Your Brain On... Vascular Dementia
Your Brain On
Most people think dementia starts with memory loss. But for millions, it actually begins decades earlier: in the blood vessels. Long before someone forgets a name or misses an appointment, the brain is being quietly damaged by high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalance, poor sleep, inflammation, and chronic stress, day after day, year after year. This kind of damage doesn't look dramatic. There's no big stroke, no clear warning sign. It happens slowly and silently, which is why it's so often missed until it's too late. But here’s the good news: vascular dementia is one of the most...
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Your Brain On... Cold Plunges
Your Brain On
Cold plunges are everywhere, and the way people talk about them, you’d think they’re a miracle cure for your brain, body, and soul. But in an age of algorithm-fueled evangelism, when a ritual becomes this ubiquitous and loud, we have to ask: how much of the buzz is backed by science… and how much is just marketing? In this episode, we explore the neuroscience of cold exposure: what’s real, what’s overstated, and why this “discomfort” has become a billion-dollar industry. We discuss: Why cold plunges went viral, and how wellness movements often devolve into identity-driven...
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Your Brain On... Cheese
Your Brain On
Around the start of 2026, a study sparked viral headlines claiming that cheese could reduce dementia risk. But... nutrition science almost never works like this. One study can’t “prove” a food is protective or harmful, and viral health claims often miss the most important details of research: how the data was gathered, what was actually measured, what variables were controlled for, and what it means in real life. In this episode, we unpack what the ‘viral cheese study’ (PMID: 41406402) actually found, what it DOESN’T mean, and why critical thinking around nutrition headlines...
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Your Brain On... Chemotherapy
Your Brain On
Chemotherapy saves lives. But for millions, it also comes with side effects of cognitive fog, memory lapses, slowed thinking, and emotional flattening. In the past, ‘chemo brain’ has sometimes been dismissed as anecdotal. But, as science has evolved, we’ve come to understand the very real shifts in attention, memory, processing speed, and emotional regulation underpinning the impairment. In this episode, we break down what’s happening in the brain during treatment, why these changes arise, and how healthier lifestyle choices can support our recovery. In this episode, we explore: •...
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Your Brain On... Parkinson’s (2025)
Your Brain On
From 18th century London to the promise of a global cure: the 200-year history of Parkinson’s disease. To mark the release of our ‘Ask the MD’ conversation with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and to welcome a new influx of listeners, we’re sharing one of our very first episodes, first aired in August 2024. Watch our full ‘Ask the MD’ interview, focused on lifestyle strategies for boosting brain health, on the foundation’s website: Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disorder most commonly characterized by tremors and other motor symptoms, is so...
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Your Brain On... Eating Meat
Your Brain On
Carnivorous diets have been woven into our history for millennia, but, with nutrition science advancing at an unprecedented pace over the past century... do we really still need to be eating meat? We live in a time of rising chronic disease, new longevity research, and a growing awareness of how our food choices shape our brain and our planet. We’re also constantly exposed to ‘nutrition tribalism’: social media communicators and influencers building identities (and livelihoods) around polarizing dietary debates. It’s a lot to navigate. So, we’re cutting straight to the data in this...
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Your Brain On... Nutrition (with Dr. Walter Willett)
Your Brain On
Everyone eats. It’s the one thing we all have in common. And yet, nutrition has become one of the most confusing, divisive, and misunderstood sciences in modern life. Low-fat. High-fat. Keto. Vegan. Paleo. Superfoods. For every study, there’s a headline that seems to say the opposite. In this episode, we turn to one of the most trusted voices in nutrition research to cut through the noise: Dr. Walter Willett, MD, DrPH. Dr. Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has spent more than four decades studying how what we eat affects our...
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Your Brain On... Autism
Your Brain On
Autism isn’t new, but our understanding of it has changed dramatically. It’s now recognized as a broad neurodevelopmental spectrum that shapes how millions of people perceive, process, and interact with the world. In this episode, we explore what autism is AND isn’t, from its earliest signs in infancy to its deep genetic roots, and why misinformation about it continues to spread. We speak with three remarkable experts leading the field in early detection, genetics, and public education: DR. AMI KLIN, PhD, Director of the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University and a pioneer in early...
