#041 Dr. Charles Raison on Depression, the Immune-Brain Interface & Whole-Body Hyperthermia
FoundMyFitness
Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D.
4.8 • 5.5K Ratings
🗓️ 19 March 2018
⏱️ 119 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Charles Raison
Charles Raison, M.D. is a professor at the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Founding Director of the Center for Compassion Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Raison’s research focuses on inflammation and the development of depression in response to illness and stress. He also examines the physical and behavioral effects of compassion training on the brain, inflammatory processes, and behavior as well as the effect of heat stress as a potentially therapeutic intervention major depressive disorder.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- 00:00 - Introduction
- 06:26 - Role of inflammation in depression
- 10:08 - Evolutionary mechanism
- 16:19 - Genetics of depression
- 22:57 - How obesity causes depression biochemically
- 33:32 - Does exercise treat depression
- 36:08 - Hyperthermia as treatment
- 46:08 - Inflammation promotes depression
- 53:39 - Did we evolve to need hormetic stress?
- 01:03:38 - Heat-shock proteins
- 01:06:10 - Repurposing ancient wisdom
- 01:17:31 - Psychedelics and meditation
- 01:27:51 - What is the role of conventional pharmacotherapy?
- 01:35:19 - Lifestyle modifications for depression
- 01:42:21 - Why light and circadian rhythm are important for mental health
If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/charles-raison
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome back friends to another episode of the Found My Fitness Podcast. |
| 0:03.8 | A magical place where simply through the act of listening, |
| 0:06.4 | your genetic expression will start to take on a new, more wholesome character. |
| 0:10.4 | Today's episode is a deep dive on the biological origins of depression, |
| 0:14.4 | and frankly, a lot more as well. |
| 0:16.8 | Often when we hear the word depression, we think of something that might be more |
| 0:20.4 | akin to negative thinking. |
| 0:22.0 | However, depression, real clinical depression can have a biological, |
| 0:26.3 | organic cause that science is increasingly showing to be linked to the behavior of the immune system, |
| 0:31.2 | and its incredibly dynamic and rich interaction with the brain. |
| 0:34.9 | This immune brain interface, as we'll learn today, can be central to behavior, |
| 0:38.7 | and is particularly relevant when we're talking about clinical depression. |
| 0:41.8 | But this relationship may be more complex than it appears at first glance. |
| 0:45.8 | In today's episode, we learn that inflammation, more than having a simple relationship as an |
| 0:50.5 | instigator, in other words, causing symptoms, can also be beneficial, |
| 0:54.8 | especially by promoting the release of growth factors in the brain, at least on a short-term basis. |
| 0:59.6 | As you might expect, just like everything in biology, |
| 1:02.4 | context is everything, but we'll get into that shortly. |
| 1:05.5 | For now, let's get down to business with a little bit about today's guest. |
| 1:09.3 | Dr. Charles Razon, MD, is a professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the |
| 1:13.8 | University of Wisconsin-Madison and Founding Director of the Center for Compassion Studies |
| 1:18.8 | in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona. |
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