied. Stanford professor Sergiu Pasca is at the forefront of using induced human pluripotent stem cells to establish 3D cultures of individual brain regions (organoids) and multiple interacting brain regions (assembloids). His work has shown that functiona…

Stroke is the leading neurological cause of disability and death throughout the world and is increasing on the African continent where rates of hypertension are high and Westernized dietary habits are on the rise. At the forefront of the global battle against stroke and other age-related neurological disorders is Mayowa Owolabi, Dean of the Faculty…

Because neurons are very active cells they consume high amounts of oxygen and produce high amounts of oxygen free radicals (oxyradicals). Because most neurons in the brain exist throughout life and cannot be replaced it is critical that they be able to efficiently remove oxyradicals and repair damage caused to DNA, proteins and membranes caused by …

There is currently no effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. EEG recordings have shown that gamma frequency electrical oscillations are diminished and aberrant excitatory glutamatergic neurotransmission is increased in the brain’s of people with Alzheimer’s disease. In this episode MIT Professor Li-Huei Tsai talks about her discovery that gam…

DNA damage, most often caused by oxygen free radicals, can result in mutations in proliferative cells that transform them into cancer cells. Impaired DNA repair is implicated in aging and neurodegenerative disorders. In this episode Professor Will Bohr talks about his research on the molecular mechanisms by which cells repair their nuclear and mito…

The ends of chromosomes are called telomeres. In dividing cells a reverse transcriptase called telomerase adds a six-base DNA repeat to the telomeres thereby preventing their shortening. Telomere shortening occurs in proliferative tissues during aging and has been associated with a range of diseases. This led to the dogma that the only function of …

NYU professor Gyorgy Buzsaki has made seminal contributions to understanding how neuronal networks in the brain encode and processes information. He established the synaptic basis of the brain’s theta and gamma rhythms, and sharp waves. Based upon extensive amounts of data generated from multielectrode recordings he developed a two-stage model of m…

In this episode I talk with professor Thiruma Arumugam of Latrobe University about research on the effects of intermittent fasting on brain health and vulnerability to disorders such as stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. This research was prompted by evidence that daily caloric restriction with time-restricted feeding, and every other da…

Accumulation of toxic proteins in neurons that wither and die is a fundamental problem in neurodegenerative disorders - Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Frontotemporal dementia, ALS, and Huntington’s disease. In this episode Professor David Rubinsztein at the University of Cambridge talks about how impaired autophagy results in the accumul…

The facts that all human behaviors are controlled by the brain and that all crimes involve behaviors beg the question of if and how advances in neuroscience might improve the criminal justice system. Professor Stephen Morse at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Center for Neuroscience and Society on problems of individual responsibility …

Even as the carry out their usual functions molecular components of cells are damaged by oxygen free radicals and other processes. Cells remove such cellular trash by moving it into ‘acid baths’ called lysosomes in a process called autophagy. Research during the past 30 years has revealed the molecular mechanisms of autophagy and have provided evid…

Professor Ed Calabrese has spent much of his life pouring over tens of thousands of dose – response data from studies in fields ranging from toxicology and radiation biology to cancer, neuroscience, and aging. His work has firmly established the hormesis principle as foundational for evolution and health. In the fields of biology and medicine horme…

Inconspicuously tucked under the cerebral cortex at the back of the brain the cerebellum was long believed to only function as a controller of smooth and accurate body movements. During the past 40 years professor Rich Ivry at the University of California Berkeley has made major contributions to research that has revealed a much more complex repert…

Chronic pain affects more than 20 percent of people and is the leading cause of disability and loss of productivity. Recent development in technologies and protocols for electrical non-invasive or invasive stimulation or inhibition of specific pathways in the brain or spinal cord are being developed. At the forefront of this area of neurology is Di…

The discomforting feeling of hunger evolved to motivate searching for food and is therefore critical for survival. However, for modern-day humans living in environments where food is continuously available excessive hunger can result in obesity. In this episode Yale University professor Tamas Horvath talks about ‘hunger neurons’ in the hypothalamus…

In this episode of Brain Ponderings I talk with the German neuroscientist Wolf Singer about the hard problem of consciousness and how it might be solved. Wolf is a Professor at the Max Planck Institute of Brain Research and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Frankfurt Germany. Perhaps more than anyone else in the world Wolf has elucidated how ne…

The human brain is often depicted as billions of nerve cells connected to each other in circuits through which electrical impulses flow. But this vision of the brain ignores the fact that in addition to nerve cells the brain also houses as many or more other cells called glia which surround and are intimately associated with the nerve cells. There …

