Ray Dorsey: Environmental Toxins and Parkinson’s Disease – Evidence and What to Avoid
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
Release Date: 11/12/2025
Liqun Luo: Signaling Pathways and Molecular Codes for the Assembly of Neural Circuits
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
Stanford Professor Liqun Luo’s laboratory investigates the mechanisms by which neural circuits in the brain are assembled during development and how this neuroarchitecture enables their functions throughout life. During the past 30 years his work has provided technical advances that enabled the establishment of roles for specific proteins in the formation of synaptic connections between individual neurons. In this episode I talk with Liqun about experiments using these technologies that revealed specific molecular codes on the surface of neurons that mediate either adhesive or repulsive...
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Alex Kwan: Cutting-Edge Technologies Reveal How Psilocybin Rewires the Brain’s Neural Networks
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
The rapid psychedelic effects of the mushroom chemical psilocybin and its long-lasting mood-elevating effects are remarkable. While psilocybin and other psychedelics activate the serotonin 5HT2A receptor the nature of the functional and structural changes responsible for the dramatic effects of psychedelics on perception, mood, and cognition are unknown. In this episode Cornell University Professor Alex Kwan talks about very recent research in his laboratory showing that psilocybin triggers long-lasting changes in the structure of certain neural networks in the brain that may explain the...
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Neurobiology of Aging Lecture #5 – Mechanisms by Which Lifestyle Choices Affect Brain Aging
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
Here I describe evidence that brain aging can be slowed by lifestyle choices that include exercise, moderation in energy intake, and consumption of plant-based diets. LINKS https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5913738/pdf/nihms958771.pdf https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1550-4131%2823%2900473-4
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Andrew Pieper: Recent Evidence that Advanced Alzheimer’s Disease May be Reversible
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
In this episode I talk with Case Western Reserve University Professor Andrew Pieper about how it might be possible to restore neuroplasticity and cognition in Alzheimer’s disease. The conversation focuses on a recently published study from his laboratory which shows that a chemical called P7C3-A20 that restores energy balance in brain cells can reverse brain pathology and restore cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. LINKS Pieper laboratory: https://www.harringtondiscovery.org/about/harrington-investigators/andrew-pieper-lab Article discussed in this...
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Neurobiology of Aging Lecture #4: Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders; AD, PD, ALS, and FTD.
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
In this lecture I describe how changes occurring in the brain during normal aging set contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and frontotemporal dementia. Cellular and molecular hallmarks of aging predispose brain cells to neurodegenerative orders with environmental and genetic factors determining if and when the disease manifests. LINKS: Review articles: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3710114/pdf/nihms288391.pdf https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7948516/pdf/nihms-1624328.pdf...
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Tomás Ryan: Competition Between Memory Engrams and The Importance of Forgetting
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
During the past decade several new technological advances have enabled the identification of ensembles of neurons that encode a specific memory trace (engram cells) and for controlling the activity of engram cells so that recall or inhibition of a memory is controlled by the experimenter. The technologies include fluorescence ‘tagging’ of engram cells and optogenetic activation or inhibition of the engram cells. In this episode professor Tomás Ryan talks about these developments and his own research which provides evidence that memory recall involves competition between different...
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Shuying Sun: RNA Dysregulation in Neurodegenerative Disorders – From Mechanisms to New Therapies
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
Recent discoveries show that some neurodegenerative disorders occur because of abnormalities in the processing of RNA in the cell nucleus and/or its export from the nucleus. Johns Hopkins University Associate Professor Shuying Sun is at the forefront of research that is establishing the molecular mechanisms responsible for RNA dysregulation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Her research is contributing to a rapid acceleration of understanding of the causes of ALS and FTD and to the development of new pharmacological and gene therapy-based treatments for...
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Neurobiology of Aging Lecture #3: mTOR, Functional and Structural Alterations, and Biomarkers
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
NOTE: This lecture with slides presented can be found on the Brain Ponderings YouTube Channel. This episode begins by highlighting recent evidence showing adverse effects on the brain of excessive activation of the mTOR pathway as a consequence of dietary branched chain amino acid consumption. Then I describe evidence that Beyond the age of 40 years brain aging results in progressive decrements in function which are associated with reductions in gray matter and synapse numbers particularly in brain regions that play critical roles in memory, executive functions, and task switching. Recent...
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Neurobiology of Aging Lecture 2: Cellular and Molecular Hallmarks of Brain Aging
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
NOTE: This lecture with slides presented can be found on the Brain Ponderings YouTube Channel. This video describes 12 major changes that occur in brain cells during aging and their involvement in decline in brain function and the development of neurodegenerative disorders including dementia and Parkinson's disease.
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Neurobiology of Aging Lecture Series: #1 – Theories, Comparative Biology, and Animal Models of Aging
Brain Ponderings podcast with Dr. Mark Mattson
NOTE: This lecture with slides presented can be found on the Brain Ponderings YouTube Channel. This is the first of five lectures on the Neurobiology of Aging. The other four lectures cover cellular hallmarks, structural and functional aspects, biomarkers, how neurodegenerative disorders occur during aging, and how aging can be slowed and brain health span extended by lifestyle and dietary changes.
info_outlineThere is considerable evidence that exposure to certain chemicals in the environment cause Parkinson’s disease in many people. In this episode neurologist Ray Dorsey talks about some of the chemicals that may cause Parkinson’s disease including the pesticides paraquat and rotenone, and trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene which are chemicals used for degreasing and dry-cleaning.
LINKS
Relevant journal articles:
https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1474-4422%2825%2900287-X
file:///Users/markmattson/Downloads/Annals%20of%20Neurology%20-%202008%20-%20Gash%20-%20Trichloroethylene%20%20Parkinsonism%20and%20complex%201%20mitochondrial%20neurotoxicity%20(1).pdf
Book on how to reduce one’s risk for Parkinson’s disease:
https://www.amazon.com/Parkinsons-Plan-Path-Prevention-Treatment/dp/1541705386/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=186412556077&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8jetPIdc_D3gQSod-GXEVDXUJcI1IMKFz7jXpUf0jZt-LxGsRBm9oV9TQGQJK_FDpWNY4KOJrayE8WoGPJsMXbouqzGwj3UhO0CZZGHmz8g.M4hWGhlS7Crp9zwfODlDDDNnseiHLTdHHBLooZ1LR-M&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779621628364&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9007816&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=14825241056223650898--&hvqmt=b&hvrand=14825241056223650898&hvtargid=aud-2443140936121%3Akwd-936298351901&hydadcr=15520_13558534_8423&keywords=ray+dorsey+parkinson&mcid=c3eec2c85d703461a8216f138ac2c1e7&qid=1762952366&sr=8-1#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor