On episode 18 of A Chat with Uma, I speak with Dr. Ana Maria De Souza! Ana Maria De Souza, Ph.D, is a Brazilian cognitive neuroscientist, who is passionate about bridging the gap between researchers, clinicians, and the public. She has completed an undergraduate degree and a Master's in Psychology in Brazil, and moved to the UK to pursue a Ph.D at the University of Cambridge with some of the most renowned OCD researchers in the world. She is committed to translating brain research into publicly available treatments for OCD and empowering individuals to make fully informed choices.

In this episode, we discuss the following topics (+ timestamps):

(00:00:00 ) Introduction of episode & Dr. Ana Maria De Souza

(00:4:50 ): Dr. De Souza's lived experience with conditions and how that led her to become a neuropsychologist

(00:13:18 ): How Dr. De Souza then pivoted from neuropsychology/clinical practice to cognitive neuroscience

(00:19:00 ): How Dr. De Souza began studying OCD

• From anxiety to OCD


• Combatting the misconceptions and stigma around OCD


• How OCD is not usually taught about accurately in higher education


• How her understanding of OCD completely changed from meeting patients


• Her deep respect for and protectiveness of OCD survivors

(00:27:07 ): Dr. De Souza's operational definition and conceptualization of OCD as a neuropsychologist, cognitive neuroscientist, and researcher (important to listen to!)

(00:34:23 ): The neuroscience of OCD, in the context of Dr. De Souza's research + work; Differentiating OCD from anxiety/anxiety disorders

(00:43:44 ): Newest unpublished findings from Dr. De Souza's lab and research!

• Differential profiles of functional vs. dysfunctional patient subgroups + theories


• Speculation around differences in themes and physical vs. mental compulsions

(00:56:08 ): Dr. De Souza & colleagues' newest (+ groundbreaking!) Nature paper on Glutamate + GABA chemical imbalances in OCD patients

• Paper: Cortical glutamate and GABA are related to compulsive behaviour in individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder and healthy controls


• Discussion of novel methods


• Results and implications for patients


• Consequences of treatment delays on symptom severity

(01:07:56 ): The critical importance of science communication and consuming research responsibly

• Misinterpretation of research findings


• Unfounded conclusions


• Correlation vs. causation


• Why we can't immediately translate basic science findings to treatments


• Consequences of incorrect science dissemination + interpretation


• The vast complexity and nuance of scientific findings


• The pitfalls of advocacy, overenthusiasm, and inadvertently communicating inaccurate research


• How to make research more accessible in an evidence-based, science-informed way


• Guidance on how to actually read research papers!

(01:21:37 ): Limitations, caveats, and considerations around Dr. De Souza & colleagues' findings; limitations on research in general, at this time

(01:25:44 ): DEEP rapid-fire final questions with Dr. De Souza, and closing out the episode!

Connect with Dr. Ana Maria De Souza:

• ⁠Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@OCD_science


• Dr. De Souza on ⁠ResearchGate⁠


• Paper: Cortical glutamate and GABA are related to compulsive behaviour in individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder and healthy controls ⁠


• Orchard Registry: for patients to participate in OCD research

Connect with me!

• My website⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠umarchatterjee.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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