NeuroFlex Podcast

Dasa Zeithamova-Demircan, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on how we build complex knowledge representations—such as schemas, cognitive maps or concepts—from simple learning experiences. Stacking memories as building blocks, we form knowledge that transcend direct experience, allowing us to use the memory for the past to guide behavior in the future. She is especially interested how the hippocampus—a brain structure critical for memory for individual events in our lives—interacts with the prefrontal cortex and other memory systems to support the flexible use of experience. Her primary research tools include computer-based experiments, formal models of behavior, and advanced functional MRI methods.https://cognem.uoregon.edu

Ian Greenhouse’s research examines how humans initiate and cancel movement. His lab combines behavioral testing with electrophysiology, neuroimaging, and brain stimulation in healthy and clinical populations. His current research explores the relationship between the inhibitory neurochemical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and motor performance.Dr. Greenhouse earned his BA in Psychology at Tufts University and his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the Department of Human Physiology at the University of Oregon in the Fall of 2017.

Dr. Robert Thatcher received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Oregon and a Ph.D. in biopsychology from the University of Waterloo. From 1971-72, he was a NIH postdoctoral fellow in neurobiology and neurophysiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine before joining the faculties of New York Medical College and NYU School of Medicine. From 1979 to 1999, Dr. Thatcher was a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland before joining the faculty of the National Institutes of Health as the program manager for the 1st 128 channel EEG system where he served on the National Institutes of Health Scientific Advisory Committee for the NIH Human Brain Map Project. From 1993 to 2006 Dr. Thatcher was the director of the NeuroImaging Laboratory at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center, Bay Pines, Florida, and was an adjunct professor in the Departments of Neurology and Radiology at the University of South Florida. He also was the EEG and MRI principal investigator for the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration Head Injury Program (DVHIP). In 1998 he was awarded the “Life Time Achievement Award for Work in the Scientific Specialty of QEEG”, by the American Board of Certification of Quantitative Electroencephalography, in 2008 he was the recipient of the AAPB “Hans Berger Award of Merit” and in 2009 he was awarded the ISNR “Life Time Achievement Award for work in EEG and Quantitative EEG”. He is the developer of NeuroGuide software for QEEG and Neurofeedback and is the author of over 200 publications, including eight books. His most recent books are the “Handbook of Quantitative Electroencephalography and EEG Biofeedback” and “Z Score Neurofeedback: Clinical Applications” (co-edited with Dr. Joel Lubar). He is currently the director of the Applied Neuroscience Research Institute and the President & CEO of Applied Neuroscience, Inc.

Dr. Smear studies the neural mechanisms of olfactory function in mice. Mice have an excellent sense of smell – much of their genome encodes odorant receptors (over 1000 genes), and a large portion of their brain processes olfactory information. These neural features support a rich repertoire of olfactory behaviors. The Smear lab interrogates olfactory function with a battery of psychophysical tests, while manipulating and recording neuronal activity with genetics, electrophysiology, and imaging. From these studies, the lab will pursue general principles of how neural circuits generate behavior.In this episode Dr. Smear discussed the latest and most intriguing findings coming out of his research lab. In addition, we discussed pheromones, aromatherapy, and what motivated Dr. Smear to dedicate his career to this area of research.

James Fadiman is an American psychologist and writer. He is acknowledged for his extensive work in the field of psychedelic research. He co-founded along with Robert Frager the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, which later became Sofia University, where he was a lecturer in psychedelic studies. He is one of the foremost researchers in microdosing. Dr. Fadiman recently released "Your Synchrony of Selves," positing the theory of a healthy multiplicity of selves.https://www.jamesfadiman.com

Alex Vonderhaar, CEO of Hidden Falls Media, combines his neuroscience & psychology background into the digital marketing/advertising landscape unlike anyone else in the world.Neuromarketing includes the direct use of research, brain imaging, scanning, or other brain activity measurement technology to measure a customers response to specific products, packaging, advertising, or other marketing elements.Hidden Falls Media then take this and apply it to your business for social media advertising, marketing, and community development. 

Santiago Jaramillo is an assistant professor in the University of Oregon's Biology department and is the head of the Jaralab, a neuroscience lab studying auditory cognition in mice.Professor Jaramillo and his team study the neural circuits that mediate auditory cognition. Their goal is to understand how we assign meaning to sounds, how we attend to sounds or ignore them, how we remember them, and how disorders of the brain can affect these processes.Of particular interest in their research is how our responses to sounds can change depending on context, a phenomenon called behavioral flexibility. Behaving appropriately after changes in context requires that organisms rapidly modify their expectations, associations between cues and rewards, or attentional state. http://jaralab.uoregon.edu

Kristin Weitzel is a health and high performance maven, certified fitness trainer, breathwork instructor, and nutritionist with a focus on guiding women to optimal health. Taking action is her nature, coaching others to create lasting change and build stronger, healthier futures by taking full control of their biology, food, and fitness.Always leading with intention and purpose,  she has found her greatest fulfillment through coaching women into optimal wellness; through her business – Warrior Woman Mode. After a wild ride as one of the few female marketers in the beverage and spirits world, Kristin decided to become a change maker for other females who longed for a better state. Her other career achievements as a brand strategist, entrepreneur, and global marketer for Fortune 500 brands have given her the ability to travel extensively and continually discover how the things we do affect how we show up in the world.Her coaching business and the WELLPOWER podcast allow Kristin to share with a broader audience just how far we can go in the pursuit of optimal performance. As a progressive voice, dynamic leader, and active biohacking proponent, she questions how far the human body can go and helps people take it there.https://www.warriorwomanmode.com

Dr. Dogris is the CEO and Co-founder of NeuroField, Inc., a company that develops specialized neurostimulation and neurofeedback modalities designed to restore functionality to the brain. He is a licensed psychologist in the state of California and specializes in Health Psychology, wellness and mind body physiology. He is an expert in QEEG brain mapping and is a board certified QEEG Diplomate. He is also board certified in neurofeedback through the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA). Over the last 25 years Dr. Dogris has innovated many neurofeedback interventions and invented the NeuroField neurostimulation/neuromodulation system in 2007. In clinic, he continues to innovate and create new ways to bring balance to the brain in the effort to improve the functionality of the person.

John Giordano is an expert in the treatment of addiction and the founder of The National Institute For Holistic Addiction Studies (NIFHAS). He is the author of “Proven Holistic Treatment For Addiction & Chronic Relapse,” and his most recent book is the acclaimed: “How To Beat Your Addictions And live A Quality Life.”  Mr. Giordano has contributed to over sixty-five research papers with his close friend and colleague Dr. Kenneth Blum, discoverer of the addiction gene. Their papers have been published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals such as: Medical Hypotheses, BMC-Cases Journal, The IIOAB Journal, Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, BMC- Medical Case Reports, Medical Hypothesis, Journal of Post Graduate Medicine, Neurophramacology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience Journal, and American Journal of Psychiatry.Giordano's achievements have not gone unnoticed; he is the media's most sought after addiction expert. Mr. Giordano has appeared on countless notable national and local TV programs such as: CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, FOX Mornings with Mike and Juliet, Tom Brokaw NBC News, ABC news, CNN Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Geraldo, and "Interventions" on A&E as well as many other national and local TV and radio shows.