Brain Ponderings podcast with Mark Mattson

Professor Larry Young of Emory University has elucidated some of the neurochemicals and brain circuits involved in social behaviors including pair bonding, maternal and paternal behaviors, social recognition, empathy, and grieving. Here he talks about the important roles of oxytoxin, vasopressin, and dopamine in these social behaviors. His research holds promise for developing interventions for disorders of social behavior such as autism and social anxiety disorders. Links: The Chemistry Between Us: Love, Sex, and the Science of Attraction: https://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Between-Us-Science-Attraction/dp/1591846617 Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXUd0gblPfM&t=4155s Review articles:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8604207/pdf/nihms-1752167.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6283620/

The seeming ease with which we perform everyday tasks with our hands belies the complexity of the nerve cell circuits that control them. Professor Sliman Bensmaia is a professor at the University of Chicago where his laboratory works to understand how the brain controls hand movements. He is using this knowledge to develop bionic hands that sense touch and control the movements of the fingers and wrist. Here he talks about his research and its applications for people who have suffered an arm amputation or are paralyzed by a spinal cord injury. LINKS Professor Bensmaia’s webpage: https://bensmaialab.github.io/ Review article on manual dexterity: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9169115/pdf/nihms-1796186.pdf Review article on the science and engineering of bionic hands: https://journals-physiology-org.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/doi/epdf/10.1152/physrev.00034.2020 Professor Besnmaia lectures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-2hB32BZTw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQt8AgES7wc&t=25s

Kevin Tracey is a professor of bioelectronic medicine and president of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York. His research discoveries identified a previously unknown neural pathway by which the brain senses and responds to inflammation in peripheral organs. During inflammation macrophages release a cytokine called TNF which triggers a neural reflex mediated by the vagus nerve. This “inflammatory reflex” response suppresses the tissue inflammation. This discovery led to the testing of vagus nerve stimulation in several disorders including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and stroke. Tracey describes his trail of discoveries and talks about the promising future of bioelectronic medicine.   Dr. Tracey’s webpage: https://feinstein.northwell.edu/institutes-researchers/our-researchers/kevin-j-tracey-md   TEDMED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJH9KsMKi5M Review articles http://perspectivesinmedicine.cshlp.org/content/10/3/a034140.long file:///Users/markmattson/Downloads/nn.4477%20(1).pdf

Chronic pain is common and places major burdens on affected individuals, their families, and health care systems. Available treatments are often ineffective and in the case of opioids are highly addictive. Here professor Stephen Waxman of Yale University School of Medicine talks about the discovery of genes that encode proteins in the sensory neurons that convey pain signals. Studies of families in which pain syndromes are inherited identified three such “pain genes” each of which encodes a sodium (Na+) channel in neurons that sense pain. Waxman has shown that mutations in one of the Na+ channels – Nav1.7 – result in hyperexcitability of the neurons and chronic extreme pain. He is working with pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs that selectively block Nav1.7 and so reduce pain. This research is likely to lead to non-addictive drugs that are effective in reducing or eliminating pain.   Links: Professor Waxman’s webpage: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/stephen_waxman/?tab=news   Book “Chasing Men on Fire: The Story of the Search for the Pain Gene: https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Men-Fire-Story-Search/dp/0262037408   Sodium channels and pain: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/epdf/10.1152/physrev.00052.2017 Pain Resilience: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7519173/pdf/nihms-1585946.pdf  

Everyone enjoys music and some are skilled in producing music.  Neuroscientist and opera singer Indre Viskontas has worked to understand how the brain processes and generates music, and how music can be used to help people with neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Here she talks about her experiences growing up in a musical family and becoming a neuroscientist, and her research at UCLA and the University of San Franscisco and the San Francisco Conservatory of music. Dr. Viskontas is the hose of the “Inquiring Minds” podcast and the author of the book “How Music Can Make You Better” Indre’s webpage: https://www.indreviskontas.com/ Inquiring Minds podcast: https://inquiring.show/ San Francisco Conservatory of Music: https://sfcm.edu/ University of San Francisco webpage: https://www.usfca.edu/faculty/indre-viskontas Review article: “Music in the Brain”: file:///Users/markmattson/Downloads/s41583-022-00578-5%20(1).pdf

Developmental neurobiologist Mahendra Rao has been at the forefront of human stem cell research for three decades. In this episode he describes advances in research on human embryonic stem cells and patient-derived stem cells that is aimed at replacing the neurons that die in diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and ALS. Dr. Rao is the former director of the NIH Center for Regenerative Medicine and is currently the CEO of Pancella.     Lecture by Dr. Rao https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mahendra+rao+stem+cells   Review articles:   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4919381/pdf/12015_2016_Article_9662.pdf   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4912385/pdf/main.pdf   NIH Center for Regenerative Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3883278/pdf/scd.2013.0437.pdf

Professor Mike Merzenich of the University of California San Francisco has spent over six decades working to elucidate how sensory inputs – particularly sounds, sights, and touch – affect the structure and function of neuronal networks. In this episode he recounts his major discoveries and contributions to the understanding of neuroplasticity and to the development of tools for restoring and enhancing neuroplasticity including the invention of the cochlear implant and the brain training software ‘Brain HQ’.   The book ‘Soft-Wired’ by Michael Merzenich:   https://www.amazon.com/Soft-Wired-Science-Brain-Plasticity-Change/dp/0989432823   Review articles by Merzenich: Development of the cochlear implant: https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S037859551400207X?token=498168B45106A73637B08A11326B439B9DDCC769094D0CFA2A42CFAB19A3E1175A415223059084038220ABBB4266E8FA&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20220909122717   Neuroplasticity-based therapeutics: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4072971/pdf/fnhum-08-00385.pdf   ‘BrainHQ’ website: https://v4.brainhq.com/?v4=true&fr=y#survey/ftux

Stroke and dementia are major causes of long-term disability. Unfortunately, there are currently no treatments that are effective in restoring brain function in these disorders. In this episode neurologist and neuroscientist Tom Carmichael at UCLA describes research that aims to restore brain function using regenerative medicine approaches that stimulate the formation of new neuronal connections or replace neurons that have died.  Links: https://www-nature-com.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/articles/s41583-020-00396-7.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5916498/pdf/nihms950783.pdf

Adaptations that enhanced the  abilities to acquire, store, and efficiently utilize the energy in foods were of fundamental importance in brain evolution. In this episode professor Alan Watts of the University of Southern California describes the complicated elegant ways in which the brain regulates food intake including neuroendocrine systems, feedback signaling from the body to the brain, and neuronal networks involved in reward, learning and memory, and decision-making.  Advances in understanding the neural systems that control appetite and energy balance are providing avenues for interventions to combat the epidemic of obesity. Links: Review article on the control of eating by professor Watts and colleagues: file:///Users/markmattson/Downloads/physrev.00028.2020%20(1).pdf

What was; what is; what if, what might be? Imagination pervades our daily lives as we think about the past and envision the future.  Importantly, we use our imagination to create new and meaningful things – works of art to books, buildings, automobiles, computers, scientific discoveries, etc. Creativity can be fostered in children and enhanced throughout life. Here I talk with Anna Abraham whose research is elucidating the neurobiology of imagination and creativity. She is currently a professor of educational psychology, and director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia.   Links   Book: The Neuroscience of Creativity: https://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-Creativity-Cambridge-Fundamentals-Psychology/dp/1316629619   Review article: The Imaginative Mind: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6867574/pdf/HBM-37-4197.pdf   Torrance Center webpage: https://coe.uga.edu/directory/torrance-center