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Pure Curiosity: Dr. Adam Gazzaley on Digital Medicine and the Future of Mental Health

What if you could play a fun, intelligent, self-adapting video game to treat your ADHD or depression? What if a psychiatrist’s office was no longer just a place to get pills, but a place to lay back and immerse yourself in a Virtual Reality treatment environment? It sounds like science fiction, but neurologist/neuroscientist Dr. Adam Gazzaley is working to make these things a reality. In this episode of Pure Curiosity, Adam describes his cutting-edge research and the future of digital medicine, including the development of what will likely be the world’s first prescribable video game! The future is very bright indeed.

About Our Guest:

Dr. Adam Gazzaley obtained an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He is now Professor in Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco and the Founder / Executive Director of Neuroscape, a translational neuroscience center engaged in technology creation and scientific research. He designs and develops novel brain assessment and optimization tools to impact education, wellness, and medicine practices. This approach involves the development of custom-designed, closed-loop video games integrated with the latest advancements in software (brain computer interfaces, GPU computing, cloud-based analytics) and hardware (virtual/augmented reality, motion capture, mobile physiological recording devices, transcranial electrical brain stimulation). He advances these technologies to rigorous research studies that evaluate their impact on multiple aspects of brain function and physiology.

Dr. Gazzaley is also co-founder and Chief Science Advisor of Akili Interactive Labs, a company developing therapeutic video games, and co-founder and Chief Scientist of JAZZ Venture Partners, a venture capital firm investing in experiential technology to improve human performance. Additionally, he is a scientific advisor for over a dozen technology companies including Apple, GE, Magic Leap and Nielsen, and on the Science Board of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. Dr. Gazzaley has filed multiple patents for his inventions, authored over 100 scientific articles, and delivered over 500 invited presentations around the world.

More Links:

Adam’s Lab: Neuroscape

Adam’s Photography: Photography

Social Media: Twitter, Instagram

Listen Here:

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