PsyDactic

T. Ryan O'Leary
  • 5.0 (5)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A resource for psychiatrists and other medical or behavioral health professionals interested in exploring the neuroscientific basis of psychiatric disorders, psychopharmacology, neuromodulation, and other psychiatric interventions, as well as discussions of pseudoscience, Bayesian reasoning, ethics, the history of psychiatry, and human psychology in general.This podcast is not medical advice.  It strives to be science communication.  Dr. O'Leary is a skeptical thinker who often questions what we think we know.  He hopes to open more conversations about what we don't know we don't know.Find transcripts with show-notes and references on each episodes dedicated page at psydactic.buzzsprout.com.You can leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com.The visual companions, when available, can be found at https://youtube.com/@PsyDactic.

  1. 3H AGO

    Can hooking your head up to a fancy battery (tDCS) cure depression?

    In December 2025, the FDA authorized  the Flow F100, an innovative at-home wearable headset that utilizes transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to treat major depressive disorder. Unlike traditional pharmaceuticals that act systemically, this device targets the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with localized electricity to modulate neuronal excitability and address the asymmetry hypothesis of depression. While the Empower study that evaluated this technology demonstrated statistically significant improvements in response and remission rates, the FDA approved it with a moderate level of uncertainty regarding its true efficacy due to a clinically insignificant 2.3-point difference on the average improvement using the Hamilton scale and potential unblinding bias in the trial. By contrasting frequentist and Bayesian statistical frameworks, Dr. O'Leary encourages a skeptical but curious evaluation of whether this technology represents a genuine clinical breakthrough or a temporary trend in the long history of electrotherapy. Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com. References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.

    48 min

  2. 12/28/2025

    Game Theory for Parents and Other Humans with Kevin Zollman

    PsyDactic welcomes The Game Theorist's Guide to Parenting co-author, Kevin Zollman who discusses game theory as the science of strategic thinking. We explore how mathematical models like the Prisoner’s Dilemma and mechanism design can be used to manage family dynamics by creating win-win solutions rather than competitive, zero-sum outcomes. The conversation highlights practical techniques such as "I cut, you pick" for fairness, the importance of making credible threats that parents are actually willing to execute, and ways to make honesty more profitable than lying through strategic questioning. While children may be impulsive and at times difficult to predict, applying game theory helps parents influence behavior by understanding their children's incentives and fostering a predictable environment built on reciprocity and trust. Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com. References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.

    1 hr
  3. Childhood Deficit Disorder and the Atrophy of American Childhood

    12/10/2025

    Childhood Deficit Disorder and the Atrophy of American Childhood

    Dr. O'Leary proposes Childhood Deficit Disorder as a way to conceptualize the rise in mental health issues among modern youth, exploring how systemic changes in culture and environment contribute. He contrasts the "free-range" parenting style prior to the 1980s, which fostered autonomy and resilience, with the modern trend of intensive, managerial parenting driven by economic anxiety and a "culture of fear" fueled by media. Dr. O'Leary explores how children's independent mobility has plummeted due to these shifts and in response to a built environment hostile to pedestrians, leading to a loss of key socialization spaces.  Digital media, including social media, both actively displaced healthy social spaces and filled the void created by anxious, fearful parenting, and poor urban design. Childhood Deficit Disorder (CDD) is a framework—not a clinical diagnosis—to describe the developmental consequences of chronic deprivation of autonomous play, independent movement, and connection to the physical world, often exacerbated by the "digital colonization of childhood." For references and a more in depth discussion: https://sciencebasedpsych.blogspot.com/2025/12/childhood-deficit-disorder-and-atrophy.html Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com. References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.

