How to Understand Emotions | Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

This episode I discuss the science of social bonding- the process by which we form attachments. I explain the neural and hormonal basis for "social homeostasis" (our drive for a given amount of socializing) which reveals why we get lonely, why we seek out connection with others and how power dynamics (hierarchies) shape those connections. I also discuss the neurochemical basis of introversion and extroversion, of trust and how shared experiences that promote similar physiological states in two or more individuals, leads to more rapid bonding. I also discuss how food and oxytocin play key roles in social bonding. This episode covers quality peer-reviewed science and practical tools for anyone seeking to find, build or end relationships. 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 Social Bonding: Child-Parent, Romantic, Friendship, Breakups   00:03:10 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:07:08 Social Bonding as a Biological Process   00:10:03 Social Isolation   00:13:32 Social Homeostasis & Neural Circuits for Social Drive   00:18:55 Brain Areas & (Neuro)Chemistry of Social Drive   00:22:48 What Is Social Homeostasis & Dopamine   00:27:00 When We Lack Social Interactions: Short- Versus Long-Term   00:28:10 Introverts & Extroverts   00:31:00 “Good” Versus “Bad” Social Interactions & Hierarchies   00:33:54 Loneliness & Dorsal Raphe Nucleus & Social Hunger   00:37:33 Tools   00:38:05 Socializing & Food Appetite: Crossover Craving   00:42:45 Falling in Love   00:45:05 Tools for Social Bonds: Merging Physiologies; Story   00:53:54 Childhood Attachment Patterns in Adulthood   01:03:45 Attachment Styles: Autonomic Versus Intellectual Attachment   01:06:10 Emotional Empathy & Cognitive Empathy, Arguing   01:09:45 Allan N. Schore & “Right Brain Psychotherapy”   01:10:40 Oxytocin & Trust, In Males Versus Females, Hormonal Glue   01:16:10 Repairing Broken Bonds to Self & Others   01:18:56 Social (Media) Butterflies: Biological Basis   01:24:08 Key Points for Bonding & Understanding Social Bonds   01:27:07 Breaking Up   01:28:36 Synthesis   01:31:17 Zero-Cost Support, Sponsors, Supplements, Instagram, Twitter   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Dec 20211h 30min

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

13 Dec 20211h 49min

In this episode, I discuss fear and trauma, including the neural circuits involved in the "threat reflex" and how specific experiences and memories come to activate that system. I also discuss how our body is involved in trauma and fear. First, I describe the logic of fear mechanisms and how "top-down" processing-- meaning connections from the parts of the brain that assign meaning to our feelings, are involved in fear and erasing fears and traumas. Then I discuss what successful fear and trauma treatment must include and consider various treatments for whether they meet that standard, such as EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Ketamine, other drug-assisted therapies, and more. I also review new data on how 5 minutes per day of deliberate, self-imposed stress can erase fear and depression. And I review the role that social connection plays in erasing or maintaining fears by activating specific molecular pathways in the brain and body. Finally, I review supplementation with over-the-counter compounds for their effects on anxiety and fear and when to take them, if at all.  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 Introducing Fear, Trauma & Trauma   00:02:31 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:06:49 What is Fear?   00:11:45 Autonomic Arousal: “Alertness” vs. “Calmness”   00:13:44 Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis (HPA axis)   00:17:36 “The Threat Reflex”: Neural Circuits for Fear   00:28:24 Controlling Fear: Top-Down Processing   00:32:27 Narratives: “Protective or Dangerous”   00:35:58 Attaching Fear to Events: Classical Conditioning & Memory   00:41:45 How Fear Learning Occurs: Long Term Potentiation, NMDA   00:46:10 Extinguishing (Reducing) Fears   00:50:25 Cognitive (Narrative) Therapies for Fear   00:57:56 Repetition of Narrative, Overwriting Bad Experiences with Good   01:05:28 EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing   01:14:00 Social Connection & Isolation Are Chemically Powerful   01:18:23 Trans-Generational Trauma   01:25:00 PTSD Treatments: Ketamine, MDMA, Oxytocin   01:39:25 How Do You Know If You Are Traumatized?   01:46:16 Deliberate Brief Stress Can Erase Fears & Trauma   01:49:50 Erasing Fears & Traumas in 5 Minutes Per Day   01:59:42 Nutrition, Sleep, & Other General Support Erasing Fear & Trauma   02:02:30 Supplements for Anxiety, Fear: Saffron, Inositol, Kava   02:10:00 Synthesis   02:11:46 Zero-Cost Support, Sponsors, Supplements, Instagram, Twitter   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Dec 20212h 10min

In this episode, my guest is Dr. David Buss, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, and one of the founding members of the field of evolutionary psychology. Dr. Buss describes his work on how people select mates for short and long-term relationships, the dynamics of human courtship, and mate value assessment — meaning how people measure up as potential partners. We also discuss the causes of infidelity and differences for infidelity in men and women. He explains how people evaluate and try to alter other people’s mate value as a means to secure and even poach mates. We discuss monogamous and non-monogamous relationships in humans. And we discuss what Dr. Buss calls “the dark triad” — features common in stalkers and narcissists that relate to sexual and psychological violence in relationships. This episode is sure to be of interest to anyone single or in a relationship who seeks to know how people select mates and anyone who is interested in forming and maintaining healthy romantic partnerships.  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 Introducing Dr. David Buss   00:04:27 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:08:33 Choosing a Mate   00:13:40 Long Term Mates: Universal Desires   00:18:31 What Women & Men Seek in Long-Term Mates   00:25:10 Age Differences & Mating History   00:32:20 Deception in Courtship   00:37:30 Emotional Stability   00:38:40 Lying About Long-Term Interest   00:41:56 Short-Term Mating Criteria, Sliding Standards & Context Effects   00:46:25 Sexual Infidelity: Variety Seeking & (Un)happiness & Mate Switching   00:54:25 Genetic Cuckolds, How Ovulation Impacts Mate Preference   00:57:00 Long-Term vs. Short-Term Cheating, Concealment   00:59:15 Emotional & Financial Infidelity   01:04:35 Contraception   01:06:22 Status & Mating Success   01:10:10 Jealousy, Mate Value Discrepancies, Vigilance, Violence   01:24:13 Specificity of Intimate Partner Violence   01:25:12 Mate Retention Tactics: Denigration, Guilt, Etc.   01:27:33 Narcissism, Machiavellianism, Psychopathy   01:33:25 Stalking   01:39:15 Influence of Children on Mate Value Assessments   01:43:24 Attachment Styles, Mate Choice & Infidelity   01:46:40 Non-Monogamy, Unconventional Relationships   01:54:00 Mate Value Self Evaluation, Anxiety About the Truth   02:02:12 Self Deception   02:05:35 The Future of Evolutionary Psychology & Neuroscience   02:06:56 Books: When Men Behave Badly, The Evolution of Desire, Textbooks   02:10:42 Concluding Statements, Zero-Cost Support: Subscribe, Sponsors, Supplements   Disclaimer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 Nov 20212h 10min

In this episode, I discuss the science of gratitude, which has been shown in peer-reviewed studies to have tremendous positive effects on mental and physical health. I explain, however, that most commonly used gratitude practices are ineffective (such as gratitude lists). The key elements of highly effective gratitude practices are described, including the essential need for story (narrative), receiving or perceiving gratitude rather than giving it, and the role that theory of mind plays in this context. I also discuss why we can't simply make up feelings of gratitude and how reluctance undermines the process. I also explain the neural circuit mechanisms that underlie the reductions in fear and increases in motivation and lowering of inflammatory chemicals that effective narrative-based gratitude can trigger. Throughout the episode, I use the science of gratitude to design a brief but highly effective protocol.  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 Introduction: Gratitude Science & Surprises   00:01:50 Controlling Heart Rate with Story   00:04:48 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:09:11 Major, Long-Lasting Benefits of Gratitude Practice   00:12:20 Prosocial vs. Defensive Thinking, Behaviors, & Neural Circuits   00:17:50 Why We All Need an Effective Gratitude Practice   00:21:22 Neurochemistry & Neural Circuits of Gratitude   00:25:10 Prefrontal Cortex Set Context   00:30:10 Ineffective Gratitude Practices; Autonomic Variables   00:34:55 Key Features of Effective Gratitude Practices: Receiving Thanks & Story   00:42:30 Theory of Mind Is Key   00:45:50 Building Effective Gratitude Practices: Adopting Narratives, Duration   00:52:28 Narratives That Shift Brain-Body Circuits   00:56:15 You Can’t Lie About Liking Something; Reluctance in Giving   00:59:55 How Gratitude Changes Your Brain: Reduces Anxiety, Increases Motivation   01:03:00 5 Minutes (Is More Than Enough), 3X Weekly, Timing Each Day   01:05:44 Empathy & Anterior Cingulate Cortex   01:07:35 Reducing Inflammation & Fear with Gratitude   01:10:56 Serotonin, Kanna/Zembrin   01:16:00 Neuroplasticity, Pharmacology, Brain Machine Interfaces   01:18:50 The Best Gratitude Practices: & How To, My Protocol   01:24:25 Subscribe & Feedback, Supporting Sponsors, Supplements   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Nov 20211h 22min

In this episode, I discuss how our brain and body track time and the role that neurochemicals, in particular dopamine and serotonin, but also hormones such as melatonin, allow us to orient ourselves in time. I review the three types of time perception: of the past, of the present, and the future, and how dopamine and serotonin adjust both our perception of the speed of the passage of time and our memory of how long previous experiences lasted. I also discuss circannual entrainment, which is the process by which our brain and body are matched to the seasons, and circadian (24 hours) entrainment, both of which subconsciously adjust our perceived measurement of time. I explain the mechanisms of that subconscious control. And I cover the ultradian (90 minutes) rhythms that govern our ability to focus, including how to track when these 90-minute rhythms begin and end for the sake of work and productivity. I include ten tools based on the science of time perception that you can apply to enhance productivity, creativity, and relationships in various contexts.  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 Introducing Time Perception, Note on Fasting & Supplements   00:05:28 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:09:25 Entrainment, Circannual Entrainment, Melatonin   00:13:20 Seasonal Oscillations in Testosterone & Estrogen, Tool 1   00:16:06 Circadian Timing, Tools 1, 2, 3 (for Circadian Entrainment)   00:21:13 Tool 4: Timing Physical Activity; Tool 5: Timing Eating Window   00:23:00 When Circadian Entrainment Is Disrupted, Time Perception Suffers   00:25:00 Tool 6: Ultradian (90min) Cycles & Focus   00:31:42 Our Sense of the Passage of Time: Present, Prospective, Retrospective   00:34:40 Dopamine (& Nor/epinephrine) Lead to Time Overestimation; Frame Rate   00:37:18 Serotonin & Time Underestimation; Decreased Frame Rate   00:39:10 Dopamine vs. Serotonin Across the Day; Tool 7: When to Do Rigid vs. Creative Work   00:42:38 Example of Tool 7   00:43:38 How Sleep Deprivation Degrades Performance   00:44:38 Trauma, “Over-clocking” & Memories; Adjusting Rates of Experience   00:50:04 Why Trauma Involves Dopamine & Epinephrine, Arousal   00:51:03 Dopamine, Spontaneous Blinking & Time Perception; Tool 8   00:53:38 Deliberate Cold Exposure, Dopamine, Tool 9: Adjusting Frame Rate in Discomfort   00:56:30 Fun “Feels Fast” BUT Is Remembered as Slow; Boring Stuff “Feels Slow,” Recall as Fast   01:00:54 Retrospective Time, Context Variation & Enhanced Bonding with Places & People   01:03:00 Dopamine Release Resets the Start of Each Time Bin on Our Experience   01:07:40 Habits & Time Perception; Tool 10 (Setting Functional Units of Each Day)   01:11:58 Synthesis & Book Suggestion (Your Brain Is a Time Machine by D. Buonomano)   01:12:27 Supporting the HLP: Subscribe, Instagram, Supplements   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Nov 20211h 11min

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Duncan French, Ph.D., the Vice President of Performance at the UFC Performance Institute and a world-class performance specialist. We discuss specific resistance (weight) training regimens for increasing testosterone in men and women and how to vary mechanical loads and rest between sets and workouts to optimize hormone output and training results. We also discuss how stress-induced "catecholamines" can increase testosterone or decrease it, depending on duration and mindset. And we discuss specific cold- and heat- therapies for increasing resilience, reducing inflammation, heat shock proteins and more. We discuss nutrition for training and how to match nutrition to training goals and metabolic flexibility. We discuss mental focus and how long to train for skill development. Finally, we discuss how mixed martial arts and the UFC Performance Institute are a template for exploring human performance more generally. This episode is intended for anyone interested in athletic and mental performance: athletes, students, and recreational exercisers and includes both science and many practical tools people can apply in their own training.  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. Duncan French   00:02:44 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:05:44 Duncan’s Background in Exercise Science   00:11:45 How Certain Exercises Increase Testosterone   00:16:22 What Kind of Training Increases Testosterone & Growth Hormone?   00:20:19 Intensity: Mechanical Load; Volume: Metabolic Load; Inter-set Rest Periods   00:25:25 Training Frequency & Combining Workout Goals   00:29:35 How Stress Can Increase or Decrease Testosterone   00:36:55 Using Cold Exposure for Mindset, Anti-Inflammation, Muscle-Growth   00:46:55 Skill Development   00:50:05 Why Hard Exercise Creates Brain Fog: Role of Nutrition   00:53:55 Low-Carbohydrate Versus All-Macronutrient Diets on Performance   00:56:15 Ketones & Brain Energy, Offsetting Brain Injury; Spiking Glucose During Ketosis   00:59:13 Metabolic Efficiency, Matching Nutrition to Training, “Needs Based Eating”   01:05:00 Duncan’s Work with Olympic Athletes, NCAA, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)   01:08:00 Why UFC & MMA (Mixed-Martial Arts) Are So Valuable for Advancing Performance   01:12:40 Voluntarily Switching Between Different States of Arousal   01:14:30 Heat, Getting Better at Sweating, Heat Shock Proteins, Sauna   01:20:12 Using Rotating 12-Week Training Programs; Logging Objective & Subjective Data   01:24:07 Surprising & Unknown Aspects of The UFC and UFC Performance Institute   01:27:45 Conclusions, Zero-Cost Support, Sponsors, Supplements, Instagram   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Nov 20211h 28min

