Stimulating Brains
Episodes
#76: György Buzsáki — Action, the ultimate source of knowledge
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stimulating Brains, we are honored to sit down with György Buzsáki, Professor of Neuroscience at New York University and one of t...
#75: Frans Gielen – From Idea to Evidence: The Making of Modern DBS
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode of Stimulating Brains, we have the pleasure of speaking with Frans Gielen — a physicist and biomedical engineer who played a fo...
#74: Ludvic Zrinzo – DBS vs. Lesioning – and how to know you’re right
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stimulating Brains, we sit down with Dr. Ludwig Zrinzo, Professor of Functional Neurosurgery at University College London and Head ...
#73: Eyal Zadicario – Beyond the Scalpel: Towards an Acoustic Neurosurgical Suite with Insightec
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stimulating Brains, we sit down with Dr. Eyal Zadicario, Chief Operating Officer at Insightec, to explore the remarkable evolution ...
#72: John Rolston — Closed-Loop Stimulation, Seizure Dynamics, and the New Frontiers of Epilepsy Treatment
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we had the privilege of speaking with Dr. John Rolston, a leading voice at the intersection of neurosurgery, epilepsy, and brain stimulation.Dr...
#71: Harold Sackeim - The founding editor of Brain Stimulation and a founding figure in modern electroconvulsive therapy
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we had the privilege of speaking with a true pioneer in the field of neuropsychiatry and brain stimulation— Dr. Harold Sackeim.Dr. Sackeim is ...
#70: Rees Cosgrove – When Neurosurgery Chooses You: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Lesions and the Future of Brain Stimulation
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we journey through the remarkable career of Dr. Rees Cosgrove—a trailblazer in functional neurosurgery, Director of Epilepsy and Fu...
#69: Terence Sanger – Pushing Boundaries in Pediatric DBS: From Multi-Electrode Stimulation to Closed-Loop Strategies
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we will dive deep into the minds of leading researchers and clinicians in the field of neuromodulation. Today, we are thrilled to have...
#68: Todd Herrington – The Future of Neuromodulation: Insights from the ADAPT PD Trial and Beyond
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we have the privilege of speaking with Dr. Todd Herrington, a leading neurologist and director of the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) pr...
#67: Jonathan Downar – TMS for Depression: Towards a One-Day protocol
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Jonathan Downar, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist based in Toronto, renowned for his pioneering research in tr...
#66: Roxanne Lofredi – Striatal recordings and the stopping triangle: How DBS advances our clinical and neuroscientific knowledge
03 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we have a privilege to talk with Dr. Roxanne Lofredi, a prominent researcher investigating movement disorders and deep brain stimulat...
#65: Jim McNasby - Transforming Lives with DBS and Advocacy in Parkinson's Disease
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stimulating Brains, we're thrilled to have Jim McNasby join us. Jim is a deep brain stimulation (DBS) patient and the Chief Counse...
#64: Balint Varkuti – Making Use of Side-Effects: Redefining Brain Computer Interfaces with Ceregate
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Bálint Várkuti, a distinguished expert in the field of neuromodulation. Dr. Várkuti is the founder...
#63: Mark McAuley & Susan Boehnke – Patient-led Research, Patient-Centered Care and Neuroscience Education
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we have the pleasure of hosting Mark McAuley, a deep brain stimulation (DBS) patient and the CEO of Astronomy Australia Limited, and ...
#62: Daniela Popa & Clement Lena – Unlocking the Cerebellum: From Dyskinesia to Fear Extinction
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we dive deep into two groundbreaking studies led by Daniela and Clément. We explore their 2022 Nature Communications paper on u...
#61: Shan Siddiqi – Bringing Human Brain Connectomics to Clinical Practice in Psychiatry
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I was able to talk to Dr. Shan Siddiqi, who is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a researcher at the...
#60: Nanthia Suthana – Pushing Boundaries: Memory Enhancement, Virtual Reality, and Trauma Therapy in Neuroscience
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Suthana, a leading neuroscientist from UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and the Jane & Terry Semel In...
#59: Milad Girgis – 25 Years of Progress: Evolution and Innovation in Neuromodulation Devices
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a fourth installment of this podcast into key industry leaders in neuromodulation, this is our conversation with Milad Girgis, who is the VP and Ge...