In this episode I talk with University of California San Diego neurologist and neuroscientist Mark Tuszynski about his bench to bedside research program that is aimed at reversing the neurological deficits in patients with spinal cord injury and Alzheimer’s disease. He and his co-workers have cleared major technological hurdles and have demonstrate…

Professor Alan Evans at McGill University in Montreal is a leader in the global effort to use computing power and artificial intelligence to analyze and interpret the massive amounts of brain structural and functional imaging, clinical, behavioral, and molecular data amassed by neuroscientists, radiologists, and neurologists. The creation of intern…

University of Cambridge Professor Trevor Robbins is a highly cited neuroscientist who has made major contributions to understanding how neuronal circuits and neurotransmitters control behaviors in health and brain disorders. In this episode I talk with Trevor about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) an often debilitating mental disorder in which t…

University of Cambridge Professor Trevor Robbins is a highly cited neuroscientist who has made major contributions to understanding how neuronal circuits and neurotransmitters control behaviors in health and brain disorders. In this episode I talk with Trevor about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) an often debilitating mental disorder in which t…

Imagine a world in which everyone got along and cared for the well-being of everyone else. In this episode I talk with Professor Rob Malenka of Stanford University about the neural circuits and neurochemicals involved in prosocial behaviors and empathy. Malenka’s laboratory has used cutting-edge technologies to identify the brain regions and specif…

Every year humans consume approximately 10 million tons of crustaceans – crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and crayfish. In order to grow these creatures must shed their hard exoskeleton in a remarkable process called molting. Molting is controlled by a neuropeptide which is released into the blood and acts to suppress the production of a steroid molting ho…

In this episode I talk with Dr. Ginger Campbell about the value for students, educators, and society of K-12 neuroscience education. We also discuss potential approaches for and barriers to incorporating neuroscience into existing curricula. Links: Article on neuroeducation for K-12 students: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4281050/pdf…

Schizophrenia is an unusual brain disorder in that its dramatic symptom of psychosis (delusions and hallucinations) occurs seemingly spontaneously in young adults between the ages of 18 and 30. Alterations in dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic neurons are implicated in schizophrenia and drugs that inhibit dopamine receptors are prescribed f…

Most people are familiar with the ultrasound imaging used to visualize in the body such as muscles and tendons, organs, and developing fetuses in the mother’s womb. The sound/pressure waves generated by ultrasound are also used in physical therapy and the disruption of kidney stones. In this episode I talk with Professor Jurgen Götz at the Universi…

In this episode I preview the book SCULPTOR AND DESTROYER’S coverage of the involvement of glutamate as a ‘destroyer’ of neuronal circuits and people’s lives in epilepsy, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, schizophrenia and other neurological disorders. I also talk about the central roles of the neurotransmitter glutamate…

The long anticipated book SCULPTOR AND DESTROYER – Tales of Glutamate – the Brain’s Most Important Neurotransmitter written by myself, published by the MIT Press, and distributed by Penguin Random House will soon be released (August, 2023) and available at all major book outlets. The book can be preordered before its release. In this episode I desc…

Obesity and diabetes adversely affect learning and memory and increase the risk of dementia. Professor Alexis Stranahan at the Medical College of Georgia has shown that visceral (abdominal) fat adversely affects the function and plasticity of neural circuits in the hippocampus whereas subcutaneous fat has beneficial effects on these circuits. Using…

One of the most fascinating stories in the history of science: Cannibals in New Guinea; Mad Cows in England; CJD in humans; dying deer and elk in Colorado; and three Nobel Prizes. Once heretical, it is now well-established that certain infectious brain diseases can be caused not by a virus or bacteria, but by a protein we all have in our brains tha…

Epilepsy affects approximately 70 million people worldwide. The performer Prince had childhood epilepsy, President Franklin Roosevelt had epilepsy which was hidden from the public, and the Olympian Florence Griffiths-Joyner died from an epileptic seizure. While drugs that inhibit sodium channels or activate GABA receptors control seizures for many …

When we eat a meal containing carbohydrates a peptide called GLP-1 is released into the blood and acts in several ways to improve glucose regulation. It stimulates insulin release from the pancreas, increases insulin sensitivity, and suppresses appetite. A peptide called exenatide originally discovered in the venom of the Gila monster activates GLP…

Psychologist Richard Petty has been investigating the determinants of people’s attitudes, and the situational and individual difference factors responsible for changes in beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. In this episode I talk with Professor Petty about the factors contributing to the recent spike in anti-science attitudes with a focus on identity…

The neural cells in the retina of the eye capture and processes two-dimensional images of our world and send impulses via the optic nerve to the visual cortex where perception of the images occurs. Jeremy Nathans of Johns Hopkins University identified the genes encoding the light-sensitive proteins (opsins) in rod and cone photoreceptors and the mo…