From Our Neurons to Yours
Episodes
Is Alzheimer's an energy crisis in the brain? Inflammation, metabolism and a new path in the search for cures | Kati Andreasson
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, Alzheimer's research has focused on clearing amyloid plaques from the brain. But new drugs that successfully remove plaques have pro...
"The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines" | Jay McClelland
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The AI revolution of the past few years is built on brain-inspired neural network models originally developed to study our own minds. The question is,...
Could brain implants read our thoughts? | Erin Kunz
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine what it’s like to lose your ability to speak. You know what you want to say, but the connection between your brain and the muscles that form...
NeuroForecasting: how brain activity can predict stock prices or viral videos | Brian Knutson
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Neuroscientists have spent the past few decades tracing the network of brain systems—some deep and emotional, and others more analytical and deliber...
"Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection" | Ben Rein
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are more isolated from one another than ever before — by our technology, by our political divides, and most of all, by our choices. This week on...
From doodles to Descartes: sketching and the human cognitive toolkit | Judith Fan
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Before the written word — and possibly even before speech — humans have communicated through drawing. From crude scratches in the dirt or on cave ...
What is psychosis? Navigating an altered reality | Jacob Ballon & Shannon Pagdon
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine if you couldn't distinguish between dreams and reality. If you couldn't tell whether what you were seeing or hearing was really ther...
"I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine" | Daniel Levitin
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us can agree: music is awesome. Regardless of which songs speak to you, music probably plays an important role in your life. The question is, ...
How we learn to read (and why some struggle): what neuroscience teaches us about a transformative human technology | Bruce McCandliss
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore the fascinating neuroscience behind how children learn to read with Bruce McCandliss, director of the Stanford Educational...
Why voices light us up—but leave the autistic brain in the dark | Dan Abrams
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Recognizing a familiar voice is one of the brain’s earliest social feats. But what are the brain circuits that let a newborn pick out mom in a crowd...
Famous & Gravy: Cosmic Marketer and the Meaning of Life | Stephen Hawking
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this special crossover episode, we’re doing something a little different. From Our Neurons to Yours host Nicholas joins producer Michael Osborne ...
Can brain science save addiction policy? | Keith Humphreys
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If addiction is a disease of the brain, what does that mean for how we treat people—and how we write policy? In this wide-ranging conversation, Stan...
How basic science transformed stroke care | Marion Buckwalter
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A generation ago, a big clot in the brain meant paralysis or worse. Today, doctors can diagnose clots on AI-enabled brain scans; provide life-saving, ...
Surgery as a window into brain resilience | Martin Angst
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've all heard stories about someone who went in for surgery and came out...different. A grandmother who struggled with names after hip replacem...
Best of: How neural prosthetics could free minds trapped by brain injury | Jaimie Henderson
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine being trapped in your own body, unable to move or communicate effectively. This may seem like a nightmare, but it is a reality for many people...
The secrets of resilient aging | Beth Mormino & Anthony Wagner
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the show, we're have our sights set on healthy aging. What would it mean to be able to live to 80, 90 or 100 with our cognitive abil...
Building AI simulations of the human brain | Dan Yamins
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the show: Are we ready to create digital models of the human brain? Last month, Stanford researcher Andreas Tolias and colleagues create...
What ChatGPT understands: Large language models and the neuroscience of meaning | Laura Gwilliams
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you spend any time chatting with a modern AI chatbot, you've probably been amazed at just how human it sounds, how much it feels like you&apos...
What the other half of the brain does | Brad Zuchero
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've talked about glia and sleep. We've talked about glia and neuroinflammation. We've talked about glia in the brain fog that can acc...
Stimulating the brain with sound | Kim Butts Pauly and Raag Airan
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we gain a better understanding of how misfiring brain circuits lead to mental health conditions, we'd like to be able to go in and nudge those...
Does good sleep insulate the brain against Alzheimer's? | Erin Gibson
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're kicking off our new season with a deep dive into one of neuroscience's most fascinating mysteries: sleep. This unconscious third of ou...
How to live in a world without free will | Robert Sapolsky
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we are speaking with the one and only Robert Sapolsky, a Stanford neurobiologist, a MacArthur "Genius", and best-selling author of bo...
