Understanding Your Brain's Logic & Function | Dr. David Berson

In this episode, my guest is Dr. David Berson, Ph.D., Professor & Chairman of Neuroscience at Brown University. Dr. Berson discovered the neurons in your eye that set your biological rhythms for sleep, wakefulness, mood and appetite. He is also a world-renowned teacher of basic and advanced neuroscience, having taught thousands of university lectures on this topic. Many of his students have become world-leading neuroscientists and teachers themselves. Here Dr. Berson takes us on a structured journey into and around the nervous system, explaining: how we perceive the world and our internal landscape, how we balance, see, and remember. Also, how we learn and perform reflexive and deliberate actions, how we visualize and imagine in our mind, and how the various circuits of the brain coordinate all these incredible feats. We discuss practical and real-life examples of neural circuit function across the lifespan. Dr. Berson gives us a masterclass in the nervous system—one that, in just less than two hours, will teach you an entire course's worth about the brain and how yours works. Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps 00:00:00 Dr. David Berson 00:03:11 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:08:02 How We See 00:10:02 Color Vision 00:13:47 “Strange” Vision 00:16:56 How You Orient In Time 00:25:45 Body Rhythms, Pineal Function, Light & Melatonin, Blueblockers 00:34:45 Spending Time Outdoors Improves Eyesight 00:36:20 Sensation, Mood, & Self-Image 00:41:03 Sense of Balance 00:50:43 Why Pigeons Bob Their Heads, Motion Sickness 01:00:03 Popping Ears 01:02:35 Midbrain & Blindsight 01:10:44 Why Tilted Motion Feels Good 01:13:24 Reflexes vs. Deliberate Actions 01:16:35 Basal Ganglia & the “2 Marshmallow Test” 01:24:40 Suppressing Reflexes: Cortex 01:33:33 Neuroplasticity 01:36:27 What is a Connectome? 01:45:20 How to Learn (More About the Brain) 01:49:04 Book Suggestion, My Berson Appreciation 01:50:20 Zero-Cost Ways to Support the HLP, Guest Suggestions, Sponsors, Supplements Disclaimer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices