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Rapamycin extends mouse lifespan 9–14%
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Neuralink & Technologies to Enhance Human Brains | Dr. Matthew MacDougall — Whalespan

Content›Video›Neuralink & Technologies to …

Neuralink & Technologies to Enhance Human Brains | Dr. Matthew MacDougall

Andrew Huberman2h 2m · 2023-04-17

Claims Made

174

Claims Supported

129

Support Rate

74%

Support rate

129 of 174 claims supported

129 supported45 partial / not

Claims from this content

95

✓Well SupportedAG1 is a vitamin, mineral, probiotic drink with adaptogens designed to meet foundational nutritional needs and provide insurance for adequate fruit and vegetable intake.✓Well SupportedInside Tracker's platform provides actionable protocols to adjust blood markers into ideal ranges for health.✓Well SupportedRegular blood work is essential for monitoring factors impacting immediate and long-term health.✓Well SupportedProbiotics in Athletic Greens are vital for microbiotic health, which communicates with the brain and immune system to impact immediate and long-term health.Well Supported

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A. Volkovreader

4h

Bookmarking — the dossier-vs-overview split is the right call. Most of the time I want overview; sometimes I want receipts.

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N. Park

2d

Would love a "what would change this verdict" RSS feed. Sign me up if it exists.

✓

Ag One (formerly Athletic Greens) is a vitamin, mineral, and probiotic drink that provides foundational nutritional needs.

✓Well SupportedLevels, a program utilizing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), provides real-time feedback on how foods, activities, and sleep impact health and blood glucose levels.

✓Well SupportedSupplements can provide benefits for enhancing sleep quality, improving focus, supporting hormones, and improving mental and physical health and performance.

✓Well SupportedThe Huberman Lab podcast offers a free monthly newsletter with toolkits on health topics.

✓Well SupportedDevelopmental plasticity is highest between ages 0-25, after which rewiring the brain requires more intention and effort.

✓Well SupportedPersonalized nutrition platforms analyze blood and DNA data to help individuals understand their bodies and achieve health goals.

✕Not SupportedDrinking a barrel of red wine per day would be required to obtain the same amount of resveratrol as administered to mice in studies, which is not recommended.

✓Well SupportedAlcohol consumption, even at low levels, is associated with increased brain atrophy and thinning of the gray matter cortex.

✓Well SupportedConcussions from car accidents and construction injuries are more common causes of TBI and concussion than those from football.

✓Well SupportedApoB is considered the most important marker for cardiovascular risk.

◐Partially SupportedRadiation from Bluetooth headphones is not a health concern compared to other daily sources.

◐Partially SupportedKetone IQ increases blood ketones, which can benefit cognitive function.

◐Partially SupportedTaking Ketone IQ can lead to elevated focus for several hours, allow for fasted physical or mental work, and improve focus when fasted compared to being fasted alone.

✓Well SupportedThe brain has no pain receptors, making surgery on the brain painless.

◐Partially SupportedThe temporal region of the skull is unusually thin and vulnerable to fracture.

◐Partially SupportedMinimally invasive laser ablation for deep brain tumors can lead to better clinical outcomes with fewer side effects compared to traditional surgery.

◐Partially SupportedBrain plasticity is significantly higher in infants than in adults.

◐Partially SupportedPairing cholinergic stimulation with experience leads to rapid neuroplasticity.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink's initial goal is to enable quadriplegics to regain movement by reconnecting the patient's own muscle system to their motor cortex.

◐Partially SupportedMaintaining blood glucose levels within a normal range is crucial for the body's cells, particularly those in the nervous system.

◐Partially SupportedDamage to the frontal lobes can lead to inappropriate behavior, such as acting on impulses that would normally be filtered out.

◐Partially SupportedImplants in the hippocampus could potentially allow for greater than normal memory abilities.

?Limited ResearchThe long-term effects of chronic, non-clinical use of stimulants like Adderall, Ritalin, modafinil, and armodafinil on the brain are not well understood.

◐Partially SupportedDevices exist that can translate sound into tactile sensations on the hand or wrist.

✓Well SupportedExcessive sun exposure damages DNA and increases skin cancer risk, requiring sun protection.

◐Partially SupportedDecoding motor intentions from the brain requires sophisticated algorithms and software to translate electrical signals into actions for prosthetic limbs or robotic arms.

◐Partially SupportedThe body can dissipate localized heat from sources like Bluetooth headphones through sweat evaporation and temperature equalization.

✕Not SupportedMany current assistive devices that avoid direct brain surgery have a low theoretical maximum bitrate for information transfer.

?Limited ResearchHeat generated by earbuds and prolonged ear canal occlusion may be detrimental to auditory mechanisms and neural tissue.

◐Partially SupportedSensors measuring eyelid position, pupil size, or head position could detect reduced driver alertness.

◐Partially SupportedTesla vehicles likely use eye-tracking cameras to detect if the driver is looking at the road.

◐Partially SupportedChronic amphetamine use may disrupt brain structure or function.

◐Partially SupportedBrain augmentation and brain-machine interfaces have the potential to address severe brain dysfunctions such as addiction, depression, suicide, and obesity.

◐Partially SupportedThe brain is a collection of interconnected functional modules that can malfunction in discrete ways.

◐Partially SupportedBilateral frontal lobe damage can result in a severe loss of impulse control and lead to inappropriate social behavior.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink's immediate focus is on decoding the brain through electrical stimulation and recording.

◐Partially SupportedDeeper brain structures controlling mood, hormone output, and sleep-wake cycles have more stereotyped and similar functions across species compared to the outer brain surface.

✕Not SupportedChronic, excessive alcohol consumption causes significant brain atrophy.

