The Giants Shoulder

Get Professional High Quality Talk Therapy at BetterHelp. 10% off your first month of therapy with this link - https://betterhelp.com/giantsshoulder (Paid Partnership by BetterHelp)Dr. Camilla Nord is a neuroscientist at Cambridge University and author of The Balanced Brain, a groundbreaking book reframing how we understand mental illness — not as something “in the mind,” but as something deeply rooted in the body.Buy the Balanced Brain: https://amzn.to/4nkWSfRIn this episode, we dive into how emotions, trauma, and even depression are embodied experiences — and why our brains’ predictions about the body may lie at the heart of mental health. Expect to learn how interoception connects gut feelings to mood, why inflammation and immune responses can trigger depression-like symptoms, how predictive processing reshapes therapy and recovery, what brain stimulation treatments like TMS and ultrasound are really doing, and why no single cure for mental illness will ever exist — but personalized, body-brain approaches could change everything.We also explore antidepressants, psychedelics, gut bacteria, and the future of “hybrid” treatments that blend biology with talk therapy. This is a conversation that could completely rewire how you think about your emotions, your body, and your mind.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:22 The Mind-Body Connection05:35 Interoception and Its Impact on Behavior08:12 The Predictive Brain: Understanding Our Bodily Signals11:09 Embodiment and Mental Health14:31 The Variability of Mental Health Conditions17:12 The Role of Treatment in Mental Health20:22 The Future of Mental Health Treatment35:13 The Role of Treatment in Mental Health35:24 Exploring the Microbiome's Impact on Mental Health38:43 Gut Health and Mental Health Connections40:36 Augmentative Treatments for Mental Health43:06 Understanding Brain Stimulation for Mental Health45:24 The Science Behind Targeted Brain Stimulation50:29 The Future of Brain Stimulation and Personalization54:46 SSRIs: Efficacy and Controversies01:03:53 The Future of Mental Health Treatments...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr. Amy Williams is a NASA geobiologist and astrobiologist searching for one of the biggest answers in human history — are we alone in the universe?As part of the Curiosity and Perseverance rover teams, Amy helped uncover the largest organic molecules ever found on Mars — long-chain alkanes up to 12 carbons long, potentially fragments of ancient fatty acids, the same molecular building blocks that make up living cells on Earth.Her work on NASA’s Sample Analysis at Mars instrument and upcoming Mars Sample Return mission could soon bring those ancient Martian molecules back to Earth — offering humanity its first real chance to detect extraterrestrial life.Expect to learn how scientists distinguish living from non-living chemistry on other planets, what these discoveries mean for the origin of life on Earth, why Mars may once have been a twin of our planet, how life might survive deep underground today, and how finding life beyond Earth could transform our understanding of who we are.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:20 Exploring Life on Mars: Recent Discoveries05:18 Understanding Organic Carbon: A Clue to Life?08:20 The Significance of Long-Chain Alkanes11:12 Potential Biosignatures: Evidence from Perseverance14:06 Dating Potential Life: Challenges and Methods17:28 Mars Sample Return: The Future of Martian Exploration20:20 Panspermia vs. Independent Life: The Debate23:14 The Quest for Life: Optimism and Evidence26:13 The Importance of Earth: Stewardship and Survival33:48 The Challenges of Human Mars Exploration38:12 Funding and Research in Space Science39:49 The Search for Life on Mars45:11 Implications of Discovering Life Beyond Earth56:11 Future of Space Exploration and Responsible Research...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr Kent Kiehl is a neuroscientist and clinical psychologist whose groundbreaking work has transformed how we understand psychopathy, morality, and the criminal mind.He’s the man who put an MRI scanner inside a truck and drove it into prisons across America — scanning over 5,000 inmates to uncover what makes a psychopath’s brain different. His discoveries reveal what happens when empathy, fear, and conscience fail to activate, and how these neural differences shape crime, punishment, and free will itself.Expect to learn how psychopathy develops in the brain, why psychopaths can understand right from wrong but don’t feel it, what brain areas govern impulse control and empathy, how neuroscience is being used to predict reoffending, and what treatments are showing promise — from cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness to emerging ideas like psychedelic-assisted therapy and neuromodulation.We also explore the ethics of brain-based sentencing, whether “evil” is a medical condition, how early interventions could prevent psychopathy before it forms, and what Kent’s research means for the future of law, morality, and the human condition.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro — Meet the Psychopath Whisperer04:35 What It’s Like to Sit Across from a Killer09:20 How Psychopathy Is Measured (The PCL-R Explained)14:15 Inside the Criminal Mind: Empathy, Fear & Free Will19:40 Building a Mobile MRI Lab to Study 5,000 Inmates25:30 What Brain Scans Reveal About Conscience and Control31:25 Predicting Crime: The Neuroscience of Recidivism37:50 Brain Circuits of Morality and the “Oh Damn” Signal44:10 Can Psychopaths Change? Punishment vs Treatment50:55 The Prison Programs That Actually Work57:30 Mendota: The Model That Cut Youth Homicides to Zero01:03:45 Neuroplasticity, Mindfulness & the Science of Change01:10:05 tDCS, Psychedelics & Future Prison Therapies01:16:40 Trauma, Brain Injury & The Two Types of Psychopaths01:23:25 Ethics of Neuroscience Behind Bars01:29:55 Retribution vs Rehabilitation: Rethinking Justice01:36:50 AI, Brain Data & The Future of Neurolaw01:43:30 Can Neuroscience Rewrite the Legal System?01:50:20 Dream Study: Scanning Death Row01:56:30 What Psychopathy Teaches Us About Being Human01:59:15 Outro...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Jonny Miller is the creator of Nervous System Mastery, a transformative training program that teaches thousands of people how to regulate stress, unlock emotional resilience, and reconnect with their bodies. He’s also the host of The Inner Frontier podcast and a TEDx speaker whose work bridges neuroscience, trauma, and the physiology of calm.Emotions aren’t what you think they are — they don’t live in your “mind,” but in the dynamic language of your body. Jonny’s journey from burnout and grief to embodied mastery reveals that the key to peace, creativity, and connection lies not in suppressing emotion, but in learning to listen to it.Expect to learn why emotions are predictions from the body, not reactions from the brain, how interoception and the vagus nerve shape your inner world, what really causes anxiety and how to retrain your nervous system to feel safe again, why emotional suppression creates “debt” in the body, the hidden physiology of flow states, how blood flow and micro-constriction may encode our sense of control, why co-regulation with others is the most powerful stress medicine, how to build real resilience instead of numbness — and much more…Timestamps: 03:00 Mastering the Nervous System05:53 The Impact of a Chaotic Nervous System08:51 Agency and Nervous System Regulation11:33 Personal Journey and Life Events14:48 Grief and Emotional Mastery17:45 Introspection and Self-Regulation20:44 Emotional Fluidity and Processing23:48 Navigating Rejection and Fear26:41 The Role of Relationships in Regulation37:47 Understanding Loneliness and Connection39:09 Nervous System Mastery Practices42:03 The Relational Dojo: Practicing Connection42:51 Descriptive Experience Sampling: Inner Awareness44:27 Interoception and Self-Understanding47:04 Emotions, Sensations, and Decision Making48:58 Flow States and Central Nervous System Optimization54:47 The Body's Predictive Processing59:08 Connection Between Body and Mind01:04:19 Meditation Practices and Overcoming Box-Ticking01:09:34 Exploring Meditative Practices01:10:34 The Role of Psychedelics in Personal Growth01:12:36 Therapeutic Benefits of MDMA and Ketamine01:15:01 Navigating Risks and Benefits of Psychedelics01:17:49 Psychedelics and Personal Pathways01:20:15 The Intersection of Psychedelics and Meaning01:23:28 Legislating Psychedelics: A New Approach01:26:39 The Future of Psychedelics and AI01:29:15 Exciting Frontiers in Neuroscience and Parenting...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Terrence Deacon, a neuro-anthropologist and author, explores the intricate relationship between thermodynamics, evolution, and consciousness. He discusses how the brain isn't just a computer, and why meaning emerges from information. Deacon dives into the origins of life, considering alternative chemistry and the evolution of genetic codes. He tackles concepts like normativity and agency, explaining how language shapes human experience. Finally, he challenges the notion of sentient AI, emphasizing the dynamic nature of life and consciousness.

Dr. William B. Miller Jr. is a physician, evolutionary biologist, and author of The Microcosm Within, Bioverse, and The Sentient Cell — books redefining how we understand life, evolution, and consciousness itself.He believes every cell is intelligent — sensing, deciding, and creating information from within. His groundbreaking theory of Cognition-Based Evolution reframes evolution not as a blind process of random mutations, but as a self-organizing, information-driven system guided by cellular minds.Expect to learn why cells—not genes—are the true engines of evolution, how microbes shaped the origins of consciousness, why cancer is a breakdown of cellular cooperation, how bioelectric communication could unlock regeneration, what makes Michael Levin’s living “Xenobots” so revolutionary, why AI can’t be conscious without boundaries or self-made information, and how this new understanding of life may reveal genuine purpose in the universe.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:20 Exploring Life's Biggest Questions04:55 The Consciousness of Cells07:39 Understanding Consciousness and Doubt10:30 Cells and Their Preferences13:21 The Self-Generated Nature of Information16:11 The Continuum of Consciousness19:13 Collaboration and Competition Among Cells22:01 Cancer: A Disease of the Self24:58 Understanding Cancer Through Niche Construction27:39 Therapeutic Avenues in Cancer Research30:23 The Role of the Brain in Consciousness33:20 Conscious Cells and Space Exploration36:05 The Implications of Sending Life into Space47:35 Understanding Consciousness and Its Boundaries52:28 Cells as Problem Solving Entities55:27 The Variance of Human Experience59:14 The Senome and Sensory Capacity01:05:13 Cognition-Based Evolution Explained01:10:45 The Role of Cognition in Evolution01:16:31 Cognition Before Cells: A Debate01:19:11 AI and Consciousness: A Distinction01:26:19 The Future of Consciousness and AI...Buy His Great Books The Sentient Cell: The Cellular Foundations of Consciousness: https://amzn.to/431VoQfNeuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Gualtiero Piccinini is a philosopher and consciousness researcher whose work is reshaping how we understand our own inner lives.Using descriptive experience sampling — a method pioneered by Dr. Russell Hurlburt — he has uncovered startling truths about the mind. A random beep interrupts your day (or even your sleep), forcing you to capture what was happening in your awareness just moments before. The results reveal that our intuitions about our own inner voice, imagery, and thoughts are often wrong.Expect to learn why many people never inner speak at all, why we don’t have a single “stream of consciousness” but multiple spotlights of awareness, how sleep may contain surprising fragments of consciousness outside of dreams, why your memory of your own experience is far less reliable than you think, how aphantasia challenges our understanding of mental imagery, why inner speech and thought are not the same thing, and how careful first-person science could unlock the mystery of consciousness itself.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:20 Exploring Consciousness During Sleep06:10 The Nature of Thoughts in Sleep09:15 Descriptive Experience Sampling Methodology12:22 Consciousness Beyond Dreams15:13 The Spectrum of Consciousness18:12 Awareness and Thought Patterns21:19 Creative Insights from Sleep24:12 The Complexity of Inner Experience26:52 Multiple Streams of Consciousness34:06 Understanding Short-Term Memory and Consciousness36:12 The Distributed Nature of Consciousness39:53 Inner Speech vs. Unsymbolized Thoughts43:02 Defining Inner Speech and Thinking49:10 Aphantasia and Inner Experience52:46 Object Recognition and Mental Imagery62:01 The Future of Inner Experience Research01:04:45 The Evolution of Psychological Science01:06:20 Exploring Aphantasia and Visualization01:09:57 Cognitive Differences and Aphantasia01:14:01 Development of Inner Experience01:22:09 Future Directions in Inner Experience Research...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr. Anna Ciaunica is a philosopher and cognitive scientist, Principal Investigator at the University of Lisbon’s Centre for Philosophy of Science and Research Associate at UCL’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. She leads INTERSELF, a project on how interactions with humans and artificial agents reshape our self-model, and collaborates with Michael Levin on “From Cells to Selves.”Consciousness isn’t just in your head—**biology is cognition the whole way down**. From co-embodiment in the womb to the immune system’s quiet influence on mood and meaning, Anna reframes mind as a body-wide process and the self as something we enact with our nerves, guts, skin and others.Expect to learn why the “self” may begin before birth, how co-embodiment and maternal–fetal synchrony shape first-person experience, why “the brain is not mental” reframes cognition as a cell-level, body-wide system, how depersonalisation differs from psychedelic ego dissolution, how interoception and precision weighting tune the felt boundary between “me” and “not-me,” why inflammation and sickness behaviour can alter mood, agency and reality-feel, what a Markov blanket is in human terms, how avatars, robots and social media recalibrate the self, whether single cells display proto-cognition and what neurons uniquely add, how to build a minimum viable self in AI (body, homeostasis, immune-like error correction and development), practical ways to stay embodied in a digital world, what this lens means for therapy (vagus, gut–brain, immune), and much more…Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:50 Cognition and Biological Systems08:36 The Evolution of Intelligence15:50 Challenging Traditional Definitions29:08 The Ingredients of Cognition39:53 The Balance of Inner and Outer Worlds51:42 The Development of Self-Awareness56:57 Sickness Behavior and Disconnection from Self01:03:17 The Cell's Plan for Survival01:09:33 The Nature of Self-Organizing Systems01:16:44 Collective Intelligence and Self-Preservation01:22:15 Conscious AI: The Quest for Understanding01:33:53 The Developmental Turn in Understanding Human Mind…Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

In this engaging conversation, Adam Safron, a cognitive neuroscientist and former research fellow at Johns Hopkins, dives into the intricate connections between consciousness, psychedelics, and the Free Energy Principle. He explains how psychedelics can alter our high-level assumptions, offering insights into personal transformation. Adam discusses the role of brain rhythms in unity of experience and shares fascinating DMT encounters that challenge beliefs. Expect to explore the effects of psychedelics on synaptogenesis, compassion in therapy, and the nature of ultimate reality!

Philip Ball is one of the world’s most brilliant science writers and the author of over 30 books, including How Life Works, The Book of Minds, and Beyond Weird — a radical rethinking of quantum mechanics that has become a modern classic.A former editor at Nature, Philip has spent decades translating the frontiers of biology, physics, and consciousness into ideas that challenge our deepest intuitions about life, mind, and reality.Expect to learn how quantum mechanics might shape the behavior of living systems, why genes are not blueprints and biology isn’t a machine, how brain organoids are raising ethical and philosophical dilemmas, what quantum biology really means, why the brain isn’t just a prediction engine, how science misunderstands minds (including alien and artificial ones), what makes consciousness so slippery, and how the stories we tell about science shape what we believe is real — and what we believe is possible.Timestamps:03:40 The Prolific Writer: Philip Ball's Journey 06:29 The Art of Science Communication 09:36 The Process of Writing: From Research to Publication 12:33 Exploring Quantum Mechanics: A New Perspective 15:49 Understanding Quantum Features: Superposition and Entanglement 18:31 Quantum Computing: The Role of Observation 21:46 The Nature of Information in Quantum Mechanics 40:38 The Nature of Information in Quantum Particles 42:40 Exploring Quantum Biology 49:36 Quantum Effects in Consciousness 56:18 Defining Minds and Consciousness 01:01:46 Agency and Cognition in Living Beings 01:14:59 Evolution of Cognition and Mindedness 01:17:33 Understanding Agency Across Species 01:20:40 The Concept of Umwelt and Perception 01:25:11 The Future of Biotech and Consciousness 01:31:43 Ethics of Brain Organoids and Consciousness 01:42:23 The Controversy of Genetic Manipulation 01:44:59 The Complexity of Genetic Screening 01:51:59 Navigating Genetic Research and Regulation 02:07:49 The Future of Biology and Genetic Understanding ...📚 RECOMMENDED READINGHow Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology: https://amzn.to/4lPLyaGBeyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different: https://amzn.to/4lOS3uAThe Book of Minds: How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, from Animals to AI to Aliens: https://amzn.to/4oVTMAZ…Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249