STEM-Talk

Today we have Dr. Scott Sherr, an internal medicine physician who specializes in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Scott is the director of Integrative Hyperbaric Medicine and Heath Optimization at Hyperbaric Medical Solutions. It is a division of Hyperbaric Medical Solutions, an independent, hyperbaric oxygen therapy provider that aims to educate people about the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy via telemedicine consulting. He also is COO of Troscriptions, which provides physician-formulated products including popular methylene blue products.

In today’s interview, Scott talks about how he uses Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) to treat a number of health conditions. He also shares how he incorporates methylene blue into some of his treatment strategies and explains how HBOT is now being used as a complementary treatment for autoimmune diseases by helping reduce inflammation, improve blood flow and support immune function.

Show notes:

[00:03:29] Dawn tells Scott that she heard a story that Scott had his spine adjusted when he was just five minutes old.  She asks Scott if he can share what happened.

[00:04:15] Dawn mentions that Scott grew up in New York on Long Island and that as a child he spent a lot of time at his father’s chiropractic office. Dawn asks Scott about his father and his practice.

[00:05:38] Ken notes that Scott was into sports as a kid and asks him to talk about his childhood and what he was like as a kid.

[00:07:09] Dawn notes that after high school, Scott left New York for the West Coast, landing at UCLA. Dawn asks Scott to talk about what led him there.

[00:08:00] Dawn explains that Scott initially started to major in biology but quickly changed majors. Scott explains why he changed majors.

[00:08:41] Dawn asks Scott why he chose to attend the University of Maryland for medical school after graduating from UCLA.

[00:09:26] Dawn asks Scott about the story of how he met his wife at the University of Maryland.

[00:09:50] Dawn pivots back to Scott’s love of music, mentioning that Scott and three other medical school students at Maryland formed a band called The Airport Rocking Chairs. Scott describes how the band came together and how they performed at gigs around the Baltimore/D.C. area.

[00:11:16] Ken asks Scott to talk about how his early ambition upon entering medical school was to find a way to bridge the gap between conventional and alternative/chiropractic medicine.

[00:12:54] Ken explains that in Scott’s third year of medical school, he did rotations at the University Shock and Trauma Facility. Ken asks Scott to talk about why this was such an important experience for Scott.

[00:14:32] Dawn explains that hyperbaric chambers are used to treat injuries like necrotizing fasciitis and severe wounds. Dawn asks Scott to talk about finding a hyperbaric chamber in the basement of the University Shock and Trauma Facility and how that led to his fascination with the potential for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

[00:15:51] Dawn asks Scott to talk about how his initial research on hyperbaric therapies led him to conclude that they were being vastly underutilized in conventional medicine.

[00:16:31] Dawn mentions that people are likely familiar with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in terms of treating divers suffering from decompression sickness. She asks Scott to give a primer on the mechanisms by which HBOT affects the body and why it has potential to treat other conditions besides decompression sickness.

[00:19:38] Ken asks Scott to talk more about other conditions, both acute and chronic, that HBOT might be helpful in treating.

[00:22:51] Dawn asks about Scott’s experience as a hospitalist, which is an internal medicine physician who acts as a primary care physician in a hospital, and how this experience gave him a unique perspective on the strengths and limitations of modern medicine.

[00:25:13] Ken asks Scott if it’s fair to say that his experience as a hospitalist was foundational in developing his understanding of patient care and healthspan.

[00:26:51] Dawn explains that when Scott’s wife received a fellowship at Stanford University, Scott eventually left his career as a hospitalist to serve as the medical director for a hyperbaric medicine facility in the San Francisco Bay area. Dawn asks Scott to talk about how this experience deepened his understanding and expertise in hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

[00:28:26] Ken asks Scott to talk about his relationship with Dominic D’Agostino, who was our recent guest on STEM-Talk episode 196, and who is very active in the field of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

[00:30:48] Dawn mentions that during Scott’s work as a hospitalist, he began to develop a more integrated approach to hyperbaric medicine, taking nutritional status, sleep patterns, mitochondrial function, and a number of other factors into consideration. Doing this work, Scott noticed that a number of patients would require weeks or months of preparation before beginning HBOT, contrary to the status quo of the time. Dawn asks Scott to talk about his insights and how this experience changed his views on medicine.

[00:33:19] Dawn asks Scott to talk about the evolution of his work in developing an integrative hyperbaric medicine model and how he caught the attention of HBOT practitioners around the world.

