The ‘exposome’ is a term used to describe all of the environmental exposures encountered by an individual throughout their life and how these exposures affect their health and contribute to (or protect against) aging and disease. The exposures may be physical (e.g., temperature), chemical (e.g., toxic chemicals), biological (e.g., viruses), or social (psychological trauma). In this episode I talk with University of Michigan professor of neurology Eva Feldman, about research aimed at identifying environmental factors that promote, cause, or protect against neurological disorders. Exposome research is of vital practical importance because environmental factors and aging are responsible for the most common neurological disorders.

LINKS

Dr. Feldman’s webpage

https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/mneuronet/about/eva-l-feldman-md-phd

Exposome review articles

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ana.26897

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10643494/pdf/11357_2023_Article_913.pdf

https://www.annualreviews.org/docserver/fulltext/pharmtox/63/1/annurev-pharmtox-051922-113350.pdf?expires=1722005819&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=97B61448008EE60ABAA4CA80EFF3D878

It turns out that regardless of which organ they affect tumors contain a web of axons coursing throughout them. Recent research has shown that interactions between the neurons and the cancer cells influence the proliferation of the cancer cells within the tumor as well as metastasis (the spread of cancer cells to other organs). In this episode I talk with University of Newcastle Professor Hubert Hondermarck about his research on interactions between neurons and cancer cells, and the roles of neurotrophic factors and neurotransmitters in facilitating tumor growth. Knowledge gained from this research is leading to new pharmacological approaches to treating cancers.

LINKS

Professor Hondermarck’s webpage:

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/hubert-hondermarck

Review “The Neural Addiction of Cancers”:

https://www.proquest.com/docview/2806715386/fulltextPDF/7785F348C7744E4PQ/9?accountid=11752&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals

Plants sense their environment and respond in ways consistent with advanced decision-making capabilities. The cellular mechanisms that control the behaviors of plants are similar to those of animals and include electrically excitable cells capable of transmitting information via calcium waves and volatile messengers such as nitric oxide throughout roots, shoots, and leaves. Molecular genetic studies have shown that plants have receptors for the neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA, and that these neurotransmitters control many plant behaviors. Individual plants communicate with other plants, insects, fungi, and bacteria via the stimulus-dependent production and release of a myriad of chemicals. In this episode I talk with Bonn University Professor Frantisek Baluska about the behavioral repertoire of plants, the underlying cellular mechanisms, and the rationale and value of considering plants as sentient and intelligent organisms.

LINKS

Individuality and Sociality of Plants:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7934911/pdf/rstb.2019.0760.pdf

Anesthetics and Plant Consciousness:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7907011/pdf/709_2020_Article_1594.pdf

Predictive Coding Model of Plant Behavior:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5047902/pdf/fpsyg-07-01505.pdf

Plants Behaviors and Climate Change:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7054678/pdf/EMBR-21-e50109.pdf

Cells have evolved elaborate molecular systems that control cell growth and division in ways that enable optimal function and resilience of all organ systems including the brain. Cells that have the potential to become cancerous are eliminated by a process called apoptosis. Cells may also acquire a senescent state in which they no longer divide and function normally, but survive and produce potentially damaging proteins such as pro-inflammatory cytokines and proteases. Senescent cells accumulate during normal aging and more so in chronic diseases, but until recently it was not known whether such senescent cells cause or accelerate aging and disease processes . Mayo Clinic Professor Darren Baker who is an expert on the molecular control of cell division and cancers recently used genetic engineering technologies to generate mice in which senescent cells can be selectively eliminated. By studying these mice he and his team have provided convincing evidence that senescent cells contribute to the aging process and are involved in the disease processes that occur in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). There is evidence that several types of glial cells in the brain undergo senescence and removal of these cells can slow disease progression. I talk with Dr. Baker about his research on cell senescence, key issues that remain unresolved, and drugs that target senescent cells – “senotherapeutics” as potential treatments for AD and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Dr. Baker’s Mayo Clinic Profile page:

https://www.mayo.edu/research/faculty/baker-darren-j-ph-d-m-s/bio-00027985

Review article on senescence and brain aging: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5873891/pdf/jci-128-95145.pdf

Introduction to special journal issue on senescence: https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/febs.16735

Review article on senotherapeutics: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9599677/pdf/nihms-1842277.pdf

Targeted removal of senescent cells and senotherapeutics in animal models of AD:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6206507/pdf/nihms-1505435.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10939718/pdf/nihms-1968907.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6605052/pdf/nihms-1031989.pdf

Two interrelated features of the brains of humans and other social animals is that they develop attractions for kin and other members of their local community (tribalism) and perceive strangers as potential threats (xenophobia). Historically, tribalism and xenophobia are of fundamental importance in unnecessary suffering and death from isolated domestic incidents to major wars. It is therefore important to understand both the psychology and neuroscience of tribalism and xenophobia. Pascal Molenberghs is a social neuroscientist who has studied the neural networks that mediate the cognitive processing and decision-making involved in xenophobic beliefs and actions. Here I talk with him about the far-reaching implications of this research for a wide range of issues including religions, politics, and dehumanization.

LINKS:

The neuroscience of intergroup threat and violence:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9620594/pdf/main.pdf

The neuroscience of in-group bias:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6174241/pdf/fpsyg-09-01868.pdf

Empathy:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3644680/pdf/fnhum-07-00176.pdf

The ability of the human brain to store and recall information, and particularly its ability to create new information, is remarkable. The research of Harvard University professor Daniel Schacter as revealed the fallibilities of memory which he categorizes into ‘the seven sins’: transience, absent-mindedness, blocking, persistence, misattribution, suggestibility, and bias. These are normal, are influenced by emotions, can have adaptive value, and may be exaggerated or absent in pathological conditions. The digital technologies that most of us use every day, often for hours at a time, present new challenges for our memory system. In this episode I talk with professor Schacter about his career in memory research, how memory fallibilities play out in our daily lives, how digital technologies impact our memory, and how some our memory fallibilities – particularly suggestibility and bias – can be hijacked by digital media companies and political operatives.

LINKS:

Schacter Memory Lab: https://sites.harvard.edu/schacter-memory/

Book: “The Seven Sins of Memory”:

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Sins-Memory-Revised-Remembers/dp/0358325684/ref=asc_df_0358325684/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693388554878&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1921889579114062764&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9051570&hvtargid=pla-1184742256946&psc=1&mcid=760a3293f66030f780a64df60d06431f&gad_source=1

Review article on memory fallibilities:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8285452/pdf/nihms-1664500.pdf

Review article on media, technology and the sins of memory:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8373035/

The usual approach for developing treatments for brain disorders is to make a drug that acts on a specific molecular target. But this approach has largely failed. In this episode I talk with Professor Raj Ratan at Weill Cornell Medicine about ways to tap the intrinsic ability of brain cells to respond adaptively to challenges – metabolic, oxidative, and biosynthetic – in ways that protect them against pathological processes such as those occurring in stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Raj and his colleagues have developed several different interventions that are highly effective in animal models of stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Intermittent dosing with such treatments can activate evolutionarily conserved complex and integrated gene expression responses in brain cells that bolster stress resistance and enable recovery and repair.

LINKS

Dr. Ratan’s laboratory webpage: https://burke.weill.cornell.edu/ratan-lab/people/rajiv-r-ratan-md-phd

Selenium protects against ferroptosis and stroke:

https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2819%2930327-7

HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibition for stroke ?:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3390817/pdf/jcbfm201228a.pdf

2-deoxyglucose for experimental stroke and Alzheimer’s disease:

