Is Academia Truly Diverse? | Challenges in Academia with Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt

Sleep, Psyche, and the Buddhist Mind | Dr. Tony Fernando

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2073440/fan_mail/new] What is sleep really? Why do we overthink? And why do so many people struggle to find peace in modern life? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, I speak with Dr. Tony Fernando - psychiatrist, sleep physician, and author of Life Hacks from the Buddha. We explore the neuroscience of sleep, including REM and non-REM sleep, circadian rhythms, insomnia, sleep anxiety, shift work, jet lag, and how stress affects sleep quality. But this conversation goes far beyond sleep science. Drawing from psychiatry, neuroscience, and Buddhist philosophy, Dr. Fernando shares practical insights on overthinking, mindfulness, suffering, compassion, technology, human connection, and the modern search for meaning. We also discuss: * Why thoughts are often unreliable * How Technology Hijacks Attention * Mindfulness and meditation * The difference between needs and wants * What dying patients taught him about life This is a conversation about sleep, psychology, the mind, and what it means to live well in a chaotic world. Guest: Dr. Tony Fernando Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content. 🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond [https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond]   🔗Link to the video: https://youtu.be/kKBGTew8JGs #Sleep #Neuroscience #Psychology #Mindfulness #Buddhism #MentalHealth #Insomnia #Meditation #Podcast

Building a Better Future for Science | Challenges in Academia with Prof. Tiago F. Outeiro

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2073440/fan_mail/new] Are we evaluating scientists in the wrong way? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, Prof. Dr. Tiago Outeiro discusses some of the biggest challenges facing science: 🔬 Too many researchers competing for too few positions 📉 Pressure to publish and overreliance on impact factors 🤝 The urgent need for more staff scientists and stable research careers ⚖️ Burnout, work-life balance, and changing academic culture 🚀 How AI and new technologies may reshape scientific research “We need to work together from the top to the bottom, from the bottom to the top to try to change things.” Prof. Dr. Tiago Fleming Outeiro is Professor of Aggregopathies and Director of the Department of Experimental Neurodegeneration at the University Medical Center Göttingen. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s disease, with the goal of developing new therapeutic approaches. To learn more about his research, watch our episode on Parkinson’s Disease: Early Diagnostics and the Future of Treatment: https://youtu.be/dFmhmOv75q0?si=GcQ1UsTGYSpcDnMV [https://youtu.be/dFmhmOv75q0?si=GcQ1UsTGYSpcDnMV]  Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content and honest conversations about academic life. #Academia #Science #Research #PhD #Postdoc #Neuroscience #Parkinsons #Alzheimers #AcademicLife #Scientists #STEM #ResearchCulture #AI #Podcast #NeuroscienceAndBeyond Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286 Neuroscience and Beyond team: Svilen Georgiev Kristina Jevdokimenko Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı Laura van Agen

From Pixels to Perception: Vision, Memory, Mood and Brain Disease Cures | Prof. Nicole Rust

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2073440/fan_mail/new] Your eyes don't see the world; your brain constructs it. But how, and what does it miss along the way? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Prof. Nicole Rust, Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, whose research combines behavioral experiments, #neural recordings, and #computational models to understand how we see, remember, and experience the world.  Recently, she decided to embark on a new journey and apply her expertise to study the neuroscience of mood.  We explore how the brain transforms raw light into meaningful #perception, from the #retina through a hierarchy of visual areas all the way to object recognition in the inferotemporal cortex. We discuss how #attention shapes what enters #memory, why humans can recognize thousands of images seen only once, and why mood remains one of the hardest problems in neuroscience.  The conversation also unpacks the central argument of her book, Elusive Cures: that treating conditions like depression will require abandoning the "broken domino" model of disease and embracing the brain as a complex dynamical system. In this episode, you'll learn: * How the #brain transforms light into perception * Why attention acts as a filter and why we miss more than we think * How the brain stores thousands of images with striking detail after just a single viewing * Why we still cannot look at a brain and determine what mood is  * What hinders us from developing more treatments for brain disorders  * Why we should see the brain as a complex dynamical system  Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content. 🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond [https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond] Timestamps: 00:00 How the Brain Processes Visual Information 04:03 Object & Face Recognition 07:07 How Attention Filters What We See 09:57 Visual Memory: How the Brain Stores Thousands of Images 14:38 Memory, Imagination, and Emotion 19:00 The Jennifer Aniston Neuron 25:45 How the Visual System Inspired AI 30:00 How Prof. Rust Moved from Vision to Mood Research 39:00 Measuring Mood in the Brain 43:33 How Mood Shapes Behavior and Decision-Making 49:30 Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn't Cured the Brain 52:50 The "Broken Domino" Model and Why It Has Failed Us 56:14 The Brain as a Complex Dynamical System 01:01:20 Who Should Set the Research Agenda? 01:06:04 Depression, Society, and the Limits of Biology 01:09:59 How to Study the Brain as a Complex System 01:12:20 Aging, Sleep, and Brain Balance 01:18:10 The Take-Home Message from Elusive Cures 01:19:30 Consciousness: The Hard Problem and What Neuroscience Can Offer #Neuroscience #VisualNeuroscience #Memory #Perception #MoodNeuroscience #Depression #BrainHealth #ElusiveCures #ComplexSystems  #BrainResearch  #ScienceCommunication #BrainHealthMatters #NeuroscienceAndBeyond Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286 Neuroscience and Beyond team: Svilen Georgiev Kristina Jevdokimenko Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı Laura van Agen