[00:35:21] Ken notes that interest in hyperbaric oxygen therapy has grown substantially in the last 20 years and goes on to mention that a particularly promising application of HBOT is as a complementary treatment for autoimmune diseases, being shown to reduce inflammation, improve blood flow and support immune function. Ken asks Scott to talk in depth about HBOT in the context of autoimmune disease treatment.

[00:39:13] Following up on Scott’s mention of epigenetic changes following HBOT, Ken asks if this has been directly measured and if so, how long are these changes sustained.

[00:41:14] Dawn asks Scott about the potential for HBOT to be used for athletes looking to speed up their recovery times from injuries.

[00:43:19] Dawn asks Scott if there are certain populations who should avoid HBOT.

[00:46:27] In order to optimize HBOT, Dawn explains that Scott works with people to tailor their treatment to their individual needs and asks Scott to walk listeners through how this process works in practice.

[00:50:00] Ken notes that most HBOT studies describe dosages of HBOT in terms of oxygen concentration, oxygen pressure and number of sessions. He asks Scott how he defines a “dose” biologically and what metrics he uses to tell whether a patient has received enough treatment to induce durable change?

[00:53:40] Ken asks Scott if his experience treating patients has informed him on different characteristics that can predict whether a patient will have a robust response to HBOT.

[00:56:01] Dawn mentions that the benefits of HBOT are often explained in terms of either improved oxygen delivery or improved mitochondrial signaling and neuroplasticity. Dawn asks Scott what mechanisms are most important in the context of chronic neurological disease.

[00:58:04] Dawn asks Scott for his thoughts on the hyperoxic-hypoxic paradox (HHP) as an explanation of HBOT-induced adaptation.

[01:00:28] Ken asks Scott if he could only measure three variables before and after HBOT treatment, what would they be.

[01:03:43] Ken goes on to asks Scott what he sees as the most important unanswered question in HBOT today.

[01:06:22] Dawn mentions that in 2017 Scott met Dr. Ted Achacoso, who is the founder of Health Optimization Medicine. Dawn asks Scott to explain how Ted introduced him to a fundamentally different framework for understanding health.

[01:10:08] Circling back to the topic of bridging the gap between conventional and alternative medicine, Dawn mentions that Scott has become part of a practice that isn’t afraid to tap into therapies that break from conventional medicine. As an example, Dawn explains that Scott sometimes integrates psychedelic therapy with HBOT. Dawn asks Scott to talk about the framework he uses, combining HBOT with psychedelic therapy.

[01:13:56] Ken mentions that Scott also incorporates methylene blue into some of his treatment strategies, Ken directs listeners interested in learning more about how methylene blue can improve cognitive function and energy production to listen to STEM-Talk episode 191 with Francisco Gonzalez-Lima. Ken asks Scott to talk about his use of methylene blue in his practice.

[01:20:15] Dawn asks Scott where people can go to learn more about him and his practice.

[01:22:33] Ken asks Scott if he has any new projects looming on the horizon.

[01:23:54] Dawn closes our interview with Scott by asking if he still plays guitar and if his old band The Airport Rocking Chairs have any plans for a reunion.

Links:

Scott Sherr bio

Learn more about IHMC

STEM-Talk homepage

Ken Ford bio

Ken Ford Wikipedia page

Dawn Kernagis bio

 

Today we have Dr. Dominic D’Agostino, who over the past 10 years has been a frequent guest on STEM-Talk. Today Dom joins us to give us an update on his recent research into ketogenic metabolic therapies, ketone supplements as well as hyperbaric oxygen therapy for traumatic brain injuries. Dom and his lab at the University of South Florida have published more than 20 papers since his last appearance on STEM-Talk in 2023.

Dom is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine. Dom has a background in neuroscience, molecular pharmacology, nutrition and physiology.

In addition to developing and testing metabolic-based therapies, Dom’s lab also investigates seizure disorders, brain cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and rare genetic-metabolic disorders.

Show notes:

[00:03:28] Dawn welcomes Dom back to the show and explaining that he has been quite busy since his last appearance, authoring or co-authoring more than 20 papers. Over the past several years, Dom has been helping to advance the science and application of ketogenic metabolic therapy (KMT) with colleagues at Moffitt Cancer Center, particularly focusing on using KMT to enhance immune-based therapies for certain types of cancers. Dawn asks Dom about this collaboration.

[00:05:04] Dawn explains that ketogenic metabolic therapy is a dietary approach that focuses on a high-fat/low-carb diet to reduce glucose availability for cancer cells, potentially slowing their growth and improving treatment outcomes. It has been explored as a complimentary treatment for a variety of cancers including gliomas by shifting the metabolism of tumor cells away from glucose. Dawn asks Dom to explain what is involved in KMT.

