Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) allow us to connect the brain directly to an external device. By implanting some electrodes in certain regions of the brain, we can record brain activity and connect it to a computer or prosthetic that can then carry out the action that is being decoded based on the neural activity. Cool, huh? But before we get carried away by all the potential these technologies have, its important to discuss what the current state of research truly is and what ethical considerations we may start to face when these implants become more common. In this episode, we discuss current BCI research, its very promising avenues and its ethical challenges.

Authors: Eve Racette, Sapphire Newman-Fogel, Deanne Pinto

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

DNA is the code for life, it's in all of our cells and it makes us who we are. But, it can also make things go terribly wrong, leading to genetic diseases and predispositions to other diseases like cancer. A cutting-edge field known as gene therapy is focused on manipulating that code to study diseases and develop novel therapeutics that rely on genetic engineering techniques. So how does it all work? What is CRISPR? Will it lead to a future of designer babies and super humans? In this episode, we're switching things up for the new year and putting our host Eve in the hot seat to discuss her field of work; genetic engineering and the potential of gene therapies to treat brain conditions.

Authors: Eve Racette, Elena Koning

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

Did you know that your eye is actually an extension of your brain? Ever heard of an eye microbiome? Why do you have to sneeze when you go into the sun? Can vitamin D supplements really replace the vitamin D you get from the sun? What role do your eyes play in vitamin D levels and why do we even care about Vitamin D anyway? How is the risk of developing multiple sclerosis or optic neuropathy related to your geographic location on earth? We discuss all of these questions and more in this episode on the neuroscience of eyes!

Kabeer Thaker is a second year PhD student in the vision science research laboratory, under the supervision of Dr. Jacob Rullo. His research focuses on the presence and function of vitamin D within the neuro-ocular microenvironment and how it impacts down-stream neuroprotection in disease conditions. Alongside his research, he is passionate about science education/outreach and community engagement. He is also an avid skier and outdoor enthusiast!

Authors: Eve Racette, Elena Koning

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

Have you ever thought about how your brain makes decisions? How does your brain decide if you should go out with your friends for a drink instead of studying for a midterm or even how does it decide what political party to vote for when elections come around? Is there such a thing as free will or is it merely an illusion? In this graduate student interview episode, Julien Milosz discusses computational modelling, decision making, free will, and conducts a live experiment with our host.

Julien Milosz is a recent software engineering graduate with a background in neuroscience. He completed both his undergraduate and master’s studies at Université de Montréal under the guidance of John F. Kalaska, focusing on mathematical models of human decision-making. After earning his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in neuroscience, Julien transitioned to software engineering to delve deeper into the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Alongside his academic studies, he is passionate about consciousness, the philosophy of mind, and the intersection of AI and neuroscience. He is also an avid rock climber!

Authors: Eve Racette, Elena Koning

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

Curious about what bees and humans have in common when it comes to cocaine and reward circuits? Wondering what this all means for addiction research or even saving the bees? In this journal club-style episode, we are covering a recent paper on the effects of cocaine on honeybees and you won't BEE-lieve what it showed. We break down the methods and results of this fascinating research, from dopamine-driven bee dances to the cognitive effects of cocaine withdrawal. Along the way, we’ll discuss the broader implications for understanding addiction, dopamine systems, and how naturalistic animal behaviors can shed light on human neuroscience. Tune in for a lively discussion that’s equal parts scientific and sweet.

Authors: Eve Racette, Elena Koning, Deanne Pinto, Shima Hassanpour

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

Have you every wondered how exactly drugs are designed to access the brain? The answer usually revolves around one very important part of the central nervous system. The blood brain barrier is the layer of cells that protects the brain from pathogens while still allowing for the removal of toxins. From pain medications to ozempic, several drugs have been designed to get across this barrier in one way or another. In this episode, we are joined by an expert in the field and cover how the blood brain barrier works, how common drugs act on it, what can go wrong, and how you can leverage your own blood brain barrier.

Dr. Sebastian Furness is from Adelaide and received his BSc(Hons) and PhD. from the University of Adelaide, in the biochemistry of gene regulation. He then did postdoctoral research on how blood stem cells regenerate all the different types of blood cells at the University of British Columbia in beautiful Vancouver before returning to Australia (this time in Melbourne) to work on the molecular functioning of an important class of drug targets called G protein-coupled Receptors.

