Mayim Bialik Answers Neuroscience Questions From Twitter

Actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik uses the power of Twitter to answer the internet's burning questions about neuroscience.

Does social media cause sleep disorders?

Should we use drugs to boost brain power?

Does TikTok stimulate Alice in Wonderland syndrome?

Mayim's podcast, “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown,” premieres this fall.

- Jarl Wartooth with twoswords @locktowndog says,you ever look back atyour day's Twitter postsand think there's something slightly offwith your gray matter.Well, Jarl only if you'rethe president of the United States.Hi, I'm Mayim Bialikand this is Neuroscience Support.[upbeat music]Alexandria Friesen, @lexi_friesan asks,at what point is a guy'sfrontal lobe fully developed?With many question marks.I want to use this knowledge as a gaugefor when to give them a 17th chanceand when to just throw the whole man away.Well, Lexi, the frontallobe should be developedin the late teens or earlytwenties, if we're luckybut sometimes by behavior,it just seems like it doesn't happen.I'd say if you'relooking at a 17th chance,throw the whole man away or woman.D, @Bellicosevand says,one of the thing that does bug meis this thing called Caprgras syndrome.Like how do you actually knowthat the things aroundyou haven't been replacedwith an exact copy?Well D, that's the point.Capgras syndrome is adelusional psychiatric disorderwhere you actually believethat someone close to youis a replica and not the actual person.It's a very specificunusual existential crisisof a disorder.And the fact is you really don't know.Robin Richardson, @robin_r_r says,can Stendhal syndrome kill you?Well, Stendhal syndromeis a syndrome of both physicaland emotional features.Typically when seeingsomething of tremendous beauty,you have a rapid heartbeat,you can faint, you canhave hallucinations.Robin, I don't think it can kill youbut it sounds like youmight be in love, enjoy.Truckmansghost, @truckmansghost says,is it possible to have Cotard syndromebut like in a sexy, liberating way?Well, I'm gonna be asdelicate as I can right now,considering that this is a syndromewhich is a delusion that you are deador that your organs areliquefying or putrefying,I'm gonna go ahead and say no.Dr. Bhaumik Kamdar, @kamdar_j asked,does knowing how and why a person behavesas he behaves, neuroscience,absolve the person of his actionsand its subsequent consequences.Knowing how and why a person behavesis extremely importantin understanding people's motivations.But it absolutely doesnot absolve the personof actions and consequences.This is a really complicatedlegal issue obviously.And I think as our understandingof human motivation and behavior expandsand as our knowledge of the brainand the mind expands,we're understanding more aboutsome principles of compassion.And I think that's been solely lackingfrom the justice systemespecially when it dealswith people with mental health challengesor psychological orpsychiatric conditions.The entity comma jim, @ludflu says,neuroscience friends,hey, how and why doesthe out-breath activatethe parasympathetic nervous system?What is the mechanismand what should I read to understand it?Let's say that you don'tneed to know the mechanismunless you really want to in which caseI would honestly just Googleparasympathetic nervous systemand you can read all about it.But doctors like Dr. Sarnohave talked a lot about deescalatingthe agitation of the nervous systemby lowering blood pressure.And one of the ways that we do thisis with deep exhalation.There's a whole vagal systemof your nervous systemand the vagal system is responsiblefor really acting as thedowner for your system.It involves the brain,it involves organs in your body,which all contribute to heart rateand blood constriction, things like that,and those are the thingsthat literally increaseyour blood pressureand make you feel that sense of agitation.So the exhalationsimulates the vagal nerveand that whole system,which helps your entirebody literally slow down.There's also amazingmeditation books about breathand I would look to thoseto see the practical applicationsof helping yourparasympathetic nervous systemcalm you down.Snicket McG, @SnicketChan asks,is it possible to havechronic fatigue syndromeas a child?A lot of people questionthe actual diagnosis ofchronic fatigue syndrome.It is a collection of symptomsthat get grouped into this diagnosis.And I'm not saying, I believe in it.Absolutely, you can havechronic fatigue syndromeand all of those symptomsas a child, 100%,but also from a clinical perspective,you really wanna look towhat are the other factorsin a child's environmentthat are leading to those symptoms.There is a huge psychologicalenvironmental componentto all of these kinds of diagnoses,whether in adults or children.So I would actually lookto address those first.Ikran, @ikran says,is there a maskthat