Your Brain On

High in fats and low in carbs, ketogenic diets were originally developed in the 1920s to treat children with epilepsy. Now, they’ve gained popularity for weight loss, and even improved cognitive function. But how much truth is there in the purported brain health benefits we see on social media? In this episode of ‘Your Brain On...’, we separate the facts from the fads, and discuss: • What one might eat on a typical ketogenic diet • How ketogenic diets affect brain metabolism • The different ways your brain uses sources of energy — glucose vs. ketones • The latest data on ketogenic diet in Alzheimer’s disease patients • What we know about how ketogenic diets and treatment of Alzheimer’s • The outcome differences between ketogenic diets and ketone supplements in Alzheimer’s • Other evidence-based nutritional approaches for brain health  For this episode, we welcome two world-renowned professionals in the field of nutrition and neuroscience: DR. MATTHEW TAYLOR, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Dietetics and Nutrition, Kansas University Medical Center DR. RUSSELL SWERDLOW, MD, Gene and Marge Sweeney Professor of Neurology; Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Kansas University Medical Center This is... Your Brain On Ketogenic Diets. ‘Your Brain On’ is hosted by neurologists, scientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai. ‘Your Brain On... Ketogenic Diets’ • SEASON 4 • EPISODE 4   FOLLOW US Instagram: @thebraindocs Website: TheBrainDocs.com More info and episodes: TheBrainDocs.com/Podcast   REFERENCES 1. Wheless, James W. "History of the ketogenic diet." Epilepsia 49 (2008): 3-5. 2. Krolak-Salmon, Pierre, Russell H. Swerdlow, Thibault Mastain, Catherine Dive-Pouletty, Nick Pooley, and Masoumeh Kisomi. "Efficacy and Safety of Exogenous Ketones in People with Mild Neurocognitive Disorder and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Literature Review." Nutrition Reviews (2024): nuae098. 3. Taylor, Matthew K., Debra K. Sullivan, Jonathan D. Mahnken, Jeffrey M. Burns, and Russell H. Swerdlow. "Feasibility and efficacy data from a ketogenic diet intervention in Alzheimer's disease." Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions 4 (2018): 28-36. 4. Taylor, Matthew K., Russell H. Swerdlow, and Debra K. Sullivan. "Dietary neuroketotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease: an evidence update and the potential role for diet quality." Nutrients 11, no. 8 (2019): 1910. 5. Koppel, Scott J., and Russell H. Swerdlow. "Neuroketotherapeutics: a modern review of a century-old therapy." Neurochemistry international 117 (2018): 114-125. 6. O'Neill, Blair, and Paolo Raggi. "The ketogenic diet: Pros and cons." Atherosclerosis 292 (2020): 119-126. 7. Crosby, Lee, Brenda Davis, Shivam Joshi, Meghan Jardine, Jennifer Paul, Maggie Neola, and Neal D. Barnard. "Ketogenic diets and chronic disease: weighing the benefits against the risks." Frontiers in nutrition 8 (2021): 702802.

ALS, a nervous system disease, ruled the headlines in the summer of 2014 thanks to the viral Ice Bucket Challenge. How has our knowledge of the disorder evolved a decade later? Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ‘Lou Gehrig's disease’ (named after the iconic baseball player), is a progressive neurological disorder which breaks down a person’s motor neurons. The main symptoms are muscle weakness and impaired physical function — mild, at first, but in the latter stages of the disease’s progression, essential processes like breathing begin to fail. Most individuals face a life expectancy of two to five years. A small percentage live five to ten years. And an even tinier group survive beyond a decade. Most famously, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking survived more than 50 years past his diagnosis, in part due to the intensive care he was able to afford. In this episode of the ‘Your Brain On...’ podcast, we discuss: • What ALS is, and how it affects the brain and the body • The onset and progression of ALS, from the earliest symptoms to the end-stage impacts • How ALS patients are diagnosed, treated, and cared for • Likely causes of ALS, including genetic predispositions and potential environmental risk factors • How new technologies are rapidly accelerating our understanding of ALS, especially in genetics Joining us for this installment of the show are two world-class experts on the disease: • Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi PhD, Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics at the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute at King's College. • Merit Cudkowicz, Director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital. ‘Your Brain On’ is hosted by neurologists, scientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai. ‘Your Brain On... ALS’ • SEASON 4 • EPISODE 3 ——— LINKS PROFESSOR AMMAR AL-CHALABI at King’s College: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/ammar-al-chalabi at Motor Neurone Disease Disease Association: https://www.mndassociation.org/get-involved/cure-finders/professor-ammar-al-chalabi Project MinE: https://projectmine.com/ MERIT CUDKOWICZ at Massachusetts General Hospital: https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/16904/merit-cudkowicz  at Harvard University: https://researchers.mgh.harvard.edu/profile/1520993/Merit-Cudkowicz ——— ANNOUNCING: NEURO WORLD RETREAT 2025 We’re so excited to share something very close to our hearts, which we’ve been working on over the past few months: our first ever brain health retreat! You’re warmly invited to join us in San Diego, California for the inaugural NEURO World Retreat 2025, taking place September 2–5, 2025 at the breathtaking Paradise Point Resort. For more information, and to book, visit: https://neuroworldretreat.com/ ——— FOLLOW US Join the NEURO Academy: NEUROacademy.com Instagram: @thebraindocs Website: TheBrainDocs.com More info and episodes: TheBrainDocs.com/Podcast ——— References: Brown, Robert H., and Ammar Al-Chalabi. "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." New England Journal of Medicine 377.2 (2017): 162-172. Benatar, Michael, et al. "A roadmap to ALS prevention: strategies and priorities." Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 94.5 (2023): 399-402. Voigtlaender, Sebastian, et al. "Artificial intelligence in neurology: opportunities, challenges, and policy implications." Journal of Neurology 271.5 (2024): 2258-2273. Zinman, Lorne, and Merit Cudkowicz. "Emerging targets and treatments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." The Lancet Neurology 10.5 (2011): 481-490. Raghav, Yogindra, et al. "Identification of gene fusions associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." Muscle & Nerve 69.4 (2024): 477-489. Su, Feng-Chiao, et al. "Association of environmental toxins with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." JAMA neurology 73.7 (2016): 803-811. Talbott, Evelyn O., et al. "Case-control study of environmental toxins and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis involving the national ALS registry." Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration (2024): 1-10.

