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PODCAST

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson

Conversations with neuroscientists, neurologists, evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, computer scientists, and others that ponder the brain. Here are a few of the questions that BRAIN PONDERINGS will tackle: How have brains evolved to enable success in diverse environments? How does the brain develop in the womb and in early life? What are the mechanisms responsible for learning and memory, language, and emotions? How does the brain respond to life"s challenges? In what ways does the brain

science natural sciences

All Episodes

01:04:31

Christiane Wrann: How Exercise Enhances Brain...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2024/01/16

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 involve brain intrinsic responses to exercise as well as molecules released from muscle cells that travel to the brain. LINKS

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01:06:24

William Seeley: Frontotemporal Dementias and...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2024/01/11

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 with body movements. UCSF neurologist Bill Seeley has devoted his career to understanding what goes wrong in FTD and using this information to develop

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01:00:49

Russell van Gelder: Emerging Technologies for Vision...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/12/29

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 small molecule ‘photoswitches’. Several of these technologies have shown promising results in clinical trials. LINKS: Review articles:

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54:32

Sergiu Pasca – Human Neuroassembloids: Building...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/12/22

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 functional neuronal connections can be established and the underlying molecular and cellular regulation of human brain development established. Human

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01:14:46

Mayowa Owolabi: Strategies for Reducing Global Burden...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/12/18

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 of Clinical Sciences and Director of the Center for Genomic and Precision Medicine at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In this episode Dr. Owolabi

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01:28:46

George Perry: Oxidative Stress and Synaptic...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/12/15

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 oxyradicals. During normal aging and moreso in Alzheimer’s disease neurons accumulate oxidative damaged molecules and mitochondria. In this episode

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01:08:16

Li-Huei Tsai: Gamma Frequency Light and Sound...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/12/05

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 gamma frequency (40 Hz) light and sound stimulation can enhance GABAergic inhibitory tone, ameloriate the disease process, and preserve cognition in animal

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01:17:17

Vilhelm (Will) Bohr: DNA Damage and Repair, Brain...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/11/24

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 mitochondrial DNA, the involvement of impaired DNA repair in neurons in premature aging syndromes and Alzheimer’s disease, and the potential of NAD+

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01:05:58

Gabriele Saretzki: Beyond Telomeres: Telomerase in...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/11/19

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 telomerase is to lengthen telomeres. In this episode Professor Gabriele Saretzki and I talk about our discoveries of non-telomeric functions of the

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01:17:47

Gyorgy Buzsaki: Brain Rhythms, Neural Syntax, and the...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/11/11

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 memory trace consolidation which shows how information encoded in cerebral cortical circuits during learning transiently modifies neural circuits in the

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01:26:12

Thiruma Arumugam: Intermittent Fasting,...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/11/08

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 day food deprivation can extend lifespan in rats and mice. Subsequent studies showed that intermittent fasting can protect neurons against dysfunction and

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01:10:10

David Rubinsztein: Autophagy 2.0: An Anecdote for...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/11/04

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 accumulation of the toxic proteins. Aging, and genetic and environmental factors may impair autophagy and thereby result in neurodegenerative disease

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01:05:39

Stephen Morse: ‘NeuroLaw’ - Neuroscience and Criminal...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/10/24

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 and agency. He is a pioneer on research at the interface of the law and neuroscience. In this episode Morse provides an historical perspective on NeuroLaw

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56:32

David Rubinsztein: Autophagy 1 – How Cells Dispose of...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/10/18

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 evidence that impaired autophagy occurs in neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease. In this episode

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02:01:43

Edward Calabrese: The Hormesis Revolution in Biology,...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/10/12

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 hormesis is defined as an adaptive response of cells and organisms to a moderate (usually intermittent) stress. Examples include ischemic preconditioning,

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01:05:06

Rich Ivry: The Cerebellum’s Roles in Timing, Error...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/10/07

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 repertoire of functions of the human cerebellum including roles in cognition, perception, and language. It turns out that there are at least as many neurons

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01:12:54

Dirk de Ridder: Brain and Spinal Cord Stimulation...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/09/21

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 Dirk de Ridder, Professor of Neurosurgery at Otago University and co-founder of the BRAI3N Center for Neuromodulation in Ghent Belgium. In this episode

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01:09:58

Tamas Horvath: Hunger, Energy Metabolism,...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/09/15

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 and how they are regulated by glucose, fatty acids, and signals coming from the gut. He also discusses interesting roles for mitochondria in the hunger

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01:05:42

Wolf Singer: Solving the Hard Problem of Consciousness

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/09/03

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 neuronal networks in the cerebral cortex process information. His research has provided evidence that - unlike modern machine learning and deep learning

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01:28:31

Alex Verkhratsky - GLIA: Facilitators and Guardians...

Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson ·

2023/08/31

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 are three types of glia – astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia. The research of Alex Verkhratsky has revealed critical roles for glial cells in

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200 results

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