214: Friend Or Foe? The Brain Cell That Can Be Both - With Donna Jackson Nakazawa

<p><span class="s1"><span data-contrast="auto">Thank you to this episode's sponsor, </span><span data-contrast= "auto">TherapyNotes</span><span data-contrast="auto">. Get a 2</span><span data-contrast="auto">-</span><span data-contrast= "auto">month free trial of </span><span data-contrast= "auto">TherapyNotes</span><span data-contrast="auto"> by going to </span><a href="http://www.therapynotes.com/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast= "none">www.TherapyNotes.com</span></a><span data-contrast= "auto"> and using the promo code </span><span data-contrast= "auto">TherapyChat</span><span data-contrast= "auto">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">On today's episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C speaks to Donna Jackson Nakazawa about her forthcoming book, The Angel and The Assassin: The Tiny Brain Cell That Changed the Course of Medicine. </span></p> <p>Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning journalist and internationally-recognized speaker whose work explores the intersection of neuroscience, immunology, and human emotion. Her mission is to translate emerging science in ways that help those with chronic conditions find healing.</p> <p>She is the author of six books, including her forthcoming book, The Angel and The Assassin: The Tiny Brain Cell That Changed the Course of Medicine (Random House/Ballantine, January 2020), which illuminates the newly-understood role of microglia – an elusive type of brain cell capable of Jekyll and Hyde behavior. When triggered, microglia can morph into destroyers and take down synapses, causing depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s. But under the right circumstances, they can be angelic healers, repairing the brain in ways that can help alleviate symptoms and prevent disease. Hailed as “riveting,” “stunning,” and “visionary,” The Angel and the Assassin elucidates the biological basis behind the mind-body connection and offers us a radically reconceived picture of human health.</p> <p>Donna’s other books include Childhood Di