From Our Neurons to Yours

• Stimulating the brain with sound | Kim Butts Pauly and Raag Airan

  As we gain a better understanding of how misfiring brain circuits lead to mental health conditions, we'd like to be able to go in and nudge those circuits back into balance. But this is hard — literally — because the brain is encased in this thick bony skull. Plus, often the problem you want to target is buried deep in the middle of a maze of delicate brain tissue you need to preserve.Today we're going to be talking with neuroscientists who aim to solve this problem with sound. And not just any sound: ultrasound.Kim Butts Pauly and Raag Airan from the Stanford Department of Radiology are developing ultrasound technology in a couple of different ways to essentially reach into the brain to treat brain disorders that are otherwise hard to access. These uses of ultrasound haven't yet reached the clinic, but could be entering clinical testing in people in the next few years. Mentioned on the ShowMeet the 2025 Neurosciences Postdoctoral Scholars (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2025)Butts Pauly LabAiran LabNon-invasive brain stimulation opens new ways to study and treat the brain (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2025)Advancing Brain Resilience: 2024 Catalyst and Pilot Grant Awards (Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience, 2024)Researchers find response to ketamine depends on opioid pathways, but varies by sex (Stanford Medicine)A New Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation System for Preclinical Brain Research (Focused Ultrasound Foundation, 2024)Translating Neuroscience Advances into Real World Uses (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2023)Get in touchWe want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at [email protected] if you'd be willing to help out with some listener research, and we'll be in touch with some follow-up questions.Episode CreditsThis episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and supported in part by the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Wu Tsai NeuSend us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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• Does good sleep insulate the brain against Alzheimer's? | Erin Gibson

  We're kicking off our new season with a deep dive into one of neuroscience's most fascinating mysteries: sleep. This unconscious third of our lives isn't just about rest – it's absolutely critical for brain health, memory consolidation, and overall well-being. But here's where it gets intriguing: recent research suggests that increased napping as we age might be an early warning sign of Alzheimer's disease.To unpack this complex relationship, we're thrilled to welcome back Erin Gibson, assistant professor of psychiatry at Stanford School of Medicine and Wu Tsai Neuro affiliate. We'll explore whether age-related sleep changes are potential contributors to brain degeneration or valuable early indicators of otherwise invisible brain disorders, possibly opening doors for early intervention.We'll also learn about Gibson's research, supported by the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Wu Tsai Neuro, which investigates how myelin—the insulation of our nerve cells—could be a key missing link in understanding the relationship between sleep and brain health.Join us for an enlightening discussion that might just change how you think about your nightly slumber and its profound impact on long-term cognitive function. Mentioned on the ShowDopamine and serotonin work in opposition to shape learningGibson Lab at Stanford University School of MedicineSurprising finding links sleep, brain insulation, and neurodegeneration | Knight InitiativeExtended napping in seniors may signal dementia | UCSFRelated EpisodesRespect your Biological Clock | Erin GibsonWhy sleep keeps us young | Luis de LeceaWhy new Alzheimer's drugs don't work | Mike GreiciusGet in touchWe want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at [email protected] if you'd be willing to help out with some listener research, and we'll be in touch with some follow-up questions.Episode CreditsThis episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker and research assistance by G Kumar. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and supported in part by the Send us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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• How to live in a world without free will | Robert Sapolsky