[00:06:58] Dawn clarifies that KMT requires less than 20-25 grams of carbohydrates per day, and that ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body switches from glucose metabolism to metabolizing fats in the form of ketones. Dawn goes on to explain that cancer cells typically consume glucose at a higher rate than normal cells. However, cancer cells are also very adaptable, and Dawn asks Dom to talk about this feature of cancer cells.

[00:09:14] Ken explains that KMT has shown the most promise in treating high-grade gliomas, or brain cancers, such as glioblastoma, which is the most aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Ken explains that Dom was part of a massive review titled “Clinical research framework proposal for ketogenic metabolic therapy in glioblastoma,” which proposed guidelines for the management of glioblastoma based on an understanding of cancer as a metabolic disease, particularly involving mitochondria. Ken asks Dom to talk about this review.

[00:11:21] From a patient advocacy perspective, Ken notes that the review recommends that there should be an aggressive education campaign that can arm patients with knowledge about KMT and other novel therapies. Ken asks Dom to talk about that recommendation.

[00:13:15] Ken asks about the process of cutting the review from upwards of 200 pages down to around 50 pages with 49 authors.

[00:15:04] Dawn mentions that Dom was part of another paper in 2024 titled “Targeting the mitochondrial stem cell connection in cancer treatment – a hybrid orthomolecular protocol.” Dawn explains that this paper looked at the mitochondrial stem cell connection theory (MSCC), which argues that cancer originates from chronic oxidative phosphorylation insufficiency in stem cells. This insufficiency leads to the formation of cancer stem cells and abnormal energy metabolism ultimately resulting in malignancy. There were 16 research centers and organizations involved in this paper which introduced a hybrid orthomolecular protocol to target the mitochondrial stem-cell connection. Dawn asks Dom to give an overview of MSCC.

[00:18:26] Dawn explains that in this paper Dom and his co-authors propose a protocol that would enhance oxidative phosphorylation and inhibit the primary fuels of cancer, glucose and glutamine. This would target both cancer stem cells and metastasis. Dawn asks Dom to explain why this concept is attracting so much interest as a potential therapeutic approach for cancer.

[00:20:48] Dawn asks if Dom could discuss the orthomolecular protocol, which is an approach that focuses on preventing and treating diseases by correcting nutritional balances in the body.

[00:24:41] Ken asks if the proposed dietary intervention in the orthomolecular approach is different from a standard or typical ketogenic diet.

[00:26:48] Ken shifts the discussion to talk about ketone supplements, explaining that Dom recently published a paper titled “Divergent hepatic outcomes of chronic ketone supplementation.” Ken goes on to explain that ketone salts preserve liver health, while some ketone esters and precursors appear to drive inflammation and steatosis. There is a lot of interest in ketone supplementation because they substantially elevate circulating ketones without having to restrict carbohydrates as strictly. The problem, as Ken explains, is that the long-term hepatic safety of ketone supplements remains unclear. In the aforementioned paper, Dom’s rodent study evaluated the formulation-dependent impact of chronic ketone supplementation on liver histopathology, inflammatory signaling and systemic biomarkers. Ken asks Dom to discuss this paper and its findings and to give an overview of the various ketone supplements currently available.

[00:30:49] Dawn asks Dom to dive into the methods and findings of the rodent study.

[00:34:36] Ken asks Dom what his confidence is in the rodent model used in this study, and what are the next step for further research.

[00:37:47] Regarding the two different doses given to rats in the study, Ken asks Dom how these doses correlate to doses in humans

[00:40:23] Ken mentions that Ben Bikman, who was our guest on episode 143, published a study in February which Dom helped co-author. It examined the effects of ketone supplements on liver function. Ken asks Dom to discuss this study.

[00:44:38] Dawn pivots to ask about a joint paper that Dom did with Andrew Koutnik, who was our guest on episode 185, on carbohydrates and physical performance titled “Carbohydrate ingestion on exercise metabolism and physical performance.” Dawn asks Dom to talk about this paper, which showed that a small amount of carbohydrates is sufficient to fuel athletic performance, and how additional carbohydrate intake showed diminishing returns.

[00:49:18] Ken follows up on the finding that endurance athletes who rely on carb loading can tend toward pre-diabetes.

[00:51:39] Ken asks Dom about the University of South Florida trial that Dom is an advisor for on traumatic brain injury and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

[00:54:41] Dawn mentions that Dom recently had an editorial in Frontiers that gave an overview of the emerging applications of hyperbaric/hyperbaric-oxygen therapy in the treatment of different neurological disorders. Dawn asks Dom what the key points in that editorial were.

