How the Brain Works, Curing Blindness & How to Navigate a Career Path | Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky

In this episode, my guest is Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky, Ph.D., a professor of neurosurgery and ophthalmology at Stanford University. He studies how we see and uses that information to build artificial eyes that restore vision to the blind. We discuss how understanding the retina (the light-sensing brain tissue that lines the back of our eyes) is critical to knowing how our brain works more generally. We discuss brain augmentation with biologically informed prostheses, robotics, and AI and what this means for medicine and humanity. We also discuss E.J.’s unique journey into neuroscience and how changing fields multiple times, combined with some wandering, taught him how to guide his decision-making in all realms of life. This episode ought to be of interest to anyone interested in learning how the brain works from a world-class neuroscientist, those interested in the future of brain therapeutics and people seeking inspiration and tools for navigating their own professional and life journey. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman Social & Website Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab Twitter: https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://www.hubermanlab.com/newsletter Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky Academic profile: https://stanford.io/3TdtdIg Publications: https://stanford.io/4adV0iM Lab website: https://stan.md/49UpMNL Chichilnisky Lab Make a Gift: https://stan.md/4cmqSns Lab media: https://stan.md/4cgmIgH Stanford Artificial Retina Project: https://stan.md/3IGydAl Stanford Artificial Retina Project Make a Gift: https://stan.md/3ThSt0h LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-chichilnisky-97857429 X: https://twitter.com/StanfordRetina Article & Other Resources Donor Network West: https://www.donornetworkwest.org NeuraLink: https://neuralink.com National Eye Institute: https://www.nei.nih.gov Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned Dr. Erich Jarvis: The Neuroscience of Speech, Language & Music: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-erich-jarvis-the-neuroscience-of-speech-language-and-music People Mentioned Krishna Shenoy: professor of engineering, Stanford: https://stanford.io/49Z9Rhw Jaimie Henderson: professor of neurosurgery, Stanford: https://stanford.io/48Yl2Wb Eddie Chang: professor of neurosurgery, UCSF: https://bit.ly/3SLsjmd Eric Knudsen: professor of neurobiology, Stanford: https://stanford.io/48XgZcW Robert G. Heath: psychiatrist, early brain stimulation research: https://bit.ly/3TAIaFP Brian Wandell: professor of psychology, Stanford: https://stan.md/3TEgVtW Markus Meister: professor of biology, Caltech: https://bit.ly/3x5iE2y Timestamps 00:00:00 Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky 00:02:31 Sponsors: Eight Sleep, ROKA & BetterHelp 00:06:06 Vision & Brain; Retina 00:11:23 Retina & Visual Processing 00:18:37 Vision in Humans & Other Animals, Color 00:23:01 Studying the Human Retina 00:29:48 Sponsor: AG1 00:31:16 Cell Types 00:36:00 Determining Cell Function in Retina 00:43:39 Retinal Cell Types & Stimuli 00:49:27 Retinal Prostheses, Implants 01:00:25 Artificial Retina, Augmenting Vision 01:06:05 Sponsor: InsideTracker 01:07:12 Neuroengineering, Neuroaugmentation & Specificity 01:17:01 Building a Smart Device, AI 01:20:02 Neural Prosthesis, Paralysis; Specificity 01:25:21 Neurodegeneration; Adult Neuroplasticity; Implant Specificity 01:34:00 Career Journey, Music & Dance, Neuroscience 01:42:55 Self-Understanding, Coffee; Self-Love, Meditation & Yoga 01:47:50 Body Signals & Decisions; Beauty 01:57:49 Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter #HubermanLab #Neuroscience #EyeHealth Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com Disclaimer: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Andrew HubermanhostDr. E.J. Chichilniskyguest

Mar 18, 20242h 0mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: March 18, 2024
Duration: 2h 0m
Channel: Huberman Lab
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode, my guest is Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky, Ph.D., a professor of neurosurgery and ophthalmology at Stanford University. He studies how we see and uses that information to build artificial eyes that restore vision to the blind. We discuss how understanding the retina (the light-sensing brain tissue that lines the back of our eyes) is critical to knowing how our brain works more generally. We discuss brain augmentation with biologically informed prostheses, robotics, and AI and what this means for medicine and humanity. We also discuss E.J.’s unique journey into neuroscience and how changing fields multiple times, combined with some wandering, taught him how to guide his decision-making in all realms of life. This episode ought to be of interest to anyone interested in learning how the brain works from a world-class neuroscientist, those interested in the future of brain therapeutics and people seeking inspiration and tools for navigating their own professional and life journey. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman Social & Website Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab Twitter: https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://www.hubermanlab.com/newsletter Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky Academic profile: https://stanford.io/3TdtdIg Publications: https://stanford.io/4adV0iM Lab website: https://stan.md/49UpMNL Chichilnisky Lab Make a Gift: https://stan.md/4cmqSns Lab media: https://stan.md/4cgmIgH Stanford Artificial Retina Project: https://stan.md/3IGydAl Stanford Artificial Retina Project Make a Gift: https://stan.md/3ThSt0h LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-chichilnisky-97857429 X: https://twitter.com/StanfordRetina Article & Other Resources Donor Network West: https://www.donornetworkwest.org NeuraLink: https://neuralink.com National Eye Institute: https://www.nei.nih.gov Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned Dr. Erich Jarvis: The Neuroscience of Speech, Language & Music: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-erich-jarvis-the-neuroscience-of-speech-language-and-music People Mentioned Krishna Shenoy: professor of engineering, Stanford: https://stanford.io/49Z9Rhw Jaimie Henderson: professor of neurosurgery, Stanford: https://stanford.io/48Yl2Wb Eddie Chang: professor of neurosurgery, UCSF: https://bit.ly/3SLsjmd Eric Knudsen: professor of neurobiology, Stanford: https://stanford.io/48XgZcW Robert G. Heath: psychiatrist, early brain stimulation research: https://bit.ly/3TAIaFP Brian Wandell: professor of psychology, Stanford: https://stan.md/3TEgVtW Markus Meister: professor of biology, Caltech: https://bit.ly/3x5iE2y Timestamps 00:00:00 Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky 00:02:31 Sponsors: Eight Sleep, ROKA & BetterHelp 00:06:06 Vision & Brain; Retina 00:11:23 Retina & Visual Processing 00:18:37 Vision in Humans & Other Animals, Color 00:23:01 Studying the Human Retina 00:29:48 Sponsor: AG1 00:31:16 Cell Types 00:36:00 Determining Cell Function in Retina 00:43:39 Retinal Cell Types & Stimuli 00:49:27 Retinal Prostheses, Implants 01:00:25 Artificial Retina, Augmenting Vision 01:06:05 Sponsor: InsideTracker 01:07:12 Neuroengineering, Neuroaugmentation & Specificity 01:17:01 Building a Smart Device, AI 01:20:02 Neural Prosthesis, Paralysis; Specificity 01:25:21 Neurodegeneration; Adult Neuroplasticity; Implant Specificity 01:34:00 Career Journey, Music & Dance, Neuroscience 01:42:55 Self-Understanding, Coffee; Self-Love, Meditation & Yoga 01:47:50 Body Signals & Decisions; Beauty 01:57:49 Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter #HubermanLab #Neuroscience #EyeHealth Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com Disclaimer: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

SPEAKERS

Andrew Huberman
host
Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Huberman Lab, featuring Andrew Huberman and Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky, How the Brain Works, Curing Blindness & How to Navigate a Career Path | Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky explores decoding Vision: Human Retinas, Neural Implants, and Purposeful Careers Andrew Huberman and neuroscientist E.J. Chichilnisky explore how the retina converts light into electrical codes that the brain uses to create visual experience, and why the retina is the best-understood and most accessible piece of the brain. They discuss decades of work using high‑density electrode arrays on donated human retinas to map distinct retinal ganglion cell types and their roles in encoding features like edges, motion, and color. Building on that science, Chichilnisky outlines a next‑generation ‘smart’ retinal implant that could not only restore meaningful vision to blind patients but also eventually augment normal human vision and guide broader brain–machine interfaces. Along the way, he describes his nonlinear path through multiple PhD programs, years spent dancing and playing music, and the inner compass—“ease”—that guided him toward impactful work at the intersection of neuroscience, engineering, and human purpose.

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