Anaesthesia and Sleep
Hello! Your podcast and all your guest have been enriching my knowledge about the human body and brain and I used the insights to improve the quality of my life. I am very interested as a first year resident in anaesthesia and intensive care of the differences and similarities between a nights sleep and the brain during general anaesthesia. I am interested to learn more about this subject and how does being put under anaesthesia affects on the long term brain’s neurotransmitters homeostasis. I think more people are interested about this subject as surgery is performed on more than 3 million people annually in the USA and it has become part of our everyday’s life!
Contemporary discoveries in function(s) of human organelles
Your discussion on the complexity and the powerful role of mitochondria was very important. What other organelles have also been revealed to have far more important roles in cognition, psychological state(s), body system repair and maintenance? Thank you Andrew. AlanB
CDP-Choline vs Alpha GPC
CDP-Choline is often touted as an effective alternative to Alpha GPC, and marketed as such by various supplement brands. Is CDP-Choline useful and safe? How does it compare to Alpha GPC? Is it a good idea to cycle Alpha GPC and CDP-Choline (eg one week 3x Alpha GPC, one week 3x CDP-Choline)?
Identity and sense of self (creating more security, connectedness, calm, and compassion)
I've heard you talk about identity and sense of self in various contexts and most recently in your podcast with Sam Harris. I'd be curious to know your perspective on the IFS model "an integrative approach to individual psychotherapy developed by Richard C. Schwartz in the 1980s. It combines systems thinking with the view that the mind is made up of relatively discrete sub-personalities, each with its own unique viewpoint and qualities." I've found the model to be immensely helpful in making sense of my own personality, thoughts, and feelings, and those of others and it maps with how I understand Sam Harris's approach to mindfulness: relating to yourself and your experiences less as a "self" and more as an ever changing experience of consciousness. Is there any basis for the IFS model in neuroscience and why does this self-view neurologically create a stronger sense of security, connectedness, calm, and compassion? (Which I have found that it in fact does).