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PODCAST

Your Brain On

Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai

A podcast about the neuroscience of everything. From neurologists, researchers, and public health advocates Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai, explore every aspect of our world through a neuroscientific lens, with science-based stories, interviews, anecdotes, and brain health facts. Equip yourself with neurologically sound answers to life"s everyday health questions and learn the essentials of brain health and optimization, one topic at a time.

science

All Episodes

33:45

Your Brain On... Ozempic

Your Brain On ·

2024/07/03

Ozempic. Developed as diabetes medication. Adopted as a weight loss drug. Eyed for its potential neuroprotective effects. Hollywood’s popularization of Ozempic as a way to lose weight has made it one of the most widely-discussed drugs of our time, and has put immense stress on supply chains, sometimes preventing its intended users — type-2 diabetics — from accessing the medication. In this episode, we wade through the history, benefits, side-effects, neuroscience, and future of Ozempic, with the

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48:01

Your Brain On... Retirement

Your Brain On ·

2024/06/26

Retirement, often considered a period of late-life decline, can actually be a time of cognitive growth and prosperity. When we retire, all the neurologically stimulating aspects of our working life — the mental and physical challenges, socializing and strategizing with colleagues, etc. — can disappear overnight. An abrupt lifestyle change of this magnitude can be taxing for our brains, but with the right preparation, our twilight years can truly be the best of our lives. In this episode of ‘Your

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36:03

Your Brain On... Introversion

Your Brain On ·

2024/06/19

Do introverts/extroverts have different brains? Are you born introverted? Is introversion neurologically harmful? The definition of introversion has been blurred in the social media age. We all know introverts are more likely to enjoy alone time, and may find social settings more challenging, but what’s less clear is: why? And is introversion the same as social anxiety? In this episode, we discuss: • How common introverted traits can be observed in the brain • The nature vs. nurture debate of

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50:06

Your Brain On... Sleep

Your Brain On ·

2024/06/12

We spend a third of our lives sleeping. The benefits for our brain are incredible. Restorative sleep is essential for good brain health. When you sleep, your brain washes away waste products from around your synapses, consolidates short-term memories into long-term knowledge, and processes thoughts and emotions. In this episode, we explain how, and discuss: • How much sleep your brain really needs • The different phases of sleep, and how each one strengthens your cognition • Why good sleep is key

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33:46

Your Brain On... Virtual Reality

Your Brain On ·

2024/06/05

VR headsets allow us to step into vast virtual worlds. What does that mean for our brains? Virtual reality technology is the most advanced and affordable it’s ever been, and the tools to create immersive environments are just a few clicks away. Are we destined for a dystopian future, lost in computer-generated isolation? On the contrary, VR devices have been put to good use in clinical settings for research and therapy. Our brains react to their hyper-realistic simulations, but without any of the

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35:35

Your Brain On... Sunlight

Your Brain On ·

2024/05/29

Sunlight has kept our brains on a 24-hour schedule for hundreds of thousands of years. Here’s how. When sunlight touches your skin or hits your eyes, your brain ups the production of serotonin, to make you feel alert. And when night falls, your brain switches to releasing melatonin, so you know it’s time to sleep. So when we don’t get enough sunlight, our biological cycles can start to break. In this episode, we discuss: • How Vitamin D is made, and what benefits it has for your brain health • The

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01:00:33

Your Brain On... Fats

Your Brain On ·

2024/05/22

Fat can have a bad reputation, but certain fats are essential for the healthy functioning of your brain. Between government guidelines, fad diets, and our endless social feeds, nutrition advice overload has left us all a bit lost with how to incorporate healthy fats into what we eat. In this episode, we discuss: • The different kinds of fats (saturated vs. unsaturated) and which ones we actually need to consume • The myth that “because your brain is primarily made of fat, it thrives on a high-fat

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40:23

Your Brain On... Hearing Loss

Your Brain On ·

2024/05/15

How does hearing loss change the brain and contribute to cognitive decline? The human capacity to hear is incredible. In milliseconds, sound vibrations are transformed into mechanical energy, then sensorineural signals, and then, in our brains, a universe of meaning and memory. When that sense begins to fade, either due to aging or because of causative damage, our brains can become understimulated, potentially leading to the onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. But, with

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22:37

Your Brain On... Comedy

Your Brain On ·

2024/05/08

Laughter predates language. But what’s the neurological function of humor? Why do we find things funny? Your brain’s ability to perceive and create comedic ideas is one of the most powerful facets of the human experience. Through humor and laughter, we can find shared understanding across the boundaries of cultures, languages, and ideologies. In this episode of ‘YOUR BRAIN ON...’, we discuss: • Why we evolved the ability to laugh • The ‘benign violation theory’ — the most prevalent hypothesis for

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52:23

Your Brain On... Space Travel

Your Brain On ·

2024/05/01

Space travel goes against a million years of human evolution. So how does it affect our brains? In just six decades of manned space flights, we’ve discovered a remarkable amount about the neurological effects of venturing to the stars. In this episode of ‘YOUR BRAIN ON...’ we discuss: • How low gravity changes your brain structure, impacts your balance, and... actually might improve your sleep • The cognitive dangers of space travel, from the mania of isolation to the destructive forces of cosmic