Sebastian won an ARC Future Fellowship, the most prestigious early-mid career fellowship for discovery scientists in Australia. This allowed him to develop his own research program where he moved to the University of Queensland, in sunny Brisbane. Sebastian runs a small lab that focusses on trying to understand the molecular-level details of how communication occurs between the gastrointestinal tract and brain. He teaches into undergraduate Biomedical Science and Pharmacy and enjoys communicating science in various forums, including “Pint of Science” and “The Conversation”.

For more information on what the lab does see:

RTClab.org AND https://biomedical-sciences.uq.edu.au/research/groups/receptor-transducer-coupling

Author: Elena Koning

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

Have you ever wondered what makes a person capable of heinous acts such as murder? Are their brains different from the rest of us? Do they feel remorse or guilt? What about how to predict if someone will grow up to be a psychopath? In this episode, we explore the dark yet intriguing realm of psychopathy and the neuroscience behind it all! We answer your burning questions on the topic, including potential causes, the truth behind 'empty eyes,' psychopathy vs sociopathy, and if psychopaths are accurately represented in movies and TV shows.

Author: Dure Khan, Deanne Pinto

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

REPOST

Would you trust an AI chatbot with your mental health? The lack of accessible and effective interventions for mental health continues to be a worldwide problem. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) represent a potential solution, including the rise of 24-hour AI chatbots as a support tool. However, with all new technologies there is concern about the lack of regulatory oversight, potential overhyped benefits, and underestimated risk of these AI therapy apps, especially considering the highly vulnerable populations that they target. In this episode, we discuss all the promises and pitfalls of AI mental health tools with researcher Zoha Kawaja.

Zoha is a third-year Master of Science candidate studying bioethics at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Calgary with over 8 years of healthcare research experience. As part of the Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (B2AI) Voice Consortium, an NIH-funded data generation project, her thesis takes an anticipatory stance to gauge the ethical demands that entail when designing and implementing artificial intelligence (AI)-technologies that utilize voice as a biomarker (voice AI) to assist clinicians in predicting, diagnosing, and monitoring mental health conditions.

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: @zohakhawaja

Supervisor: Dr. Jean-Christophe Bélisle-Pipon; [email protected]

Research Lab: Sustainable People-centric Algorithmic Responsible and Knowledge-driven (SPARK) Good AI Lab at SFU

Voice Consortium: https://www.b2ai-voice.org/

Author: Elena Koning

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

Would you trust an AI chatbot with your mental health? The lack of accessible and effective interventions for mental health continues to be a worldwide problem. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) represent a potential solution, including the rise of 24-hour AI chatbots as a support tool. However, with all new technologies there is concern about the lack of regulatory oversight, potential overhyped benefits, and underestimated risk of these AI therapy apps, especially considering the highly vulnerable populations that they target. In this episode, we discuss all the promises and pitfalls of AI mental health tools with researcher Zoha Kawaja.

Zoha is a third-year Master of Science candidate studying bioethics at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Calgary with over 8 years of healthcare research experience. As part of the Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (B2AI) Voice Consortium, an NIH-funded data generation project, her thesis takes an anticipatory stance to gauge the ethical demands that entail when designing and implementing artificial intelligence (AI)-technologies that utilize voice as a biomarker (voice AI) to assist clinicians in predicting, diagnosing, and monitoring mental health conditions.

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: @zohakhawaja

Supervisor: Dr. Jean-Christophe Bélisle-Pipon; [email protected]

Research Lab: Sustainable People-centric Algorithmic Responsible and Knowledge-driven (SPARK) Good AI Lab at SFU

Voice Consortium: https://www.b2ai-voice.org/

Author: Elena Koning

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.

Did you know that there are cells in your brain that decide when you should feel hungry and when you should feel full? And in some people, those cells don't work and the feeling of hunger never disappears regardless of how much they eat. Understanding how these cells work and what key mechanisms regulate satiety in humans is crucial to combat the global obesity epidemic. In this graduate student interview episode, Sandrine St-Onge tells us about her research on how our brain tells our body that we are full and the consequences of not having this brain signal.

It only took a simple conversation about Alzheimer’s disease to awaken Sandrine St-Onge’s curiosity about sciences. She was first an artist before digging deep into the field of neuroscience. After a bachelor’s degree at Université de Montreal, she couldn't think of a better path than to pursue her education with a Master’s degree in neuroscience in Dr. Jacques Michaud’s Lab. Being a foodie herself, she had the opportunity to study the neural mechanisms of eating behavior.

Authors: Eve Racette, Elena Koning

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast

LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services.