The Ion Channel

This Is Not A Cult. Despite our often overly jolly demeanors, we promise you our newly rebranded The Ion Channel podcast is not a cult. Cults are often a subject of pop culture fanaticism, but in reality, they are dark psychological horrors that manipulate members with a host of tricks and literally brain-morphing activities. Join the full crew as we dive into a case study of two famous cults, Heaven's Gate and The Peoples Temple and the neurological trauma and impact of their terrifying practices + what you can do to prevent yourself from falling into a cult. Enjoyed the episode? Leave us a review and share the episode! Growing engagement encourages us to make future episodes and helps us reach a wider audience. Brain out! -- CONTACT US --> NEW ACCOUNTS! Instagram: @theionchannelpodcast Email: [email protected] -- CITATIONS: Singer, M. T. (2002, November). Cults in our midst. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov02/cults.html Hodge, C. (2019, March 26). Behind the Curtain of the Heaven’s Gate Cult. JSTOR Daily. Retrieved from https://daily.jstor.org/behind-the-curtain-of-the-heavens-gate-cult/ Albeck-Ripka, L. (2018, June 27). The Psychology Behind Cults. Discover Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/the-psychology-behind-cults History.com Editors. (2009, November 24). Mass Suicide at Jonestown. History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mass-suicide-at-jonestown Britannica, T. E. (2019, December 23). Heaven's Gate. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Heavens-Gate-religious-group Whitsett, D. (2016). Why Cults Are Harmful: Neurobiological Speculations. International Cultic Studies Association. Retrieved from https://www.icsahome.com/articles/why-cults-are-harmful-neurobiological-speculations--whitsett-it-4-3 Hassan, S. (2013, September 30). Cult Psychology: Learn the Difference Between a Cult and a Religion. HuffPost. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cult-psychology_b_3999136 Schacter, D. L., & Buckner, R. L. (n.d.). Brainwashed: The Neuroscience of Thought Control. Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Massachusetts General Hospital. Retrieved from https://clbb.mgh.harvard.edu/brainwashed/

The gut microbiome is an evolving and exciting field of research, and as we uncover more about the mysteries of the microbiome, the more we realize its significance in our everyday lives. The vast network of microbiota, spanning thousands of species of bacteria, fungi parasites, and more dictates everything from your immune response to mental disorders to physical health. In this episode, Ally, Matthew, and Adya (and Clarinde in spirit) explore the relationship between the gut, brain, and body and discuss how we can directly improve our mental and physical well-being through gut health.  -- CONTACT US:  Instagram: @iyna_hong_kong_official Email: [email protected] -- SOURCES: Appleton, Jeremy . "The Gut-Brain Axis: Influence of Microbiota on Mood and Mental Health." PubMed Central, 7 Aug. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6469458/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.  Backman, Isabella . "Does Parkinson’S Disease Begin in the Gut?" Yale School of Medicine, 9 Aug. 2022, medicine.yale.edu/news-article/does-parkinsons-disease-begin-in-the-gut/#:~:text=An%20intriguing%20observation%20scientists%20have,gut%2C%20usually%20resulting%20in%20constipation.  Carabotti, Marilia , et al. "The Gut-brain Axis: Interactions between Enteric Microbiota, Central and Enteric Nervous Systems." PubMed Central, 28 Apr. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4367209/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.  Cryan, John F., et al. "The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis." American Psychological Society, vol. 99, no. 4, 2019, pp. 1877-2013, https://doi.org/Aug 28. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.  "Gut Microbiome Plays a Role in Lifestyle’S Effects on Dementia Risk." NeuroscienceNews.Com, 11 Oct. 2022, neurosciencenews.com/dementia-lifestyle-microbiome-21615/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023. Martone, Robert. "The Neuroscience of the Gut." Scientific American, 19 Apr. 2019, www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-neuroscience-of-gut/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.  Mayer, Emeran A et al. “Gut microbes and the brain: paradigm shift in neuroscience.” The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience vol. 34,46 (2014): 15490-6. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3299-14.2014  Romano, S., Savva, G.M., Bedarf, J.R. et al. Meta-analysis of the Parkinson’s disease gut microbiome suggests alterations linked to intestinal inflammation. npj Parkinsons Dis. 7, 27 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-021-00156-z  Shreiner, Andrew B., et al. "The Gut Microbiome in Health and in Disease." PubMed Central, 1 Jan. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4290017/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.  "The Microbiome." Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.  Warwick, Kathy W., and Ruairi Robertson. "9 Ways to Improve Your Gut Bacteria, Based on Science." Healthline, 5 Aug. 2021, www.healthline.com/nutrition/improve-gut-bacteria. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.  Willyard, Cassandra . "How Gut Microbes Could Drive Brain Disorders." Nature, 2021, https://doi.org/03/02/2021.

The return to school and social situations after a long period of awayness can be scary a lot of the time. For many of us, amidst all the joy of being reunited with friends, there's the anxiety that comes with being in these social situations. In this episode, Adya and Matthew cover how the brain deals with social isolation, the post-COVID (and summer vacation) phenomenon that is re-entry anxiety, and ways that you can working through that to be more yourself in social situations. P.S: we're sorry the audio cut out a bit on a few occasions, something was up with our network as we were recording :( CONTACT US: Instagram: @iyna_hong_kong_official Email: [email protected] CITATIONS: Arad et al. "Social Distancing During A COVID-19 Lockdown Contributes to The Maintenance of Social Anxiety: A Natural Experiment" Beyond Blue, https://coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au/COVID-normal/supporting-personal-wellbeing/re-entry-anxiety-what-it-is-and-why-you-might-be-feeling-it Center for Treatment and Anxiety Disorders, https://centerforanxietydisorders.com/post-pandemic-social-anxiety/ Cleveland Clinic, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22709-social-anxiety Dunbar. "The social brain hypothesis and its implications for social evolution " Penn Medicine, https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-blog/2022/april/struggling-with-social-anxiety-as-we-prepare-for-reentry-post-covid-anxiety Sahakian et al. "Socially isolated people have differently wired brains and poorer cognition" Sliwa and Friewald. "A Dedicated Network for Social Interaction Processing in the Primate Brain" Vitale and Smith. "Neurobiology of Loneliness, Isolation, and Loss: Integrating Human and Animal Perspectives" Zheng et al. "Is Lockdown Bad for Social Anxiety in COVID-19 Regions?: A National Study in The SOR Perspective " Zhuan et al. "Cellphone addiction during the Covid-19 outbreak: How online social anxiety and cyber danger belief mediate the influence of personality"

Even as pride month has passed, Matthew (he/him) and Adya (she/her) dive into the neurology of transgender identity. They look at the neurobiological basis of gender dysphoria and how medication that aids in transformation affects the brain and body. We hope you enjoyed the episode. Please find us on Instagram at @iyna_hong_kong_official, or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or concerns! CAUSES TO SUPPORT: https://tgr.org.hk/index.php/en/ Transgender Resource Center, Hong Kong - an organization in Hong Kong focused on raising awareness about the transgender community, especially in education. https://enigma.ini.usc.edu/ Enigma USC: an organization from University of Southern California that does advocacy with legal institutions. It also pursues less researched topics such as the neurobiology of transgender identity, and do advocacy in these communities. SOURCES: Gliske, Stephen V. “A New Theory of Gender Dysphoria Incorporating the Distress, Social Behavioral, and Body-Ownership Networks.” Eneuro, vol. 6, no. 6, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1523/eneuro.0183-19.2019.** Goodson, James L. “The Vertebrate Social Behavior Network: Evolutionary Themes and Variations.” Hormones and Behavior, vol. 48, no. 1, June 2005, pp. 11–22., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.02.003. Gooren L (2006) The biology of human psychosexual differentiation. Horm Behav 50:589–601. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.06.011 pmid:16870186 Kiyar, Meltem, et al. “Neuroscience in Transgender People: An Update.” Neuroforum, vol. 26, no. 2, 2020, pp. 85–92., https://doi.org/10.1515/nf-2020-0007. “What Are Commonly Used Medications for Transition?” – Transline ... https://transline.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/229373208-What-are-commonly-used-medications-for-transition-. --- **We want to make a note that it was only after the podcast was recorded did we realize Gliske’s research had been retracted due to some errors in the study. Some facts mentioned in the podcast that have been drawn from Gliske are therefore theoretical and not definitive: The role of social behavioral networks (Gliske’s second dimension) has been disputed to be accurate, as it was drawn solely from mammal data. Other researchers have disputed this as transferable to humans. Gender identity in children can develop at age 2, but is often developed between the ages 3-5 The bottom line that 1) there are anatomical differences in the cis and trans brain (BNST, central extended amygdala, etc.) and 2) there is not enough research to understand functional differences in trans and cis brains holds true.

Want other neuroscience and psych content, or want to stay updated with our podcast? Follow us on Instagram @theionchannelpodcast! Ally and Matthew take on a last minute review of AP Psychology ahead of the test coming up this week! Part 2. Drop in and listen for a last review, and we encourage you to leave us feedback if you have any :) Timestamps: 0:10 - Motivation, Emotion, Stress and Personality 10:31 - Sleep and Drugs (States of Consciousness) 17:36 - Clinical Psychology 29:19 - Social Psychology

Want other neuroscience and psych content, or want to stay updated with our podcast? Follow us on Instagram @theionchannelpodcast! Ally and Matthew take on a last minute review of AP Psychology ahead of the test coming up this week! Part 1. Drop in and listen for a last review, and we encourage you to leave us feedback if you have any :) Timestamps: 0:44 - Intro/Methods 10:52 - Biological Basis 23:16 - Sensation and Perception 36:42 - Learning and Cognition 46:45 - Memory 56:51 - Developmental Psychology

As the pandemic rages into its 3rd year, the team examines the often overlooked phenomenon of COVID-somnia, including what you can do to minimize the risk as schools stay closed and work from home enters yet another leg. They also look at the instances of hallucinations induced by sleep deprivation, and why it isn't as rare as many would think.

What exactly does happiness look like? And can we learn it? In this episode, the team dives into the hypotheticals of happiness, what it means to run on the hedonic treadmill, and how to find greater happiness through what psychology and neuroscience have taught us.

In the second of two episodes on Valentines day, Adya, Clarinde, Ally and Matthew dive into what love looks like across cultures, ranging from American cultures to North Tibetan cultures to cultures in Hong Kong here today. They also address the anxiety of being single of valentines day, and offer encouragement and tips on how to cope with the FOMO.

Valentines Day is here, and what better way to celebrate it than by kicking off our podcast! Learn about the neurology of love, ranging from pheromones and chemicals that stick in our shirts, to how evolution has shaped out love today. Featuring Adya, Clarinde, Ally and Matthew.