◐Partially SupportedEpidural hematomas and specific brain injuries are typically caused by focal blunt trauma, not common sports impacts like helmet-to-helmet collisions.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink aims to enable individuals with spinal cord damage to control electronic devices using their motor intentions alone.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink's initial device may not be very useful for able-bodied individuals due to existing manual capabilities.

◐Partially SupportedVarious pig breeds and species, including mini pigs and Yorkshires, are used in research to optimize for different characteristics.

◐Partially SupportedImplantable devices with biocompatible surfaces do not cause local immune responses, pus, or swelling and heal within days.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink is developing robotic surgeons alongside exploring, augmenting, and treating human brain conditions.

◐Partially SupportedThe fluid sheath surrounding the brain acts as a protective cushion against brain bruising or bleeding.

◐Partially SupportedThe body's circulatory system regulates temperature by transporting heat via blood.

◐Partially SupportedClassical psychedelics like psilocybin have a broad impact on neuroplasticity, likely yielding more fruitful research than electrical stimulation.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink's near-term mission is to address severe medical problems in individuals with no current treatment options for motor control.

◐Partially SupportedThe human body has DNA repair mechanisms to counteract ionizing radiation exposure.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink aims to overcome diseases of brain and nervous system function and augment the human brain.

◐Partially SupportedAll brain functions, including hormone regulation, vision, sensation, and muscle movement, can potentially malfunction.

◐Partially SupportedCooling the brain is preferable to heating it for maintaining cell health.

◐Partially SupportedDifferences in species, such as pigs or rabbits versus humans, can explain discrepancies in lesion experiment outcomes.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink has reached a safety threshold far beyond commonly accepted levels for augmenting biological function.

◐Partially SupportedAdult humans are susceptible to functional deficits from losing even small portions of their brains.

◐Partially SupportedDr. Matthew McDougall implanted a radio receiver in his own periphery to demonstrate the utility of combining novel machines with the nervous system.

◐Partially SupportedSleep deprivation affects multiple brain regions, including the visual cortex and motor coordination, without clear evidence of one region being more impacted.

◐Partially SupportedSleep deprivation can cause the forebrain to become less responsive to impulses, potentially leading to inappropriate behaviors.

◐Partially SupportedExperiments involving lesioning parts of the cortex in animals suggested the cortex's equal potential, with no single critical area.

◐Partially SupportedMaintaining normal blood glucose levels is crucial for the nervous system and other body cells.

◐Partially SupportedKetones are the brain's preferred fuel source, even for individuals not on a ketogenic diet.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink is seeking individuals with quadriplegia for future clinical trials and has a patient registry for screening.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink devices are vouched for based on hundreds of surgeries performed, suggesting they are safer than many standard FDA-approved surgeries.

◐Partially SupportedPlaying video games can improve nervous system proficiency for learning and motor execution when combined with traditional social interaction.

◐Partially SupportedA drop in alertness, not just falling asleep, causes about one-third of vehicle accidents.

✕Not SupportedStaring directly at the sun is inadvisable.

◐Partially SupportedRFID chip implants made of biocompatible materials heal within days with no local immune response, pus, or swelling.

◐Partially SupportedIndividuals have varying sensitivities to sun exposure, with some experiencing issues even with minimal exposure, not exclusively those with fair skin.

◐Partially SupportedThe 'bitrate' of information transfer into or out of the brain is a metric for comparing assistive device efficacy.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink's device is initially being developed as a medical device for individuals with severe medical conditions and limited options.

◐Partially SupportedAn RFID chip can be implanted in the hand as a simple outpatient procedure, potentially without local anesthetic.

◐Partially SupportedA small, writable RFID tag implanted in the hand can be powered by nearby wireless devices to send data.

◐Partially SupportedA small subcutaneous RFID chip implant is less invasive than a brain implant.

◐Partially SupportedMinimally invasive techniques can now result in patients recovering unscathed from tumors in critical brain areas like the brain stem, primary motor cortex, or Broca's area.

◐Partially SupportedAn implant can reconnect the brain to the body by bypassing a damaged spinal cord area, allowing communication between motor cortex and lower spinal cord.

◐Partially SupportedSurgeons may perform better if they play video games.

◐Partially SupportedBrain-machine interfaces could enable unrestricted communication, overcoming the limitations inherent in verbal communication.

◐Partially SupportedClinically prescribed stimulants like Adderall, Ritalin, modafinil, and armodafinil can be beneficial in small amounts.

◐Partially SupportedDamage to the frontal lobes can result in loss of reasonable human behavior and impulse control.

◐Partially SupportedThe human brain can learn to control a system with shifting signals.

◐Partially SupportedVideo games can improve motor execution and visual detection.

◐Partially SupportedIndividuals missing large portions of their cortex can appear normal, challenging the notion of critical brain areas.

◐Partially SupportedPeripheral devices have a lower barrier to entry and adoption than brain-surgery-requiring devices.

◐Partially SupportedA rowing machine with a game function can help users improve rowing technique through visual feedback on stroke execution.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink's implant is initially indicated to help quadriplegics control a computer using brain motor intentions.

◐Partially SupportedInside Tracker's ultimate plan includes a measurement of apolipoprotein B (apob).

◐Partially SupportedTumors in the hypothalamus can lead to gelastic seizures, characterized by uncontrollable fits of laughter.

◐Partially SupportedBrain augmentation can be approached through pharmacology or electrical stimulation.

◐Partially SupportedNeuralink is developing a neural implant with a robotic insertion device to place tiny electrodes into a small region of the brain.

◐Partially SupportedThe current Neuralink device requires human neurosurgeons for initial incisions.

◐Partially SupportedImplanted RFID chips coded in biocompatible glass are passive, have no battery, and can potentially last a lifetime.