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/272195/1-s2.0-S0896627322X00196/1-s2.0-S0896627323004725/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEDMaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIC02vyvj45WOEJ6cJ%2BO3zLTkbyrmywu3UV2k0tE99ISSAiEAm%2B2Ga7NWSJSMResvqmDJZn87epQuNnoQNFUS%2FM1xh1QquwUIvP%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDKWhJaRjapFKYPcUuSqPBXZt7z6Y%2F%2FFQDTJZNd63uYfGqFnqQ5FraRDyTiOoShRDuHZ%2FFurOQBeXcKh34xKHbYXG3aw4aZ1qknn5rmr5oZKXJEnQKSDQbTIMaZfam7JN223W98JHQjFExQSg1IpIXsJIOpPDRC6SnxewO9HWfK5VsT22Yd1%2FvfyJ6TNHysLd5avZUcCzNwd1Tzg%2F7n5boUZ3bv8ksKJTbXKIa6URMIpJ1Elry%2Bx2cOHHsudyKQHl38MnqJfyBDlsvlSdlvPvqZyiDl41UPQ4wQXG8zxZKtwc4W9Nz3bBDtosARXGGykFw5PGjP8vljwzBmpAIPA2vntVuzKB1GVCjSOPeZIfB%2FT7gbpjO6XFPulqMJfoZSHMIP6U5%2Baluyz25U7gQI0DlHQuqHHQlPp16W1%2FZUDpV6qfCWLDFa86hE3Mk2bUdhVxC7%2F1avNNvRjCVubyOhIY9MrjdQSpJx5FCd9yj2KkOAQSxn0T8ZQ2HZl10eOzNJBv0flA%2BQXys58UySTYb0QHKIOrD1YbjW0M%2B1qrdzwunAYlpugxnqm64BMuZL1aUWPQUzD6Xu59k23wj9IKZ7ysz8OJgHiaxCL%2BmrhMtF1wBO5rkKomJdordmx%2B46wjknrwW9sUy4NFS74JkUYhIGjiZ1lQ6E%2BFcjJe1R%2FeLOfxx2VfcbXyzyjaVgNaS16fRYydqoT0r1xth2rMdDADuFYvT1Mxw909AAZ6ja4ur%2Bcb56eAT7kbwtKDDsTq3l%2FlTVEwX8zAkagg%2Ba2yg2RUF26zTiA9ur%2FR1keAROBxVFyOyhBFg0tX2aHFaPkRmbTLOOeslpmFdWYlYhhLn%2FDgHzXafbqJ6MS29hnDJVpSZNwtkILsv6Fvf7MlT%2FU%2Fdet6sI4w6oKBswY6sQGQdr%2Fyh54qyfoNjp7vTeWRp56lw26rZzdq5JzhPL7AooWioriINJoD5PBTfQ6P9kkjgrbt3KgE0gLwdquV5t8cPemG6Ud6J7FFfiCqdduYGnkdgvqay00lKumUQWivFmbLK1KwV3ZTiHqK6k%2BnwmjmJx6TC2wOb0ri18vlPuaf9tL3twxztVgBXpqCEHtrk2xoln3A%2FxRta1ENiKDj3i%2BeEJsq8LA5%2Ft1DnHnQTTngNeI%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20240605T120054Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYTBFTALVN%2F20240605%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=a28ce7980230f4e238a2b9b01639b4a3771986228a5b71afee77812caae7ec5a&hash=2c8062367af976e82b072e2c70fee70c72e3b4c101e00ffb8e600353969e084d&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0896627323004725&tid=spdf-39789cb0-1edf-4028-964c-0b8b685189bb&sid=957e62f0674d764d5259d1032c07123fda92gxrqa&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LXNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QtY29tLnByb3h5MS5saWJyYXJ5LmpodS5lZHU%3D&ua=0f105b59005f5e555053&rr=88f00141e8697283&cc=us

Anxiety, attention-deficit disorder, depression and loneliness have increased dramatically recently as a result, at least in part, of information overload and a relative lack of time for ‘slow thinking’ and self-reflection. In this episode I talk with University of Wisconsin Professor Richard (Richie) Davidson about his research on mindfulness meditation and the neuroscience of happiness. His research has shown that mental well being is a skill that can be learned. He describes the effects of meditation on neuronal networks and well being and talks about ‘the four pillars of a healthy mind: attentiveness, communication, insight, and purpose. He and his colleagues have developed a free App called ‘The Healthy Minds Program’ which has been demonstrated to be effective in bolstering these four pillars.

LINKS

Center for Healthy Minds: https://centerhealthyminds.org

Free Healthy Minds Program App: https://hminnovations.org/meditation-app?gad_source=1

Review articles on mindfulness-based intervention research:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6609495/pdf/nihms-1521077.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6597263/pdf/nihms-1025535.pdf

Review article on challenges in research on mindfulness and meditation:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4627495/pdf/nihms704718.pdf