The power of psychedelics meets the power of placebo: ketamine, opioids, and hope in depression treatment | Boris Heifets & Theresa Lii
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as we dive back into the world of psychedelic medicine with anesthesiologists Boris Heifets and Theresa Lii, who share intriguing new data tha...
Seeing sounds, tasting colors: the science of synaesthesia with David Eagleman (re-release)
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we are going back into the archives for one of my favorite episodes: We are talking to neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and best-selling author, D...
The BRAIN Initiative: the national vision for the future of neuroscience is now in doubt | Bill Newsome
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this year, President Obama's signature BRAIN Initiative, which has powered advances in neuroscience for the past 10 years, had its budget...
The cannabinoids within: how marijuana hijacks an ancient signaling system in the brain | Ivan Soltesz
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Given the widespread legalization of cannabis for medical and recreational uses, you'd think we'd have a better understanding of how it work...
Memory Palaces: the science of mental time travel and the brain's GPS system | Lisa Giocomo (Re-release)
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we are re-releasing an episode we did last year with Stanford neurobiologist Lisa Giocomo exploring the intersection of memory, navigation and t...
Why new Alzheimer's drugs don't work | Mike Greicius, Stanford University School of Medicine
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the past few years, Big Pharma has released not one, but three new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Aducanemab (2021), Lecanemab (2023), and D...
Depression's distinctive fingerprints in the brain | Leanne Williams, Stanford University
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Getting help for depression can be like purgatory. Setting aside for a moment the stigma and other barriers to seeking treatment in the first place, f...
How the brain helps cancers grow | Michelle Monje
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we're talking with Stanford neuro-oncologist, Michelle Monje. This is actually the third time we've had Michelle on the show, in part...
Unraveling Timothy Syndrome: the new science of human brain development | Sergiu Pasca
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week on From Our Neurons to Yours, we're talking about using new techniques for growing human brain tissue in the lab to solve a rare neurol...
How VR could help treat depression with "radical behaviorist" Dr. Kim Bullock
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we're going to talk about virtual reality and how it could be used to treat depression. We're talking with psychiatrist Kim Bullock, ...
Electronic skin and the future of wearable technology | Zhenan Bao
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The skin is full of contradictions. It’s soft and sensitive, but also tough and resilient, even self-healing. It’s both the barrier that protects ...
How a new kind of brain plasticity could help make sense of addiction | Michelle Monje and Rob Malenka
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we're diving into recent research that sheds light on a new form of brain plasticity involving changes in the insulation of nerve fibe...
Our plastic brains: learning, memory and aging with the one and only Carla Shatz (Rerelease)
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
-- We're re-releasing our conversation with Carla Shatz, one of our favorites from the archive, which comes up all the time on the show in the co...
Programming Announcement
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hi everyone — quick programming announcement. As we head into summer, we'll be moving to an every-other-week cadence as we prepare more convers...
Neuroscience and AI: What artificial intelligence teaches us about the brain (and vice versa) | Surya Ganguli
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The powerful new generation of AI tools that has come out over the past few years — DALL-E, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and the rest — have blown a...
How we remember, why we forget | Anthony Wagner
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At some point in our lives, we all struggle with memory — learning a new name, remembering that book you were reading just yesterday or that word on...
Psychedelics Part 2: How do drugs alter our perceptions? | Boris Heifets
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we're going to talk about how psychedelics alter our perception of reality and what that says about... reality! Welcome to part two of o...
Psychedelics, placebo, and anesthetic dreams | Boris Heifets (part 1)
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Psychedelics are a hot topic in psychiatry today. They’re producing dramatic reversals for patients with severe depression, PTSD, and other mental...
Why our brains are bad at climate change | Nik Sawe
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week on From Our Neurons to Yours, we're talking about the neuroscience of climate change with neuroeconomist Nik Sawe.If you follow the sci...
Famous & Gravy: Mind Traveler | Oliver Sacks
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we’re doing something a little different. My good friend Michael Osborne, who produces this show also has his own podcast, called Famous &...
The clocks in your body | Tony Wyss-Coray
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today: the clocks in your body.We're talking again this week with Tony Wyss-Coray, the director of the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience her...
Redefining Parkinson's Disease | Kathleen Poston
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the show, a new understanding of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders —...
