025 – Alik Widge

Neurotech Podcast

Dr. Alik Widge is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota, where he is a practicing psychiatrist and conducts research in applying neurotechnology to psychiatric disorders. Alik holds a B.A. in computer science and cognitive science from Dartmouth College, a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, and an M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Alik’s work pursues the idea of nudging brain networks underlying psychiatric disorders.
2. Nudges are about reinstating normal emotional dynamics, rather than moving emotion to a particular regime.
3. Cross-training scientists and clinicians can lead to novel perspectives on psychiatric treatments.

Show Notes

• [1:22] Alik’s background & overview of his current work.
• [2:55] Synthesizing fields impacts Alik’s approach.
• [3:28] Networks and nudges.
• [5:03] Regions vs. networks in neurotechnology.
• [6:00] History of depression interventions.
• [9:00] Biology vs. historical neurology.
• [10:00] Networks of different scales.
• [12:15] What does a “nudge” look like?
• [15:55] Behavioral therapy & neuromodulation nudges.
• [19:00] Neuroscience vs. psychiatry.
• [21:00] New language in psychiatry.
• [23:35] Needed changes in industry.
• [26:00] Specialized chips in neural implants.
• [27:20] Alik’s recent paper.

Selected Links

• Alik’s paper.

Related Podcasts

• 021 – Cory Inman
• 020 – Mary Beth Henderson
• 024 – Brian Pepin

Disclaimer