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Your eyes don't see the world; your brain constructs it. But how, and what does it miss along the way?

In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Prof. Nicole Rust, Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, whose research combines behavioral experiments, #neural recordings, and #computational models to understand how we see, remember, and experience the world. Recently, she decided to embark on a new journey and apply her expertise to study the neuroscience of mood.

We explore how the brain transforms raw light into meaningful #perception, from the #retina through a hierarchy of visual areas all the way to object recognition in the inferotemporal cortex. We discuss how #attention shapes what enters #memory, why humans can recognize thousands of images seen only once, and why mood remains one of the hardest problems in neuroscience.

The conversation also unpacks the central argument of her book, Elusive Cures: that treating conditions like depression will require abandoning the "broken domino" model of disease and embracing the brain as a complex dynamical system.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How the #brain transforms light into perception
• Why attention acts as a filter and why we miss more than we think
• How the brain stores thousands of images with striking detail after just a single viewing
• Why we still cannot look at a brain and determine what mood is
• What hinders us from developing more treatments for brain disorders
• Why we should see the brain as a complex dynamical system

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🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond

Timestamps:

00:00 How the Brain Processes Visual Information

04:03 Object & Face Recognition

07:07 How Attention Filters What We See

09:57 Visual Memory: How the Brain Stores Thousands of Images

14:38 Memory, Imagination, and Emotion

19:00 The Jennifer Aniston Neuron

25:45 How the Visual System Inspired AI

30:00 How Prof. Rust Moved from Vision to Mood Research

39:00 Measuring Mood in the Brain

43:33 How Mood Shapes Behavior and Decision-Making

49:30 Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn't Cured the Brain

52:50 The "Broken Domino" Model and Why It Has Failed Us

56:14 The Brain as a Complex Dynamical System

01:01:20 Who Should Set the Research Agenda?

01:06:04 Depression, Society, and the Limits of Biology

01:09:59 How to Study the Brain as a Complex System

01:12:20 Aging, Sleep, and Brain Balance

01:18:10 The Take-Home Message from Elusive Cures

01:19:30 Consciousness: The Hard Problem and What Neuroscience Can Offer

#Neuroscience #VisualNeuroscience #Memory #Perception #MoodNeuroscience #Depression #BrainHealth #ElusiveCures #ComplexSystems #BrainResearch #ScienceCommunication #BrainHealthMatters #NeuroscienceAndBeyond

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:

Svilen Georgiev

Kristina Jevdokimenko

Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı

Laura van Agen

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Does international representation automatically mean #diversity in academia?

In this episode, Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt reflects on what diversity in science truly means, going beyond background to include different ways of thinking, working, and collaborating.

We talked about:

• Why diversity is more than international representation
• The importance of different thinking styles in science
• Why interdisciplinary research is still difficult to achieve
• The role of trust and open collaboration in successful labs

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content and honest conversations about academic life.

🔗 Link to the full video: https://youtu.be/cL85_Zp_0C0
#academic #challenges #academia #science #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #PhDLife

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:

Svilen Georgiev

Kristina Jevdokimenko

Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı

Laura van Agen

Send us Fan Mail

Can Parkinson’s be detected years before symptoms appear, and can we slow it down early?

In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Prof. Tiago Outeiro about the future of Parkinson’s research, from early diagnosis to prevention and emerging treatments.

We explore how misfolded proteins like alpha-synuclein spread silently through the nervous system, and how early signals - such as REM sleep disturbances - may reveal the disease long before clinical symptoms. The conversation also covers advances in biomarker technologies and new therapeutic strategies targeting protein aggregation, metabolism, and cellular clearance, highlighting where the field is making real progress today.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How alpha-synuclein aggregation drives neurodegeneration
• Early warning signs like REM sleep behavior disorder
• How biomarkers may detect Parkinson’s before symptoms
• Why exercise is currently the most effective intervention
• The role of metabolism, lipids, and protein clearance
• New therapies: antibodies, GLP-1 drugs, and beyond
• Why early diagnosis is key to successful treatment

Watch the episode to learn how Parkinson’s could be detected earlier and treated more effectively, and if you want to go deeper into the basics, check out our Episode 5 with Prof. Tiago Outeiro.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content.

🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond

🔗Link to Episode5 withTiago Outeiro: https://youtu.be/UF4h07lml0M?si=78j0MwHFKiWuCcUI

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction & Why Parkinson’s Detection Must Happen Earlier
00:01:10 What Is Alpha-Synuclein and Why It Matters

00:09:00 Where Does Alpha-Synuclein Accumulate in the Brain and Body?
00:16:30 Who Is at Risk? Genetics, Sleep Disorders & Early Warning Signs
00:20:10 Preclinical Symptoms: Loss of Smell, Constipation & Depression
00:27:00 Environmental Risk Factors: Pesticides & Neurotoxins Explained
00:33:10 Can Parkinson’s Be Prevented? Current Strategies & Limitations
00:34:00 Why Exercise Is the Most Effective Disease-Modifying Treatment
00:36:00 Monoclonal Antibodies: Do They Work for Parkinson’s?
00:38:00 GLP-1 Drugs & Metabolic Therapies

00:41:00 What Type of Exercise Actually Helps the Brain?
00:45:20 Why Combination Therapies Are So Difficult to Develop
00:49:00 Why Early Detection Is Critical for Successful Treatment
00:50:10 What Are Biomarkers? Understanding Early Diagnosis Tools
00:56:00 Future of Diagnostics

01:05:40 Lipids, Metabolism & the Hidden Drivers of Neurodegeneration
01:08:40 Where Should Research Focus Next?
01:14:30 Advice for Young Scientists & Clinicians

#Neuroscience #Neurodegeneration #Parkinsons #Alzheimers #Synuclein #BrainHealth #ProteinAggregation #Biomarkers #Neurobiology #Exercise #BrainHealthMatters #HealthyAging #NeuroProtection

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:

Svilen Georgiev

Kristina Jevdokimenko

Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı

Laura van Agen

Send us Fan Mail

Why do journal names still shape scientific careers, and who pays the price?

Prof. Randy Schekman, a nobel prize laureate, discusses structural problems in #AcademicPublishing, including the pressure to publish in high-impact journals, rising #OpenAccess fees charged by commercial publishers, and long peer-review processes that can slow down scientific progress. He argues that the system can reward journal prestige over scientific contribution and may create inequalities when some researchers have access to additional funds to cover publication costs.

Prof. Schekman suggests that funding agencies and governments may need to negotiate firm caps on publication fees and reconsider how research quality is evaluated. He also emphasizes the role of society-run journals and the continued importance of peer review, alongside #Preprints.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content and honest conversations about academic life.

#academic #challenges #academia #science #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #PhDLife

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:

Svilen Georgiev

Kristina Jevdokimenko

Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı

Laura van Agen

Send us Fan Mail

How can we map the brain’s wiring at molecular resolution, and what are the realistic promises and limits of connectomics?

In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt, group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, UK), where his lab investigates #brain wiring at the molecular level. With previous research experience at ISTA Austria and E11 Bio, he works at the intersection of #ExpansionMicroscopy, molecular labeling, and scalable circuit reconstruction.

Beyond defining #connectomics, this conversation explores the technical, conceptual, and organizational challenges of mapping #NeuralCircuits at scale.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why synapses operate at the nanometer scale, and why this pushes imaging technology to its limits
• How physical tissue expansion bypasses the diffraction limit of light #microscopy
• Why whole-brain connectomes are rare “hero datasets” and what prevents comparative connectomics
• How combinatorial neuronal barcoding could reduce manual proofreading in circuit reconstruction
• Why new research models like Focused Research Organizations aim to close the gap between #academia and #industry.

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:00 Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt’s research focus

00:02:20 How Small Is a Synapse?

00:05:20 How Can We See Synapses?

00:08:00 What Can Connectomics Realistically Reveal?

00:13:00 Connectomics With Electron Microscopy vs. Light Microscopy

00:16:00 Expansion Microscopy

00:18:48 What Is Neuronal Barcoding?

00:26:00 Are Glia Part of Connectomics?

00:29:15 Does Expansion Microscopy Introduce Artifacts?

00:32:00 What Is E11 Bio and a Focused Research Organization?

00:38:45 From ISTA to Cambridge - Building a Lab

00:44:48 What Are Connectopathies?

00:54:00 Advices to Graduate Students

Read the most recent preprint here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.26.678648v1

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content. Watch our new episode to explore how connectomics, expansion microscopy, and neuronal barcoding are reshaping our ability to map the brain at molecular resolution.

🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:

Svilen Georgiev

Kristina Jevdokimenko

Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı

Laura van Agen

Send us Fan Mail

Why is it becoming harder to build a stable career in science?

Prof. Sauer reflects on structural pressures in academia: competitive #ResearchFunding, short-term contracts, and increasing administrative burdens. He discusses how evaluation metrics and grant systems shape career paths and may discourage long-term, high-risk research.

He highlights the need for sustainable funding structures and realistic career prospects for early-career scientists.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content and honest conversations about academic life.

#academic #challenges #academia #science #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #PhDLife

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:

Svilen Georgiev

Kristina Jevdokimenko

Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı

Laura van Agen

Send us Fan Mail

How do you see structures inside cells that are smaller than the wavelength of light? Why was the diffraction limit considered an unbreakable barrier for decades, and how did super-resolution microscopy change everything?

In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we explore the frontiers of biological imaging with Prof. Markus Sauer, a pioneer of modern super-resolution microscopy. Prof. Sauer developed direct STORM (dSTORM), a technique that enables visualization of molecular organization at the nanometer scale. He leads the super-resolution microscopy lab at the Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, where his team continues to push the boundaries of cellular imaging.

We discuss how single-molecule localization microscopy works, what are the technical challenges that we had to overcome to see the nanometer molecular world, and how these methods are now central to research in neuroscience, immunology, and translational science. The conversation also explores expansion microscopy, quantitative imaging, and the challenges of interpreting increasingly detailed biological data.

This episode takes a closer look at how improved imaging reshapes our understanding of cells, and why higher resolution often leads to deeper questions.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

• Important barriers to brake in order to achieve super-resolution microscopy
• The principles behind dSTORM and single-molecule localization
• What super-resolution reveals about molecular organization in neurons and in the context of immunology
• Expansion microscopy and its impact on modern cell biology

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction & Episode Overview

00:02:10 Markus Sauer’s Path into Microscopy

00:08:40 What Is the Diffraction Limit and Why It Matters

00:12:30 The Idea Behind Super-Resolution Microscopy

00:15:20 How dSTORM Works at the Single-Molecule Level

00:30:00 From Physics to Biology: Applications of Microscopy

00:42:40 Expansion Microscopy

00:47:30 What is Next in Microscopy? What are the limitations?

00:54:00 Current Challenges and Future Directions

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content.

🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond

#Neuroscience #SuperResolutionMicroscopy #dSTORM #Microscopy #CellBiology #DiffractionLimit #ExpansionMicroscopy #Neuroimaging #SciencePodcast #Biophysics

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:

Svilen Georgiev

Kristina Jevdokimenko

Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı

Laura van Agen

Send us Fan Mail

How do cells move cargo with such precision? What controls vesicle trafficking, and why does this process shape everything from cellular communication to disease? And what can extracellular vesicles really reveal about health, aging, and neurodegeneration?

In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, Professor Randy Schekman, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, helps unpack these questions. He explains the molecular machinery behind vesicle trafficking, how these pathways were discovered through foundational cell biology, and how this research enabled breakthroughs like insulin production in yeast. Prof. Schekman also explores what extracellular vesicles carry and why interpreting their biological roles remains experimentally challenging.

The conversation then shifts to Parkinson’s disease; its complexity, why current treatments mostly manage symptoms, and why early cellular changes may begin long before diagnosis. Prof. Schekman highlights research on genetic risk, environmental factors, and emerging evidence that vigorous exercise may influence disease progression.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

• How vesicle trafficking and extracellular vesicles shape cellular communication
• The cell‑biology foundations behind technologies like insulin production
• Why Parkinson’s disease is so difficult to treat and detect early
• Genetics, early warning signs, and the role of exercise in Parkinson’s research

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:08 Why Vesicle Trafficking Matters & Path to Nobel

00:10:12 Discovering Cellular Transport Mechanisms

00:16:52 How Vesicles Shape Cell Growth

00:22:18 From Cell Biology to Insulin Production

00:29:55 Technology, Science, and Deep Thinking

00:37:28 Why Extracellular Vesicles Are Important

00:43:32 Why Parkinson’s Disease Is So Devastating

00:48:23 Funding Parkinson’s Research at Scale

00:55:25 Does Parkinson’s Start Outside the Brain?

01:00:19 Can Exercise Slow Parkinson’s Progression?

01:06:40 Advice for Young Scientists

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content.

🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond

#Neuroscience, #CellBiology #ParkinsonsDisease #ExtracellularVesicles #VesicleTrafficking #Neurodegeneration #MedicalResearch #SciencePodcast #NobelPrizeLaureate

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:

Svilen Georgiev

Kristina Jevdokimenko

Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı

Laura van Agen