[00:59:06] Dawn explains that Dom recently gave a lecture at IHMC (available to view on IHMC’s YouTube page), on traumatic brain injury and the populations at greatest risk in that context. Dawn asks Dom to give an overview of how an injury to the brain can result in neurometabolic crisis.

[01:02:53] Ken asks Dom, excluding occupation demographics, what demographic is most at risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and why.

[01:04:45] Ken mentions that it is understandable the risk that young people face with TBI due to the activities that young people engage in. Older people, however, have increased risk of TBI from falling as well as an additional age-related biological component that young people are not subject to. Ken asks Dom to elaborate on this.

[01:07:12] Dawn mentions that several years ago, Dom and his wife bought some acreage in the countryside and started farming and asks Dom how the farm life is going.

[01:07:57] Dawn closes the interview asking how Dom’s wife is doing.

Our guest today is Doug Cooke, an aerospace consultant who spent 38 years at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

 STEM-Talk host and IHMC founder Dr. Ken Ford, a former Associate Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center and Director of NASA’s Center of Excellence in Information Technology, interviewed Doug just four days after the astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following a historic 10-day roundtrip from the Earth to the Moon.

In today’s episode, Ken and Doug discuss the Artemis mission as well as NASA’s plans to return humans to the lunar surface by 2028. Doug also shares his concern that China could one day surpass America’s leadership role in human spaceflight.

During his 38 years at NASA, Doug played critical roles in the Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Human Exploration spaceflight programs. During the last three years of his NASA career, he served as Associate Administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, which oversees the development of systems critical to NASA’s plans for human exploration of the Moon and Mars, including the Artemis program.

Show notes:

[00:04:05] Ken opens our interview with Doug by talking about the Artemis II mission, which is the first crewed mission beyond low earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. Harrison Schmidtt, who was on Apollo 17, was our guest on episode 4. Ken asks Doug for his key takeaways of the Artemis II mission, which set the record for a manned mission from Earth, traveling 252,756 miles into space and breaking Apollo 13’s record.

[00:06:18] Ken explains that the Artemis missions signal a new age of space exploration as well as the beginning of a new space race between the U.S. and China. NASA aims to land humans on the Moon by 2028 while China expects to land humans on the moon in 2030. Ken has previously stated that he does not have confidence in NASA’s current mission architecture to achieve NASA’s stated goal of 2028, and asks Doug for his thoughts on the matter.

[00:07:28] Ken asks if it is true that Yuri Gagarin, who become the first human to fly into space, is what initially sparked Doug’s interest in science and space.

[00:08:54] Ken notes that Gagarin’s orbit around the earth inspired President Kennedy to vow that the United States would ramp up its space program and become the first nation to land a man on the moon. Ken mentions that he believes the Apollo 11 mission, which landed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface, was one the greatest technological advances in world history. Ken asks Doug for his thoughts on the success of the Apollo program.

[00:10:28] Ken mentions that Doug went to college at Texas A&M and majored in aerospace engineering. Kens asks Doug how he got a job at NASA after graduating.

[00:12:21] Ken explains that Doug was instrumental in the development of the space shuttle and the International Space Station during his time at NASA. Doug talks about what it was like working on those projects at NASA.

[00:15:16] Ken mentions that Doug also had an instrumental role in the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), and the broader Exploration Technology Program. Ken points out that Doug became head of the exploration technology program in 1990 under then NASA Associate Administrator Mike Griffin, who was our guest on episodes 134 and 189. Ken asks Doug about meeting Mike.

[00:16:17] Ken mentions that Mike Griffin and Lisa Porter were our guests on episode 189, where they voiced concerns about NASA’s current plans for a return to the moon. Ken goes on to mention that near the end of Doug’s career at NASA, he was the head of Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD), which is responsible for the development of systems critical to NASA’s plans for future exploration of the Moon and Mars. Ken asks Doug to talk about his role as head of the directorate and the work he did there.

[00:18:55] Ken explains that Doug has written extensively on the issues with the Artemis mission architecture, most notably in a recent article for space news. Before jumping into the article, Ken asks Doug to talk about why it is important and also a national-security concern that we return to the moon before China.

[00:21:12] Looping back to Doug’s op-ed in Space News, Ken notes that Doug stressed the need for NASA to develop a plan-B for the Artemis mission, with Doug and others noting that without a plan-B, the U.S. risks of losing the space race to the Moon. Doug has also gone on record to say that China has a far simpler, more direct, and more technically conservative plan than NASA. Ken asks Doug to elaborate on this.

