Bryson Rhodes’ fascination with the human brain began long before laboratories or algorithms—rooted instead in a life defined by contrast. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, he grew up watching two radically different worlds collide: one industrial, methodical, and operational; the other soulful, expressive, and steeped in culture.
“Michigan taught me structure,” Rhodes reflects, recalling the legacy of Motown, Ford, and the state’s emphasis on operations and innovation. “Memphis gave me flavor—music, performance, and the energy of people who lived through their art.” He saw early how environments shape behavior. The disciplined legacy of Michigan’s sports and industry contrasted sharply with Memphis’ musical energy, home to B.B. King, Yo Gotti, Elvis Presley, and a culture steeped in live performance and creative resourcefulness. This duality sparked his first questions about nature versus nurture and how geography, culture, and community influence human potential.
But it was a personal, transformative moment that cemented his trajectory: a sports-related concussion that left him holding an MRI scan of his own brain. “It was like my mind was seeing itself for the first time,” he says. “That moment made me fall in love with the machinery of thought—the idea that you could visualize the very system that creates who you are.” That intimate encounter turned curiosity into a calling, igniting a twelve-year journey into neuroscience and the study of how environments, injury, and adaptation shape the human mind.
For Rhodes, the bridge between creativity and science was cemented in a phone call with Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel. At the time, Rhodes was conducting his honors thesis at the University of Michigan in Michael A. Sutton’s lab, studying homeostatic synaptic plasticity in hippocampal circuits. Sutton, himself a protégé of Kandel, arranged several conversations between his student and the legendary neuroscientist.
“Talking to Kandel felt like the moment Kobe met Jordan,” Rhodes recalls. “You meet the person who made you believe this life was possible.” Beyond mentorship, the conversations affirmed the compatibility of art and neuroscience. Kandel encouraged Rhodes to use Anki flashcards for memory, blending practical learning with scientific insight. During their discussions, Kandel revealed he had listened to Rhodes’s song Remind Me to Forget, which had garnered over half a million streams from his mixtape 1203. The track explored how sensory cues—smells, sounds, or locations—trigger suppressed memories. “He told me it was one of the most poetic interpretations of memory he’d ever heard,” Rhodes recalls. “In that moment, we both knew: creativity and neuroscience weren’t opposites—they were mirrors.”
Rather than comparing Rhodes to fellow Michigan alumnus Ben Carson, as many had before, Kandel likened him to Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the Spanish neuroscientist whose intricate neuron drawings defined modern neuroscience. “He said my art could be the modern form of Cajal’s sketches,” Rhodes reflects. “My music was the next evolution of how we visualize the brain.” That moment validated not only Rhodes’ scientific rigor but also his belief that neuroscience could be a creative discipline where data, imagination, and emotion intertwined. From that day forward, he forged a new archetype: the creative neuroscientist.
Precision, Patterns, and the Making of a Computational Neuroscientist
Rhodes’ path to neuroscience was shaped as much by numbers as by neurons. High school offered a structured environment for exploring these dual curiosities. AP Statistics ignited his sense of mathematical clarity. “The first A+ I ever received was in AP Stats,” he recalls. “I realized I could identify patterns, predict outcomes, and understand systems in a way that felt tangible.” This mindset laid the foundation for his computational approach to neuroscience.
Success in Organic Chemistry Lab 2 reinforced his precision and attention to detail. He missed only a few points on a final for representing H₂O as linear rather than bent—a minor technicality but emblematic of his rigorous attention to structure and function. By the time he entered the University of Michigan, Rhodes had developed a dual lens: one for abstract reasoning and another for empirical observation. Advanced coursework in biostatistics and mathematics became tools to model neural behavior, translating complex brain phenomena into quantifiable variables.
Rhodes’ creative cognition—manifested in music and performance—served as a parallel training ground. Patterns, iterative feedback, and refinement in music mirrored his laboratory approach: experimental design, adaptive strategy, and emotional intelligence. This synergy between art and science caught the attention of mentors and even Kandel, who recognized his rare capacity to merge creativity with computational rigor. “Creativity isn’t just art; it’s a computational skill,” Rhodes notes. “The same principles that guide learning a melody apply to designing experiments or building algorithms that predict neural adaptation.”
The Birth of the Neuroplastic Fitness Index
The seeds of Rhodes’ pioneering work in neuroplasticity emerged during his first year of a master’s program in Clinical Neuroscience in Cleveland, Ohio. There, he began coding, testing, and inventing what would become the Neuroplastic Fitness Index (NFI), a computational tool to quantify the brain’s adaptability.
