The Giants Shoulder

Dr. Anina Rich is a cognitive neuroscientist and one of the world’s foremost experts on synesthesia — the rare phenomenon where senses merge, allowing people to see music, taste shapes, or feel touch by sight alone.But synesthesia isn’t a neurological glitch — it’s a window into how all of our brains construct reality.In this conversation, we explore how synesthesia reveals the brain’s hidden architecture: how we fuse the senses, how attention shapes perception, and why reality itself might just be a controlled hallucination.Expect to learn what it’s like to taste triangles, why some people feel physical pain when watching someone else get hurt, whether psychedelics can trigger temporary synesthesia, the strange science of sound-color associations, how the brain decides what to notice (and what to ignore), what synesthesia tells us about consciousness, why your brain doesn’t just perceive the world but predicts it, and how understanding this might make us more compassionate, focused, and self-aware.This is one of the most mind-bending explorations of perception and consciousness ever recorded.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction01:56 Exploring Reality and Perception 03:57 Understanding Synesthesia 12:54 The Subjectivity of Experience 14:44 The Complexity of Conscious Experience 18:00 Developmental Theories of Synesthesia 22:17 Personal Experiences and Synesthetic Associations 30:30 Common Patterns in Synesthetic Experiences 30:36 Exploring Synesthesia and Its Mechanisms 31:56 Brain Connectivity and Synesthetic Experiences 33:44 Innovative Research Methods in Synesthesia 38:58 Understanding Perception Through Synesthesia 42:56 Implications of Synesthesia on Consciousness 47:42 Attention and Its Role in Perception 52:53 Synesthesia and Psychedelics 56:00 Creativity and Synesthesia 57:52 The Subjectivity of Conscious Experience 01:00:05 Future Directions in Synesthesia Research..._Follow 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_Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)_Manta 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: AI Powered Research (Use Code THEGIANTSSHOULDER for 1 Year Free Premium Sub)

Dr. Nicholas Fabiano is a psychiatrist, researcher, and rising star in the world of mental health who’s challenging the foundations of how we diagnose and treat mental illness.He believes depression isn’t just in your head — it’s in your whole body. From prescribing exercise as medicine to exploring the role of creatine in mood and cognition, Dr. Fabiano is pioneering a new, evidence-based psychiatry that breaks free from outdated diagnostic boxes and recognizes the deep connection between mental and physical health.Expect to learn why the DSM fails to capture the complexity of depression, how exercise can match or exceed the effects of antidepressants, what creatine actually does in the brain, whether it could work as a standalone treatment, how psychiatry can benefit from AI and wearable data, why gait speed might predict IQ, whether cats really increase your risk of schizophrenia, and what it means to treat a person — not a label.Plus, we dissect Dr. Fabiano’s most viral science threads, viewed by millions, and end with one big question:Could creatine save your personality?Timestamps:00:02:08 The Interconnection of Mental and Physical Health00:04:59 Redefining Diagnostic Criteria in Mental Health00:08:12 Challenges in Integrating Mental and Physical Health00:11:15 The Role of AI in Diagnostics and Treatment00:14:10 The Future of Prophylactic Care and Wearable Technology00:17:08 The Importance of Exercise in Mental Health Treatment00:31:09 The Importance of Proper Exercise Prescription00:34:17 Reframing Exercise for Mental Health00:40:23 Understanding the FIT Principle for Exercise00:48:09 Creatine: A New Frontier in Mental Health00:57:46 The Case for Universal Creatine Supplementation01:00:06 Creatine and Sleep Deprivation01:02:08 Creatine's Mechanism in Cognitive Function01:04:06 Creatine and Depression: Exploring the Connection01:05:57 Dietary Creatine and Mental Health01:08:10 Forms of Creatine: What You Need to Know01:10:04 Dosage and Timing of Creatine Supplementation01:12:05 Creatine and Bipolar Disorder: A Cautionary Tale01:14:03 Creatine's Role in Schizophrenia01:18:15 Caffeine and Creatine: The Interaction01:20:05 Exercise, Creatine, and Depression01:22:04 Future Research Directions for Creatine01:23:56 Creatine for Vegetarians and Vegans01:29:47 Exploring the Efficacy of Creatine01:30:14 Neuroscientific Insights on Emotional Bonds01:32:28 Dietary Impacts on Brain Cancer Survival Rates01:36:07 The Ketogenic Diet and Mental Health Applications01:39:18 The Connection Between Pet Ownership and Mental Health01:42:22 Coffee's Role in Aging and Cognitive Function01:45:29 Daytime Napping and Brain Volume01:47:55 Dog Ownership, Physical Activity, and Dementia Risk01:49:57 Walking Speed as a Proxy for Cognitive Function..._Follow 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_Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)_Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet. Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL Brain.FM](http://brain.fm/): Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI (http://consensus.ai/): AI Powered Research (Use Code THEGIANTSSHOULDER for 1 Year Free Premium Sub)Follow Dr Fabiano on X (He Posts Awesome Content) : https://x.com/NTFabianoCreatine as a treatment for depression: A brain bioenergetics perspective - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40215588/

Dr. Chris Summerfield, a leading neuroscientist and cognitive scientist from Oxford University, discusses groundbreaking ideas about intelligence in humans and machines. He explains how our brains might simply autocomplete reality and how AI is starting to mimic human thought through prediction. Topics include the intriguing notion that large language models can produce meaning without understanding and the potential of AI systems developing agency. Summerfield also highlights how insights from AI technology could deepen our understanding of our own minds.

Tom Ebeyer is the founder of the Aphantasia Network, the world’s largest organisation dedicated to understanding the invisible differences in how people experience mental imagery — or in some cases, don’t experience it at all.Aphantasia is the inability to visualise images in the mind’s eye — a condition that affects how we remember, dream, feel emotion, and even plan for the future. Most people who have it don’t even realise it.Expect to learn how Tom discovered he couldn’t picture anything in his head, how aphantasia can protect people from PTSD, why some artists and scientists thrive without mental imagery, how memories and dreams are fundamentally different in people with aphantasia, why it might make you a better thinker, how it shapes creativity, attention, and emotion, what’s actually happening in the brain — and why most people have no idea what their own inner experience is really like.Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:55 Understanding Aphantasia: The Basics04:59 The Spectrum of Consciousness07:52 Mental Health and Aphantasia10:48 Coping with Aphantasia13:57 Memory and Aphantasia16:55 The Creative Process19:51 The Impact of Labels22:53 Dreams and Inner Experience25:43 Diversity of Conscious Experience42:42 Exploring Inner Experiences and Prosopagnosia45:40 Attention and Sensory Awareness50:23 Understanding Aphantasia and Brain Activity54:03 Current Research and Future Directions in Aphantasia58:26 The Mission of the Aphantasia Network01:02:15 Training and Adapting to Aphantasia01:07:03 Navigating Life with Aphantasia01:12:15 The Future of Aphantasia Research01:19:30 Advice for Those Discovering Aphantasia..._Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)_Manta 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: AI Powered Research (Use Code THEGIANTSSHOULDER for 1 Year Free Premium Sub)_Follow 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

Check out the Full Podcast with leading consciousness researcher Dr Anil Seth here - https://youtu.be/lOSA06K0l1oAnil Seth is a neuroscientist, author, and one of the world's leading experts in consciousness research. His TED talk Your Brain Hallucinates Your Conscious Experience has captivated over 17 million viewers, and his groundbreaking book Being You explores the incredible mystery of perception and consciousness.Buy Being You (It's Genuinely Great) - https://amzn.to/4ccATngYour brain is constantly hallucinating your reality—it's predicting, guessing, and making mistakes every moment of your life. Understanding these hallucinations can radically alter your view of what’s real, what’s illusion, and how your emotions are truly made.Expect to learn why the famous ‘dress illusion’ broke the internet, how your brain invents colors that don't objectively exist, why emotions aren't reliable signals but brain-generated best guesses, whether your kitchen exists when no one’s observing it, why AI might never experience true consciousness, how optical illusions reveal the brain’s hidden mechanisms, and much more

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist and author of My Stroke of Insight, one of the most powerful and widely viewed neuroscience stories of all time.At 37, Dr. Taylor suffered a catastrophic hemorrhagic stroke that shut down the entire left hemisphere of her brain. As a brain scientist, she watched her mind unravel from the inside out—losing language, identity, memory, and self. But what she found on the other side wasn’t just silence—it was peace, euphoria, and a profound sense of oneness with the universe.Expect to learn what it feels like to lose your ego, why the present moment can be pure bliss, how the brain builds our sense of self, how trauma and recovery reshape neural circuits, the shocking difference between left and right hemisphere consciousness, what happens when the fear and judgment centers go offline, how Jill rebuilt her brain through neuroplasticity, why she believes anyone can choose peace at any moment, how the Four Characters of the brain drive our behavior, the surprising neuroscience behind “enlightenment,” why psychedelics and stroke are not the same, and much moreTimestamps:02:00 Introduction to Jill's Fascination with Brains04:51 Understanding Brain Differences: A Personal Journey08:01 Stroke vs. Schizophrenia: Exploring Connections10:56 The Day of the Stroke: A Life-Changing Experience14:05 The Fascination of the Stroke Experience17:10 Cognitive Dissonance During the Stroke19:52 The Aftermath: Recovery and Insights23:02 Comparing Experiences: Stroke and Psychedelics26:08 The Impact of Brain Trauma on Spirituality28:53 Neuroanatomy and Recovery Strategies32:45 The Complexity and Consistency of the Brain34:47 Understanding Neuroplasticity and Learning36:42 The Blessing of a Stroke Experience39:40 Awakening in the Hospital44:23 Choosing Recovery Over Surrender47:10 The Intersection of Science and Spirituality51:44 Motivation to Rewire the Brain58:22 The Journey of Neurogenesis and Recovery01:05:16 The Journey of Recovery and Consciousness01:12:58 Understanding Whole Brain Living01:26:12 Differentiation and Control of Brain States.📚 RECOMMENDED READINGMy Stroke Of Insight: https://amzn.to/3GsU8gzWhole Brain Living: https://amzn.to/4lV3Ngd..._Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)_Manta 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: AI Powered Research (Use Code THEGIANTSSHOULDER for 1 Year Free Premium Sub)_Follow 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. Nick Enfield, a linguistic anthropologist and author of "Language vs. Reality," dives into how language shapes our perceptions and beliefs. He reveals why describing an image can impair memory and discusses how language evolved for persuasion rather than mere description. Enfield explores the cultural variations in speech that influence emotional states and relationships, along with the challenges of expressing complex sensations like smell. Discover how language molds our identity and creates social connections, and learn the dark art behind effective branding and political messaging.

Mike Long is a playwright, speechwriter, and co-author of Taming the Molecule of More — the practical sequel to the bestselling neuroscience book The Molecule of More.Dopamine doesn’t bring happiness — it brings anticipation. It’s the molecule that keeps us scrolling, swiping, craving, and chasing. But when understood and tamed, it can also drive purpose, focus, and deeply fulfilling lives.Expect to learn why dopamine isn’t about pleasure at all, how it hijacks our relationships, sex lives, and attention spans, the true science behind dopamine fasting and cold plunges, how porn and dating apps rewire the brain’s reward system, the difference between craving and contentment, why “boosting dopamine” is a myth, how to inject novelty into long-term love, how GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are changing the science of addiction, and how to finally align your brain’s pursuit system with long-term meaningTimestamps:00:01:55 – Understanding Dopamine: The Molecule of More00:04:56 – The Misconceptions of Dopamine and Happiness00:07:55 – Taming the Molecule of More: Motivations and Insights00:10:56 – Dopamine's Role in Human Evolution and Modern Life00:13:58 – Rewiring the Brain: Valuing the Present vs. Future00:17:07 – The Impact of Technology on Dopamine Levels00:19:49 – Finding Meaning in a Dopamine-Driven World00:23:03 – The Importance of Self-Reflection and Belief Systems00:25:50 – Dopamine Fasting: Myths and Realities00:28:56 – Boosting Dopamine: Exercise and Lifestyle Choices00:43:07 – The Power of Small Daily Actions00:45:25 – Dopamine and Relationships00:51:07 – Understanding Expectations in Relationships00:52:13 – Mindfulness and Reaction to Stimulation00:56:35 – Injecting Novelty into Relationships01:02:26 – Navigating Attraction and Cravings01:07:59 – The Importance of Meaning in Life01:12:27 – Finding Meaning and Purpose01:25:08 – Practical Steps to Manage Impulses....Follow 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/id1752486249Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Manta 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/giantsshoulderConsensus.AI: AI Powered Research (Use Code THEGIANTSSHOULDER for 1 Year Free Premium Sub)

Dr. Joel Pearson is a psychologist, neuroscientist, and founder of Future Minds Lab at UNSW — a cutting-edge research group exploring consciousness, intuition, mental imagery, and the psychology of decision-making in the age of AI.He’s the world’s leading expert on aphantasia — the inability to visualize mental images — and author of The Intuition Toolkit, a science-backed guide to harnessing the power of the subconscious mind.Expect to learn how intuition really works in the brain, the 5 science-based rules for trusting your gut, how to train intuition like a skill, the surprising link between interoception and unconscious decision-making, the neuroscience of flow and instinctive action, what aphantasia reveals about emotion and memory, how visual imagery amplifies anxiety, why some people are immune to mental pictures, how AI companions are already warping human psychology, and what happens when we start outsourcing love to machines.Timestamps:00:02:03 Exploring the Unconventional Lab of Dr. Joe Pearson00:08:05 Understanding Intuition: Definitions and Mechanisms00:13:50 The Role of Context in Intuition00:17:00 The Neural Mechanisms of Intuition00:19:59 Intuition in Decision Making00:22:54 Practical Applications of Intuition00:26:03 Intuition in Sports and Motor Skills00:32:38 Intuition and Career Choices00:34:47 The Role of Intuition in Decision Making00:38:20 Agency and Mental Health00:39:52 The Science of Intuition00:41:31 Real-Life Applications of Intuition00:45:30 Honing Intuition in Daily Life00:48:39 Flow State and Intuition00:54:13 Improving Intuition in the Lab01:00:31 Measuring the Mind: Psychophysical Technologies01:02:11 Intuition and Learning: Understanding Decision-Making01:05:15 Aphantasia: The Inability to Visualize01:09:34 The Journey into Mental Imagery Research01:12:44 Personal Experiences with Aphantasia01:21:26 Memory and Aphantasia: How Do They Interact?01:29:28 Adaptive Advantages of Aphantasia: A New Perspective01:30:33 Diverse Cognitive Approaches to Mathematics01:31:32 The Emotional Impact of Imagery01:32:57 Risk Perception and Empathy in Aphantasia01:35:09 Understanding Aphantasia Prevalence01:36:28 The Limits of Understanding Aphantasia01:38:38 Exploring Multisensory Aphantasia01:40:23 Future Directions in Aphantasia Research01:43:55 The Psychological Impact of AI01:49:00 The Future of Human-AI Relationships01:51:41 Exciting Developments in Neuroscience..Follow 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/id1752486249Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Manta 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/giantsshoulderConsensus.AI: AI Powered Research (Use Code THEGIANTSSHOULDER for 1 Year Free Premium Sub)

Dr. Robert Prentner is a philosopher of mind and consciousness researcher working alongside Donald Hoffman, co-authoring the *Conscious Agent Theory* — a radical scientific framework that challenges our deepest assumptions about reality.Buy The Case Against Reality: How Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes - https://amzn.to/42uSB11According to their work, we don’t perceive the world as it truly is. Our brains evolved not for truth, but for *useful illusion*. Space and time? Icons. Objects? Interface elements. And what you think of as “reality” may be nothing more than a simplified desktop, hiding the chaotic code beneath.Expect to learn why consciousness may be more fundamental than physics, how your brain isn’t conscious — but is simply a representation *within* consciousness, why evolution selected for perception that hides the truth, how AI may already be tapping into conscious patterns, the mind-bending evidence from game theory and mathematics that suggest reality is a constructed hallucination, the key differences between access and phenomenal consciousness, why psychedelics might tear open the interface, what it really means to say “space and time aren’t real,” how the Big Bang fits into this illusion — and much more…...02:08 Perception and Reality: An Introduction 05:05 The Interface Theory of Perception 07:59 Evidence for the Interface Theory 11:15 Complexity of Perception 14:01 Consciousness: Fundamental or Emergent? 17:07 Distinctions in Consciousness 20:05 Panpsychism and Consciousness 23:12 Icons and Their Meaning 25:58 Consciousness in the Animal Kingdom 29:16 Measuring Consciousness 32:10 Space and Time as Constructs 35:12 The Nature of Reality 38:03 Consciousness and the Big Bang 41:02 Experimental Paradigms in Consciousness Research 43:58 Consciousness and Biology 47:10 The Future of Consciousness Research 51:54 The Computability of Consciousness 54:28 Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness 58:25 Psychedelics and Consciousness 01:04:29 The Language of Consciousness 01:10:57 Living with Consciousness 01:17:22 AI and Consciousness ...Follow 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/id1752486249Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet at https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL (use Code GIANTSMANTA10)