#58: Ali Rezai – Long lasting Effects of Focused Ultrasound for Addiction
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we have an insightful conversation with Dr. Ali Rezai, who is the Associate Dean of Neuroscience at West Virginia University (WVU) an...
#57: Mallory Hacker & David Charles – Could DBS be slowing motor progression if applied very early?
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mallory Hacker is an Assistant Professor for Neurology in the team of David Charles, who is Professor of Neurology, Vice-Chair for Business Developmen...
#56: Harith Akram – Connectomic DBS, Sweetspots and Building a Supercomputer
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Harith Akram is the consultant neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (UCLH) and the Unit of Functional Neurosurgery (UC...
#55: Jens Volkmann – Image Guidance, Disease Modification and why there may be no ‘sweetspot’ for DBS.
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jens Volkmann is a Professor and the chair of Neurology at University Hospital Würzburg in Germany and one of the key DBS experts in the field. I hav...
#54: Phil Starr – Using cortical signals to guide DBS, how lesions may produce brain signals and open collaborations in the field.
23 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Phil Starr is a Professor of Neurological Surgery at University of California, San Francisco and a developer of implantable brain devices. At UCSF,...
#53: Mark Hallett – Putting Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on the map.
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Mark Hallett is arguably the person that put transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on the map. Besides that, he is an authority in the field of ...
#52: Amaza Reitmeier – Changing lives at scale with Deep Brain Stimulation
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In our ongoing exploration of the DBS ecosystem through the lens of key industry leaders, below is our conversaion with Amaza Reitmeier who is the Vic...
#51: Alfonso Fasano & Benjamin Stecher – A Unique Collaboration Between a Patient and his Doctor
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this very special episode, we are thrilled to welcome back Ben Stecher, marking his remarkable third appearance on StimBrains (you can find him pre...
#50: Andreas Horn – Toward Connectomic Deep Brain Stimulation
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When I interviewed Marwan Hariz for episode #4, he wrote in an email: "When you finish the series and all interviews, please let me know because ...
#49: Dora Hermes & Kai Miller – Discovering the secrets of invasive stimulation signal recording.
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dora Hermes and Kai Miller are associate professors at Mayo Clinic, where they have become a powerhouse on neuroscience, due to their strong collabora...
#48: Binith Cheeran: From Clinical Neurology to Industry Leader
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In our ongoing exploration of the DBS ecosystem throughout the podcast, we've engaged with leading voices in academia, clinical practice, and the ...
#47: Marwan Hariz & Joachim Krauss – Toward a third wave of pallidotomies?
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Marwan Hariz and Joachim Krauss need no introduction. First, because they are famous, and second, because they have been on the show, before. In fact,...
#46: Todd Langevin – Establishing Deep Brain Stimulation - the industry perspective
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
So far, in the podcast, I have been interviewing key opinion leaders from academia and clinical practice, and sometimes individual patients that graci...
#45: Mac Shine and Paul Cisek - Exploring the evolution, integration and complexities of the brain: basal ganglia, dopamine, and beyond
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode of Stimulating Brains, we dive deep into the intricacies of the human brain with two esteemed guests, Mac Shine from Sydney Un...
#44 Jennifer Thomas & Michael Stanley - The creative spark: Switching on the inner artist in the face of Parkinson's Disease
24 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation with Jennifer ('Niffy') Thomas and Dr. Michael Stanley, we talk about how Niffy became an artist after undergoing DBS sur...
#43 Vanessa Milanese - Bridging Anatomy and Neurosurgery: A Deep Dive into White Matter Dissections and Legacy of Dr. Al Rhoton
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation with Dr. Vanessa Milanese, we cover the importance of anatomy in neurosurgery and explore her intriguing work in both fields – ...
#42: Kullervo Hynynen – A conversation with the inventor of MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Kullervo Hynynen, a key figure in biomedical ultrasound and image-guided therapeutics. Starting from his academi...
#41: Christelle Baunez – The role of the subthalamic nucleus in brain stimulation
07 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this intriguing dialogue with Dr. Christelle Baunez, a neurobiologist at Aix-Marseille University, we discuss a mysterious and small structure, the...
#40: Casey Halpern – Novel indications and approaches to invasive neuromodulation and neuroscience
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this engaging conversation with Casey Halpern, a functional neurosurgeon at Penn Medicine. Casey is a pioneer in both deep brain stimulation and fo...