This episode teaches you a lot about the immune system, immune-brain interactions and offers 12 potential tools for enhancing immune system function. I discuss how our immune system works and science-supported tools we can use to enhance our immune system. I discuss the innate and adaptive immune systems and our various microbiomes-- not just in our gut but also in our nose, eyes and mouth and how to keep them healthy. And I review how specific patterns of breathing and foods maintain a healthy mucosal barrier that is crucial for fighting infections. I discuss how certain neurochemicals called catecholamines enhance our immune system function and how to use specific breathing protocols, types and timing of heat and cold exposure, and, if appropriate, supplementation to activate catecholamines. I also discuss the role and use of serotonin for the sake of accessing the specific types of sleep for recovering from illness, and I discuss how to increase glymphatic "washout" of brain debris during sleep. I also review fever, the vagus nerve and the use of atypical yet highly effective compounds for rhinitis (nasal inflammation). 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 The Mind & Immune System, New Findings: Acupuncture & Fascia   00:03:16 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:07:41 Foundational Tools & Practices for a Healthy Immune System   00:11:20 Immune System Basics: Skin/Mucous, Innate & Adaptive Immune System   00:17:08 Killer Cells, Complement Proteins (“Eat Me!” Signals), Cytokines (“Help Me!” Signals)   00:21:06 The Adaptive Immune System: Antibodies   00:28:00 Tool 1: Nasal Microbiome and “Scrubbing” Bacteria & Viruses; Nasal Breathing   00:30:33 Tools 2 & 3: (Not) Touching Your Eyes; Gut Microbiome & Fermented Foods   00:34:20 Some Interleukins Are Anti-Inflammatory   00:34:56 Sickness Behavior   00:39:08 Some People Seek Care When Sick, Others Want to be Alone   00:42:00 Sickness Behavior & Depression: Cytokines   00:43:40 Reduced Appetites When Sick: Protein, Iron, Libido   00:46:45 Vagus-Nerve Stimulation: Fever, Photophobia, Sleepiness   00:53:03 Humoral (Blood-Borne) Factors, & Choroid Change Your Brain State   00:55:04 Tools 4, 5: Reducing Sickness: Glymphatic Clearance, Pre-Sleep Serotonin, 5HTP   01:07:03 Tool 6: Hot Showers, Saunas, Baths & Cortisol, Heat-Cold Contrast   01:10:53 Feed a Fever & Starve a Cold (?), Adrenaline   01:12:36 Tool 7: Activating Your Immune System w/Cyclic-Hyperventilation, Alkalinity   01:29:10 Brain Chemicals & Cyclic-Hyperventilation; Catecholamines, Dopamine   01:32:10 Mindsets & Immune Function; Yes, You Can Worry Yourself Sick   01:37:00 Tool 8: Healthy Mindsets, Hope, Dopamine; Tool 9: Tyrosine; Tool 10: Cold Exposure   01:42:05 Once You’re Already Sick: Accelerating Recovery; Tool 11: Spirulina, Rhinitis   01:46:09 Histamines, Mast Cells   01:49:22 Tool 12: Acupuncture: Mechanism for How It Reduces Inflammation; Fascia, Rolfing   01:53:40 Mechanistic Science & Ancient Practices   01:58:00 Synthesis, Ways to Support Us (Zero-Cost), Sponsors, Supplements, Social Media   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Nov 20211h 57min