6. Hurricanes in the Brain: Why Cures Elude (Part 1)

In Episode 6 (Part 1) of Leafing Through Science, we dive deep into one of the biggest challenges in medicine: understanding – and treating – the human brain. Hedi is joined by professor and brain researcher Nicole Rust, author of “Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders – and How We Can Change That”.

Nicole asks a provocative question: what if treating brain disorders is less like replacing a broken part in a machine, and more like trying to redirect a hurricane? Nicole argues that only by embracing the brain as a complex adaptive system can we hope to make real progress.

From how many psychiatric drugs still trace back to chance discoveries in the 1950s, to what moods are for, and how the brain’s very adaptability may be the source of its fragility, this conversation explores a major shift in  ...