John Medina on Aging Well (BS 138)

Dr. John Medina has spent his career in bio-engineering, but he also has a deep interest in how the brain works. In his latest book Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp, he presents our knowledge brain aging in an engaging manner that can be enjoyed by readers of all backgrounds.

In this month's episode of Brain Science (BS 138) we discuss some of the most important principles for nourishing brains as we age. He describes what he calls the "dopamine lollipop," which is the surge of dopamine created by activities such as teaching and physical activities like dancing. Some of his ideas reinforce what we have discussed in previous episodes, but there are new ideas that are relevant to listeners of all ages.

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References

• Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp by John Medina (Audible link)

• The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress by John D. Teasdale, et. al. (Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn)

• Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina (BS 37)

Announcements

• Dr. Campbell will be in Washington, DC November 11-15, 2017 for the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Please email brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com if you will be there too.

• Dr. Campbell is also planning a trip to Australia in 2018. Email us to learn more.

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Brain Plasticity with Michael Merzenich (BSP 105)

Michael Merzenich

If you have read anything about brain plasticity you have seen the name Michael Merzenich. Dr. Merzenich is one of the pioneers in this field, having spent over 30 years documenting that the human brain (and that of other mammals) continues to change throughout life. I interviewed Dr. Merzenich several years ago (BSP 54), but the publication of his first book Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life gave us another opportunity to talk about how we can apply these discoveries in our daily lives.

According to Dr. Merzenich, "No matter how much you've struggled, no matter where you've been in your life, you're in charge of your life going forward.  And you have the capacity; you have the resources to change things for the better—always have that capacity.  And that's what the book is trying to emphasize. “ (BSP 105)

I found Soft-wired very compelling because it combines a clear explanation of the science with many stories about real people facing a wide variety of cognitive challenges. The overall tone of the book is very optimistic even though it also considers the way bad choices can contribute to cognitive decline. 

How to get this episode:

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• Premium Subscribers now have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.

• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE. The 50 most recent episodes are also free. Just subscribe in your favorite podcasting app.

Related Episodes:

• BSP 10: Introduction to Brain Plasticity.

• BSP 17: Discussion of The Wisdom Paradox: How Your Mind Can Grow Stronger As Your Brain Grows Older by Elkhonon Goldberg.

• BSP 28: Interview with Dr. Norman Doidge, author of The Brain That Changes Itself.

• BSP 33: Interview with Dr. John Ratey, author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

• BSP 54: Interview with Dr. Michael Merzenich, author of Soft-wired.

• BSP 87: Interview with Dr. Pam Greenwood, co-author of Nurturing the Older Brain and Mind.

Further Reading:

• Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life by Dr. Michael Merzenich PhD. References for this book can be found at http://www.soft-wired.com/ref/.

• The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science, by Norman Doidge.

• Nurturing the Older Brain and Mind by Pamela M. Greenwood and Raja Parasuraman.

• Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey.

• The Wisdom Paradox: How Your Mind Can Grow Stronger As Your Brain Grows Older by Elkhonon Goldberg.

• Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves by Sharon Begley (featured in BSP 10).

Celebrating 4 Years of the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 71)

The latest episode of the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 71) is our 4th annual review episode.  As usual, I review highlights from this year's interviews, but this year I added a new feature: my personal reflections on how the Brain Science Podcast has impacted my life.  This episode also contains a special announcement for UK listeners.

How to get this episode:

• Buy mp3 for $1.

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• Premium Subscribers have unlimited access to ALL old episodes and transcripts, as well as extra content for selected episodes. All content is available browser or the free Brain Science mobile app.

• Patreon supporters have access to new transcripts ($3+/month) and ad-free audio files ($10+/month). You can also access your bonus content via the free Patreon mobile app.

  New episodes of Brain Science are ALWAYS FREE and remain FREE for approximately 6 years. See the individual show notes for more information

Listen in your Favorite Audio app: Audible, Amazon music, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube and many more.

Major Topics from Season 4:

• Emotions with Jaak Panksepp (BSP 65).

• Memory with Randy Gallistel (BSP 66).

• Consciousness with Thomas Metzinger (BSP 67).

• Alzheimer's Disease with Peter Whitehouse (BSP 68 and Books and Ideas 36).

• Glia Cells with R. Douglas Fields (BSP 69).

• Pop Psychology Myths with Scott Lilienfeld (BSP 70).

References:

• Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions, by Jaak Panksepp (BSP 65).

