Episode #15
The DNA Typing Errors in Your Brain
What if your brain isn't built from a single, static DNA blueprint—but is actually a mosaic of thousands of different genomes? In this episode of The Early Perspective , we sit down with Dr. Christopher A. Walsh, Chief of the Division of Genetics and Genomics at Boston Children's Hospital and Bullard Professor at Harvard Medical School. Together, we explore how the human cerebral cortex builds itself cell by cell, and how post-zygotic "somatic" mutations rewrite the rules of neurogenetics. Dr. Walsh breaks down the journey of cortical development from early neural stem cells to complex folded structures, explaining how tiny genetic typos occurring long after fertilization can trigger cortical malformations like double cortex syndrome, microcephaly, and focal epilepsy. We also discuss why certain neurodevelopmental conditions affect males and females differently, how developmental mutations can lie dormant to later fuel neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, and how studying rare genetic disorders gives scientists the master key to understanding the normal human brain. Hosted by Avanish Srinivasan. Learn more at youngaxons.com .
