reSee.it Podcast Summary
David Lindon, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins, describes his work on brain injury recovery and translating basic science to patients. He explains that recovery is limited by axon regrowth in the adult brain and that therapies aim to promote regrowth. In mice, he says, researchers injure specific neurons using targeted approaches, including a lab stimulant called paracchloromphetamine, to reveal why certain serotonin neurons can regrow. These serotonin neurons, and some norepinephrine neurons, regrow, offering clues for therapies to help other neurons repair after injury.
On depression, he notes that SSRIs do not damage serotonin neurons but have many side effects, such as reduced libido, and that efficacy is uneven: about a third respond well, a third modestly, a third not at all. He emphasizes that antidepressants are a temporary stopgap and that better therapies are needed. New single-cell analyses reveal fourteen flavors of serotonin neurons in the raphe, suggesting targets for more specific treatments.
Moving to love and human nature, he points out that human parenting is unusually long and that paternity is accurately assigned in about 90–95% of cases worldwide. Long-term pairing supports offspring care, and mating behavior in humans is rare among mammals, contributing to the special status of love. He discusses attractiveness as fitness signals—symmetry, clear skin, height, and other cues that signal the ability to thrive and reproduce. On sexual orientation, he cites estimates that heritability is about 40% in men and 20% in women, notes that upbringing matters little for identity but influences willingness to express it, and quotes Pete Buttigieg: “If being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far far above my pay grade.”
Beyond beauty, he notes that voices and smells matter, and discusses animal behavior across species, including sheep where homosexual behavior is observed but not exclusive. He explains that love at first sight engages dopamine in the ventral tegmental area while reducing prefrontal control and amygdala fear; long-term love often shifts to a calmer, more mature phase, with rare individuals maintaining intense feelings. In faith and science, he argues they are two branches of the same human pursuit, citing Vatican astronomy and science bodies, Buddhist openness, and the idea that science explains mysteries through falsifiable inquiry while faith offers meaning.
He reflects on mortality, describing the brain as a prediction machine and explaining why humans fear nonexistence; he shares his own cancer journey—synovial sarcoma four years ago with a prognosis of six to eighteen months—and notes that love and his wife help sustain him biologically, with dopamine signaling potentially boosting immune response. His forthcoming book, The Real Science of Mind-Body Medicine, will investigate how thoughts, beliefs, and emotions can influence biology and disease progression; he cites the placebo effect as a biological phenomenon acting through mu opioid receptors. He surveys future biomedical advances with optimism: personalized medicine, gene editing (CRISPR), and AI-assisted data analysis, noting these could transform cancer treatment and neurological disorders.
Finally, he warns that severe budget cuts to NIH and NSF could devastate research; the conversation turns to policy, funding, and the importance of sustaining science. Throughout, the themes converge: minds and bodies are linked; science and faith can coexist; love and purpose shape biology, health, and meaning.