[00:22:37] Ken asks Doug to talk about the issues he and others have identified with NASA’s current proposed landing system.

[00:26:14] Ken asks Doug to give a better understanding for the listeners of just how tall the proposed SpaceX lander is, and why that is a potential problem for not only landing on the moon in the proposed locations, but also for the astronauts exiting and entering.

[00:28:51] Ken asks Doug to talk about what plan-B for Artemis looks like.

[00:30:12] Ken asks Doug about the powerful thrust generation of the SpaceX lander. This raises the concern of regolith blast and generating significant debris fields while landing and thus reducing the scientific value of the region immediately surrounding the landing site.

[00:30:59] Ken asks if Doug has any other thoughts on a potential plan-B.

[00:33:02] Ken notes that the success of the mission hinges on the least proven element, namely the lander. While other elements of the mission architecture are well established, the hardest and least tested elements are normally the weakest links. Ken asks Doug’s thoughts on this position.

[00:34:31] Ken asks Doug to talk about the complexity of the Artemis mission architecture and that it is largely driven by the Lander and NASA’s requirements.  There was a high interest in re-usability which increased complexity. Neither of the two Landers under development are an optimal design for a lunar lander.

[00:35:37] Ken asks Doug about the role of commercial companies sometimes called “new space” in space exploration.

[00:37:02] Ken asks Doug if he feels discouraged by the fact that the U.S. has squandered a 60-year head start in space exploration.

[00:37:36] Ken explains that China aims to send humans to Mars by 2050, and NASA aims to do the same by 2040, while Elon Musk proposes to send humans to Mars by 2029, which Ken says is a completely untenable notion. Ken notes that statements such as that from Musk vastly understate the difficulty entailed in a Mars mission. Given that Doug was part of the early planning of a Mars mission at NASA, he asks Doug to talk about the challenges that such a mission faces.

[00:42:17] Ken and Doug discuss the problem with EDL (Entry Descent and Landing) that Mars uniquely poses.

[00:43:09] Ken also brings up the issue of crew health and wellness. By the time they reach Mars, given the extended time spent in a high-radiation, micro-gravity environment, maintaining crew health in transit is critical to mission success.

[00:43:47] Ken poses the concern that if it becomes likely that China will reach the moon before the U.S. can return, then NASA or the political leadership may adopt the attitude that we’ve already been to the moon, and that we should just jump straight to Mars.

[00:46:24] Ken asks for Doug’s thoughts on NASA’s current leadership and workforce.

[00:49:01] Ken quizzes Doug about the aims, goals, and mission architecture of Artemis III and IV.

[00:51:16] Ken notes that the design of Artemis III might negatively impact the overall mission goal of landing on the Moon by 2028.

[00:52:04] Ken shifts to talk more about Artemis IV, elements of which, Ken notes, need much more testing to be ready.

[00:52:58] Ken closes our interview noting that Doug will return for another interview on STEM-Talk in 2028 to see if Artemis is on schedule. Ken ends by asking Doug about how he started his hobby of collecting Civil War artifacts after he retired and moved to Gettysburg, as well as his hobby of collecting antique cars.

[00:55:17] Ken closes by asking Doug to name the favorite car he has collected.

Links:

Doug Cooke bio

Learn more about IHMC

STEM-Talk homepage

Ken Ford bio

Ken Ford Wikipedia page

 

Neuroscientist and frequent STEM-Talk guest Dr. Tommy Wood rejoins us today for part two of our interview about Tommy’s book that is fresh off the press and now available in bookstores and Amazon, “The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age.”

Tommy is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience at the University of Washington, where his laboratory focuses on brain health across human lifespan. Tommy is a colleague and good friend who also is a Visiting Research Scientist here at IHMC.

In part one of our interview with Tommy, episode 193, we discussed his mission to dispel the myth that the brain is doomed to decline with age. Tommy gave us a fascinating history of neuroscience and how researchers go about studying the brain. Tommy also talked about what is holding us back in terms of addressing an ever-increasing burden of cognitive and mental health disorders that we are experiencing not only here in the U.S., but also around the world.

Today, Tommy shares science-backed strategies to help people future-proof their brains. We talk about the importance of diet and exercise in terms of brain health as well as the importance of stimulating and challenging our brains throughout our lifespans.

Tommy has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, a medical degree from the University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of Oslo.

Show notes:

[00:03:55 Dawn welcomes Tommy back for part two of his interview by asking him about his recent trip to the UK.