Space and Memory | Lisa Giocomo
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week on From Our Neurons to Yours, we sit down with Stanford neurobiologist Lisa Giocomo to explore the intersection of memory and navigation. Th...
OCD & Ketamine | Carolyn Rodriguez
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of "From Our Neurons to Yours," we're taking a deep dive into the neuroscience of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) a...
Why we do what we do | Neir Eshel
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "From Our Neurons to Yours," from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. Each week, we bring you to the fron...
Brain-Machine Interfaces | Jaimie Henderson
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine being trapped in your own body, unable to move or communicate effectively. This may seem like a nightmare, but it is a reality for many people...
An electrical storm in the brain | Fiona Baumer
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine an electrical storm in your brain, a power surge that passes through delicately wired neural circuits, making thousands of cells all activate ...
Seeing sound, tasting color | David Eagleman
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine Thursday. Does Thursday have a color? What about the sound of rain — does that sound taste like chocolate? Or does the sound of a saxophone ...
Why sleep keeps us young | Luis de Lecea
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back, neuron lovers! In this week's episode of From Our Neurons to Yours, we're talking about the neuroscience of sleep. Why is slum...
Where ant colonies keep their brains | Deborah Gordon
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back to "From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. In this episode, we ...
Why we get dizzy | Kristen Steenerson
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back to "From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast where we criss-cross scientific disciplines to take you to the frontiers of brain sci...
How we understand each other | Laura Gwilliams
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back to our second season of "From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast where we criss-cross scientific disciplines to take you to the c...
Exercise and the brain | Jonathan Long
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We all know exercise has all sorts of benefits beyond just making us stronger and fitter. It lowers and inflammation. It buffers stress and anxiety. I...
Aging and Brain Plasticity | Carla Shatz
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we're kids, our brains are amazing at learning. We absorb information from the outside world with ease, and we can adapt to anything. But as...
Brain stimulation & "psychiatry 3.0" | Nolan Williams
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a technology that uses magnetic fields to stimulate or suppress electrical activity in brain circuits. It&a...
Brain Fog | Michelle Monje
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the strangest and most disconcerting things about the COVID 19 pandemic has been the story of long COVID.Many COVID long-haulers have continu...
Assembling the brain | Sergiu Pasca
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly one in five Americans lives with a mental illness. Unfortunately there’s a limited set of options for treating psychiatric disorders. One rea...
Parenting Lessons from Frogs and Spiders | Lauren O'Connell
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re going to talk about frogs — and spiders — as parents. What today’s show is really about is “pair bonding” — that’s the sc...
Virtual Touch | Allison Okamura
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Recently on the show, we had a conversation about the possibility of creating artificial vision with a bionic eye. Today we're going to talk abou...
Brain Rejuvenation | Tony Wyss-Coray
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hi listeners, we're shifting to a biweekly release schedule after this episode. See you in a couple weeks!---Most of us probably know someone who...
Building a bionic eye | EJ Chichilnisky
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We take this for granted, but our eyes are amazing. They're incredible. We process the visual world so automatically and so instantaneously, we f...
Respect your Biological Clock | Erin Gibson
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We've probably all heard of circadian rhythms, the idea that our bodies have biological clocks that keep track of the daily cycle, sunrise to sun...
Is Addiction a Disease? | Keith Humphreys
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What makes addiction a disease? I think we all know at this point that addiction is another major epidemic that is sweeping our country and the world,...
Your gut - the second brain? | Julia Kaltschmidt
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You may have heard the idea that the gut is the second brain, but what does that really mean? Maybe it has to do with the fact that there are somethin...
The Octopus Brain | Ernie Hwaun & Matt McCoy
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What can octopus and squid brains teach us about intelligence?One of the incredible things about octopus's is that not only do they have an advan...
The Mystery of Migraines | Gabriella Muwanga
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever had a migraine, you know that the symptoms — splitting headache, nausea, sensitivity to light — mean you're going to want...
Psychedelics and Empathy | Rob Malenka
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why are psychiatrists taking a fresh look at MDMA? Recently, there's been growing excitement in the scientific community about revisiting the pot...
Announcing: From Our Neurons to Yours!
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Announcing: From our Neurons to Yours, the new podcast from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University.On this show, we criss-cross ...