For decades, ketamine has mainly been used as an anaesthetic, but in more recent years, it’s gained popularity in mental health treatment. Conversations around the benefits and risks associated with its therapeutic usage ignited towards the end of 2023, when actor Matthew Perry, star of the sitcom ‘Friends’, died from the acute effects of the ketamine he was using to treat anxiety. In this episode of ‘Your Brain On...’, we discuss: • The neurochemical mechanisms of ketamine, and its interplay with depression • What we know about the opportunities and pitfalls of using ketamine in mental health treatment • The potential for ketamine use in reducing the impacts of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s • How technology and improvements in passive and active data collection are helping us better understand how ketamine affects cognition and neuroplasticity • The history of ketamine’s use as an antidepressant • How ketamine is actually administered, through various dosages and courses of treatment We’re welcoming two of the leading figures in this space to the podcast: Dr. Gerard Sanacora, who is a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University and the Director of the Yale Depression Research Program, and Dr. John Krystal, also from Yale: a Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Psychology. This is... Your Brain On Ketamine. ‘Your Brain On’ is hosted by neurologists, scientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai. ‘Your Brain On... Ketamine’ • SEASON 4 • EPISODE 2 ——— LINKS DR. GERARD SANACORA Dr. Sanacora at Yale: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/gerard-sanacora/ The Yale Depression Research Program: https://medicine.yale.edu/psychiatry/depression/ DR. JOHN KRYSTAL Dr. Krystal at Yale: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/john-krystal/ ——— FOLLOW US Join the NEURO Academy: NEUROacademy.com Instagram: @thebraindocs Website: TheBrainDocs.com More info and episodes: TheBrainDocs.com/Podcast

From the first spark of attraction, all the way to climax, sex sets off chemical fireworks in your brain. And yet, this beautiful, powerful act has become mired in shame and stigma. But through open conversation and deeper scientific understanding, we can cast off those shackles, and even embrace sex as a marker for cognitive and overall health. In this episode of ‘Your Brain On...’ — our Season 4 debut! — we discuss: • The neurological processes involved with sex, arousal, attraction, and desire • Why studying the cognitive effects of sexual stimuli can be so complicated • How our relationship with sex is altered as we age, and is affected by periods of change like menopause • The neuroscientific differences between masturbation and sex with a partner • The complex debate about pornography consumption, and the need for better sex education • The links between brain health, heart health, mental health, and sexual health • The benefits of good nutrition, exercise, and stress management for sexual health • Motivations and methods for freeing conversations about sex from stigmas and taboos — especially for women Joining us for this immensely important conversation are two fantastic guests: sexual behaviour expert and data scientist Dr. Nicole Prause, and sexual medicine expert and urogynecologist Rena Malik. This is... Your Brain On Sex. ‘Your Brain On’ is hosted by neurologists, scientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai. ‘Your Brain On... Sex’ • SEASON 4 • EPISODE 1 (SEASON 4 DEBUT) — LINKS Dr. Nicole Prause at UCLA: https://www.uclahealth.org/departments/medicine/gastro/research/labs-and-programs/patel-laboratory Dr. Nicole Prause on Twitter: https://x.com/nicolerprause Dr. Nicole Prause on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nicolerprause.bsky.social Dr. Rena Malik’s website: https://renamalikmd.com/ Dr. Rena Malik on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RenaMalikMD Dr. Rena Malik on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renamalikmd/ — FOLLOW US Join the NEURO Academy: NEUROacademy.com Instagram: @thebraindocs Website: TheBrainDocs.com More info and episodes: TheBrainDocs.com/Podcast