is more trigeminalneuralgia friendly?I ask that every day.I'm trying to not put myself in paineach time I need to buy something.This is a great question.The trigeminal nerve isa very special nerve.It's one of your cranial nerves.And some people are extremely sensitiveto irritation of that nerve.That is a thing.If anyone's ever had a migraineand has felt your teethand your nose and your eye hurt,that's your trigeminalnerve getting really mad.I'm gonna go ahead and say,if that mask is out there,you can probably find it.I do not want you to be in painevery time you need to buy somethingor just go back to the old school bandanaand make sure it comesall the way up to your nose.Mikel, @cracklechulo wants to know,guys any recommendationsfor someone who has a sleep disorder.Doesn't matter if it's medicine.Well, I'm sure that you'vesearched other thingsthat people do for sleepdisorders besides medicine.And I would recommend those thingsboth as a neuroscientist and as a human.Meditating before bed,I know some people arelike, oh, that's a stupid,any meditation programthat does guided sleep meditationscan be really helpful in going to sleep.If you have trouble staying asleep,meditation will also helpin lowering your generalkind of need for your brainto process actively at night.People do like melatoninwhich you can take in safe supplementsand that mimics your body'snatural sleepy hormones.A warm bath before bed is goodbecause it actually heats you upso your body compensatesand lowers your body temperature,which is what your bodylikes to go to sleep.So for those of you who liketo get cozy under the covers,there's a reason for that.Also just general shout-outfor psychotherapy orcognitive behavioral therapy.A lot of those of us with sleep disordershave underlying thingsgoing on in our headsand our lives that caninterfere with sleep.Also having a regular bedtime does helpand a regular wake up time also helps.Good luck.Toofaan, @Murtaza_mq says,is social media responsiblefor sleep disorderin most of the cases?I'm gonna say no, but Ihaven't done the research.As a scientist,I'm gonna go ahead and remind youthat most of means more than 50%.Social media can do two thingsthat can interfere with your sleep.One is it can keep you up later at nightthan you should be.It can make you have too much interactionwith light before sleepbecause you're checkingit before you sleep.The most important thingthat social media probablyinterferes with sleep throughis filling your headwith all sorts of information,a lot of which is probablynot necessarily useful.The human brain has notchanged in the last 10 yearsversus hundreds of thousandsof years of evolution.We do need a lot of downtimeand we do need boredom.And social media has kind of removedour ability to have downtime and boredom,which are good for the brainand also do contribute to healthier sleep.Notorious OMG with aheart, @secretdiarymom,what's the best time of dayto switch from uppers to downers?Asking for my neuro-transmitters.Well, @secretdiarymom,your neuro-transmitterspretty much know what to dowithout you adding anything to them.So I would say stopdrinking caffeine after noonor one or two o'clock, that's an upperand in terms of downers,I hope you mean nap-time and meditation.Thanks secretdiarymom.Iman, @whynotiman_ says,being tired all thetime is such a mystery.Is it anemia?Vitamin D deficiency?Chronic fatigue syndrome?Depression, insomnia?Is it just the crushing weightof being alive in a capitalistic society?Someone cure me please.Well, I'm gonna go for crushing weightof being alive in a capitalistic society,but there are tests for anemia,for vitamin D deficiency.We do have a way to assessif you have chronic fatigue syndrome.Depression and insomnia,those are likely becauseof the crushing wweightof being alive in a capitalistic society.So I'm tired all the time too.Phoebe Luckhurst, @phoebeluckhurst says,can anyone please help with some insightsinto what games like Candy Crushdo to your brain?All my neuroscientistsare rejecting my advances.Well, Phoebe, this neuroscientistisn't rejecting your advances.I'll be happy to tell you.They're filling your brainwith random pieces of candythat you have to, Idon't know, make rows ofso they disappear.Candy Crush is wonderful for distraction.It is mindless fun.It's like candy.It doesn't really haveany nutritional value,but it sure feels goodwhen you put it in your mouth and eat it.In all seriousness, CandyCrush is asking your brainto do a lot of non challenging computationwhile also distracting youfrom anything that's going on in reality,which means like anygood drug or bad drug,you should use it for good and not evil.Ale Salgado, @tiempoasm says,should we use drugs to boost brain power?What do you think?Neuroscientists have different posture.Well, this neuroscientisthas terrible posture.I'm just kidding.I'm actually a littlebit on the fence hereabout boosting brain power with drugs.I think that what worries me aboutthe discussions I've heardsurrounding boosting brain poweris a need to increase productivitybeyond what feels human and humane.And I think that'ssomething that concerns me.I don't think that brain powershould be seen as something that canand should be treatedas if we're a computer thatneeds to be supercharged.I think that there'sa human interest levelof understanding thatthe power that we have iswhat our brains were developed to have.And on the other hand,we have the ability to create drugsthat can enhance that.And are there safe ways to do that?I'm not sure.Right now it seems that it's being abused,but I think more will be revealed.Rhiannon, @V4NHEUSENS says,wait, I have a question.Okay, I'm waiting.I'm not trying to offendanyone, just curious.Are things like schizophrenia, OCD,dissociative identity disorder, et ceteraconsidered neuro-divergent.I've seen people define itas your brain being wired differently.So does apply to those as well?Just wanted to know, thank you.Smiley face.Neuro-divergent typically refers to peoplewhose brains learn differentlyand it's something we typically usekind of in academic circlesto talk about modalities for learningand helping people achieve to the levelthat their brain is happy to achieve at.Things like schizophrenia, OCD,dissociative identity disorder,those are examples of the brainnot necessarily being wired differently,but we do know that thereare genetic differencesfor some forms of schizophrenia and OCD.DID is usually,there's likely a genetic componentand also environmental impactsbut these are things that aremore about the way youare genetically codedrather than the notion ofbeing wired differently.So I like to think of neuro-divergentas wiring in terms of learningand those other thingsin terms of diagnosticspsychiatric criteria.Ravi, @ShriyaRavi12 says,does TikTok stimulate Alicein Wonderland syndrome?I couldn't possibly be theonly person that feels likethey're suckered into abizarre time-value warpwhen I'm consuming this media form.I'm impressed that you'recalling TikTok media form.I'm digging that.Alice in Wonderland syndromeis typically the syndrome whereyou feel that a body part of yoursis of a different size.It's a visual and kind ofsensory perceptual syndrome.The notion of being kindof down the rabbit holeand losing time is maybea looser definitionof Alice in Wonderland syndrome.And I would say you're absolutely correct.Things like TikTokand those kinds of media formsdo absolutely suck time awayand much like video gaming,you can pass a lot of timewithout knowing the time has passed.So you are absolutely right.TikTok makes you feel like time goes away.Dr. Cocch, @redstockinglady says,head hurting from caffeine withdrawalor growing dendrites?Having withdrawalwill absolutely make your head hurt.It will also make you really grumpy.Growing dendrites, which arethe extensions of neuroma processesthat communicate with other neuronsis not typically something we feel,but if you're quitting caffeine,your dendrites might be really gratefulsince caffeine is notso great for your brain,especially in large quantities.So it could be your dendrites saying like,you've abused us for too long.We're gonna make your head hurtas we stretch ourselves out.Sieva Kozinsky, @SievaKozinsky says,what increases the possibilitiesof multiple sclerosis?Does smoking marijuana break down axons?Multiple sclerosis is a genetic disorderwhich does cause thedemyelination of axons.Axons are the things thatconnect the cell bodyto the parts of the cellthat communicate with other cells.And they're aligned, axonsaligned with essentially fat.It's why we need to eatfat and cholesterol,but in multiple sclerosis,this fat starts to break downand the axons can'tcommunicate information rapidlybecause fat is a great insulatorfor moving information quickly,especially on the electrical quality.Smoking marijuana does a lot of things.It cannot break down axons.It also does not demyelinate axons,which is what happensin multiple sclerosis.So multiple sclerosis is a genetic diseaseand smoking marijuana does a lot of thingsto interfere with brain function,but breaking down axonsis not one of them.Faithy, @fpxox says,am I now realizing the reality of lifebecause I just turned 25and my frontal lobe justfinished developing?Or is it the four months of quarantine?Your frontal lobe does finish developingsomewhere in your early twenties,but that's not reallywhat makes you understandthe reality of life.You won't really understandthe reality of lifeuntil you can't leave your houseand you have to weara mask anytime you do.And you're stuck with yourselfand all of your problems and issues.So I'm gonna vote forquarantine, happy birthday.Bewildebeast, @Alex_Bollocks,is a nerve cell the long thin onewith a huge head with loads of dendrites?There are lots ofdifferent kinds of neuronsand they look a lot of different ways,but the classical nerve cell,the classical neuron is a long thin onewith a huge head.That's where the nucleus is with the DNA,and loads of dendrites.Those are the things thatcommunicate with other cells.So yup, you got it.That's a nerve cell.Hollhouse, @mediumtittygoth says,why don't people talk abouthow having ADP the ADHDcan apparently cut around eight yearsoff a person's lifespan?And being untreated/undiagnoseduntil adulthoodcan apparently cut an estimated13 years off your life spanbecause your neuro-developmentis so stunted during childhood?To be honest with you,I have not heard these statisticsand this is something Iwould like to look into.I think it's an important point thoughthat a lot of times in science,we have correlations thatmay not be causation.So with these kinds of facts,and this is kind ofthe dangerous thing about the internet,we can hear things andkind of run with them,but it really takes lookingat this kind of studyand what factors did they control for?What are the other comorbid factorswe were dealing within understanding who the sample size is?So I'm gonna look into thisand thank you for bringingit to my attention.These are very startling statisticsand I'm very curiousso scientists are always learning too.Eve, @evedehaan says,does anyone else who getssleep paralysis a lotknow what triggers it?Won't have it for like six monthsand then have it forlike five days in a row.Sleep paralysis is prettymuch what it sounds like.It's usually when you'rein a half sleep stateand your body cannot move.Often have cognition,meaning you want to move.You are not asleep.It's not a dream.It's somewhere in betweenand there have been studiesdone showing that the brainwavesare literally kind of caught in between.It can be very terrifying, very scary.I would look into what's going onin terms of maybe speaking to a therapistor a cognitive behavioral therapistto see if there's a correlation.There may be food triggers,environmental triggers,and sometimes a cognitivebehavioral therapistcan give you words and cuesthat can help you comeout of that state quickerand good luck.Wani, @mbambara_wani says,you know how you can reboot devices.Yes Wani, I know.Do you think it's possibleto do that to the human brain?If not, why?Well, this is gonna bean answer you don't like.There is somethingcalled electroconvulsive therapy treatmentand many view as very inhumane.And I would tend to agreewith all due respect.It is essentially areboot for the human brainand it involves passinglarge amounts of electricalcurrent into the brain.It is a really dramatic treatment.Usually for untreatablesuicidal depressionthat is unresponsive tomany other modalities.I have known peoplewho have had this done.It is very significant.Should not be taken lightly.In general, I will saytherapy is a wonderful wayto re-parent your brainand to reboot emotionally.It is not the kind of rebootI think you were asking about.Thatoneguy, @thatoneguy21000 says,how do people with epilepsyhandle police lights?Epilepsy is a neurological conditionthat does involve seizures.Those seizures can be brought onby strobe lights, flickering lights,probably been in amovie theater or a show,at an amusement park where they say,if you have epilepsy,this show involves strobe lights.Police lights are notvibrating at that frequency.Is kind of a hippy dippy way to say it.Police lights do not triggerepilepsy to my knowledge,it's usually a more specificand high frequency kind of flickeringthat's gonna trigger that.Robert @BLKROCKET says,are mammals wired for empathy,grief, compassion, loneliness.Well Robert, you and I are mammals.And I'm pretty sure you knowthat we are wired for empathy.It's one of the thingsthat helps us stay bonded as mammalsand perpetuate the species,if you think about it.We are wired for processing grief, yes.Primates in particularare wired for grief.We absolutely see cases ofreally most mammals being wiredfor compassion and foraltruistic behavior.As for us being wired for loneliness,loneliness is an extensionof the need to connect andperpetuate togetherness.Even non-mammals are wired for that,but yes, mammals are wiredfor all of those things and more.I really enjoyed answeringthese smattering ofNeuroscience Support questions.I think that the format of social mediamakes us able to communicate in waysabout things we're curious about.And for someone who's studied the brainfor 12 years of my lifeand continues to be a science educator,it's beautiful to talk about these things.It's beautiful to seereally the holes in people's knowledgeand also what they're curious aboutand what's bothering them.It really underscores for methe need for us to have more accessfor mental health.And I think also peopleare interested in the brainbecause it's fun and amazing.And that's the reason I studied itso super happy to talk about thatwith anyone who wants to talk about it.Thank you so much, everybodyfor your questions.Stay curious and maybe we'lldo this again sometime.[speaks in foreign language]