The Social Brain

We have all sought to become the best versions of ourselves, understanding who we are and what we want to become. But how do humans have such a strong sense of self? Philosophers have deliberated on this topic for centuries, yet recent advances in cognitive science and neuroimaging have enabled us to glimpse into the brain's role in creating this representation. We understand how the brain develop...

One of the most empowering things you can do for yourself is to become more hopeful. To many people, this can sound trite. It can sound a lot like the idea that you should just have faith that things will work out, regardless of the reality of your situation. That makes sense because many people use the word “hope” as a synonym for “wish”. We say things like “I hope it all works out for you!” or “...

Probably the most important question we can ask is “how can I be happier?” Some people might find this question overly self-centered, but becoming happier is not only good for us, but everyone we come into contact with as well. Others, while agreeing that individual happiness is important, may nevertheless think it is impossible to be any happier than one’s genes or childhood determine. That is a...

We all want to be able to do more, achieve more, and become more successful. But how do we do that? It turns out that the answer lies in the psychology and neuroscience behind willpower and self-control. Many of us probably believe that our will power is limited and that when we’re tired or depleted that we are incapable of staying motivated. The science is showing though that this is far from the...

In this episode, we will explain how neuroplasticity works and how you can use it to improve your life. Throughout life, you are continually changing, shifting, adapting, learning, and becoming who you are. Another way of saying that is that your mind is continually changing, because you are your mind. Of course, your brain is the physical substrate of your mind–the brain is what makes you you. So...

We’ve all experienced it at one point or another: that feeling of effortless, almost magical engagement with a task, where time seems to stand still and the world around us fades away. It’s the state of flow, and it’s been described as the ultimate form of happiness and productivity. Flow is a state that can be experienced in many different activities, from sports to art to work. It’s a feeling of...

Do you feel exhausted by work or life in general? More specifically, do you lack a feeling of motivation and drive that you used to have? If so, you might be experiencing burnout. Burnout is incredibly common, with a 2018 Gallup poll reporting that 23% of employees in the US say they feel burned out at work all or most of the time (and I would guess this is higher post-Covid). While motivation nat...

These days, it's easy to take for granted the incredible complexity of motion, the way we are able to move through the world with such ease. We don't often think about the countless hours of practice, the countless micro-adjustments, and the countless neurons firing in our brain to make it all happen. Yet, motion is a form of intelligence, and understanding the neuroscience of motor learning can g...

Take a moment to feel what’s going on inside your body. Maybe your stomach is starting to feel hungry, or maybe it feels pleasantly full and satisfied. Maybe you don’t feel any specific area, but instead you sense a hum of life within you–your breath gently moving in and out and subtle tingles throughout your body. What’s amazing is that, while those feelings seem like they’re happening in your bo...

These days, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and distracted by the barrage of notifications, emails, and tasks that vie for our attention. It can be hard to stay focused and give our undivided attention to the things that truly matter. Rather than reflexively reacting to the chaos, we must take the time to pause, reflect, and make intentional decisions about how to use the power of our attention. We...

We spend a lot of time thinking about the future or the past, often at the expense of living in the present. As we talked about in the last episode, this kind of cognition is completely natural: it’s built into the brain’s default mode network. And while planning for the future, reviewing the past, and mind wandering are all important and healthy aspects of being human, they can also make us unhap...

What makes human cognition so much different from that of other animals? The short answer has to do with a single brain network: the default mode network (DMN). Humans are deliberative, able to flexibly combine the current moment with the past so that we can simulate and predict the future. We can remember things that occurred years and even decades ago and we can plan for life events that won't h...

How does the human brain develop an addiction? The extremely high prevalence rates for disorders such as alcohol use disorder or drug use disorder (1 in 3 AUD lifetime prevalence, 1 in 10 DUD lifetime prevalence) suggests that addiction is not simply a disease but is instead a natural brain process that each and every one of us is susceptible to. The fascinating thing that is unraveling in the res...

Everyone knows what an emotion is.. until they are asked to explain it. We all have a sense that we are living emotional lives and that these emotional drives have immense control of our behavior but it’s hard to say what that emotion actually is. Is it the physiology? Is it the brain activity? Can single cells have feelings or emotions without nervous systems? Are there such things as basic emoti...

Neuroscientists are on the cusp of cracking the neural code. Just by looking at the brain data, computer algorithms are reading out and recreating what people saw and listened to. Learn how we got there and what the future has in store.

We all know the feeling of being in sync with one another or feeling like we're understood by those around us. Is there something actually going on in our brains during these moments? Do our brains get in sync with one another and get "on the same wavelength"? Does the strength of our social relationships affect this whole process? We'll dig into all of this and so much more in this episode of The...

Neuroscience has a fascinating and at times funny history but it is an extremely new scientific discipline. Explore with us how neuroscience got it's start and how this led to the rise of fields like social and cognitive neuroscience.

From single cells within an organism to individuals within a society, all living things engage in social processes. Join us and explore how these dynamic social interactions shaped evolution and made our brains what they are today.