Refractive Error and the Brain
Dr. Huberman, Thank you for creating this podcast! I haven't made it through every episode (yet) but I love all the ones I've listened to. I'm interested in what happens in the brain when low refractive error isn’t corrected. Would this cause the brain to be less efficient? Is it more energetically taxing for the brain to decipher a blurry image? Additionally, we know hyperopes are at a higher risk of developing macular degeneration - would it be plausible that light focusing behind the retina could generate excess heat at the level of Bruch’s membrane/RPE and contribute to lipofuscin formation? Lastly, how can I get involved in this type of research? With appreciation, Caroline Pasi (4th year optometry student and fellow eye nerd)
Neurological Integration System (NIS) - what's the mechanism?
Despite massive skepticism, some friends and I have experienced overnight success in overcoming joint/soft tissue aches and pains through appointments with a local doctor who practices something called "Neurological Integration System" (NIS). The website sure doesn't inspire confidence in this being a legitimate intervention. I was sure it was a sham and/or placebo until I experienced benefits for myself despite expectations to the contrary (first for a 10-month bout of soft tissue pain in my neck, then for post-Covid anosmia). I remain astonished that such a subtle intervention can yield such remarkable improvements, at least for certain presenting concerns. What's the mechanism behind this sorcery?
Shortcut for Language Learning
Dr. Huberman Thanks for your great podcast and educating us about neuroscience ! My question is this: Is there any research done on harnessing the neuro plasticity effect of compounds such as psilocybin for speeding up learning new skills particularly a new language ? Since learning a language is actually the ability to use the right sequence of words (like generative AI), I dream about listening to an audiobook in a language that I’m learning, and the neural circuits form rapidly without needing to practice ! Actually I think this is exactly how I learned English without going to one hour of extra English course. When I was 10 years old, I started listening to VOA and BBC in English when I was falling asleep ! This continued for several months!
Temperature regulation
Are there behaviors and/or supplements that help to regulate body temperature at night? Episodes of feeling too hot during the night have become an issue for me following a radical hysterectomy, but taking HRT isn't an option because my tumor had estrogen (and progesterone) receptors. If there's anything I can do to prevent or lessen the upticks in temperature at night--and subsequent disruption of my sleep--I'd love to know! Thank you.
Does taking benzodiazepines to help get to sleep interfere with sleep quality?
Putting aside the problem of potential habituation and addiction, of which I'm aware, is taking benzodiazepines (lorazepam, clonazepam) to get to sleep. on occasion, counterproductive in the same sense as drinking alcoho?. Matthew Walker says alcohol makes you lose consciousness but does not confer the various benefits of normal sleep, because your brain doesn't go through the same kind of cycles as with regular sleep. Is this true with benzodiazepines? Of, as long as you avoid frequent use and addiction, on a given night if you wake up with anxiety and difficulty falling back to sleep, does taking a physician-prescribed benzodiazepine to get back to sleep actually put you in a sleep state that has the various benefits of natural sleep, such as the REM dreams and the NREM deep sleep?