• Memory and the Computational Brain: Why Cognitive Science will Transform Neuroscience, by C. R. Gallistel, Adam Philip King (BSP 66).

• The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self,by Thomas Metzinger (BSP 67)

• The Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told About Today's Most Dreaded Diagnosis, by Peter J. Whitehouse and Daniel George (BSP 68 and Books and Ideas 36).

• The Other Brain: From Dementia to Schizophrenia, How New Discoveries about the Brain Are Revolutionizing Medicine and Science, by R. Douglas Fields (BSP 69).

• 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior, by Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, Barry L. Beyerstein (BSP 70).

• For additional references: follow links to episode show notes.

Announcements:

• The Brain Science Podcast app is now available for both iPhone and ANDROID (NEW!)

• Be sure to subscribe to my Books and Ideas podcast. The next episode will come out in December.

• The next episode of the Brain Science Podcast will come out in January 2010. 

Send me feedback at brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com.

Alzheimer's Disease with Dr. Peter Whitehouse (BSP 68)

Brain Science Podcast 68 is an interview with Dr. Peter Whitehouse, co-author (with Daniel George) ofThe Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told About Today's Most Dreaded Diagnosis.  Alzheimer's Disease originally referred to a relatively rare form of premature dementia, but in recent decades the diagnosis has been expanded to include patients of all ages. This change is not based on science, and in this interview we talk about why being labeled with with Alzheimer's may be doing older patients more harm than good.

Dr. Whitehouse is one of the pioneering researchers in this field, but advocates devoting resources to helping elders with with a wide range of age-related brain changes.  This interview should be of interest to physicians, scientists, as well as patients and their families.  I will be posting a supplemental interview with Daniel George, the co-author of The Myth of Alzheimer's later this month.  (Learn more at http://booksandideas.com)

How to get this episode:

• Premium Subscribers now have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.

• Buy mp3 for $1.

• Buy Transcript for $1.

• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE.  All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free.  See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

Listen in your Favorite Audio app: Audible, Amazon music, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube and many more.

References:

• The Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told About Today's Most Dreaded Diagnosis, by Peter J. Whitehouse, Daniel George.

• Dementia Reconsidered: the Person Comes First, by Tom Kitwood.

• Self, Senility, and Alzheimer's Disease in Modern America: A History, by Jesse F. Ballenger.

Links:

• Peter Whitehouse, MD: neurologist at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.

• The Myth of Alzheimer's website (includes a discussion forum).

• The Intergenerational School in Cleveland, OH.

• Tom Kitwood: pioneered the "person-centered" approach to dementia.

• Dr. Alois Alzheimer: described  several cases of premature dementia (around 1901) that seemed to be associated with distinctive brain changes (discovered during autopsy).

• Emil Kraepelin: a contemporary and adversary of Sigmund Freud who introduced the term "Alzheimer's Disease" in his influencial textbook Psychiatry (1910).

• Robert Butler, MD: the first director of the National Institute on Aging.

• Drapetomania: an alleged mental illness invented in 1851 that supposedly caused slaves to run away.  As Dr. Whitehouse observed during his interview, "diseases are not discovered by doctors, they are invented."

Announcements:

• Subscribe to the Books and Ideas podcast to get the extra interview with Daniel George.

• The Brain Science Podcast iPhone application also works on the new iPad, but we are having to re-upload our old episode transcripts.

• Don't forget you can get show notes to each episode automatically if you subscribe to the Brain Science Podcast   Newsletter.

• This podcast is supported by listener donations.

Send feedback to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com.

Michael Merzenich Talks About Neuroplasticity (BSP 54)

Brain Science Podcast #54 is an interview with Dr. Michael Merzenich, one of the pioneers of neuroplasticity.  We talk about how the success of the cochlear implant revealed unexpected plasticity in adult brains and about how brain plasticity can be tapped to improve a wide variety of problems including dyslexia, autism, damage from disease and injury.  Healthy people of all ages can also tap the resource of brain plasticity to help maintain and improve their mental functions.

How to get this episode:

• Premium Subscribers now have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.

• Buy mp3 for $1.

• Buy Transcript for $1.

• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE.  All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free.  See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

Listen in your Favorite Audio app: Audible, Amazon music, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube and many more.

Links and References

• Dr. Merzenich's Blog.

• Posit Science Corporation.

• Scientific Learning (Fast Forward™).

Previous Episodes on Brain Plasticity

• Episode 10.

• Episode 26.

• Episode 28.

Send email feedback to Ginger Campbell, MD at brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com