  Today, we are speaking with the one and only Robert Sapolsky, a Stanford neurobiologist, a MacArthur "Genius", and best-selling author of books exploring the nature of stress, social behavior, and — as he puts it — "the biology of the human predicament." In his latest book, Determined, Sapolsky assertively lays out his vision of a world without free will — a world where as much as we feel like we're making decisions, the reality is that our choices are completely determined by biological and environmental factors outside of our control.Before we get into it, it's worth saying that where this is heading, the reason to care about this question is that Sapolsky's argument has profound moral implications for our understanding of justice, personal responsibility, and whether any of us deserve to be judged or praised for our actions.Mentioned on the ShowDetermined: A Science of Life Without Free Will (Sapolsky, 2023)Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (Sapolsky, 2018 )A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons (Sapolsky, 2002)Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will (Mitchell, 2023) Sapolsky / Mitchell Debates – Part 1 (2023), Part 2 (2024)Related EpisodesIs addiction a disease? | Keith HumphreysBrain stimulation & "psychiatry 3.0" | Nolan WilliamsHow we understand each other | Laura GwilliamsGet in touchWe're doing some listener research and we want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at [email protected] if you'd be willing to help out, and we'll be in touch with some follow-up questions.Episode CreditsThis episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Send us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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• The power of psychedelics meets the power of placebo: ketamine, opioids, and hope in depression treatment | Boris Heifets & Theresa Lii

  Join us as we dive back into the world of psychedelic medicine with anesthesiologists Boris Heifets and Theresa Lii, who share intriguing new data that sheds light on how ketamine and placebo effects may interact in treating depression.We explore provocative questions like: How much of ketamine's antidepressant effect comes from the drug itself versus the excitement of being in a psychedelics trial? What do we know about how placebo actually works in the brain? And should we view the placebo effect as a feature rather than a bug in psychiatric treatment?Join us as we examine the complex interplay between psychoactive drugs, the brain's own opioid system, and the healing power of hope in mental health care.Related researchPreprint: Opioids Diminish the Placebo Antidepressant Response: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Ketamine Trial (medRxiv, 2024)Randomized trial of ketamine masked by surgical anesthesia in patients with depression (Nature Mental Health, 2023)Related episodesPsychedelics, placebo, and anesthetic dreams | Boris Heifets (Part 1) Psychedelics Inside Out: How do LSD and psilocybin alter perception? | Boris Heifets (Part 2)OCD and Ketamine | Carolyn RodriguezPsychedelics and Empathy: Why are psychiatrists taking a fresh look at MDMA? | Rob MalenkaRelated newsResearchers find response to ketamine depends on opioid pathways, but varies by sex (Stanford Medicine, 2024)The rebirth of psychedelic medicine (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2023)Can Psychedelic Drugs Treat Physical Pain? (Scientific American, 2022)Scientists Say A Mind-Bending Rhythm In The Brain Can Act Like Ketamine (NPR, 2020)Get in touchWe're doing some listener research and we want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at [email protected] if you'd be willing to help out, and we'll be in touch with some follow-up questions.Episode CreditsThis episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hostSend us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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• Seeing sounds, tasting colors: the science of synaesthesia with David Eagleman (re-release)

  Today, we are going back into the archives for one of my favorite episodes: We are talking to neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and best-selling author, David Eagleman. We're talking about synaesthesia — and if you don't know what that is, you're about to find out.Special NoteWe are beyond thrilled that From Our Neurons to Yours has won a 2024 Signal Award in the Science Podcast category. It's a big honor — thanks to everyone who voted!---Imagine Thursday. Does Thursday have a color? What about the sound of rain — does that sound taste like chocolate? Or does the sound of a saxophone feel triangular to you? For about 3% of the population, the sharp lines between our senses blend together. Textures may have tastes, sounds, shapes, numbers may have colors. This sensory crosstalk is called synesthesia, and it's not a disorder, just a different way of experiencing the world. To learn about the neuroscience behind this fascinating phenomenon and what it tells us about how our brains perceive the world, we were fortunate enough to speak with David Eagleman, a neuroscientist, author, and entrepreneur here at Stanford who has long been fascinated by synesthesia and what it means about how our perceptions shape our reality.LinksLivewired (book)Incognito (book)Wednesday Is Indigo Blue (book)Neosensory (website)Synesthete.org (website)Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman (podcast)Get in touchWe're doing some listener research and we want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at [email protected] if you'd be willing to help out, and we'll be in touch with some follow-up questions.Episode CreditsThis episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Send us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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