“So it’s not that our brain constrains the activities we can engage in and the behaviors that we have. It’s the other way around. The behaviors we engage in change the brain we have.”

Dr. Victoria Leavitt is an assistant professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University who studies brain resilience, brain reserve, and cognitive reserve, companion theories that help us understand individual differences in our ability to maintain brain function over the lifespan. She and Rebecca discuss the arc of evolution, the effect biologial dictates have on our brains, the challenges of thinking about difference, and the promise (and limits) of precision medicine.

Mentioned in this episode:

E. O. Wilson 

Human Genome Project

Dr. Leavitt’s research on sex difference:

https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/38718749/

Leavitt VM, Dworkin JD, Kalina T, Ratzan AS. Sex differences in brain resilience of individuals with multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2024 May 1;87:105646. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105646. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38718749.

https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/38452646/

Leavitt VM, Dworkin JD, Galioto R, Ratzan AS. Disparities in DMT treatment: Demographic and neurocognitive differences between MS patients currently treated versus not treated with disease-modifying therapies. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2024 May;85:105508. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105508. Epub 2024 Feb 22. PMID: 38452646.