Mind & Matter

By Nick JikomesSociety & Culture Science Education

Mind & Matter episodes

June 26, 2024Dopamine Signals Learning, Not Just Pleasure | Melissa Sharpe | Episode 164
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About the guest: Melissa Sharpe, PhD is a neuroscientist. Her lab at the University of Sydney studies reinforcement and reward learning in rodents.
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Sharpe discuss: dopamine and its association with reward learning and motivation; reinforcement learning & the brain; the lateral hypothalamus and feeding behavior; and more.

Related episodes:
Drugs, Addiction & Neuroplasticity: Psychedelics, MDMA, Opioids, Cocaine, Amphetamine (Adderall), Nicotine, Marijuana & Alcohol | Robert Malenka | #162
Neuroscience of Pleasure, Reward, Liking vs. Wanting, Motivation, Food vs. Drug Addiction & Emotion | Kent Berridge | #94
*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

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Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
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1 hr 9 min
June 22, 2024Psychedelic Trials Can't Truly Be Blinded. Why That Matters | Boris Heifets | Episode 163
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About the guest: Boris Heifets, MD, PhD is an anesthesiologist and researcher at Stanford University. His lab studies non-ordinary states of consciousness and psychoactive drugs like MDMA, ketamine, and psychedelics.
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Heifets discuss: anesthesia and how anesthetics work; placebo effects & expectations in clinical research; ketamine as an antidepressant, anesthetic, and recreational drug; the subjective effects of psychedelics and other drugs; MDMA and Lykos Therapeutics’ attempts to gain FDA approval for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy; opioids & placebo effects; and more.

Related episodes:
How Does Ketamine Work & Is It Addictive? | Christian Lüscher | #90
*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

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Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
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For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 45 min
June 16, 2024Addiction Rewires the Same Synapses That Learning Uses | Robert Malenka | Episode 162
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About the guest: Robert Malenka, MD, PhD is psychiatrist & neuroscientist. He has spent most of his career at Stanford University, where his lab studies synaptic plasticity, mechanisms of drug action in the brain, and the neural basis of behavior.
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Malenka discuss: mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the brain, such as LTP & LTD; addiction & the dopamine reward circuitry of the brain; psychoactive drugs ranging from stimulants (cocaine, nicotine, amphetamines) to opioids (fentanyl), psychedelics, MDMA, THC, and alcohol; and more.

Related episodes:
How Does Ketamine Work & Is It Addictive? | Christian Lüscher | #90
Neuroscience of Social Behavior, Pain, Empathy, Emotion, Brain Mechanisms of MDMA | Monique Smith | #159

Support the show
Support my work:
Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.
For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 35 min
June 12, 2024His Lab Paired GLP-1 With an NMDA Blocker in One Drug | Christoffer Clemmensen | Episode 161
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About the guest: Christoffer Clemmensen, PhD is scientist running the Metabolism & Molecular Pharmacology group at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. His lab studies the biological basis of obesity & other metabolic disorders.
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Clemmensen discuss: GLP-1 & gut hormones; obesity & metabolic disease; GLP-1 agonists and weight loss drugs (e.g. Ozempic); novel, dual-action weight loss drugs his lab has created; and more.

Previous discussion: Metabolism, Obesity & Psychedelics for Metabolic Disease | Christoffer Clemmensen | #105

*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

Support the show
Support my work:
Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.
For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 33 min
June 01, 2024For Hunter-Gatherers, Fat Often Matters More Than Meat | Eugene Morin | Episode 160
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About the guest: Eugene Morin, PhD is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Trent who studies Paleolithic humans and animals.
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Morin discuss evolution of Paleolithic humans; Neanderthal diet & cultural capacity; key human adaptations related to endurance and stamina; hunter gatherer hunting strategies; evolution of human digestion; and more.

*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

Support the show
Support my work:
Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.
For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 25 min
May 23, 2024Pain Spreads Between Mice After an Hour Together. So Does Relief | Monique Smith | Episode 159
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About the guest: Monique Smith, PhD is an assistant professor of neurobiology at the University of California-San Diego, where her lab studies the neuroscience of social behavior, pain, and emotion.
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Smith discuss: the neurobiology of pain perception; social & empathy-like behavior in animals; emotion; brain mechanisms of MDMA; serotonin; and more.

*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

Support the show
Support my work:
Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.
For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 27 min
May 16, 2024Fasting's Seizure Control Led to the Ketogenic Diet in the 1920s | Dominic D'Agostino | Episode 158
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About the guest: Dominic D'Agostino, PhD is a researcher and professor at the University of South Florida, where his lab studies metabolism, human biology, and related subjects.
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. D'Agostino discuss: ketosis and the ketogenic diet; effects of ketosis on diabetes, insulin resistance & metabolic health; effects on brain & mental health; relationship with exercise performance; cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides & other biomarkers; cancer; and more.

*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

Support the show
Support my work:
Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.
For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 42 min
May 09, 2024He Taught Medical Students Things He Now Says Were Wrong | Robert Lufkin | Episode 157
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About the guest: Robert Lufkin, MD is a radiologist and professor at UCLA. His new book is called, "Lies I Taught in Medical School."
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Lufkin talk about: the history of medicine in the United States; diet & lifestyle vs. pharmaceuticals in acute vs. chronic disease; diabetes, metabolic syndrome & insulin resistance; health institutions like the American Diabetes Association & American Heart Association, including their financial influences; carbohydrates, fats, dietary cholesterol, ketosis, and related topics in metabolism; bloodwork & choosing the right doctor; and more.

*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

Support the show
Support my work:
Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.
For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 46 min
May 03, 2024Resilience Is Built From Skills You Can Practice | Stephen Sideroff | Episode 156
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About the guest: Stephen Sideroff, PhD is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UCLA. His new book is, "The 9 Pillars of Resilience."

Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Sideroff discuss: childhood & developmental psychology; clinical & Gestalt psychology; stress & resilience; pharmaceuticals, talk therapy, and plant medicines; emotions & psychopathology; and more.

*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

Support the show
Support my work:
Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.
For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 40 min
April 29, 2024Dialing Down Mitochondria in Neurons Made Worms Live Longer | Andrew Dillin | Episode 155
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About the guest: Andrew Dillin, PhD is Professoer of Molecular & Cell Biology at UC-Berkeley and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. His lab studies mechanisms of aging, mitochondrial biology, and related subjects.

Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Dillin discuss: cell biology; mitochondria & the endoplasmic reticulum; aging & autophagy; mitochondrial biology in neurons; diet, exercise, and oxygen effects on mitochondrial health; and more.

*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

Support the show
Support my work:
Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.
For all the ways you can support my efforts.
1 hr 40 min

About Mind & Matter

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Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed…