Autism Brain Development: The Building Blocks Behind Myelin, Plasmalogens and Alzheimer's | Dr. Dayan Goodenowe

What does the brain need to build itself, and why does the answer matter for a child with autism and for the aging brain? In this episode of Biohacking Autism, Nadia Elkhatib talks with Dr. Dayan Goodenowe, PhD, neuroscientist, biochemist and founder of Prodrome Sciences, about autism brain development, white matter and myelination, mitochondrial dysfunction and brain inflammation in autism, and the lipid raw materials the brain needs to build itself, plasmalogens among them. Dr. Goodenowe reframes the developing brain as a wiring project. Myelin is the insulation that lets signals stay separate, and he explains why incomplete myelination can make a crowded room, a bright store or a loud classroom feel like every conversation arriving at once. He describes what he sees in the white matter of children with autism, why he views many autism-related changes as adaptation rather than attack, and where mitochondrial function and neuroinflammation fit in. From there the conversation turns to plasmalogens: what they do in the brain, why the body has to make them in peroxisomes, why you cannot simply eat them intact, and what plasmalogen precursors are. Nadia and Dr. Goodenowe then follow the same biology into the second half of life: cortical thickness as the brain's muscle, ApoE4 as a question of when rather than whether, what he measures in his testing and imaging work, and why caregiver brain health across decades belongs in the autism conversation. **IN THIS EPISODE** - The brain as a wiring diagram: axons, synapses and myelin - Why myelination is adaptive and why deep sleep is part of it - Sensory overload explained through incomplete myelination - White matter, the corpus callosum and imaging in autism - Mitochondrial dysfunction and brain inflammation in autism - Maternal metabolic health, discussed without blame - What plasmalogens are and why they matter for the brain - Why plasmalogens cannot be eaten intact, and what precursors are - Autism and Alzheimer's as two ends of the same biology - Cortical thickness, brain volume and the aging brain - ApoE4 and when dementia starts, rather than whether - Testing, biomarkers and what a caregiver in their fifties might measure - The Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan community study **CONNECT WITH DR. DAYAN GOODENOWE** Dr. Dayan Goodenowe is a neuroscientist and biochemist, the founder of Prodrome Sciences, founder of Dr. Goodenowe's Dietary Therapeutics, and the author of Breaking Alzheimer's. Dr. Goodenowe's education site: https://drgoodenowe.com Prodrome Sciences (for practitioners): https://prodrome.com Dr. Goodenowe has a financial interest in Prodrome Sciences and in plasmalogen products discussed during this conversation. **MEDICAL DISCLAIMER** This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health protocol or your child's protocol. Several compounds and tests discussed in this episode are investigational or are not FDA-approved for the uses discussed. The plasmalogen precursor program described is in a pre-IND stage of an FDA-regulated development pathway. Biohacking Autism does not provide individualized treatment protocols, dosing instructions, or sourcing guidance for regulated compounds. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy