Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 22 hours ago
In "The Art and Neuroscience of Self-Healing and Learning," Dr. Dave Rabin, MD, PhD, explores the transformative potential of neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to form new connections, adapt, and grow. This lecture delves into practical strategies for harnessing neuroplasticity to enhance learning, memory, and emotional wellbeing. Dr. Rabin will cover techniques such as breathwork, touch, movement, and the use of psychedelics and wearables, to facilitate personal growth and address mental health challenges like trauma, depression, and stress. Attendees will gain insights into optimizing brain function to build new habits, acquire skills, and long-lasting resilience.
Dr. David Rabin, MD, PhD, a board-certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist, is the co-founder & Chief Medical Officer at Apollo Neuroscience, the first scientifically-validated wearable system to improve heart rate variability, focus, relaxation, and access to meditative states by delivering gentle layered vibrations to the skin. In addition to his clinical psychiatry practice, Dr. Rabin is also the Executive Director of The Board of Medicine, and a psychedelic clinical researcher currently evaluating the mechanism of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in treatment-resistant mental illnesses.
This lecture is part of the IHMC Evening Lecture series.
ihmc.us/life/evening_lectures
In "The Art and Neuroscience of Self-Healing and Learning," Dr. Dave Rabin, MD, PhD, explores the transformative potential of neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to form new connections, adapt, and grow. This lecture delves into practical strategies for harnessing neuroplasticity to enhance learning, memory, and emotional wellbeing. Dr. Rabin will cover techniques such as breathwork, touch, movement, and the use of psychedelics and wearables, to facilitate personal growth and address mental health challenges like trauma, depression, and stress. Attendees will gain insights into optimizing brain function to build new habits, acquire skills, and long-lasting resilience.
Dr. David Rabin, MD, PhD, a board-certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist, is the co-founder & Chief Medical Officer at Apollo Neuroscience, the first scientifically-validated wearable system to improve heart rate variability, focus, relaxation, and access to meditative states by delivering gentle layered vibrations to the skin. In addition to his clinical psychiatry practice, Dr. Rabin is also the Executive Director of The Board of Medicine, and a psychedelic clinical researcher currently evaluating the mechanism of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in treatment-resistant mental illnesses.
This lecture is part of the IHMC Evening Lecture series.
ihmc.us/life/evening_lectures


![Episode 197: Scott Sherr discusses hyperbaric oxygen therapy, methylene blue, and more
Today we have Dr. Scott Sherr, an internal medicine physician who specializes in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
Scott is the director of Integrative Hyperbaric Medicine and Heath Optimization at Hyperbaric Medical Solutions. It is a division of Hyperbaric Medical Solutions, an independent, hyperbaric oxygen therapy provider that aims to educate people about the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy via telemedicine consulting. He also is COO of Troscriptions, which provides physician-formulated products including popular methylene blue products.
In today’s interview, Scott talks about how he uses Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) to treat a number of health conditions. He also shares how he incorporates methylene blue into some of his treatment strategies and explains how HBOT is now being used as a complementary treatment for autoimmune diseases by helping reduce inflammation, improve blood flow and support immune function.
Show notes:
[00:03:29] Dawn tells Scott that she heard a story that Scott had his spine adjusted when he was just five minutes old. She asks Scott if he can share what happened.
[00:04:15] Dawn mentions that Scott grew up in New York on Long Island and that as a child he spent a lot of time at his father’s chiropractic office. Dawn asks Scott about his father and his practice.
[00:05:38] Ken notes that Scott was into sports as a kid and asks him to talk about his childhood and what he was like as a kid.
[00:07:09] Dawn notes that after high school, Scott left New York for the West Coast, landing at UCLA. Dawn asks Scott to talk about what led him there.
[00:08:00] Dawn explains that Scott initially started to major in biology but quickly changed majors. Scott explains why he changed majors.
[00:08:41] Dawn asks Scott why he chose to attend the University of Maryland for medical school after graduating from UCLA.
[00:09:26] Dawn asks Scott about the story of how he met his wife at the University of Maryland.
[00:09:50] Dawn pivots back to Scott’s love of music, mentioning that Scott and three other medical school students at Maryland formed a band called The Airport Rocking Chairs. Scott describes how the band came together and how they performed at gigs around the Baltimore/D.C. area.
[00:11:16] Ken asks Scott to talk about how his early ambition upon entering medical school was to find a way to bridge the gap between conventional and alternative/chiropractic medicine.
[00:12:54] Ken explains that in Scott’s third year of medical school, he did rotations at the University Shock and Trauma Facility. Ken asks Scott to talk about why this was such an important experience for Scott.
[00:14:32] Dawn explains that hyperbaric chambers are used to treat injuries like necrotizing fasciitis and severe wounds. Dawn asks Scott to talk about finding a hyperbaric chamber in the basement of the University Shock and Trauma Facility and how that led to his fascination with the potential for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
[00:15:51] Dawn asks Scott to talk about how his initial research on hyperbaric therapies led him to conclude that they were being vastly underutilized in conventional medicine.
[00:16:31] Dawn mentions that people are likely familiar with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in terms of treating divers suffering from decompression sickness. She asks Scott to give a primer on the mechanisms by which HBOT affects the body and why it has potential to treat other conditions besides decompression sickness.
[00:19:38] Ken asks Scott to talk more about other conditions, both acute and chronic, that HBOT might be helpful in treating.
[00:22:51] Dawn asks about Scott’s experience as a hospitalist, which is an internal medicine physician who acts as a primary care physician in a hospital, and how this experience gave him a unique perspective on the strengths and limitations of modern medicine.
[00:25:13] Ken asks Scott if it’s fair to say that his experience as a hospitalist was foundational in developing his understanding of patient care and healthspan.
[00:26:51] Dawn explains that when Scott’s wife received a fellowship at Stanford University, Scott eventually left his career as a hospitalist to serve as the medical director for a hyperbaric medicine facility in the San Francisco Bay area. Dawn asks Scott to talk about how this experience deepened his understanding and expertise in hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
[00:28:26] Ken asks Scott to talk about his relationship with Dominic D’Agostino, who was our recent guest on STEM-Talk episode 196 (https://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-196/) , and who is very active in the field of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
[00:30:48] Dawn mentions that during Scott’s work as a hospitalist, he began to develop a more integrated approach to hyperbaric medicine, taking nutritional status, sleep patterns, mitochondrial function, and a number of other factors into consideration. Doing this work, Scott noticed that a ... Episode 197: Scott Sherr discusses hyperbaric oxygen therapy, methylene blue, and more](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Cg84ShnVD4k/mqdefault.jpg)




![Episode 193: Tommy Wood and his new book bust the belief that the adult brain is fixed
Today we have Dr. Tommy Wood, a neuroscientist and frequent STEM-Talk guest who joins today on the eve of the publication of his first book, “The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age.” (https://www.amazon.com/Stimulated-Mind-Future-Proof-Brain-Dementia-ebook/dp/B0FFGBQC7D/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.cjFMDZOijlhN4WmOnqYGhZwa3eCd_OypkejnAiJavA4.QaOaqMzvyJoa-o4fgmxvsWn8XraPovMRJQmPp4s_Jo0&qid=1773859590&sr=8-1)
Tommy is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience at the University of Washington, where his laboratory focuses on brain health across human lifespan. Tommy is a colleague and good friend who also is a Visiting Research Scientist here at IHMC.
Today we talk to Tommy about his mission to dispel the myth that the brain is doomed to decline with age. His book, which publishes on March 24 but is available for pre-order on Amazon, offers science-backed strategies to enhance mental sharpness and prevent cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease.
There was so much to unpack with Tommy about his book, that we decided to split his interview into two parts. Today we talk to Tommy about the history of neuroscience and how researchers go about studying the brain. We also have a conversation with Tommy about what is holding us back in terms of addressing an ever-increasing burden of cognitive and mental health disorders we are experiencing not only here in the U.S., but also around the world. In part two of Tommy’ interview, which will air in a few weeks following today’s episode, Tommy shares science-backed strategies to help people future-proof their brains.
Tommy’s lab at the University of Washington focuses on brain health across the lifespan. He conducts research that focuses on ways to treat a range of brain injuries, including babies born preterm and adults who experience brain trauma. He also investigates lifestyle factors that affect long-term cognitive function and increase the risk of dementia.
Tommy has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, a medical degree from the University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of Oslo.
Show notes:
[00:04:04] Dawn opens our interview congratulating Tommy on his new book, “The Stimulated Mind.” Dawn asks Tommy what inspired him to write his first book.
[00:07:29] Since writing the book consumed more than 18 months of Tommy’s life, Dawn asks Tommy if he thinks he’ll write another one.
[00:09:36] Dawn asks if it’s fair to say that the overarching theme of “The Stimulated Mind” is that the conventional belief the adult brain is fixed and incapable of change is wrong.
[00:17:35] Ken explains that Tommy opens his book with a story about a study on barn owls, where researchers outfitted a group of owls with prism goggles that altered the perceived position of objects in the owls’ vision. While young owls were able to quickly adapt to the change in their vision and return to normal behavior and activities, adult owls, even after months of wearing the goggles, were unable to adapt and would miss mice that were directly under their beaks. However, the research group amended their study design and found something interesting. Ken asks Tommy to explain what they found when they amended their design.
[00:22:40] Ken asks Tommy to share how a human study, which outfitted participants with goggles that flipped their vision upside down, demonstrated the adaptability of the adult brain.
[00:25:32] Ken asks if these sorts of adaptations have been seen as beyond basic sensory modalities in higher cognitive functions.
[00:31:25] Dawn zooms out in our discussion and asks Tommy, given the falsehood of our previous understanding of the adult brain as being fixed, what exactly do we know about the brain.
[00:35:36] Dawn asks Tommy to talk about Santiago Ramón y Cajal, who is considered the first neuroscientist.
[00:38:41] Dawn mentions chapter two of Tommy’s book, “How do Neuroscientists Study the Brain,” in which Tommy explains the complexity of the brain, which is comprised of almost 100 billion neurons which compose nearly a quadrillion synapses. Given the complexity of the brain, Tommy notes in his book that even an organ as complex as the human brain is incapable of fully comprehending its own complexity. Dawn asks Tommy to talk about how he and his colleagues approach studying the brain.
[00:43:30] Ken notes the parallels between attempting to understand the function of the brain based on an understanding of its individual components to the process of trying to understand how a piece of software works on a computer by systematically studying the computer’s hardware. Ken goes on to start a discussion on the parallels between the brain as a self-referential system that is so complex it cannot even fully understand itself, to various paradoxes as well as Gödel’s theorem, wh... Episode 193: Tommy Wood and his new book bust the belief that the adult brain is fixed](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EIKaeOgKYsM/mqdefault.jpg)