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33:20

Your Brain On... Presidential Aging

Your Brain On ·

2024/04/03

The U.S. is set to have its oldest President ever. Should we be worried, or are we thinking about aging the wrong way? The unprecedented age of the two United States presidential candidates, Biden and Trump, has sparked fiery debates over whether a leader can be ‘too old’ to effectively run a country. Our guest for this episode, neuroscientist Dr. Charan Ranganath, recently published a New York Times op-ed offering an alternative view: age itself may not be a useful metric for measuring how

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34:01

Your Brain On... Cardio

Your Brain On ·

2024/03/27

A healthier heart equals a healthier brain — no surprise there — but what’s the neuroscience behind the benefits of a cardio workout? Cardiovascular exercise, be it a brisk stroll, a light jog, or an intense interval training session, releases neurotransmitters that can improve your mood, reduce stress, enhance your memory, and strengthen immunity. In this episode of ‘Your Brain On’, we discuss: • How your brain and your body respond to increasingly challenging aerobic workouts • The neurochemistry

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01:00:53

Your Brain On... Alzheimer’s

Your Brain On ·

2024/03/20

How does Alzheimer’s alter the brain, and how do we create a future without the disease? Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, threatens to single-handedly collapse our healthcare systems. But our knowledge of how to prevent it is stronger than ever. In this episode of ‘YOUR BRAIN ON’, we discuss: • The power of stories and the importance of community for finding comfort and confidence following an Alzheimer’s diagnosis • What we know about preventing cognitive decline through brain-healthy

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23:11

Your Brain On... Being A Woman

Your Brain On ·

2024/03/13

Are there differences between the brains of women and men? In this episode of Your Brain On, we explore the unique aspects of the female brain, and how the male-biased history of medical science has left us with enormous gaps in our knowledge of women’s distinctive neurology. We discuss: • The striking uniformity in the structure of the female and male brain • The possible physiological and sociological reasons why women have a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s •

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33:35

Your Brain On... ADHD

Your Brain On ·

2024/03/06

What actually is ADHD? What caused the sharp increase in cases? How does diagnosis work? ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. 60 years ago, it wasn’t mentioned at all in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Now, it’s one of the most broadly-discussed disorders in the world. In this episode of ‘Your Brain On’, we discuss: • What’s distinct about the brains of people with ADHD • The past, present, and future of ADHD diagnosis • How social media has simultaneously

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25:00

Your Brain On... Lobotomies

Your Brain On ·

2024/02/28

From trepanning to Neuralink, we’ve always been curious about operating on our brains — for better or worse. Tens of thousands of people were lobotomized before the practice began to decline in the 1950s. The era of lobotomies is one of the darkest chapters in medical history. Many of the period’s missteps can guide how we think about healthcare ethics today, and in the future. In this episode of Your Brain On, we discuss: • The origins of lobotomies, and how they became so prevalent in spite of

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31:56

Your Brain On... Dreams

Your Brain On ·

2024/02/21

Why do we dream? Is lucid dreaming real? How can dreams be used for therapy? Does cheese really give us nightmares? In this episode, we discuss the neuroscience and psychology of: • REM sleep, and how it puts our brain in the ideal state for creating dreams • Why dreams might be a way for our brains to stop non-visual senses taking over our brains when we sleep • The links between recurring dreams and trauma, and how external stimuli influence the things we dream about We speak with renowned author,

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30:02

Your Brain On... Football

Your Brain On ·

2024/02/14

When wins and losses shape the mood of entire cities, what’s happening in the brains of football fans? In this episode, we discuss the neuroscience and psychology of: • Football fandom, and bonding with others over shared love of a team • The chemicals that make wins feel so joyous, and losses so painful • How our empathy systems transport us into the shoes of the players We explore the evolutionary significance of sports, from honing our motor skills as hunter-gatherers to finding connection and

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01:03:51

Your Brain On... Sugar

Your Brain On ·

2024/02/14

Sugar often carries a blanket negative health connotation. But our brains need carbohydrates for everyday energy. The term “sugar” is often used in a broad and imprecise manner, often encompassing a wide range of carbohydrates — without distinction. This oversimplification overlooks the nuanced roles and effects of different types of carbohydrates on our health. In this episode, we aim to dissect and clarify these complexities, focusing on: • What sugar actually is, and how it affects our brains in

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43:19

Your Brain On... Love

Your Brain On ·

2024/02/14

Neurochemically, what is love? How can neuroscience help us maintain long-term relationships? Is heartbreak real? In this episode, we discuss the neuroscience and psychology of: • Why falling in love can feel so stressful • How being infatuated activates the same neurotransmitters as having OCD • What happens to your brain when exciting new romances settle into comfortable decades-long unions We speak to Dr. Anna Machin, renowned author and evolutionary anthropologist at the Department of

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62 results

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