Is Academia Truly Diverse? | Challenges in Academia with Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2073440/fan_mail/new] Does international representation automatically mean #diversity in academia? In this episode, Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt reflects on what diversity in science truly means, going beyond background to include different ways of thinking, working, and collaborating. We talked about: * Why diversity is more than international representation * The importance of different thinking styles in science * Why interdisciplinary research is still difficult to achieve * The role of trust and open collaboration in successful labs Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content and honest conversations about academic life. 🔗 Link to the full video: https://youtu.be/cL85_Zp_0C0  #academic #challenges #academia #science #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #PhDLife  Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286 Neuroscience and Beyond team: Svilen Georgiev Kristina Jevdokimenko Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı Laura van Agen

Parkinson’s Disease: Early Diagnostics and the Future of Treatment | Prof. Tiago Outeiro

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2073440/fan_mail/new] Can Parkinson’s be detected years before symptoms appear, and can we slow it down early? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Prof. Tiago Outeiro about the future of Parkinson’s research, from early diagnosis to prevention and emerging treatments. We explore how misfolded proteins like alpha-synuclein spread silently through the nervous system, and how early signals - such as REM sleep disturbances - may reveal the disease long before clinical symptoms. The conversation also covers advances in biomarker technologies and new therapeutic strategies targeting protein aggregation, metabolism, and cellular clearance, highlighting where the field is making real progress today. In this episode, you’ll learn: * How alpha-synuclein aggregation drives neurodegeneration * Early warning signs like REM sleep behavior disorder * How biomarkers may detect Parkinson’s before symptoms * Why exercise is currently the most effective intervention * The role of metabolism, lipids, and protein clearance * New therapies: antibodies, GLP-1 drugs, and beyond * Why early diagnosis is key to successful treatment Watch the episode to learn how Parkinson’s could be detected earlier and treated more effectively, and if you want to go deeper into the basics, check out our Episode 5 with Prof. Tiago Outeiro. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content. 🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond [https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond]   🔗Link to Episode5 withTiago Outeiro: https://youtu.be/UF4h07lml0M?si=78j0MwHFKiWuCcUI [https://youtu.be/UF4h07lml0M?si=78j0MwHFKiWuCcUI]  Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction & Why Parkinson’s Detection Must Happen Earlier 00:01:10 What Is Alpha-Synuclein and Why It Matters 00:09:00 Where Does Alpha-Synuclein Accumulate in the Brain and Body? 00:16:30 Who Is at Risk? Genetics, Sleep Disorders & Early Warning Signs 00:20:10 Preclinical Symptoms: Loss of Smell, Constipation & Depression 00:27:00 Environmental Risk Factors: Pesticides & Neurotoxins Explained 00:33:10 Can Parkinson’s Be Prevented? Current Strategies & Limitations 00:34:00 Why Exercise Is the Most Effective Disease-Modifying Treatment 00:36:00 Monoclonal Antibodies: Do They Work for Parkinson’s? 00:38:00 GLP-1 Drugs & Metabolic Therapies 00:41:00 What Type of Exercise Actually Helps the Brain? 00:45:20 Why Combination Therapies Are So Difficult to Develop 00:49:00 Why Early Detection Is Critical for Successful Treatment 00:50:10 What Are Biomarkers? Understanding Early Diagnosis Tools 00:56:00 Future of Diagnostics 01:05:40 Lipids, Metabolism & the Hidden Drivers of Neurodegeneration 01:08:40 Where Should Research Focus Next? 01:14:30 Advice for Young Scientists & Clinicians #Neuroscience #Neurodegeneration #Parkinsons #Alzheimers #Synuclein #BrainHealth #ProteinAggregation #Biomarkers #Neurobiology #Exercise #BrainHealthMatters #HealthyAging #NeuroProtection Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286 Neuroscience and Beyond team: Svilen Georgiev Kristina Jevdokimenko Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı Laura van Agen