#39: Nico Dosenbach – A BOLD Challenge to Penfield’s Homunculus based on resting-state fMRI
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this engaging conversation with Dr. Nico Dosenbach, a clinician-scientist at Washington University, we dive into his personal journey from the Blac...
#38: Espen Dietrichs – about Carl Sem-Jacobsen, the true inventor of subthalamic DBS in Norway
10 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation with Espen Dietrichs, we talk about the work of Carl Wilhelm Sem-Jacobsen, who almost certainly applied deep brain stimulation to...
#37: Jon Nelson – DBS for Depression saved my life: Defying Stigma in Mental Health
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this compelling episode we delve into the inspiring story of Jon Nelson, a remarkable individual who has braved the depths of mental illness and em...
#36: Béchir Jarraya & Jordy Tasserie – Unlocking Consciousness: Neuromodulation, Neurofeedback, and the Future of Brain Science
06 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we delve into the groundbreaking work of the Neuromodulation Lab at the NeuroSpin center, led by Dr. Béchir Jarraya. The lab’s mis...
#35: Mark Richardson – Surfing the Frontiers of Functional Neurosurgery: From Brain Modulation to Patient Engagement
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we interviewed Dr. Mark Richardson, an expert in functional neurosurgery and the Director of the Brain Modulation Lab at MGH Neurosur...
#34: Charles Jennings – From Graduate School to Founding Editor of Nature Neuroscience and Beyond
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Charles Jennings, an accomplished scientist and leader in the field of neuroscience. As the Executive Directo...
#33: Joachim Krauss, Marwan Hariz, & Christian Moll – The History of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery and Serendipity
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for an illuminating conversation with Drs. Joachim Krauss, Marwan Hariz, and Christian Moll, as we delve into the history of Stereotactic and ...
#32: Philip Mosley – Neuropsychiatric network effects of DBS in Parkinson's and OCD
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was my great pleasure to talk with Philip Mosley, who is one of the most experienced neuropsychiatrists working with DBS and published seminal work...
#31: Veerle Visser-Vandewalle – Operating on the first neuropsychiatric DBS case in the modern era
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was my great pleasure to talk with Veerle Visser-Vandewalle, who is the Head of the Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at Unive...
#30: Suzanne Haber – Anatomists, an endangered species & their importance for DBS
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was my great honor to talk with Suzanne Haber about the importance of anatomy in neurosurgery and neuromodulation as a whole. Among many other topi...
#29: Mike Fox – Finding Therapeutic Treatment Targets using Causal Brain Connectomics
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Fox leads the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics at the Brigham & Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston. The center is uniq...
#28: Marie Krüger – Segmented Contacts & DBS for Dental Pain
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was my great pleasure to talk with Marie Krüger, who is currently leading the stereotactic surgery unit in St. Gallen but is on her move to join t...
#27: Joshua Gordon – Neuromodulation from genes to cells to circuits to behavior
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of five adults in the United States suffers from a diagnosable mental illness at any one point in time. The burden of psychiatric diseases is mass...
#26: Nolan Williams – A Noninvasive Neuromodulation Revolution?
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was my great pleasure to talk with Nolan Williams, who is the mind behind the Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT) ...
#25: Michael Okun & Kelly Foote – DBS Think Tank, Connectedness, Closed-Loop & Tic-Detectors
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The tenth DBS Think Tank is about to happen in Gainesville, Florida next month – so it's timely to talk with the masterminds behind it: Michael Okun...
#24: Aryn Gittis – Optogenetically inspired DBS for Parkinson's Disease
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Following a fascinating talk Aryn gave at OptoDBS 2022, we talk about her work on optogenetically inspired deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's Dise...
#23: Anne Young – Basal Ganglia Circuitry, Glutamate & Leadership
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I had the tremendous honor of speaking with Anne Young about the many highlights of her career, including key evidence that establish...
#22: Mahlon DeLong – The Basal Ganglia in Health & Disease
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I had the great pleasure of speaking with Mahlon DeLong about the past and future of our field, the most influential model of the bas...
#21: Aysegul Gunduz – Engineering in DBS, closed loop & brain sensing
02 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Aysegul Gunduz & Julian Neumann speak about Ayse's exciting work on closed-loop DBS in tremor, their tic-detector, and thriving a...
#20: Christian Lüscher – OptoDBS and how we bring back the neuron into neurology
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I had the honor to speak with Christian Lüscher about his exciting work on neuromodulation in addiction as well as the upcoming OptoD...