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Your Brain On... Diabetes
Your Brain On
Behind the staggering statistics on global diabetes prevalence are millions of individuals with different stories, struggles, and solutions. In this episode, we explore how diabetes affects your brain, body, and cognition, and how it can be prevented, managed, and (in many cases) reversed. We share some powerful personal stories from the clinic, bust some persistent food myths, and learn why diabetes is as much a neurological emergency as a metabolic one. Plus, we speak to three leading experts who are changing the way we treat diabetes: BRENDA DAVIS, RD: renowned dietitian and global...
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Your Brain On... Alzheimer’s (Mythbusting Special)
Your Brain On
Alzheimer’s disease is constantly surrounded by myths and misinformation. Let’s set the record straight. In this episode, we bust through the most persistent Alzheimer’s myths, with facts based on decades of clinical experience and cutting-edge research. Myths include: • “Alzheimer’s is inevitable in old age” • “It’s all genetic, and there’s nothing you can do” • “There’s no cure, so diagnosis is useless” • “Supplements and vitamins can prevent or cure Alzheimer’s” • “Statins and vaccines cause Alzheimer’s” Plus many others. We also share our...
info_outlineALS, a nervous system disease, ruled the headlines in the summer of 2014 thanks to the viral Ice Bucket Challenge. How has our knowledge of the disorder evolved a decade later?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ‘Lou Gehrig's disease’ (named after the iconic baseball player), is a progressive neurological disorder which breaks down a person’s motor neurons. The main symptoms are muscle weakness and impaired physical function — mild, at first, but in the latter stages of the disease’s progression, essential processes like breathing begin to fail.
Most individuals face a life expectancy of two to five years. A small percentage live five to ten years. And an even tinier group survive beyond a decade. Most famously, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking survived more than 50 years past his diagnosis, in part due to the intensive care he was able to afford.
In this episode of the ‘Your Brain On...’ podcast, we discuss:
• What ALS is, and how it affects the brain and the body
• The onset and progression of ALS, from the earliest symptoms to the end-stage impacts
• How ALS patients are diagnosed, treated, and cared for
• Likely causes of ALS, including genetic predispositions and potential environmental risk factors
• How new technologies are rapidly accelerating our understanding of ALS, especially in genetics
Joining us for this installment of the show are two world-class experts on the disease:
• Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi PhD, Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics at the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute at King's College.
• Merit Cudkowicz, Director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital.
‘Your Brain On’ is hosted by neurologists, scientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai.
‘Your Brain On... ALS’ • SEASON 4 • EPISODE 3
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LINKS
PROFESSOR AMMAR AL-CHALABI
at King’s College: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/ammar-al-chalabi
at Motor Neurone Disease Disease Association: https://www.mndassociation.org/get-involved/cure-finders/professor-ammar-al-chalabi
Project MinE: https://projectmine.com/
MERIT CUDKOWICZ
at Massachusetts General Hospital: https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/16904/merit-cudkowicz
at Harvard University: https://researchers.mgh.harvard.edu/profile/1520993/Merit-Cudkowicz
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ANNOUNCING: NEURO WORLD RETREAT 2025
We’re so excited to share something very close to our hearts, which we’ve been working on over the past few months: our first ever brain health retreat!
You’re warmly invited to join us in San Diego, California for the inaugural NEURO World Retreat 2025, taking place September 2–5, 2025 at the breathtaking Paradise Point Resort.
For more information, and to book, visit: https://neuroworldretreat.com/
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FOLLOW US
Join the NEURO Academy: NEUROacademy.com
Instagram: @thebraindocs
Website: TheBrainDocs.com
More info and episodes: TheBrainDocs.com/Podcast
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References:
Brown, Robert H., and Ammar Al-Chalabi. "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." New England Journal of Medicine 377.2 (2017): 162-172.
Benatar, Michael, et al. "A roadmap to ALS prevention: strategies and priorities." Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 94.5 (2023): 399-402.
Voigtlaender, Sebastian, et al. "Artificial intelligence in neurology: opportunities, challenges, and policy implications." Journal of Neurology 271.5 (2024): 2258-2273.
Zinman, Lorne, and Merit Cudkowicz. "Emerging targets and treatments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." The Lancet Neurology 10.5 (2011): 481-490.
Raghav, Yogindra, et al. "Identification of gene fusions associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." Muscle & Nerve 69.4 (2024): 477-489.
Su, Feng-Chiao, et al. "Association of environmental toxins with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." JAMA neurology 73.7 (2016): 803-811.
Talbott, Evelyn O., et al. "Case-control study of environmental toxins and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis involving the national ALS registry." Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration (2024): 1-10.