
Mayim Bialik's Breakdown Your Brain Might Be Lying. The Scientific Explanation for Cellular Memory, Why Universal Intelligence Can Be Found In Nature and How Past Memory Is Actually Changeable | Dr. Nikolay Kukushkin
Nov 25, 2025
Dr. Nikolay Kukushkin, a Harvard- and Oxford-trained neuroscientist specializing in memory and consciousness, joins to explore groundbreaking ideas about cellular memory. He reveals that every cell may store memories, reshaping our understanding of trauma and healing. Discussion delves into how memory isn't reality, the evolutionary creativity of natural selection, and insights from sea slugs on memory mechanisms. Kukushkin also debunks myths about dopamine's role, offering strategies to enhance well-being and challenge the addictive nature of social media.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Self-Representation Defines Human Specialness
- Humans are special because we can recognize ourselves as distinct from the rest of the world.
- That self-representation stored in neuronal configurations enables complex social meaning and identity.
Consciousness As Informational Arrangement
- Consciousness can be described as information patterns rather than as raw matter or mysterious non-material substance.
- Focusing on how stuff is arranged (information) bridges materialist and informational views of mind.
Evolution Is Distributed Creativity
- Natural selection distributes creativity across environmental patterns rather than concentrating it in a divine mind.
- Darwinian processes produce highly creative, problem-solving adaptations that look intelligently designed.


