NeuwriteWest

This week on Brains & Bourbon, we share a Manhattan with H. Craig Heller who talk us through the "how" and "why" of sleep and explains what hibernating astronauts have in common with ground squirrels. Plus much more!

Dr. Heller is a professor of biology and is the co-director of the Stanford Center for Down Syndrome Research.

This week on Brains and Bourbon, we share whiskey sours with Daniel Hawes, a post-doctoral fellow studying the interplay between personality and decision making in Sam McClure’s lab. We ask Daniel about his journey from agricultural engineering student in Germany to psychologist at Stanford, and how the different perspectives of engineering, economics, psychology and neuroscience interact to influence his approach to understanding how individuals make decisions.

Daniel tells us about how psychologists currently think about defining individual differences between people, and how his research is revealing differences in brain activity during decision making that are related to the "big five" dimensions of personality. In the end, we wax philosophical about the importance of understanding personality in developing self-awareness and whether it would be a good idea to tickle people in an fMRI machine.

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In the interview, we mentioned the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. If you haven't heard of this, you should really see the videos of cute kids trying their best to avoid sweet, white, gooey temptation. Check out a re-creation of the original experiment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3S0xS2hdi4.

This week on Brains & Bourbon, we share a cocktail with Rob Malenka, who describes his journey from party animal to world renowned scientist, and gives a beautiful and in-depth history of one of the most important fields in neuroscience. Plus much more!

Dr. Malenka is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science here at Stanford.

This week on Brains and Bourbon, science journalist Greg Miller talks about the psychological cost of drone warfare, DIY brain stimulation, science journalism, and a lot more!

Greg Miller spent 11 years as a reporter for Science magazine and is now a senior writer at WIRED magazine.

This week on Brains and Bourbon, we talk with Maral Tajerian about brains and pain, secret experiments, and putting the "science" back in "scientifically accurate video games."

Dr. Tajerian is a postdoc in David Clark’s lab here at Stanford, and the co-founder of Thwacke! science media consulting.

This week on Neurotalk, we chat with Daniel Colón-Ramos about how glia directs synapse formation, how synaptic positions are maintained as the body and brain grows, and how his science networking site Ciencia Puerto Rico has changed science education in Puerto Rico.

Dr. Colón-Ramos is an associate professor of cell biology at Yale University, and is the founder of Ciencia Puerto Rico: http://www.cienciapr.org/

This week on Neurotalk, we chat with Li-Huei Tsai about her transition from cancer research to neuroscience, chromatin remodeling, Alzheimer's disease, and more!

Dr. Tsai is a professor of neuroscience and the director of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT.

Note to listeners: we had a few technical difficulties with the audio quality, so some portions of the interview may be difficult to hear.

This week on Brains and Bourbon, we chat with Boris Heifets about anesthesia and the brain, treating Parkinson's disease with electrical stimulation, and why taking ecstasy might be a good idea if you suffer from depression*.

Dr. Heifets is an anesthesiologist at Stanford Hospital, as well as a postdoctoral researcher in Rob Malenka's lab.

*And you do it in your doctor's office.

This week on Neurotalk, we chat with Kelsey Martin about the road from literature to neuroscience, tagging synapses, and what to do with all these PhDs.

Dr. Martin is the Chair and professor of Biological Chemistry and professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at University of California Los Angeles.

This week on Brains and Bourbon, we talk immunology with Mary Cavanagh, who explains how specialized cells recognizes self v. non-self to keep the body safe, and how loss of that recognition can lead to a whole host of problems.

Dr. Cavanagh is a postdoc in Jorg Goronzy’s lab here at Stanford.

"Brains and Bourbon" is a show about cocktails and neuroscience. Each week, we invite a neuroscientist to discuss the process and motivation behind their science, and to share their favorite cocktail with us.

You have a brain and you like to drink, so come sit down and have a drink with us.