Brain Matters

Latest Episodes:

But Always See First with Dr. Roderick MacKinnon Jan 09, 2019

Show notes

On this episode, Anthony spoke to Dr. Roderick MacKinnon (Professor, Rockefeller University, HHMI) about ion channels, studying what fascinates you, and the importance of thinking childishly.

The music on today's episode was by The Caretaker: thecaretaker.bandcamp.com

Being Romantic and Practical with Dr. Richard Tsien May 22, 2018

Show notes

On this episode, Matt spoke to Dr. Richard Tsien (Professor & Chair, New York University). Dr. Tsien has a diverse career, contributing many important findings to the field of cellular and molecular neuroscience, with a primary focus on understanding how the brain meets the demands to process information. Matt delved primarily into Dr. Tsien's path to becoming a scientist, and his advice for anyone interested in becoming a neuroscientist.

The music on today's episode was by Robby. Check out their music at listentorobby.bandcamp.com

Barflies: Alcohol and Fly Genetics with Dr. Fred Wolf Dec 26, 2017

Show notes

On this (50th!) episode of Brain Matters, Anthony talks to Dr. Fred Wolf (Assistant Professor, UC Merced). Dr. Wolf is interested in how alcohol and other drugs of abuse change our genes when we take them. Using the fruit fly as a model organism, he is able to use powerful techniques to delve into the complex relationship between drugs, genes, and behavior.

Dr. Wolf helps run his own biology podcast, RadioBio, with graduate students at UC Merced. Check it out at radiobio.net

The music on today's podcast was by koleżanka. Go check out and buy their music at kolezanka.bandcamp.com

Alzheimer's and C. elegans with Dr. Jon Pierce Apr 19, 2017

Show notes

On this episode of Brain Matters, we talked with Dr. Jon Pierce (University of Texas at Austin). Jon uses to C. elegans to study Alzheimer's, Down Syndrome, alcoholism, and more.

Jon is currently raising money to fund undergraduate research and engagement in his lab. You can find more information at: https://hornraiser.utexas.edu/project/5559

This episode was brought to you by Maze Engineers. To get 10% off your quote visit: https://hornraiser.utexas.edu/project/5559. Thanks to Bridget and Brian for their awesome maze ideas!

Space and Time with Dr. Mayank Mehta Mar 07, 2017

Show notes

On this episode of Brain Matters, Matt and Mayank Mehta (Professor, UCLA) talk about how rodents and human perceive space and time. Mayank has always been obsessed with time and merges physics and neuroscience to understand how the brain deals with these abstract concepts.

This episode was brought to you by Maze Engineers. Get 10% off your quote by visiting mazeengineers.com/brainmatters and enter the offer code: brain. They have some incredible mazes and other neuroscience goodies so check them out.

Becoming a Curious Scientist with Dr. André Fenton Feb 13, 2017

Show notes

What's the most important thing about being a scientist? According to Dr. André Fenton: Curiosity. Anthony and André talked about how André tinkered his way to researching learning and memory at NYU.

The Nature of Nature (and the brain too) with Dr. David McCormick Jan 30, 2017

Show notes

This week on Brain Matters, Matt and Dr. David McCormick (Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, Yale) start off 2017 right. On this episode you'll get a quick briefing on the early history of neuroscience, information about Frankenstein's monster, a look at neural circuits, and perspective from the Buddhist Monks of Tibet. You're gonna want your cochleas ready for this one.

David mentioned a ton of people and books. Here's a list in case you wanna dive in.

Major Figures in the Early History of Neuroscience:

Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini, René Descartes, Jan Swammerdam, Alessandro Volta, Emil de Bois-Reymond

Texts David Referenced:

1. Animal Electricity (Galvani, 1791)

2. Essay on Galvanism: "Précis des expériences galvaniques faites récemment à Londres et à Calais" (Aldini, 1803)

3. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1818)

4. The Cerebellum as a Neuronal Machine (Eccles, 1967)

Further Reading (if you're into it like we are):

1. Early History of Neuroscience, Charles Gross

2. Giovanni Aldini: From Animal Electricity to Human Brain Stimulation, André Parent

3. History of Psychology, Ideas and Context (Chapter 8) King et al.

We partnered with Wiley Neuroscience on this one. Follow them on twitter at @neuroscience. Shout out to their team for getting the twitter handle coveted most by neuroscientists.

The music on this episode was by Noveller. The first track was "Trails and Trials" from the soon to be released album "A Pink Sunset for Noone", the second track was "Rubicon" from the Fantastic Planet LP. Go check out and purchase her music at noveller.bandcamp.com, or at her current label, FireRecords.com

Engineering the Brain with Dr. Caleb Kemere Dec 12, 2016

Show notes

On this episode of Brain Matters, Anthony and Caleb Kemere (Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University) talk about Caleb's path to studying real time neural engineering.

Bonus - SfN 2016 Nov 13, 2016

Show notes

The Brain Matters team will be at the 2016 Society for Neuroscience convention in San Diego. Come say hey! We also got some exciting news - Brain Matters is now officially award-winning and Science-approved!

Neurons, Mitochondria, and Human Evolution with Dr. Franck Polleux Oct 13, 2016

Show notes

On this episode of Brain Matters, Matt and Dr. Franck Polleux (Professor, Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University and the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute) cover a lot of ground. Franck talks about his work as a graduate student and the topics his lab is working on now. The Polleux lab is studying topics like neural progeneration, mitochondria in dendrites of neurons, and what makes the human brain special. This is an episode you won't want to miss.

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