[00:04:32] Dawn recaps where we left off with Tommy in part one of our interview, explaining that when we last spoke with Tommy about his book, The Stimulated Mind, we focused on dispelling myths about the adult brain, in particular the idea that the adult brain is fixed.

[00:05:22] Ken asks Tommy about advice his father offered when Tommy got accepted into the University of Cambridge.

[00:08:03] As a follow-up, Dawn asks if it’s fair to say that when Tommy first started working with patients, what he learned in textbooks and classrooms didn’t necessarily translate perfectly into the real world and that there is no one-size-fits-all fix.

[00:11:54] Ken asks Tommy to expand on what he wrote in his book about the fact that while science can give us a framework for understanding the world, we are always only one experiment or one well-phrased question away from having to completely rethink everything.

[00:16:44] Dawn launches into talking about what people can do to future-proof their brain, starting with diet. In the Nourish chapter of his book, Tommy seeks to help people see food as an opportunity for nourishment rather than a source of stress since there are so many conflicting messages about diet and healthy foods out there. Dawn asks Tommy if his opinion is that there is no one-size-fits-all diet?

[00:22:21] Dawn explains that what we eat has a direct effect on our long-term health and dementia risk, and within the literature a common theme that emerges regarding eating for brain health is maximizing nutrients. Dawn asks Tommy to talk about what this looks like.

[00:24:49] Dawn points out that people today are inundated with advice from health influencers in all directions. She asks Tommy to talk about his advice to tune out the noise and instead of chasing whatever supplement or super food that is currently in vogue, simply to focus on filling your diet with whole, nutrient dense foods.

[00:29:43] Ken explains that nutrients are sometimes hard to get in the diet, with somewhere between 15 and 25 percent of people in the U.S. and Europe having inadequate intakes of most B vitamins and even higher deficits in iron, magnesium, calcium, and vitamins C and E, with nutrient deficiencies differing by sex. Women on average are lower in B12, iron, iodine, and calcium, while men are typically lower in magnesium, zinc, and various B vitamins. Ken asks Tommy to give an overview of what these nutrients do in the brain that makes them so critical to cognitive function.

[00:35:51] Ken follows up on this discussion by moving on to the section in Tommy’s book titled “To Supplement or Not to Supplement” where he discusses the evidence of the benefits of targeted supplementation to fill in the nutrient gaps that exist in the diet. Ken asks Tommy to talk about this more in depth and maybe give a framework by which people can think about adding or not adding key nutrients via supplementation.

[00:41:21] Given the controversial reputation red meat has, Ken asks Tommy to weigh in on how he thinks people should think about red meat.

[00:46:26] Fish as well, Dawn explains, has become controversial, due to microplastics and mercury concerns. However, given the positive effects on cognitive health that fish consumption has, Dawn asks Tommy to talk about the costs and benefits of increasing fish consumption.

[00:50:30] Ken asks about the genetic basis for dementia and in particular Alzheimer’s, particularly regarding the APOE genotypes and a recent paper that made the claim that homozygous APOE4/4 carriers were essentially guaranteed to develop ALzherimer’s, a strong claim that Ken is skeptical of.

[00:57:06] Ken switches gears to talk about brain energy consumption, noting that while the brain is only about 2% of total body mass, it consumes roughly 20% of total energy at rest. Ken mentions that we discussed this topic in episode 59 with Steven Cunnane and asks Tommy to touch on the importance of getting enough energy for the brain and the consequences of not.

[01:01:43] Dawn mentions that time restricted eating and fasting have become quite popular in recent years, and is a topic we discussed in episodes 7, and 133 with Mark Mattson. Dawn asks Tommy what some key considerations are for fasting and time restricted eating.

[01:04:52] Ken contrasts low energy availability with the prevalent issue in today’s modern food environment of high energy availability, leading to epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes, both of which are associated with lower brain volume and are both also implicated in projections of higher dementia burdens in the coming decades. Ken asks Tommy to talk about this.

[01:08:55] Dawn asks if Tommy has any practical recommendations on how people can assess whether they are fueling the needs of their brain properly.

[01:10:38] Ken notes that brain health is tied closely to the extent to which we stimulate our brains, especially as we age, a topic which was discussed at length with Dr. Rudy Tanzi in episode 174. Ken goes on to ask Tommy to talk about the importance of stimulating our brains as we age.

[01:13:38] Dawn notes that Tommy made the realization that the brain adapting to stimulus is very similar to how muscles adapt to resistance training after meeting Josh Turknet, a neuroscientist who loves the banjo as much as Tommy loves weight training. Dawn asks Tommy to talk about how his and Josh’s respective hobbies have more in common than he originally thought.

[01:16:11] Ken asks if this analogy between the brain and muscle extends to ‘muscle memory’ or the phenomenon that people who were at one time more muscular are able to gain back that muscle mass more quickly than when they first trained.

[01:19:11] Ken mentions that Josh Turknet, the author of the book Anyone Can Play Music, and our guest on episode 130, co-authored a paper with Tommy titled, “Demand coupling drives neurodegeneration, a model of age-related cognitive decline and dementia.” Ken asks Tommy to discuss this paper.

[01:22:58] Dawn explains that Tommy writes in his book that exercise science and athletic coaching have given us a really good idea of how a specific stimulus effects performance. But when it comes to this kind of measurement tracking for cognitive function, it’s less straightforward. Dawn asks Tommy to talk about this.

[01:25:22] Ken mentions that there are lots of ways to stimulate the brain, with some being more potent than others, such as learning a language or an instrument. Ken asks Tommy what some other examples are of good cognitive exercises and learning endeavors that can help develop cognitive headroom as we age.

[01:29:14] Ken asks Tommy about the fact that retirement is often the point in someone’s life where their cognitive abilities are most at risk, and that delaying retirement, or retiring and choosing to reinvent oneself and engage in a new and challenging adventure can help prevent the cognitive risks associated with retirement.

[01:32:32] Dawn notes that exercise is also incredibly important for brain health and asks Tommy to talk about his framework that people can use to think about movement and physical activity as a way to support brain health.

[01:37:28] Ken asks Tommy about a study out of Norway that found that people who increased their fitness in their 50s and 60s decreased their subsequent risk of dementia.

[01:39:52] Dawn asks Tommy to talk about the growing issue of social media causing people to lose their attention span.

[01:44:03] Dawn asks Tommy how he sees AI affecting our brains today.

[01:49:17] Ken notes that while most STEM-Talk guests who have written a book say that they would prefer to not repeat the experience, Tommy however, is already thinking about his next book. Ken asks if Tommy can share what this next book will be about.

[01:51:26] Dawn asks Tommy about his wife Elizabeth, who was our guest on episode 71, and a researcher at the University of Washington.

[01:52:52] Dawn wraps up asking Tommy if, since moving from North Carolina to Washington, if he and Elizabeth have had any luck finding good barbecue in Seattle.

Links:

Tommy Wood bio

STEM-Talk episode 47 with Tommy Wood

STEM-Talk episode 110 with Tommy Wood

STEM-Talk episode 111 with Tommy Wood

STEM-Talk episode 128 with Tommy Wood

STEM-Talk episode 193 with Tommy Wood, part 1

Learn more about IHMC

STEM-Talk homepage

Ken Ford bio

Ken Ford Wikipedia page

Dawn Kernagis bio

Today we have Dr. Tommy Wood, a neuroscientist and frequent STEM-Talk guest who joins today on the eve of the publication of his first book, “The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age.”

Tommy is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience at the University of Washington, where his laboratory focuses on brain health across human lifespan. Tommy is a colleague and good friend who also is a Visiting Research Scientist here at IHMC.

Today we talk to Tommy about his mission to dispel the myth that the brain is doomed to decline with age. His book, which publishes on March 24 but is available for pre-order on Amazon, offers science-backed strategies to enhance mental sharpness and prevent cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease.

There was so much to unpack with Tommy about his book, that we decided to split his interview into two parts. Today we talk to Tommy about the history of neuroscience and how researchers go about studying the brain. We also have a conversation with Tommy about what is holding us back in terms of addressing an ever-increasing burden of cognitive and mental health disorders we are experiencing not only here in the U.S., but also around the world. In part two of Tommy’ interview, which will air in a few weeks following today’s episode, Tommy shares science-backed strategies to help people future-proof their brains.

Tommy’s lab at the University of Washington focuses on brain health across the lifespan. He conducts research that focuses on ways to treat a range of brain injuries, including babies born preterm and adults who experience brain trauma. He also investigates lifestyle factors that affect long-term cognitive function and increase the risk of dementia.

Tommy has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, a medical degree from the University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of Oslo.

Show notes:

[00:04:04] Dawn opens our interview congratulating Tommy on his new book, “The Stimulated Mind.” Dawn asks Tommy what inspired him to write his first book.

[00:07:29] Since writing the book consumed more than 18 months of Tommy’s life, Dawn asks Tommy if he thinks he’ll write another one.

[00:09:36] Dawn asks if it’s fair to say that the overarching theme of “The Stimulated Mind” is that the conventional belief the adult brain is fixed and incapable of change is wrong.