#19: Sameer Sheth – Neuromodulation for Psychiatry – the last frontier?
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I had the honor to speak with Sameer Sheth about recent advances in deep brain stimulation for psychiatric indications. We focus on tw...
#18: Jeffrey Hausdorff – The Present and Future of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation in Aging and Parkinson’s disease Research
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this guest episode, Jeffrey Hausdorff and Nathan Morelli speak about transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), its mechanisms of action, curr...
#17: Hagai Bergman – The Hidden Life of the Basal Ganglia: At the Base of the Brain and Mind
19 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Hagai Bergman and I talk about his new book, The Hidden Life of the Basal Ganglia: At the Base of Brain and Mind. We cover some of th...
#16: Julian Neumann – Machine-Learning for adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Julian Neumann and I talk about his research toward adaptive deep brain stimulation. Julian has recorded local field potentials from ...
#15: Peter Snyder about Jose Delgado: Remote-controlling the brain
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Peter Snyder and I talk about Jose Delgado, one of the inventors of deep brain stimulation. Peter's father, Dr. Daniel R. Snyder...
#14: Benjamin Stecher & Alberto Espay – Challenging "brain fables" about neurodegenerative diseases
23 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You have met Ben Stecher in episode #12 already – today we follow up on his very own account of deep brain stimulation after Ben has now lived with ...
#13: Mark Humphries – Basal Ganglia Models, Highs and Lows in the Brain and… how does DBS work?
25 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It was a tremendous privilege to pick Mark Humphrey's brain who has insight about broad domains of the brain like few others. His new book The Spike: ...
#12: Benjamin Stecher – A personal account of Parkinson's and Deep Brain Stimulation
14 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Benjamin Stecher is doing impressive work in is role a scientific writer and patient advocate. He co-authored the book “Brain Fables” together wit...
#11: Katrin Amunts – A modern take on human brain anatomy and its relevance to DBS
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Katrin Amunts is the Scientific Research Director of the Human Brain Project and leads two centers at Forschungszentrum Jülich and the University Hos...
#10: Cameron McIntyre – Pushing the frontier of biophysically plausible DBS models
28 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cameron McIntyre and I talk about biophysically plausible deep brain stimulation models that his laboratory has established and continues to refine si...
#9: Mac Shine – A thalamus-centric view of basal ganglia, cerebellar and cortical interactions
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mac Shine and I talk about Mac's recent intriguing opinion paper that may have radical implications for systems and clinical neuroscience. In it, the ...
#8: Mojgan Hodaie – Connectivity aided targeting in neuromodulation for neuropathic pain
04 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this guest episode, Luka Milosevic talks with Mojgan Hodaie about the neuromodulation for neuropathic pain, how serendipity may lead to a whole nov...
#7: Patricia Limousin – Subthalamic Nucleus Stimulation: From Parkinson's Disease to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
21 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk with Patricia Limousin about the early days of DBS in the modern era to the current day and about what the future may hold. B...
#6: Lone Frank – Robert Heath, the forgotten inventor of Deep Brain Stimulation
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Lone Frank shares insight about her book “The Pleasure Shock: The Rise of Deep Brain Stimulation and Its Forgotten Inventor” in w...
#5: Günther Deuschl – On the importance of transforming Deep Brain Stimulation to evidence based medicine
22 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Günther Deuschl shares insight about his life in neurology and the endeavors to transform deep brain stimulation for movement disord...
#4 Pierre Pollak – How modern-day Deep Brain Stimulation for movement disorders was introduced in Grenoble
05 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Pierre Pollak shares insight about his life in neurology, music and sports and how he introduced modern-day deep brain stimulation fo...
#3: Marwan Hariz – a strong role for imaging and being critical in the field of DBS
14 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Marwan Hariz shares insight about why imaging is both the past and the future for deep brain stimulation, how its role of being the “...
#2 Helen Mayberg – Deep Brain Stimulation for Major Depression
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Helen Mayberg shares the experience made when the first major depression patient received deep brain stimulation electrodes, some ane...
#1: Christian Moll – from Wernicke to Functional Neurosurgery and Back
24 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The German submarine sunk a ship that was carrying Freeman and Watts' handbook to Europe, leading to a delayed start of psychosurgery in Germany. Infl...