Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson

In contrast to the dormancy of the body during sleep, neuronal networks in the brain exhibit complex patterns of activity that are important for the consolidation of memories of specific events experienced in the preceding day(s).  In this podcast I talk with professor Antoine Adamantidis at the University of Bern in Switzerland whose laboratory is revealing the nature of the activities of individ...

Dr. Victor Navarro at Harvard Medical School talks about the control of reproduction by neurons in the hypothalamus that produce a small protein called 'kisspeptin'.  It turns out that kisspeptin neurons play critical roles in the regulation of the onset of puberty, the production of eggs and sperm, ovulation, and menopause. Energy (calorie) intake can have profound effects on reproduction. For ex...

Professor Larry Young of Emory University has elucidated some of the neurochemicals and brain circuits involved in social behaviors including pair bonding, maternal and paternal behaviors, social recognition, empathy, and grieving. Here he talks about the important roles of oxytoxin, vasopressin, and dopamine in these social behaviors. His research holds promise for developing interventions for di...

The seeming ease with which we perform everyday tasks with our hands belies the complexity of the nerve cell circuits that control them. Professor Sliman Bensmaia is a professor at the University of Chicago where his laboratory works to understand how the brain controls hand movements. He is using this knowledge to develop bionic hands that sense touch and control the movements of the fingers and...

Kevin Tracey is a professor of bioelectronic medicine and president of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York. His research discoveries identified a previously unknown neural pathway by which the brain senses and responds to inflammation in peripheral organs. During inflammation macrophages release a cytokine called TNF which triggers a neural reflex mediated by the vagus nerve....

Chronic pain is common and places major burdens on affected individuals, their families, and health care systems. Available treatments are often ineffective and in the case of opioids are highly addictive. Here professor Stephen Waxman of Yale University School of Medicine talks about the discovery of genes that encode proteins in the sensory neurons that convey pain signals. Studies of families i...

Everyone enjoys music and some are skilled in producing music.  Neuroscientist and opera singer Indre Viskontas has worked to understand how the brain processes and generates music, and how music can be used to help people with neurological disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Here she talks about her experiences growing up in a musical family and becoming a neuroscientist, and h...

Developmental neurobiologist Mahendra Rao has been at the forefront of human stem cell research for three decades. In this episode he describes advances in research on human embryonic stem cells and patient-derived stem cells that is aimed at replacing the neurons that die in diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and ALS. Dr. Rao is the former director of the NIH Center for Regenerative Medici...

Professor Mike Merzenich of the University of California San Francisco has spent over six decades working to elucidate how sensory inputs – particularly sounds, sights, and touch – affect the structure and function of neuronal networks. In this episode he recounts his major discoveries and contributions to the understanding of neuroplasticity and to the development of tools for restoring and enhan...

Stroke and dementia are major causes of long-term disability. Unfortunately, there are currently no treatments that are effective in restoring brain function in these disorders. In this episode neurologist and neuroscientist Tom Carmichael at UCLA describes research that aims to restore brain function using regenerative medicine approaches that stimulate the formation of new neuronal connections o...

Adaptations that enhanced the  abilities to acquire, store, and efficiently utilize the energy in foods were of fundamental importance in brain evolution. In this episode professor Alan Watts of the University of Southern California describes the complicated elegant ways in which the brain regulates food intake including neuroendocrine systems, feedback signaling from the body to the brain, and ne...

What was; what is; what if, what might be? Imagination pervades our daily lives as we think about the past and envision the future.  Importantly, we use our imagination to create new and meaningful things – works of art to books, buildings, automobiles, computers, scientific discoveries, etc. Creativity can be fostered in children and enhanced throughout life. Here I talk with Anna Abraham whose r...

Rehana Leak who is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at Duquesne University and I discuss how cells respond adaptively to various types of mild stress by processes that fall under the umbrella of "hormesis". During evolution organisms acquired many different ways of coping with and even using to their advantage of potentially damaging environmental factors such as exposures to metals, toxic g...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event.  The symptoms of PTSD include severe anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, and panic. Kerry Ressler who is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School describes recent findings of neuroscientists and clinicians that have advanced an understanding what goes wrong in the br...

There are as many astrocytes in the human brain as there are neurons, but the functions of astrocytes in brain function, health, and disease are unclear. Professor Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester and the University of Copenhagen describes recent discoveries that are revealing roles of astrocytes in processes such as learning and memory and how abnormalities in astrocytes may contr...

Christof Koch is a computational neuroscientist who is currently the chief scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. Here he talks about the cellular complexity of the brain and how neuroscientists are working to understand how brain's process information and the biological basis of consciousness.   Links: Allen Institute for Brain Science: https://alleninstitute.org/

Ron Petersen is a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic where he has devoted his career to research aimed at understanding what happens to the brain in Alzheimer's disease and to the development of new approaches for early diagnosis and treatment of this common neurodegenerative disorder of aging. He discusses the genetics of Alzheimer's disease and how diet and lifestyle choices during midlife may influ...

Professor Judy Illes of the University of British Columbia talks about ethical considerations that have arisen from rapid advances in neurotechnologies such as genetic engineering, brain implants, and brain-computer interfaces. Everyone has a stake in neuroethics – scientists, policy-makers, the media, information technology companies, and individual citizens. Professor Illes has been working to i...

Dr. Bindu Paul of Johns Hopkins University discusses remarkable discoveries which showed that three 'toxic' gases – nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) – are produced in brain cells. Their production occurs in response to activity in neuronal networks and evidence suggests that each of these gases plays important roles in learning and memory, and the regulation of b...

Professor Satchin Panda of the Salk Institute talks about his trail of discoveries concerning circadian rhythms in plants and animals that led to experiments that advanced an understanding of the importance of the timing of food consumption in human health and disease.

In this episode I converse with Professor Ted Dawson of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine about how advances in genetics, cell biology, and clinical studies have shed light on the causes of neuron dysfunction and degeneration in Parkinson's disease. We discuss how this information is leading to the development of new approaches for the prevention and treatment of this devastating neurode...

Professor Karl Friston of University College London has made major technical advances and discoveries that are revealing how the brain processes information in ways that result in appropriate behaviors.  He talks about two brain imaging methods – positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging – and how they have advanced an understanding of how neuronal networks are organiz...

Why are some people susceptible to becoming addicted to a drug or developing severe depression, while others are not? Professor Eric Nestler of Mount Sinai School of Medicine talks about research suggesting one explanation: epigenetic alterations – enduring changes in the activation of certain genes – in neurons results in long-lasting changes in structure and function of neuronal networks. In add...

I talk with Professor Stephen Cunnane of Sherbrooke University about emerging evidence that ketones can protect neurons in the brain against dysfunction and degeneration during aging.  The ability of neurons to utilize glucose as an energy source is impaired in Alzheimer's disease, but the neurons can still utilize ketones. In addition, ketones can activate genes that encode proteins that help the...

Glioblastoma is a highly malignant and almost always fatal brain cancer. Neuro-oncologist Justin Lathia of the Cleveland Clinic shares his knowledge and research discoveries on what makes glioblastomas so nasty. The cancer cells within the tumor vary greatly in their genetic abnormalities and sensitivities to chemotherapy and radiation Particularly resistant to treatment are glioblastoma stem cell...