[00:17:35] Ken explains that Tommy opens his book with a story about a study on barn owls, where researchers outfitted a group of owls with prism goggles that altered the perceived position of objects in the owls’ vision. While young owls were able to quickly adapt to the change in their vision and return to normal behavior and activities, adult owls, even after months of wearing the goggles, were unable to adapt and would miss mice that were directly under their beaks. However, the research group amended their study design and found something interesting. Ken asks Tommy to explain what they found when they amended their design.

[00:22:40] Ken asks Tommy to share how a human study, which outfitted participants with goggles that flipped their vision upside down, demonstrated the adaptability of the adult brain.

[00:25:32] Ken asks if these sorts of adaptations have been seen as beyond basic sensory modalities in higher cognitive functions.

[00:31:25] Dawn zooms out in our discussion and asks Tommy, given the falsehood of our previous understanding of the adult brain as being fixed, what exactly do we know about the brain.

[00:35:36] Dawn asks Tommy to talk about Santiago Ramón y Cajal, who is considered the first neuroscientist.

[00:38:41] Dawn mentions chapter two of Tommy’s book, “How do Neuroscientists Study the Brain,” in which Tommy explains the complexity of the brain, which is comprised of almost 100 billion neurons which compose nearly a quadrillion synapses. Given the complexity of the brain, Tommy notes in his book that even an organ as complex as the human brain is incapable of fully comprehending its own complexity. Dawn asks Tommy to talk about how he and his colleagues approach studying the brain.

[00:43:30] Ken notes the parallels between attempting to understand the function of the brain based on an understanding of its individual components to the process of trying to understand how a piece of software works on a computer by systematically studying the computer’s hardware. Ken goes on to start a discussion on the parallels between the brain as a self-referential system that is so complex it cannot even fully understand itself, to various paradoxes as well as Gödel’s theorem, while noting that such comparisons are a false equivalency, and the brain is not a formal system in the sense of mathematical proofs. Still, Ken notes, the parallels are interesting.

[00:47:07] Dawn asks Tommy about a humorous but insightful section in his book that illustrates the complexity of neurological research called “Can a Biologist Fix a Broken Radio.” Dawn asks Tommy to explain what this analogy is about.

[00:52:18] Dawn notes that the modern belief that the adult brain is fixed stems from work done by Cajal in the late 1800s where he claimed that after development the adult brain was no longer capable of regeneration or plasticity. Dawn asks Tommy to touch more on this.

[00:56:26] Ken explains that while people are likely familiar with neurons, as the basic building block of the nervous system, most people are less familiar with glial cells, which, until recently, were considered to play a minor role in the brain. However, Tommy in his book, argues that glial cells should be seen as just as important as neurons. Ken notes that within the neuroscience community there is a renewed interest in these cells.

[01:02:35] Dawn shifts the conversation to ask about the importance of cardiovascular health in brain health.

[01:06:35] Dawn explains that Tommy ends part one of his book by looking at what the brain is actually for, and to answer that question, he first explains that although the brain is capable of adaptation and change over a lifespan, it requires the right environment. To illustrate this, and the fact that dementia is not predetermined, Dawn asks Tommy about the indigenous Tsimané people of the Bolivian Amazon, who have some of the lowest rates of dementia in the world.

[01:08:27] Ken asks Tommy if it’s true that these people also have a lower prevalence of APOE 4/4 and 3/4 genotypes.

[01:11:26] Dawn asks, since one of the aims of Tommy’s book is to help people improve their cognitive function and reduce their risk for dementia, if he could give listeners a brief history of Alzheimer’s disease.

[01:17:07] Ken explains that general warnings that as we get better at treating various diseases and increasing lifespans, we will see an overwhelming number of people develop age-related dementia. Recent studies out of Europe, however, have shown the opposite trend, and that the likelihood of being diagnosed with dementia at the age of 70 is now lower than it was 20 years ago.

[01:22:43] Ken and Dawn close out part one of our interview with Tommy by explaining that in part two we will focus our discussion with Tommy on ways people can stimulate neuroplasticity in their adult brains. Ken asks Tommy to close out by briefly discussing the recipe for changing and improving the adult brain.

Links:

Tommy Wood bio

STEM-Talk episode 47 with Tommy Wood

STEM-Talk episode 110 with Tommy Wood

STEM-Talk episode 111 with Tommy Wood

STEM-Talk episode 128 with Tommy Wood

Learn more about IHMC

STEM-Talk homepage

Ken Ford bio

Ken Ford Wikipedia page

Dawn Kernagis bio