“I started with a simple goal,” Rhodes recalls. “In January 2021, I told my sister happy birthday through a countdown timer I had coded myself. That was the first functional code I ever wrote. But it sparked the realization that if I could instruct a machine, I could start modeling aspects of the brain itself.” Later that year, he began exploring algorithms to capture cognitive and motor flexibility, blending bioinformatics, statistical modeling, and neuroscience. “It was playful at first, but I realized it could actually work—measuring patterns in a meaningful, scalable way.”
Courses in bioinformatics and clinical modeling provided context, ensuring the NFI was not only theoretically sound but clinically relevant. “It was the first time I could merge my computational curiosity with the tangible, biological realities of human neuroplasticity,” Rhodes says. The NFI evolved from personal experiment to proof-of-concept, eventually becoming the cornerstone of Neuroplastic Labs.
From Algorithm to Application: The Leap Into Entrepreneurship
The leap from algorithm to startup began with curiosity and experimentation. Rhodes recalls the early days as playful: tweaking outputs, testing ranges, and exploring random number generators. Prototyping in Figma, he designed interactive buttons and workflows to translate his code into a tangible application. Once the back-end, database, and algorithm integration were functional, Rhodes realized he had more than a project—he had a product.
Using only a PowerPoint to illustrate the vision, he approached early supporters. Their belief in the prototype helped launch a pre-seed round, proving that innovation often begins with trust and conviction. Rhodes and his team then validated the idea by creating a social media presence and engaging users globally—from Ireland to Australia, New York, and California—testing assumptions and gathering feedback.
By March 2025, the team launched a public beta on the App Store, attracting 85 users in its first month. Interviews, group sessions, and patient advocacy ensured the product was built with the community in mind. “We weren’t just building software,” Rhodes emphasizes. “We were cultivating a concept, a community, and a partnership with the people who would benefit from it.” This approach transformed curiosity into a mission-driven enterprise.
The Mentors That Shaped a Neuroscientist
Rhodes’ journey is also a story of influence and guidance, beginning at home. The youngest of five, he grew up surrounded by older siblings who excelled in creative and entrepreneurial fields: Stormy Banks, an entrepreneur; L.A. Rhodes, a viral performer; Brandon, a sports and streaming innovator; and Brittany Rowe, a marathon runner and CEO featured on Shark Tank.
Music and creativity flowed through daily life, from his mother singing at nursing homes to the family’s legacy of innovation, like the Rhodes Piano—a portable instrument used for musical therapy in veterans with CTE. “Growing up with this mentorship and exposure to diverse achievements gave me perspective,” Rhodes notes. “You learn that innovation isn’t just personal—it’s about fostering ecosystems, whether family, lab, or company.”
These lessons shaped his leadership style at Neuroplastic Labs, blending analytical rigor with creative exploration, technical expertise with empathy, and insight with vision.
Balancing Science with Empathy: The Micro Black Box
To manage the demands of neuroscience and entrepreneurship, Rhodes developed the “micro black box,” a cognitive strategy for compartmentalization. He visualizes a favorite brain structure—like V2 in the visual cortex—and imagines a 50-micron black box to store and minimize information until needed. “It’s like minimizing a window on a computer,” he explains.
This approach allows him to focus on scientific rigor while maintaining empathy, listening to patients, and prioritizing mental health. It embodies his broader philosophy of neuroplasticity: the brain and mind can adapt, reorganize, and sustain creativity under pressure.
Looking Ahead: Neuroplastic Labs, Chess Boxing, and Mainstreaming Neuroscience
Rhodes’ vision for Neuroplastic Labs extends beyond technology. A two-year partnership with Team USA Chess Boxing, where he serves as Head of Neuroscience, exemplifies his mission to mainstream neuroscience. Chess boxing offers a unique real-time laboratory for studying cognitive and motor adaptation, testing resilience under stress, and optimizing performance for international competition.
Beyond competition, Rhodes sees chess boxing as a public vehicle for neuro-AI integration. Inspired by Kandel’s question of whether neuroscience could achieve cultural prominence akin to sports or arts, Rhodes believes the field can inspire curiosity, engagement, and social impact.
Challenges remain—FDA approval, clinical validation, and expansion into pharmaceutical markets—but Rhodes remains committed to giving neuroscience a voice. He draws inspiration from historical pioneers and seeks to create tools, partnerships, and platforms that measure, optimize, and celebrate human potential. Through science, empathy, and mainstream engagement, Rhodes envisions a future where neuroscience is accessible, inspirational, and transformative.
Link
https://tremortone.org/neuroplasticlabs
