Your Brain On... Stress
Your Brain On
Stress isn’t just a threat to your brain. It’s also one of its best tools for growth. We often hear that stress is bad for your brain. And it can be. Chronic, unpredictable, and uncontrollable stress can damage cognition, harm memory, and accelerate aging. But we don’t talk enough about how the right kind of stress can actually improve brain function, grow your hippocampus, and help you feel happier and more purposeful. In this episode of Your Brain On..., we explore the science of stress with two brilliant guests: Dr. Sharon Bergquist, Yale- and Harvard-trained internal medicine...
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Your Brain On... Stroke
Your Brain On
Stroke is one of the biggest causes of death in the world — but also one of the most preventable. Up to 80–90% of strokes could be avoided with more awareness, resources, and a firmer focus on prevention over intervention. In this episode, we’re joined by renowned stroke neurologist and public health pioneer Dr. Olajide Williams, MD, MS, whose ‘Hip-Hop Stroke’ movement is a shining example of enacting culturally-sensitive community-wide healthcare change. In this episode, we discuss: • What actually causes a stroke (and how to spot one in seconds using the ‘act FAST’ acronym)...
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Your Brain On... The Food Industry
Your Brain On
How can we eat better when we’re constantly marketed to in a way that hijacks our attention and habits? To complement the incredible discussions we regularly have about brain-healthy nutrition, in this episode, we’ve having a very important conversation about how the food industry works against our best intentions, and how we can break through the psychological barriers they use to hold us back. We’re joined by Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University, whose name is practically synonymous with food policy: a pioneering...
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Your Brain On... Lyme Disease
Your Brain On
A tiny bite from a tiny tick can trigger a complex disease which speaks to some huge problems with our healthcare system. In this episode, we explain the biology, controversy, and cultural blind spots around Lyme disease, a condition that reflects much more than just a bacterial infection. It’s also a mirror for our most urgent public health issues: inequality, misinformation, climate change, and the growing mistrust of science. We speak with two world-class experts: • Dr. John Aucott: Director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center and leading voice on...
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Your Brain On... Brain-Computer Interfaces
Your Brain On
Restoring a person’s ability to speak, enabling individuals with paralysis to regain movement, and detecting neurodegenerative diseases earlier than ever — these are just some of the breakthroughs brain-computer interfaces are making possible. In this episode, we explore the astonishing world of BCIs: technologies that are giving autonomy and independence back to people with diseases like ALS. We discuss: • How BCIs are helping people with neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord injuries communicate using decoded brain signals • How brain-computer interfaces actually work (and...
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Your Brain On... Gluten
Your Brain On
Gluten has become one of the most misunderstood aspects of modern nutrition. Let’s set the record straight. In this episode, we untangle the medical, neurological, and cultural narratives surrounding gluten, from celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity to real (and rare) cases of gluten-induced brain dysfunction. We discuss: • The differences between celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and wheat allergy • How gluten affects the gut, and what ‘leaky gut’ really means • Whether gluten can trigger neurological symptoms like ataxia and brain fog • Why cutting out gluten...
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Your Brain On... Menopause
Your Brain On
Two-thirds of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are women — but why? In this episode, we unpack the neurological, hormonal, and social drivers that uniquely affect women's brain health during the menopausal transition — from estrogen’s protective role in the brain to the misunderstood history of hormone replacement therapy. We discuss: • Why women face a higher risk of Alzheimer’s than men • How menopause accelerates brain aging (and how it starts earlier than is often expected) • The role of estrogen in brain metabolism and neuroprotection • The real story behind...
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Your Brain On... Music
Your Brain On
Music is one of the most powerful forces of all time for human connection, cognitive stimulation, and therapeutic introspection. We’ve seen music help Alzheimer’s patients find their voice, children with speech disorders unlock new ways to communicate with rhythm and melody, and communities express their identity through song. In this episode, we discuss: • The cognitive, psychological, and mental benefits of music • Why learning to play an instrument is one of the best things you can do for your brain • The power of music as a means of connecting with others • Therapeutic uses of...
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Your Brain On... Supplements
Your Brain On
Supplements have become a hundred-billion dollar industry. But can they really boost your brain health in the ways they claim? They’re everywhere: shelves and shelves of pills and powders promising everything from improved immunity, boosted energy, and faster weight loss to better sleep, happier moods, and enhanced sexual wellness. Social media influencers won’t stop talking about them, and they seem to appear in TV commercials every five minutes. And yet... the evidence supporting most of the claims these supplements make is next-to-nought. So what’s the truth? In ‘Your Brain On......
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Your Brain On... Traumatic Brain Injury
Your Brain On
Traumatic Brain Injury is a major cause of death, disability, and cognitive decline. Thankfully, evolving research is helping us protect our heads and lessen the long-term impacts of TBIs. In this episode of ‘Your Brain On...’ we discuss: • The effects and symptoms of TBI, from mild concussions to more severe head injuries • What actually happens to your brain when you sustain a TBI • The links between TBI and neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive impairment • The prevalence of TBI in military personnel and sportspeople, and how we’re improving protective technologies •...
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.