    33 min

  4. 09/05/2025

    Clozapine - Beyond the Basics

    Dr. O'Leary explores the history of clozapine, highlighting its initial revolutionary impact as the first atypical antipsychotic, followed by a ban on its use, followed by its re-emergences as a strictly monitored medication, and then culminating in new recommendations that greatly encourage its use. The discussion details the severe side effects that led to its initial discontinuation,  and then emphasizes other critical but often overlooked adverse effects, such as metabolic syndrome, sialorrhea, and especially severe gastrointestinal hypomotility, which can be life-threatening.  Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com. References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.

    24 min
  5. Therapeutic Ultrasound with Dr. Michael Canney PhD

    06/11/2025

    Therapeutic Ultrasound with Dr. Michael Canney PhD

    This episode includes a fascinating interview with a researcher in ultrasound, Dr. Michael Canney who is an acoustics researcher the chief scientific officer at a French company named Carthera (https://carthera.eu/) and they make ultrasound devices that can disrupt the blood-brain barrier in order to let medicines into the brain that otherwise could only get through in very small amounts. We talk more broadly about the explosion of various applications of ultrasound beyond imaging, including things like tissue ablation (or basically cooking highly focussed loci of tissue inside your body), or cavitation (where ultrasound causes tiny bubbles to rapidly expand inside cells or vessels), and I end with a brief discussion of the potential of ultrasound for neuromodulation. Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com. References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.

    44 min

  6. 05/16/2025

    Pediatric Bipolar vs Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

    This PsyDactic podcast episode, hosted by Dr. O'Leary, delves into the complex and often controversial topic of diagnosing Pediatric Bipolar Disorder and its differentiation from other conditions, particularly Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD). Dr. O'Leary, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow, explores the DSM-5-TR diagnostic framework, the history of Pediatric Bipolar diagnosis, the debate surrounding irritability as a diagnostic criterion, and the challenges of distinguishing it from ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and trauma-related disorders. Using case vignettes and drawing on both personal knowledge and AI-assisted research, the episode aims to provide a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of this challenging area of child psychiatry. Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com. References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.

    1h 2m

  7. 03/27/2025

    Gambling Disorder - Rarely Diagnosed, Highly Prevalent

    Gambling disorder may be the most under-diagnosed disorder in the DSM.  This is an exhaustive treatment of the neurobiological, psychological, and societal aspects of gambling addiction, featuring discussions on the brain's reward system, cognitive distortions, and the impact of advertising and the design of gambling products. Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com. References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.

    35 min

  8. 03/20/2025

    Functional Neurological Disorder, Predictive Processing and Active Inference

    Functional Neurological Disorder was previously called Conversion Disorder or psychogenic neurological symptoms and is a condition in which a patient develops any number of neurological symptoms (such as loss of ability to move or seizure like episodes or inability to feel parts of their body or phantom pain) that cannot be explained by a clear lesion in the nervous system.  It was called conversion disorder because it was previously thought that repressed emotions or desires had been converted into neurological symptoms as a defense against those emotions or desires.  Therefore, the symptoms were "psychogenic" instead of neurological or biological.  Even though emotional states contribute to neurological function, we now know that this model is incorrect.  The most compelling new models of functional neurological symptoms come from the theories of the Bayesian brain, predictive processing, and active inference. Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com. References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.

    25 min
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About

A resource for psychiatrists and other medical or behavioral health professionals interested in exploring the neuroscientific basis of psychiatric disorders, psychopharmacology, neuromodulation, and other psychiatric interventions, as well as discussions of pseudoscience, Bayesian reasoning, ethics, the history of psychiatry, and human psychology in general.This podcast is not medical advice.  It strives to be science communication.  Dr. O'Leary is a skeptical thinker who often questions what we think we know.  He hopes to open more conversations about what we don't know we don't know.Find transcripts with show-notes and references on each episodes dedicated page at psydactic.buzzsprout.com.You can leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com.The visual companions, when available, can be found at https://youtube.com/@PsyDactic.

Information

  • Creator
    T. Ryan O'Leary
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    79
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 PsyDactic
  • Show Website
    PsyDactic

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