Brain Ponderings podcast with Mark Mattson

Jan 30 2025 150 ep. 67 mins 19

Brain Ponderings podcast with Mark Mattson artwork

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 influence the body and vice-versa? What is known about the causes of psychiatric, neurodegenerative, and other brain disorders? What new technologies are being developed to treat neurological disorders? How do naturally occurring and man-made chemicals affect the brain? How can gene therapy, cell regeneration, and brain stimulation be used for brain disorders? What are the boundaries between ethical and unethical neuroscience research?

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Antonio Di leva: Fractal Patterns and the Brain - Applications in Basic and Clinical Neuroscience

Jan 30 2025 72 mins

The Euclidean geometry that we learned in our primary education concerns man-made shapes such as rectangles, triangles, and perfect circles. However the shapes of molecules, cells, and organ systems (and their dynamic changes over time) are more complex. Some biological structures exhibit fractal geometry which is defined as “shapes and patterns that appear similar at different s

Stephan Sigrist: Dietary Spermidine, Neuroplasticity, Aging, and Brain Health

Jan 27 2025 68 mins

Polyamines are small organic molecules that are acquired in the diet and can also be synthesized in cells. Spermidine is a polyamine that is increasingly recognized as playing important roles in counteracting aging. Foods with high amounts of spermidine include whole grains, broccoli, and natto (fermented soybeans). Professor Stephan Sigrist at the Free University of Berlin who is

Jon Simons: Reality Monitoring- How the Brain Distinguishes Between Imagination and Reality

Jan 22 2025 66 mins

In the moment most people can readily distinguish between information that is coming into the brain from their senses and what information their brain is generating. However, when recalling information stored in the brain’s neuronal networks the ability to distinguish between what was real and what was imagined becomes more problematic. How does the brain keep track of what we a

Keqiang Ye: From Gut to Brain – Rogue Protein Fragments in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Diseases

Jan 08 2025 80 mins

In this episode Emory University and Chinese Academy of Sciences Professor Keqiang Ye talks about his fascinating and ground-breaking trail of discoveries that have revealed previously unknown mechanism responsible for the production and accumulation of damaging fragments of the APP and Tau proteins in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and the alpha-synuclein protein in Parkinson’s dis

For-Profit Drivers of Poor Health in America 2: Pharmaceutical Industry

Jan 02 2025 75 mins

Among high income countries the United States spends the most on health care and yet has the lowest life expectancy. A high percentage of Americans suffer with chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental disorders, and Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases. There are several reasons why people living in the wealthiest country have poor health all

Jason Shepherd: The Arc Protein – From Viral Origins to Center Stage in Neuroplasticity and Disease

Dec 20 2024 60 mins

In this episode I talk with Professor Jason Shepherd about his discoveries concerning a fascinating protein called Arc. In response to synaptic activity Arc levels rapidly increase in postsynaptic dendrites as a result of local translation of the Arc mRNA in the dendrites. Arc plays a critical role in long-term memory although it is not necessary for learning. But perhaps the most

For-Profit Drivers of Poor [Brain] Health in America 1: Food Industries

Dec 11 2024 74 mins

Among high income countries the United States spends the most on health care and yet has the lowest life expectancy. A high percentage of Americans suffer with chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental disorders, and Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases. There are several reasons why people living in the wealthiest country have poor health all

Bruno Rossion: Elucidating the Remarkable Ability of the Human Brain to Recognize Faces

Dec 03 2024 70 mins

Humans have the amazing ability to instantly recognize the faces of hundreds or even thousands of people they have previously met or seen in pictures or movies. Studies of people with brain injuries that render them incapable of recognizing faces and recordings of neuronal activity in people during face recognition have shown that networks in the occipital and temporal lobes adjace

Bioenergetics and Brain Health 4: Brain Aging, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, and Stroke

Nov 26 2024 87 mins

In this final episode of the Bioenergetics and Brain Health series I talk about changes that occur in brain cells during normal aging, and in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke with emphasis on alterations upstream and downstream of cellular energy metabolism. The episode concludes with examples of therapeutic interventions that target those age- and disease-

Bioenergetics and Brain Health 3: How Exercise and Fasting Enhance Neuroplasticity and Resilience

Nov 19 2024 72 mins

In this third podcast in the Bioenergetics and Brain Health series I talk about how intermittent exercise and fasting affect brain function, neuroplasticity, and resilience. Research has shown that both of these bioenergetic challenges can enhance learning and memory, improve mood, counteract aging, and protect neurons against injury and disease. I provide an overview of evidence t