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Summary of Transcript:
In this podcast episode, hosts Peter and Carl reunite after many years and reminisce about their time in medical school at Stanford. They discuss the benefits of the MSTP program, the pressures that come with it, and the transition from preconceived notions about one’s future career to finding the right fit during clinical rotations. Peter pursued the MD-PhD program and was interested in the brain, while Carl chose the straight MD program and was initially interested in neurosurgery.
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Summary of Description:
Karl Deisseroth, a clinical psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author of Projections: A Story of Human Emotions, explains his career path that led to the development of optogenetics. This technique uses light-sensitive ion channels to control specific neurons in the brain. Optogenetics can be used to understand mental illness better, identify neurons responsible for particular behaviors, and guide the development of new treatments. The episode introduces neuroscience, traditional techniques for identifying brain regions, and the potential of optogenetics in investigating and treating anxiety, autism, and depression. His experience as a practicing psychiatrist inspires Karl’s book.
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The Peter Attia Drive podcast focuses on health, longevity, critical thinking, and other related topics. Peter, a physician specializing in the applied science of longevity, hosts the show, inviting guests who are experts in diverse fields to share their knowledge and experience. In this episode, Karl Deisseroth, a clinical psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author of Projections: A Story of Human Emotions, shares his unique career path and how it led him to develop optogenetics. The revolutionary technique uses specialized light-sensitive ion channels to control the activity of select neurons.
Karl explains the fundamentals of optogenetics and how it can be used to understand better mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, autism, and personality disorders. He also discusses the role of optogenetics in identifying the neurons responsible for specific behaviors and guiding the development of new treatments. Karl uses his practice psychiatrist experience to provide deep insights into mental health afflictions and how optogenetics can map out brain regions responsible for such conditions.
The podcast covers several topics, including Karl’s journey through medical school and his interest in the brain. Karl also shares a profound medical school experience that changed his career path to psychiatry. He discussed Neuroscience 101, the state of psychiatry and mental health therapies when he started his lab in 2004, traditional techniques for identifying the brain regions involved in specific behaviors, and the power of optogenetics.
Karl also talks about how optogenetics was used to investigate the effects of dopamine neurons, investigating and treating anxiety with optogenetics, autism-related anxiety, and the potential of optogenetics in treating autism. Optogenetics is a powerful tool for discovering and creating medical treatments, and Karl shares his inspiration for writing his book, Projections.
The podcast covers other mental health afflictions like mania and bipolar disorder, depression, and the effects of trauma early in life. Karl provides insights into these conditions and how optogenetics can help improve treatments.
The Peter Attia Drive podcast is available on different platforms like Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. To learn more, you can visit their website and subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content or sign up for Peter’s email newsletter. You can also connect with Peter on his social media handles, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Source Description
View show notes for this episode: https://bit.ly/3nxroak
Karl Deisseroth is a world-renowned clinical psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author of Projections: A Story of Human Emotions. In the episode, Karl explains his unique career path that led to the development of optogenetics. This revolutionary technique uses specialized light-sensitive ion channels to control the activity of select populations of neurons precisely. Karl provides a concise overview of how optogenetics works and how it can be used to understand mental illness better, identify the neurons responsible for specific behaviors, and guide the development of new treatments. Karl uses his practice psychiatrist experience to provide deep insights into depression, anxiety, autism, and personality disorders. He explains the role of optogenetics in mapping out brain regions responsible for common mental health afflictions.
We discuss:
00:00:00 – Intro
00:00:10 – Karl’s journey through medical school and interest in the brain
00:14:51 – A profound medical school experience that changed Karl’s career path to psychiatry
00:25:07 – Karl’s commitment to research and challenges overcome early in his career
00:32:43 – The state of psychiatry and mental health therapies when Karl started his lab in 2004
00:38:13 – Neuroscience 101: fundamentals of Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology
00:48:05 – Traditional techniques for identifying the brain regions involved in specific behaviors
00:52:30 – Intro to optogenetics and how to get a gene into a neuron
01:04:50 – How viruses helped make optogenetics possible
01:19:41 – How optogenetics was used to investigate the effects of dopamine neurons
01:27:02 – Appreciating the power of optogenetics
01:32:42 – Investigating and treating anxiety with optogenetics
01:45:12 – Autism and autism-related anxiety and the potential of optogenetics in treating autism
01:52:41 – Optogenetics as a powerful tool for the discovery and creation of medical treatments
01:55:59 – Karl’s inspiration to write his book, Projections
02:01:44 – Mania and bipolar disorder: evolutionary basis, symptoms, and the high prevalence in North America
02:13:50 – Depression: evolutionary basis and Insights from Optogenetics
02:31:03 – The effects of trauma early in life
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About:
The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 35 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.
Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice extensively deals with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease) while improving healthspan (quality of life).
Learn more: https://bit.ly/3nxroak
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