Podcasts about Affective neuroscience

What if feeling your feelings didn't mean falling apart — but actually gave you more control, not less? If white knuckling or pushing through is the best way you know how to feel your feelings. You're not alone.Discover the hidden mistake keeping perfectionists stuck feeling on edge, why you can never outthink your feelings and the right way to feel your feelings.Want to bring rewiring into your reality? Where being confident, certain and playful is just how you roll? Perfectionist Solutions 1-1 coaching is your next step.Mentioned In Episode 254:Perfectionism Optimized 1 to 1 coachingPerfectionismRewired.comOther helpful podcast episodes in this series on How Your Brain Actually Works:Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 248Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 249Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 250Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 251Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 252Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 253Timestamps:00:00-Your thoughts create your feelings LIE #101:53-Can't Feel Your Feelings Without This04:14-Knowing how your brain actually works05:24-"What is Wrong With Me?" Explained06:37-Feelings Are Psychological LIE #207:16-Feelings are Emotions LIE #308:56-Where Feelings Actually Come From10:08-How Depersonalizing Feelings = Freedom12:46-Turning Mom Meltdown Moments Around (Manon's Story)14:35-How To Control Your Feelings16:01-Rational Thinking + Decisions LIE #417:32-Striving For Excellence Without Pushing Through18:29-What Your Person Account Has To Do With Feelings19:41-How To Identify Your Feelings Fast21:12-How To Feel Your Feelings Visual Tool22:33-Why Meditation + Deep Breaths Don't Always Work23:58-Thoughts Drive Your Feelings LIES #525:57-Perspectacles How Feelings Shape Your Perceptions28:37-Turning Your Mood into Useful Fuel30:07-Where Sense Data Fits Into The EquationHow To Feel Your Feelings Q&AQ: Why does “changing my thoughts” never changes my feelings—especially as a perfectionist?
A: This episode breaks down the myth that thoughts drive feelings (hint: it's the other way around!). Discover why “thought work” is a torture device for perfectionidtic people and how the “CTFAR Model” does not actually work for any human with a brainQ: What's really going on when I'm overwhelmed by emotions even if everything looks fine on the outside?
A: You'll learn the neuroscientific difference between feelings and emotions, plus why this distinction puts an to the cycle of overthinking feelings and asking “what is wrong with me”Q: What's the biggest misconception high-achievers have about feelings?
A: Most of us have a totally backward understanding of where feelings come from (and it's not just psychological!). Courtney reveals the real, science-backed answer.Q: How can I feel my feelings without getting “lost” in them or falling apart?
A: Tune in for a client success story and discover a practical tool—the “mood meter”—to help you regain control and function, even on tough days.Q: Does thinking rationally mean I can escape feelings?
A: Logic and rationality can't bypass feelings. Find out why every decision (yes, even the “rational” ones!) are shaped by your mood — and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.Q: What's one quick, practical tweak I can use to feel better fast?
A: Courtney shares micro-strategies (think 30 seconds to 3 minutes) you can use right away to change your mood—and your experience.Highly Credible Resources Cited in this EpisodeBar, M. (2009). The proactive brain: memory for predictions. *Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences*, *364*(1521), 1235–1243. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0310Barrett, L. F. (2017). How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Barrett, L. F. (2006). Valence is a basic building block of emotional life. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(1), 35–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2005.08.006Barrett, L. F. (2016). The theory of constructed emotion: an active inference account of interoception and categorization. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, nsw154. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw154Barrett, L. F., & Bar, M. (2009). See it with feeling: affective predictions during object perception. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1521), 1325–1334. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0312Barrett, L. F., Gross, J., Christensen, T. C., & Benvenuto, M. (2001). Knowing what you're feeling and knowing what to do about it: Mapping the relation between emotion differentiation and emotion regulation. Cognition and Emotion, 15(6), 713–724. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930143000239Barrett, L. F., & Russell, J. A. (1999). The Structure of Current Affect. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(1), 10–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00003Braem, S., Coenen, E., Klaas Bombeke, Bochove, van, & Wim Notebaert. (2015). Open your eyes for prediction errors. *Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience*, *15*(2), 374–380. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-014-0333-4Bobba-Alves, N., Juster, R.-P., & Picard, M. (2022). The energetic cost of allostasis and allostatic load. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 146, 105951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105951Cesario, J., Johnson, D. J., & Eisthen, H. L. (2020). Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(3), 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420917687‌Clark, A. (2013). Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science. *Behavioral and Brain Sciences*, *36*(3), 181–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x12000477Gendron, M., Lindquist, K. A., Barsalou, L., & Barrett, L. F. (2012). Emotion words shape emotion percepts. Emotion, 12(2), 314–325. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026007Hoemann, K., Gendron, M., & Barrett, L. F. (2022). Assessing the Power of Words to Facilitate Emotion Category Learning. Affective Science, 3(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-021-00084-4Kleckner, I. R., Zhang, J., Touroutoglou, A., Chanes, L., Xia, C., Simmons, W. K., Quigley, K. S., Dickerson, B. C., & Feldman Barrett, L. (2017). Evidence for a large-scale brain system supporting allostasis and interoception in humans. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(5). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0069Mattes, A., Mück, M., & Stahl, J. (2023). Perfectionism-related variations in error processing in a task with increased response selection complexity. *Personality neuroscience*, *5*, e12. https://doi.org/10.1017/pen.2022.3Sullivan, W. T. (1990). Outward Searchers: SETI Pioneers . Scientists Talk about Their Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. DAVID W. SWIFT. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1990. xiv, 436 pp., illus. $35. Science, 250(4978), 303–303. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.250.4978.303-a Perfectionism Rewired is committed to truth and accuracy through a perfectionist affirming lens, offering cutting-edge research on perfectionism, interoception + neuroscience, for the practical perfectionist who wants to enjoy the life they've worked so hard to create.

Applying neuroscience and psychology to education and formation, pioneering researcher Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang draws connections between emotions, relationships, brains, stories, meaning, and purpose to shed light on how we learn, grow, and thrive.Her research on the brain shows how we're woven together in an intricate and glorious network of life, and when we synthesize the neurological, the psychological, the physical, and the social, we're able to come to a deeper and more impactful understanding of human development and flourishing.From the intricacies of adolescent brain development to the emotional and spiritual scaffolding of a meaningful life, she explains how transcendent thinking, story, and emotional engagement fuel identity formation and long-term flourishing. Drawing from cutting-edge research and humanistic insight, she explores how young people co-create their worlds and how adults can support them in becoming adaptive, wise, and agentic.In this conversation with Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, we discuss:The value of integrating neuroscience with educational, emotional, and moral developmentThe strange and glorious case of the adolescent brain—how we mature, learn how to think, feel, and exercise our agency, and strive to become wiseThe emotional and relational nature of education and moral development—expressed in nurturing conversation between caring adults and youthThe importance of agency, intentionality, and transcendent thinking in human thrivingNeural plasticity and the capacity to change our brains throughout our lifespanAnd, the big picture of thriving, that brings together our mental life, neurobiology, and other physical processes—with relationships, community, and society at large.Episode Highlights"Thriving is really about living like you mean it.""We co-construct one another's lived experiences by the virtue of being there together.""You learn how to have an instinct—it's not something you're just born with.""Transcendent thinking literally grows the adolescent brain.""Meaning-making is an abstraction, a transcendent story we construct to bring coherence to our lives."Show NotesThriving as dynamic, purposeful engagementEmotional experiences shaping brain developmentCo-construction of identity in social relationshipsAdolescence as a time of neurodevelopmental remodelingHow transcendent thinking fosters brain growth over timeAdolescents' drive for deeper moral and ethical narrativesMeaning-making as a tool for personal and societal transformationLinking personal experience with historical and social narrativesDefault mode network and its role in reflection and creativityFrom instinct to insight—how the brain learns to feelThe relationship between emotional health and physical well-beingGut-brain connection, serotonin, and embodied cognitionTranscendence as a cognitive-emotional developmental milestoneInfluence of media, anxiety, and political division on adolescent mindsBrain-based evidence of narrative engagement growing identityLearning to align present feelings with long-term purposeBrain science dismantling the myth of "subjective = unimportant"Agency, presence, and intentionality in thrivingIntegration of neuroscience with humanistic and applied methodsRole of narrative in therapy, art, education, and spiritualityHow adolescents learn to feel, not just what to thinkCulturally-rooted belief systems shaping neural responsesThe importance of reflection, introspection, and deep conversationAdolescents' innate capacity for moral concern and big-picture thinkingLearning through story: case studies in adolescent empathyReclaiming agency from external cultural and tech influencesIdentity as a lifelong, evolving narrative—not a fixed outcomeGrowth as intentional reflection, not cognitive accelerationSpiritual wellness as iterative construction of meaning and valuesParenting and mentoring for deep reflective growthAdaptive wisdom: balancing immediacy with long-term visionSigns of flourishing: self-liking, relationship quality, agencyImportance of diverse experiences and safe, supportive relationshipsAdults thriving through neuroplasticity and meaning-makingThe lifelong role of story and belief in shaping purposeCognitive engagement and values-based direction over passive successEmotional safety and time as prerequisites for transcendenceListening, asking why, and welcoming the unknown as virtues of thrivingPam King's Key TakeawaysBrain science isn't better or worse than other perspectives on human life, but it offers incredible insight for how we grow and thrive.Stories and narratives are the essential threads that hold our lives together; how you think and the story you're telling yourself matters for your thriving.Education isn't just a cognitive process. Our emotions and our bodies and our sense of connection and safety in relationships play a central role in learning.Spiritual health connects how our transcendent thinking informs our identity and how we live in reciprocity with the world beyond ourselvesThriving involves an agile agency that helps us live with skill and intentionality—so “live like you mean it.”About Mary Helen Immordino-YangMary Helen Immordino-Yang is the Fahmy and Donna Attallah Professor of Humanistic Psychology at the University of Southern California. And she's the founding director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education. Candle is just a lovely image for Mary Helen's work that brings so much light to the world.She's also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has received several national awards for her ground breaking research and its implications for educationWith a focus on educational psychology and the role of emotions in brain development and growth, she's an expert on the neuroscience of learning and creativity. And her approach offers insight on how our brains shape human culture, morality, and relationships.She works with adolescents and their teachers (particularly in low socio-economic environments) to understand how we build meaning together—looking at abstract, systems-level, and ethical implications of learning complex information, navigating social situations, and narrating our identities.Her research underscores the active role youth play in their own brain and psychosocial development through the narratives they construct, and capacities teachers cultivate to support student belonging and deep learning.To learn more about Mary Helen and her work, check out candle.usc.edu. About the Thrive CenterLearn more at thethrivecenter.org.Follow us on Instagram @thrivecenterFollow us on X @thrivecenterFollow us on LinkedIn @thethrivecenter About Dr. Pam KingDr. Pam King is Executive Director the Thrive Center and is Peter L. Benson Professor of Applied Developmental Science at Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy. Follow her @drpamking. About With & ForHost: Pam KingSenior Director and Producer: Jill WestbrookOperations Manager: Lauren KimSocial Media Graphic Designer: Wren JuergensenConsulting Producer: Evan RosaSpecial thanks to the team at Fuller Studio and the Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy.

"Part of the reason I stay super busy is bc if I stop to rest l'll ruminate. And if I ruminate, I start spiraling. And if I spiraling I'm like a nosediving plane" Sound familiar? Discover the ANSWER to WHY you get stuck in your most annoying perfectionist tendencies, like ruminating, catastrophizing, overthinking every small mistake etc. Plus the 6 reasons your perfectionist brain holds on to outdated habits,  how chronic stress impacts your brain's ability to change, the role of back and white thinking in reinforcing unhelpful neural pathways, why past experiences trick your brain into seeing danger everywhere and how to stop your worries from becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.  On paper, you've got it together— isn't it time you felt like it? Whether it's becoming much more DECISIVE in everything you do, stop playing out worst case scenarios in your head or JOYFULLY PRESENT AMBITIOUS again, Perfectionism Optimized, private 1-1 coaching gives you the life-long skills to *finally feel* as amazing on the inside as your life looks on the outside. Get your stress-free start today at https://courtneylovegavin.com/rewire TIMESTAMPS:00:00–How to finally take charge of ruminating02:16–Missed the last episode? Here's a quick recap04:06–What happens when your brain gets it wrong06:09–Why perfectionist brains resists learning from mistakes07:40–6 sneaky reasons your brain ignores new info08:23–How chronic stress keeps your brain stuck10:20–Why your brain clings to old patterns11:42–The hidden reason you avoid discomfort12:51–When your brain blows things out of proportion13:49–How black-and-white thinking is like wearing blinders15:19–Why past experiences warp your reactions19:34–How to update your brain so you can get unstuck21:09–One small shift to start seeing change today The first step in rewiring Resources Mentioned In Episode 250:Take your first step in rewiring Perfect Start Introductory SessionMagic Skill for Control of Emotions [Neuroscience Series #1] Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 248How Perfectionist Brain *Actually* Works [Neuroscience Series #2] Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 249When Taking A Few Deep Breaths Isn't Enough Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 192Will Save Your Sanity(might change your life) Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 193 Citations/Sources:Bar, M. (2009). The proactive brain: memory for predictions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 364(1521), 1235–1243. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0310Barrett, L. F., & Simmons, W. K. (2015). Interoceptive predictions in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(7), 419–429. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3950Braem, S., Coenen, E., Klaas Bombeke, Bochove, van, & Wim Notebaert. (2015). Open your eyes for prediction errors. Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, 15(2), 374–380. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-014-0333-4Clark, A. (2013). Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36(3), 181–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x12000477Handley, A. K., Egan, S. J., Kane, R. T., & Rees, C. S. (2014). The relationships between perfectionism, pathological worry and generalised anxiety disorder. BMC Psychiatry, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244x-14-98Kummer, K., Mattes, A. & Stahl, J. Do perfectionists show negative, repetitive thoughts facing uncertain situations?. Curr Psychol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04409-3Lital Yosopov, Saklofske, D. H., Smith, M. M., Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2024). Failure Sensitivity in Perfectionism and Procrastination: Fear of Failure and Overgeneralization of Failure as Mediators of Traits and Cognitions. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 42(6), 705–724. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829241249784Mattes, A., Mück, M., & Stahl, J. (2022). Perfectionism-related variations in error processing in a task with increased response selection complexity. Personality Neuroscience, 5. https://doi.org/10.1017/pen.2022.3‌McNally, G. P., Johansen, J. P., & Blair, H. T. (2011). Placing prediction into the fear circuit. *Trends in Neurosciences*, *34*(6), 283–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2011.03.005‌Meyer, A., & Wissemann, K. (2020). Controlling parenting and perfectionism is associated with an increased error-related negativity (ERN) in young adults. *Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience*, *15*(1), 87–95. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa018‌Roy, M., Shohamy, D., Daw, N., Jepma, M., Wimmer, G. E., & Wager, T. D. (2014). Representation of aversive prediction errors in the human periaqueductal gray. *Nature Neuroscience*, *17*(11), 1607–1612. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3832‌ Perfectionism Rewired is committed to neuroscience truth and accuracy through a perfectionist affirming lens, offering cutting-edge research on perfectionism, neuroplasticity + interoception techniques for the practical perfectionist who wants to enjoy the life you've worked so hard to create instead of obsolete advice to "overcome your perfectionism"

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . How do our brains produce thinking? My guest is an expert in cognitive neuroscience, the field that aims to answer that question. Paul Reber is professor of psychology at Northwestern University, Director of Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, and head of the Brain, Behavior, and Cognition program, focusing on human memory—how the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information. With a PhD from Carnegie Mellon, his work has been cited over 6,000 times. He has served as Associate Editor for the journal Cortex and contributed to NIH review panels. His recent projects explore applications of memory science in skill training and cognitive aging. If we want to build AI that reproduces human intelligence, we need to understand that as well as possible. In part 2, we talk about how to memorize something like a TED talk, the difference between human and computer memory, how humans make memories more resilient, catastrophic interference, and just how big is the human brain and can we fill it up? All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.        

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . How do our brains produce thinking? My guest is an expert in cognitive neuroscience, the field that aims to answer that question. Paul Reber is professor of psychology at Northwestern University, Director of Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, and head of the Brain, Behavior, and Cognition program, focusing on human memory—how the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information. With a PhD from Carnegie Mellon, his work has been cited over 6,000 times. He has served as Associate Editor for the journal Cortex and contributed to NIH review panels. His recent projects explore applications of memory science in skill training and cognitive aging. If we want to build AI that reproduces human intelligence, we need to understand that as well as possible. In part 1, we talk about distinguishing neuroscience from cognitive neuroscience, the physical structure of the brain, how we learn physical skills, comparing the brain to AI, and foundational problems in neuroscience. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.        

Feeling overwhelmed? Stressed out? Anxious? Being vague about your emotions is like saying you're "craving food" for dinner—utterly unhelpful! Your perfectionist brain needs precision to create the right action plan for you. Learn why labeling your emotions accurately is crucial for regulating your body's responses and the essential skillset all perfectionists need to understand their emotions, what the feelings mean and what to do about them, guided by the latest neuroscience research.On paper, you've got it together— isn't it time you felt like it? Whether it's becoming much more DECISIVE in everything you do, stop playing out worst case scenarios in your head or becoming JOYFULLY PRESENT AMBITIOUS again, Perfectionism Optimized, private 1-1 coaching gives you the life-long skills to *finally feel* as amazing on the inside as your life looks on the outside. Get your stress-free start today at https://courtneylovegavin.com/rewire TIMESTAMPS:01:08-Controlling of emotions03:13-How to stop feeling overwhelmed05:28-Muffin-Cupcake Experiment07:54-Why Words Hold Physiological Power09:48-Emotional Regulation skills12:14-What the skill of emotional granularity buys you14:23-How to rewire your brain15:27-Becoming an Emotional Sommelier18:52-How do you construct your emotions more accurately? Resources Mentioned In Episode 248:Perfect Start Introductory Session Single Coaching SessionAvoiding Perfectionist Mistakes in Expressing Emotions Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 173Will Save Your Sanity(might change your life) Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 193Everything You Need to Know About Self Regulation as a Perfectionist  Perfectionism Rewired Ep. 194 Citations/Sources:Barrett, L. F. (2017). How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Barrett, L. F. (2016). The theory of constructed emotion: an active inference account of interoception and categorization. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, nsw154–nsw154. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw154Barrett, L. F., Gross, J., Christensen, T. C., & Benvenuto, M. (2001). Knowing what you're feeling and knowing what to do about it: Mapping the relation between emotion differentiation and emotion regulation. Cognition and Emotion, 15(6), 713–724. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930143000239‌Crum, A. J., Corbin, W. R., Brownell, K. D., & Salovey, P. (2011). Mind over milkshakes: Mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response. Health Psychology, 30(4), 424–429. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023467Gendron, M., Lindquist, K. A., Barsalou, L., & Barrett, L. F. (2012). Emotion words shape emotion percepts. Emotion, 12(2), 314–325. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026007Hoemann, K., Gendron, M., & Barrett, L. F. (2022). Assessing the Power of Words to Facilitate Emotion Category Learning. Affective Science, 3(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-021-00084-4Hoemann, K., Khan, Z., Kamona, N., Dy, J., Barrett, L. F., & Quigley, K. S. (2021). Investigating the relationship between emotional granularity and cardiorespiratory physiological activity in daily life. Psychophysiology, 58(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13818Hoemann, K., Lee, Y., Kuppens, P., Gendron, M., & Boyd, R. L. (2023). Emotional Granularity is Associated with Daily Experiential Diversity. Affective Science, 4(2), 291–306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-023-00185-2Hoemann, K., Nielson, C., Yuen, A., Gurera, J. W., Quigley, K. S., & Barrett, L. F. (2021). Expertise in emotion: A scoping review and unifying framework for individual differences in the mental representation of emotional experience. Psychological Bulletin, 147(11), 1159–1183. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000327Satpute, A. B., Nook, E. C., Narayanan, S., Shu, J., Weber, J., & Ochsner, K. N. (2016). Emotions in "Black and White" or Shades of Gray? How We Think About Emotion Shapes Our Perception and Neural Representation of Emotion. Psychological science, 27(11), 1428–1442. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616661555Westlin, C., Theriault, J. E., Yuta Katsumi, Nieto-Castanon, A., Kucyi, A., Ruf, S. F., … Barrett, L. F. (2023). Improving the study of brain-behavior relationships by revisiting basic assumptions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27(3), 246–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.12.015‌‌ Perfectionism Rewired is committed to neuroscience truth and accuracy through a perfectionist affirming lens, offering cutting-edge research on perfectionism, neuroplasticity + interoception techniques for the practical perfectionist who wants to enjoy the life you've worked so hard to create instead of obsolete advice to "overcome your perfectionism"

Today our guest is Dr. Ben Schwartz, Neuroscience Advisor and Lecturer in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at Baylor University. Dr. Schwartz earned his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2021, following his B.S. from UCLA in 2016. His academic journey has been driven by a profound interest in neural plasticity and its critical roles in learning, memory, development, and recovery from central nervous system damage. At Baylor, Dr. Schwartz teaches Learning and Behavior and Affective Neuroscience, and a graduate seminar on teaching psychology. With this clinical research background, Ben speaks across campus about the biological bases for learning and how this can inform our teaching. We're delighted to have Dr. Schwartz on the show to discuss common myths about learning and continual improvement in teaching. Resources: Pashler et al., “Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence”

“There is no learning without emotion.” This bold statement, likely familiar to many educators, is at the center of Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang's research. In this episode of Speaking of Higher Ed, we speak with Dr. Immordino-Yang, a renowned professor of education, psychology and neuroscience at the University of Southern California. We explore why emotions are essential to learning from a neurobiological perspective, how we can use this knowledge to help our students learn meaningfully, and what this insight means for our approach to education. Get free access to more of our content, visit our show page for full episodes and additional resources.

In this episode of AUHSD Future Talks, Superintendent Matsuda interviews Emily Gonzalez and Christina Kundrak from the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE). They are joined by AUHSD's Diana Fujimoto (Professional Development Coordinator) and Michael Switzer (English Curriculum Specialist). During the talk, the group discusses CANDLE's partnership with AUHSD, transcendent thinking, learning loss, purpose, finding the right language and mindset, intentional practice to support students, pausing to reflect, the connection between the 5Cs and transcendent thinking, and where can an educator begin with transcendent thinking.Emily Gonzalez is pursuing a PhD in Education at USC's Rossier School of Education. Before entering the PhD program, Emily worked as a researcher at Project Zero. She earned her EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her BS in Elementary Education from Wheelock College. Emily is interested in promoting equitable educational practices and systems by reimagining educational opportunities for students and teachers. Her research uncovers the biological, psychological, and social processes engaged in effective K-12 teaching practices and dispositions, and how they impact learners' agentic development of interests, scholarly and social identities, and ability to self-author and engage with societal complexities.Christina Kundrak is a Senior Research Associate at the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE). Kundrak received her PhD in Urban Education Policy from USC Rossier School of Education. Kundrak was previously a high school science teacher and also worked in educational technology. She attended Pepperdine University, where she earned her bachelor's in psychology. Kundrak's research interests include neurobiological and psychological factors affecting student and teacher beliefs, motivation, engagement, and learning and the application of the aforementioned topics to educational systems to better support students in their academic and personal growth. Her current projects include an observational and neuroimaging study of teachers, funded by the Templeton Foundation and new work on agentic identity development and meaning-making from the Jacobs Foundation.

Also: are the most memorable stories less likely to be true? Stephen Dubner chats with Angela Duckworth in this classic episode from July 2020. SOURCES:Pearl S. Buck, 20th-century American novelist.Jack Gallant, professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago, host of People I (Mostly) Admire, and co-author of the Freakonomics books.George Loewenstein, professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.Deborah Small, professor of marketing at Yale University.Adin Steinsaltz, rabbi, philosopher, and author.Diana Tamir, professor of neuroscience and psychology at Princeton University. RESOURCES:"The Representation of Semantic Information Across Human Cerebral Cortex During Listening Versus Reading Is Invariant to Stimulus Modality," by Fatma Deniz, Anwar O. Nunez-Elizalde, Alexander G. Huth and Jack L. Gallant (Journal of Neuroscience, 2019)."Reading Fiction and Reading Minds: The Role of Simulation in the Default Network," by Diana Tamir, Andrew B. Bricker, David Dodell-Feder, and Jason P. Mitchell (Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2016).Think Like a Freak, by Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt (2014).SuperFreakonomics, by Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt (2009).Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure, by the Department of Defense (2009)."Stories or Statistics? Farmers' Attitudes Toward Messages in an Agricultural Safety Campaign," by S. E. Morgan, H. P. Cole, T. Struttmann, and L. Piercy (Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 2002)."Explaining the Identifiable Victim Effect," by Karen Jenni and George Loewenstein (Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 1997)."Explanation-Based Decision Making: Effects of Memory Structure on Judgment," by N. Pennington and R. Hastie (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1988).The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck (1931). EXTRAS:"Abortion and Crime, Revisited (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2022)."This Is Your Brain on Podcasts," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

Can the power of community transform our educational systems for the better? This neuroscientist says absolutely. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang is a neuroscientist and USC professor, and she has spent her career studying education and the ways we can enhance it. Her findings claim that diversity has a huge impact on brain growth and even life experience. She explains that similarly to how fabric is composed of thousands of intricately woven threads, our schools need the active coordination of many people and skills, making them stronger together. Immordino-Yang stresses the importance of this strong social fabric, explaining that spending time around those who differ from us can help us become adaptable and truly deepen our understanding of the world around us. This idea calls for a new approach to education, where teachers and students work together to create systems of learning that help them grow alongside one another, instead of on confined and isolated paths. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Mary Helen Immordino-Yang: Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, is an expert on the psychological and neurobiological foundations of social emotion, self-awareness, and culture, and how they impact learning, development, and education. She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a faculty member in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Southern California, and the Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. Together, let's learn from them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've been looking at intelligence all wrong, explains a neuroscientist. Our society has an obsession with quantifying everything, often applying measurements and numerical values where they aren't necessary. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a neuroscientist and professor at USC, argues that we've taken this approach with intelligence, and it might not be the right path. Immordino-Yang uses standardized testing as an example, explaining how modern-day education systems equate high test scores with high intelligence levels. However, these tests usually only measure a student's ability to perform under specific conditions, focusing narrowly on memorization and regurgitation of predetermined answers. Instead, Mary Helen suggests a more dynamic concept of intelligence, considering a child's ability to navigate complex situations, understand new information, and innovate in real-time. This kind of intelligence is adaptive and essential for societal progress, as it allows for a more well-rounded perception of the world and situations that occur within it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Mary Helen Immordino-Yang: Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, is an expert on the psychological and neurobiological foundations of social emotion, self-awareness, and culture, and how they impact learning, development, and education. She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a faculty member in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Southern California, and the Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This interview is an episode from ‪‪@The-Well‬, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the ‪‪@JohnTempletonFoundation‬. About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. Together, let's learn from them. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter ► https://bit.ly/thewellemailsignup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This interview is an episode from ‪@The-Well‬, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the ‪@JohnTempletonFoundation‬. Cultivating your own well-being does not mean getting rid of discomfort, according to neuroscientist Mary Helen Immordino-Yang. Immordino-Yang is a professor of education, psychology, and neuroscience at the University of Southern California, and she has spent years researching what makes one “well.” Turns out, true well-being comes from balance and flexibility, not just from filling your life with positive experiences. Immordino-Yang suggests a few practical tips for maintaining this balance, such as prioritizing quality relationships, monitoring our social media usage, and engaging in activities that bring joy and reflection. We can't fully eradicate suffering, but we can accept it and choose to grow through it. By welcoming healthy levels of discomfort and taking agency over our own activities and habits, we can achieve wellness as it was meant to be achieved - as a state of being, not a destination. ------------------------------------------- About Mary Helen Immordino-Yang: Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, is an expert on the psychological and neurobiological foundations of social emotion, self-awareness, and culture, and how they impact learning, development, and education. She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a faculty member in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Southern California, and the Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. Together, let's learn from them. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter ► https://bit.ly/thewellemailsignup ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more ►Get Big Think+ for Business Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business--------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 We are back, back

This interview is an episode from ‪‪@The-Well‬, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the ‪‪@JohnTempletonFoundation‬. Watch Mary Helen Immordino-Yang's next interview ►   • What well-being is (and isn't), accor...   Are our current school systems stifling learning that matters? Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a professor of education, psychology, and neuroscience at the University of Southern California, says yes. According to Immordino-Yang, our education system focuses too much on memorizing facts and procedures, neglecting autobiographical memory—the personal story we tell ourselves about who we are and what we stand for. This type of memory is crucial for growth, development, and well-being. Immordino-Yang tested this theory with a 5-year study that analyzed how young people's brains are affected by deep thinking and reflection. She found that when teens were exposed to real-life stories and were asked to respond critically to how they made them feel, it had significant positive impacts on identity development and brain structure. Instead of teaching students to memorize and reiterate learned facts and figures, Immordino-Yang encourages us to focus on this type of “transcendent thinking,” as it can help young people give more context to their knowledge. By fostering this deeper level of understanding, we can better prepare students to navigate and contribute to the complex, constantly developing world we live in. -------------------------------------------------------------------- About Mary Helen Immordino-Yang: Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, is an expert on the psychological and neurobiological foundations of social emotion, self-awareness, and culture, and how they impact learning, development, and education. She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a faculty member in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Southern California, and the Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. Together, let's learn from them. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter ► https://bit.ly/thewellemailsignup ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more ►Get Big Think+ for Business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I'm joined by cognitive neuroscientist, Adam Omary. This guy is extremely smart so be prepared. We had an interesting conversation about his experience growing from an incel to Harvard graduate student, his experience learning to socialize, the Twin Study, the effects of prenatal hormones during brain development, the causes of gender dysphoria, how cortisol affects the brain, recovering from puberty blockers, and much more. Enjoy! Adam Omary is a Psychology Ph.D. student at Harvard University, where he conducts research in the Affective Neuroscience & Development Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Leah Somerville. He attended the University of Southern California as a QuestBridge Scholar and graduated with a B.A. in Cognitive Science and M.S. in Biostatistics. —Check Out Our Sponsors— - Order my hangover supplement, After Party on https://bit.ly/3VJ0UnD and Amazon https://a.co/d/6OGdTrT. Be sure to leave a review! - Air Oasis' iAdaptAir Purifier at https://www.airoasis.com/pages/mp code MP for 10% off —Visit Adam's Links— Website: https://adamomary.com Substack: https://naturednurture.substack.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/thenaturenurturepodcast —Follow Me— All Platforms: https://linktr.ee/mikhailapeterson Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikhailapeterson TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikhailapeterson Website: https://mikhailapeterson.com Lion Diet: https://liondiet.com Biotoxin: https://biotoxin.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/mikhailapete​rsonpodcast X: https://twitter.com/MikhailaFuller Telegram: https://t.me/mikhailapeterson​​ —Chapters— [0:00] Intro [1:15] What is the Twin Study? [9:36] Correlation between gender identity and sexual orientation [14:57] Prenatal hormones during brain development [23:22] Why Adam studied gender dysphoria [26:37] What does cortisol/high-level of stress do to the brain? [30:30] SSRIs during brain development [36:30] Adam's background and childhood [40:51] How catfishing and red pill helped social development [47:10] Measuring brain activity for accurate hormone levels [51:05] Dopamine release levels between men and women [57:18] Adam's Harvard experience [1:02:02] How has AI impacted universities? [1:03:01] Adam's faith and spirituality journey [1:11:57] Can adolescents recover from puberty blockers? [1:20:44] Gender dysphoria and social influence

This time on the podcast I'm joined by friend and colleague Dr Robin Foster. For a very long time I've wanted to dip into Panksepp's work on emotions, which in some small way has been adopted by the clicker training world, and finally I got to chat with Robin. We STILL didn't get to valence...I think another chat is needed soon. I hope you enjoy Robin's this thought provoking chat. Robin Foster has a PhD in Animal Behavior and is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB), Certified Equine Behavior Consultant (CEBC) and Certified Fear Free Professional. After 20 years as full professor of Psychology at the University of Puget Sound, Robin retired but continued teaching and conducting research. Courses Robin teaches include an online graduate course in Applied Equine Behavior at Virgina Tech, an undergraduate course in the Behavior of Zoo Animals at the University of Washington, and a certificate course in Advanced Equine Behavior at the University of Guelph. Robin's research explores equine social behavior and cognition and horse-human interactions. She also serves as a research advisor for MSc and PhD students. Robin's Website Links that Robin references: We (Still!) Need to Talk About Valence: Contemporary Issues and Recommendations for Affective Science | Affective Science (springer.com) Three Pillars for the Neural Control of Appetite | Annual Reviews Affective Neuroscience Theory and Personality: An Update - PubMed (nih.gov)

Can you ever really know how another person feels? What's the best way to support a grieving person? And why doesn't Hallmark sell empathy cards?  SOURCES:Daniel Batson, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Kansas.Paul Bloom, professor of psychology at University of Toronto.Paul Polman, businessman, author, and former C.E.O. of Unilever. RESOURCES:“Empathy, Sympathy, and Emotion Regulation: A Meta-Analytic Review,” by H. Melis Yavuz, Tyler Colasante, Emma Galarneau, and Tina Malti (Psychological Bulletin, 2024).“Have Some Sympathy,” by Pamela Paul (The New York Times, 2023).“What is Club 33? Inside Disney's Most Exclusive Club,” by Evelyn Long (Walt Disney World Magazine, 2022).“The Case Against Empathy,” by Sean Illing (Vox, 2019).Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion, by Paul Bloom (2016).“Beautiful friendship: Social sharing of emotions improves subjective feelings and activates the neural reward circuitry,” by Ullrich Wagner, Lisa Galli, Björn H. Schott, Andrew Wold, Job van der Schalk, Antony S. R. Manstead, Klaus Scherer, and Henrik Walter (Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2015).Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil, by Paul Bloom (2013).The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery (2006). “Immorality from Empathy-Induced Altruism: When Compassion and Justice Conflict,” by Daniel Batson, Tricia Klein, Lori Highberger, and Laura Shaw (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1995).“The Four Horsemen: Contempt,” by Ellie Lisitsa (The Gottman Institute). EXTRAS:“Is Empathy in Fact Immoral?” by No Stupid Questions (2021).Parasite, film (2019).King James Bible, Job 2:1-13. The Book of Mormon, Mosiah 18:9.

In the workplace, we encounter various personalities, some more challenging than others. Traits like narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy among colleagues or leaders can significantly impact workplace dynamics, leading to conflicts, manipulation, and toxicity within teams. Recognizing and understanding these traits can help you navigate such environments more effectively.   Meet our guest, Jon Gruda, a Professor in Organizational Behavior who specializes in anxiety, leadership, and personality research. He discusses how to identify characteristics of the Dark Triad and shares strategies on how to manage interactions with these individuals.   Jon Gruda is a lifelong learner with impressive credentials. He holds a PhD in Management from emlyon business school, a Doctorate in Psychology from Goethe University, and an MSc in Affective Neuroscience from Maastricht University, alongside several business and management degrees. Throughout his academic career, Jon has consulted organizational leaders and CEOs, and has taught over 10,000 students and early career executives across Europe.   Jon's mission is to advance the understanding of human behavior in organizations, helping individuals and teams achieve their potential and well-being. He has published over 20 papers in peer-reviewed journals and frequently contributes to various media outlets, sharing his expertise with a wider audience.   In this episode, we delve into the concept of the Dark Triad. Jon provides valuable insights into recognizing and navigating challenging personality traits such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy in the workplace. By shedding light on these traits and their potential impact on organizational dynamics, Jon offers strategies to identify such behaviors and build support networks within your workplace. He also emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and proactive approaches to managing interactions with individuals exhibiting these traits, helping you thrive in complex work environments "Don't become the person that you don't want to be." - Jon Gruda SUPERPOWER Notes: 00:32 - That moment he noticed the power of listening: Talking to students and not just teaching, but having conversations. 01:42 - How listening impacts not just the mind but one's whole being 04:52 - One significant moment where a student shared a personal experience which became a driving force to do his work. 11:58 - Understanding the 'Dark Triad': Narcissism, Machiavellianism, Psychopathy 21:50 - How to recognize narcissistic traits in the workplace and get them to listen: Structure team meetings to have a lot more prep time upfront 33:55 - Spotting manipulation and deceit and what you should do: Approach them with clear, logical arguments and past evidence 47:00 - Recognizing a psychopath and how to effectively deal with them 56:25 - Crucial points of concern for organization with individuals having 'dark traits'  59:00 - Helpful strategies you can employ across all these 'dark traits' 01:05:50 - The idea that everyone exhibits 'dark traits' and understanding that some score higher on these traits than others.  01:09:50 - What characterizes a machiavellian 01:12 :30 - How to get in touch with Jon Key Takeaways: "The only way to listen is to create an environment where people are actually willing to share." - Jon Gruda "If you want them to go with the decision that you want to make, that you know is the best decision for the team, then you need to highlight how this decision that you want the leader to take is mutually beneficial." - Jon Gruda "Choosing the right moment when to approach them [psychopath leader]. Look for moments when the leader is particularly receptive to your input, directly following a public success." - Jon Gruda "I don't necessarily agree with the phrasing, but it does resonate well when you're dealing with psychopaths: Be Machiavellian."- Jon Gruda "Listen to yourself. " - Jon Gruda "Pretty good advice that I've learned from clients and from executives that I had to deal with: build a support network." - Jon Gruda "Knowing why people do what they do in any given situation is really, really powerful because it makes you a better person." - Jon Gruda Notes/Mentions: Dark Triad by Jon Gruda: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IFRqJon-bEhynUMhSBowdC78HA_gNHpw-7nKRKTwJ1g/edit Connect with Jon Gruda: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jongruda/ Connect with Raquel Ark: www.listeningalchemy.com Mobile: + 491732340722 contact@listeningalchemy.com  LinkedIn Podcast email: listeningsuperpower@gmail.com

Summary Dr Jenny Murphy is a senior lecturer at the University of Surrey. Here she discusses interoception and its importance in mental and physical health. Interoception refers to the processing of signals that come from inside the body, such as heart rate and breathing. People can differ in their ability to perceive these signals, as well as how much attention they pay to them and how they evaluate them. Interoception is associated with homeostasis and has been linked to various mental health conditions and higher-order cognitive abilities. Measurement of interoception is challenging but can be done through various tasks and self-report measures. Clinical applications include interoception training for anxiety and physical health conditions. Jenny discusses the role of perception and external cues in regulating the body, as well as the potential factors influencing interoception. She explains that her research focuses on measuring interoception and its development, and she is currently studying interoception across the menstrual cycle. Jenny also discusses the clinical implications of her work and the possible integration of interoception into therapy. She emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the need for more research on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Jenny mentions her upcoming textbook on interoception and concludes by offering advice on improving well-being through the understanding and regulation of interoceptive signals. She is editing a textbook on interoception at the moment that should be published by Springer, Nature at the end of the year. Keywords interoception, signals, perception, attention, evaluation, mental health, physical health, measurement, clinical applications, perception, external cues, regulation, body, interoception, development, menstrual cycle, clinical implications, therapy, interdisciplinary collaboration, thoughts, feelings, behavior, textbook, well-being Takeaways Interoception refers to the processing of signals that come from inside the body, such as heart rate and breathing. People can differ in their ability to perceive these signals, as well as how much attention they pay to them and how they evaluate them. Interoception is associated with homeostasis and has been linked to various mental health conditions and higher-order cognitive abilities. Measurement of interoception is challenging but can be done through various tasks and self-report measures. Clinical applications of interoception include training for anxiety and physical health conditions. Perception and external cues play a role in regulating the body and compensating for imperfect interoceptive signals. Jenny's research focuses on measuring interoception and its development, with current studies on interoception across the menstrual cycle. There are limited clinical implications of interoception research at present, but it may contribute to therapies like mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Interoception is an interdisciplinary field that can benefit from collaboration and integration with other areas of research. The relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior is complex and requires further investigation in the context of interoception. Jenny is working on a textbook on interoception that aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive resource for students and practitioners. Improving well-being through interoception involves recognizing the balance between paying attention to bodily signals and focusing on external cues. Publications https://www.jennymurphylab.com/publications Bio Jenny completed her PhD at King's College London in December 2019. Here she investigated the measurement of interoception, it's developmental trajectory and the relationship between interoception, health and higher order cognition. In April 2020 she took up a lectureship position at Royal Holloway University of London and in March 2024 she took up a senior lectureship position at the University of Surrey. Jenny's work on interoception has been recognised by several awards for doctoral contributions (from the British Psychological Society, Experimental Psychology Society and King's College London) and early career prizes (the American Psychological Society Rising Star Award and the Young Investigator Award from the European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience). Jenny is particularly interested in sex differences in interoceptive abilities, including how these emerge across development and whether they relate to sex differences in mental and physical health. She currently holds a New Investigator Grant from the Medical Research Council for investigating changes in interoception across the menstrual cycle.

Summary Dr Jenny Murphy, is a senior lecturer at the University of Surrey. Here she discusses interoception and its importance in mental and physical health. Interoception refers to the processing of signals that come from inside the body, such as heart rate and breathing. People can differ in their ability to perceive these signals, as well as how much attention they pay to them and how they evaluate them. Interoception is associated with homeostasis and has been linked to various mental health conditions and higher-order cognitive abilities. Measurement of interoception is challenging but can be done through various tasks and self-report measures. Clinical applications include interoception training for anxiety and physical health conditions. Jenny discusses the role of perception and external cues in regulating the body, as well as the potential factors influencing interoception. She explains that her research focuses on measuring interoception and its development, and she is currently studying interoception across the menstrual cycle. Jenny also discusses the clinical implications of her work and the possible integration of interoception into therapy. She emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the need for more research on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Jenny mentions her upcoming textbook on interoception and concludes by offering advice on improving well-being through the understanding and regulation of interoceptive signals. She is editing a textbook on interoception at the moment that should be published by Springer, Nature at the end of the year. Keywords interoception, signals, perception, attention, evaluation, mental health, physical health, measurement, clinical applications, perception, external cues, regulation, body, interoception, development, menstrual cycle, clinical implications, therapy, interdisciplinary collaboration, thoughts, feelings, behavior, textbook, well-being Takeaways Interoception refers to the processing of signals that come from inside the body, such as heart rate and breathing. People can differ in their ability to perceive these signals, as well as how much attention they pay to them and how they evaluate them. Interoception is associated with homeostasis and has been linked to various mental health conditions and higher-order cognitive abilities. Measurement of interoception is challenging but can be done through various tasks and self-report measures. Clinical applications of interoception include training for anxiety and physical health conditions. Perception and external cues play a role in regulating the body and compensating for imperfect interoceptive signals. Jenny's research focuses on measuring interoception and its development, with current studies on interoception across the menstrual cycle. There are limited clinical implications of interoception research at present, but it may contribute to therapies like mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Interoception is an interdisciplinary field that can benefit from collaboration and integration with other areas of research. The relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior is complex and requires further investigation in the context of interoception. Jenny is working on a textbook on interoception that aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive resource for students and practitioners. Improving well-being through interoception involves recognizing the balance between paying attention to bodily signals and focusing on external cues. Publications https://www.jennymurphylab.com/publications Bio Jenny completed her PhD at King's College London in December 2019. Here she investigated the measurement of interoception, it's developmental trajectory and the relationship between interoception, health and higher order cognition. In April 2020 she took up a lectureship position at Royal Holloway University of London and in March 2024 she took up a senior lectureship position at the University of Surrey. Jenny's work on interoception has been recognised by several awards for doctoral contributions (from the British Psychological Society, Experimental Psychology Society and King's College London) and early career prizes (the American Psychological Society Rising Star Award and the Young Investigator Award from the European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience). Jenny is particularly interested in sex differences in interoceptive abilities, including how these emerge across development and whether they relate to sex differences in mental and physical health. She currently holds a New Investigator Grant from the Medical Research Council for investigating changes in interoception across the menstrual cycle.

Send us a Text Message.In this episode, we visit with Dr. Rebecca Gotlieb. In the conversation, we touch on the topic of identity and the role that story creation and narratives can play in helping children and others form their understanding of themselves. We also touch on the topic of neurodiversity and chat about how this concept can help us create a community as we seek to define how we want the world to understand us and our needs.Dr. Gotlieb is a human developmental psychologist and educational neuroscientist. She is an Assistant Researcher in the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice in the School of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research focuses on the coordinated neuropsychological development of literacy and social-emotional functioning in early childhood through young adulthood. Dr. Gotlieb completed her Ph.D. as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education at the University of Southern California and completed post-doctoral research at UCLA.Share your thoughts and stories on Instagram @dyslexiauncovered and follow your host on X @OdegardTim

Most people feel, to some degree, that they are on trial, that they must prove themselves and “be enough.” Some people experience such accusations in the form of an inner critic who torments and even terrorizes. How do we transcend such inner accusation? In this episode, we look at ancient wisdom as well as modern neuroscience—including the research of Jaak Panksepp—to understand how our brains work, which can point us to a path of freedom. Through intentional practices such as naming, learning to feel emotions more deeply, and playfulness, we can transcend the inner voices of accusation and cultivate a liberating peace within.

You can get "Become Who You Are" here: http://designingthemind.org/becoming It's rare that you encounter a fresh take on a path as well-trodden as happiness. I've read a lot of books on the topic and I have to say that Ryan Bush's take is fresh and yet simultaneously ancient. I think this is part of the reason I'm so enthusiastic about it: it integrates a trend in academic philosophy that I've yet to see anyone else talk about: Virtue Ethics. This is an ethical approach to philosophy that goes all the way back to the ancients especially Socrates, Aristotle and the Stoics. Bush integrates this old esteemed tradition with very 21st century fields like Cognitive Science and neuroscience to produce a thought-provoking map of the good life that I can't recommend highly enough.  ____________________

Découvrez le livre NEUROSAPIENS ! Pour apprendre à créer rapidement et à moindre coût son podcast, c'est par ici ! Recherches et écriture : Thaïs MarquesProduction, animation, réalisation : Anaïs RouxInstagram : https://www.instagram.com/neurosapiens.podcast/neurosapiens.podcast@gmail.comProduit et distribué en association avec LACME Production.Références : Crone, E. A., & Konijn, E. A. (2018). Media use and brain development during adolescence. Nature Communications, 9(1), 588. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03126-xDienlin, T., & Johannes, N. (2020). The impact of digital technology use on adolescent well-being. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 22(2), 135–142. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.2/tdienlinHarris, B., Regan, T., Schueler, J., & Fields, S. A. (2020). Problematic Mobile Phone and Smartphone Use Scales: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00672Odgers, C. L., & Jensen, M. R. (2020). Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(3), 336–348. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13190Orben, A. (2020). Teenagers, screens and social media: A narrative review of reviews and key studies. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 55(4), 407–414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01825-4Orben, A., & Blakemore, S.-J. (2023). How social media affects teen mental health: A missing link. Nature, 614(7948), 410–412. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00402-9Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(2), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0506-1Orben, A., Przybylski, A. K., Blakemore, S.-J., & Kievit, R. A. (2022). Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media. Nature Communications, 13(1), 1649. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29296-3Panova, T., & Carbonell, X. (2018). Is smartphone addiction really an addiction? Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(2), 252–259. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.49Sherman, L. E., Greenfield, P. M., Hernandez, L. M., & Dapretto, M. (2018). Peer Influence Via Instagram: Effects on Brain and Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adulthood. Child Development, 89(1), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12838Sherman, L. E., Hernandez, L. M., Greenfield, P. M., & Dapretto, M. (2018). What the brain ‘Likes': Neural correlates of providing feedback on social media. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 13(7), 699–707. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsy051Smith, A. R., Rosenbaum, G. M., Botdorf, M. A., Steinberg, L., & Chein, J. M. (2018). Peers influence adolescent reward processing, but not response inhibition. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 18(2), 284–295. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-018-0569-5

Timestamp1:26 — Professional Background2:55 — Paper #1 Discussion - Neurofeedback Training21:31 — Paper #2 Discussion - Neural Efficiency27:44 — Pressure Training39:43 — Trends and Limitations of Neurofeedback43:42 — Paper #3 Discussion - Neurofeedback Training47:13 — Paper #4 Discussion - Cognitive Workload & Neural Efficiency49:25 — Recommendations For Coaches and Players51:26 — What's Something You've Changed Your Mind About Over Your Career?53:56 — Book Recommendations55:05 — Current ProjectsResourcesBook Recommendation #1: Harry PotterBook Recommendation #2: Human PerformanceBook Recommendation #3: The Diving Bell and the ButterflyBook Recommendation #4: Projections: A Story of Human EmotionsBook Recommendation #5: Breath: The New Science of a Lost ArtPaper #1: Effect of a single session of sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback training on the putting performance of professional golfersPaper #2: The Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience of Superior Athletic PerformancePaper #3: The Effect of Left Temporal EEG Neurofeedback Training on Cerebral Cortical Activity and Precision Cognitive-Motor PerformancePaper #4: Effect of cognitive workload on momentum and neural efficiency in a golf putting taskAbout Kiersten JanjigianKiersten is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant and professor of Sport Psychology at George Washington University. While she works with both high-performance clients and students, she is also completing her doctorate at the University of Maryland College Park pursuing a degree in Kinesiology with a specialization in Cognitive Motor Neuroscience. Her research primarily focuses on the psychophysiological investigation of applied sport psychology, along with the study of diagnosis and treatment of sport-related concussion. She seeks to explore the neural correlates of mental imagery and other psychological skills training tools to implement in neurofeedback and hopes to create a unique neuroelectric assessment of stress en route to enhanced athletic performance.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit noahsachs.substack.com

A growth mindset explains talent as a work-in-progress, which opens the door for change and progress. For example, a student with a growth mindset will study for their test because they know they're still learning new things. On the other hand, a fixed mindset suggests that your talents are set in stone. For example, a student with a fixed mindset may not study for a test, because they believe they're smart enough already. So, do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? To help you discover that, we've made this video to help you identify the signs you have a growth mindset. Would you like to know more about what makes a mind strong? We also have a video on the signs you have a strong mind: https://youtu.be/D12JC55Nlyg Credits: Script Writer: Tristan Reed Script Editor: Kelly Soong VO: Amanda Silvera Animator: Kaitlynd Collins YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong References: Dweck, C. & Yeager, D. (2019). Mindsets: A view from two eras. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 14(3): 481-496. Mangels et al. (2006). Why do beliefs about intelligence influence learning success? A social cognitive neuroscience model. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 1(2): 75-86. Nussbaum, A. & Dweck, C. (2008). Defensiveness Versus Remediation: Self-Theories and Modes of Self-Esteem Maintenance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(5): 599-612. Yeager et al. (2019). A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature, 573: 364-369.

Your Perfectionistic Brain does NOT work the way you think it does. Your brain predicts *almost* everything you feel, think, do, and when it gets it wrong, it's called a prediction error. Get up to speed on prediction errors and how speaking Interoception will save your sanity as a perfectionist and might just change your life.9.5 out of 10 Perfectionists can't easily move on from mistakes. Are you one of them? Stop going through life illiterate and get fluent in the only language that makes you feel even better than your life looks inside  Perfectionism Optimized 1-1 coaching + in-depth personalized support rewiring your perfectionism Get your stress-free start today at https://courtneylovegavin.com/optimized PERFECTIONISM REWIRED EPISODE 193 TIMESTAMPS:00:00-Introduction 01:33-Misinformation About Perfectionism + How Your Brain Works01:47-Perfectionist Solutions Methodology Credibility and Scientific Citations03:06-IRL Perfectionist Client Testimonial: Overcoming Perfectionism04:33-Ruminating Perfectionist Thinking04:50-Perfectionist Misinterpretations in Professional Settings05:27-Perfectionist's Parenting Concerns and Self-Judgment05:42-Personal Impact of Perfectionist Thoughts05:57-Physical Manifestations of Perfectionist Anxiety06:18-Misunderstood Perfectionist Fears06:33-Boss's Positive Feedback Contrasting Perfectionist Prediction Error06:55-The Role of Brain Predictions in Perfectionist Thoughts07:21-Examining Sensory Data's Influence on Perfectionism07:31-Perfectionist Tendencies in Analyzing Mistakes07:55-The Role of Prediction Errors in Perfectionist Anxiety08:14-Science of Prediction Errors and Perfectionism08:39-Effectiveness of Predicting and Correcting in Perfectionism09:00-Brain's Predictive Processes and Perfectionism09:25-Reducing Uncertainty: Brain's Metabolic Efficiency09:28-Trippy Example of Brain's Prediction In Action09:36-Sensory Integration and Brain's Construction of Wetness10:06-Brain's Reality Construction Using Memories and Sensory Data10:18-Brain's Use of Sensory Data to Construct Reality10:56-Brain's Sensory Data Interpretation11:11-Brain's Guesswork in Processing Sensory Data11:24-Intristic Neural Network and Need for Quick Decision-Making11:49-Your Role in Interpreting Sensory Data11:53-Why Interoception Is Pivotal Perfectionists13:01-Difficulties in Implementing Interoceptive Skills13:28-Overcoming the Difficult Phase in Learning New Skills13:55-Importance of Perfectionist Interoception14:17-Perfectionists's Role vs Brain's Role in Interoception14:27-Are you Interoceptive Illiterate?14:41-Human Brain's Millisecond Decision-Making14:59-Brain's Predictive Nature15:12-Linking Perfectionism to Brain Predictions15:35-Dopamine as the Predictor Neurotransmitter15:52-Where Do Predictions Come From?16:14-Curating Your Perfectionist Information Diet16:29-Impact of Global PR and Information Control16:52-Profitability in Keeping Perfectionists Stuck, Suck + Sick17:11-Empowering Perfectionists for Change17:50-How To Improve Your Perfectionist Prediction Errors18:13-Real-Life Scenario and Prediction Errors18:30-Misinterpretation of Communication18:44-The Importance of Learning Interoception19:05-PreEmptive Prediction in Daily Life19:16-Anticipating Surprises19:47-Perfectionist Parenting and Prediction19:53-Recognizing Child's Behavioral Signs20:01-Fluency in Interoception Highly Credible Sources Referenced in Ep. 193 Include:Alexandria Meyer, Karl Wissemann, Controlling parenting and perfectionism is associated with an increased error-related negativity (ERN) in young adults, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Volume 15, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 87–95, https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa018Attwell D, Laughlin SB. An Energy Budget for Signaling in the Grey Matter of the Brain. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism doi:10.1097/00004647-200110000-00001Barrett, L., Simmons, W. Interoceptive Predictions in the Brain National Review Neurosciencehttps://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3950Jutta Stahl, Manuela Acharki, Miriam Kresimon, Frederike Völler, Henning Gibbons, Perfect error processing: Perfectionism-related variations in action monitoring and error processing mechanisms, International Journal of Psychophysiology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.06.002Kummer, K., Mattes, A. & Stahl, J. Do perfectionists show negative, repetitive thoughts facing uncertain situations?. Curr Psychol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04409-3Mattes, A., Mück, M., & Stahl, J. (2023). Perfectionism-related variations in error processing in a task with increased response selection complexity. Personality neuroscience, 5, e12. https://doi.org/10.1017/pen.2022.3Ventura-Bort C, Wendt J and Weymar M (2021) The Role of Interoceptive Sensibility and Emotional Conceptualization for the Experience of Emotions. Front. Psychol. 12:712418. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712418

“Make one mistake each day.” “If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying.” These adages might feel cliché. But mistakes, though often embarrassing, really are essential for learning, and how you handle them depends on your upbringing, education and even your neurology, according to USC professor Mary Helen Immordino-Yang. We'll talk about what happens in our brains when we make mistakes, and we'll hear how you react to a cringe-worthy blunder. Do you tend to shut down and deflect blame? Is it easy for you to regroup and figure out what went wrong? What has a mistake taught you? Guests: Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, professor of education, psychology and neuroscience, University of Southern California; director, USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE)

Drama queens, crybabies, whiners, wet blankets – Highly Sensitive People (HSP) have been labelled all of these things and more, when the truth is, there's a lot of things most people fail to understand about the concept. HSP was originated by Dr. Elaine N. Aron (1996), and it refers to an inherent, biological predisposition some people have to process and perceive information on a much deeper level. If you're an HSP, then you think and feel things with greater intensity, in a way that many others can't understand. Sometimes, HSP are mistaken as empaths. Do you know someone who might be an HSP? Do you agree with these signs? #hsp #highlysensitivepeson #psych2go Join Our Psych2Go Premium Podcast Now! https://psych2go.supercast.com Credits Script Writer: Chloe Avanasa Script Editor: Rida Batool & Kelly Soong VO: Amanda Silvera Animator: Winshard - https://www.youtube.com/user/NathanShawnRockheart YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong Special Thanks: WeTheKim https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU0tDOJ1f_eV6E67_WfDjEQ References and sources: Aron, E. N. (1996). Counseling the highly sensitive person. Counseling and Human Development, 28, 1-7. Piechowski, M. M. (1997). Emotional giftedness: The measure of intrapersonal intelligence. Handbook of gifted education, 2, 366-381. Aron, E. (2013). The highly sensitive person. Kensington Publishing Corp.. Sand, I. (2016). Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World: How to Create a Happy Life. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Zeff, T. (2004). The Highly Sensitive Person's Survival Guide: Essential Skills for Living Well in an Overstimulating World. New Harbinger Publications. Aron, A., Aron, E., Jagiellowicz, J., Xu, X., Cao, G., Feng, T., & Weng, X. (2010) The trait of sensory processing sensitivity and neural responses to changes in visual scenes. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 6, 38-47. Interested in animating for Psych2Go, contact editorial@psych2go.net

Avant la saison 7 de Neurosapiens, je vous propose de (re)découvrir des épisodes! Ce mois-ci focus sur l'amour et le plaisir! Découvrez le livre NEUROSAPIENS, sorti le 26 janvier aux éditions Les Arènes ! Pour apprendre à créer rapidement et à moindre coût son podcast, c'est par ici ! Dans le monde entier et de tout temps, les gens aiment. Les mythes et légendes portent sur l'amour et son contraire. Les anthropologues ont découvert que l'amour romantique existait dans plus de 170 sociétés humaines ! L'amour semble être la pierre angulaire de notre espèce mais aussi de bien des espèces animales. Dans cet épisode, nous répondrons aux questions suivantes :  Que se passe-t-il dans le cerveau quand on tombe amoureux ?  L'amour dure-t-il réellement 3 ans ? Et pourquoi tombe-t-on amoureux d'une personne plutôt qu'une autre ? ____________ Si vous souhaitez avoir un éclairage neuro sur un sujet en particulier de la vie quotidienne, de notre fonctionnement, écrivez-moi à neurosapiens.podcast@gmail.com Production, animation, réalisation et illustration : Anaïs Roux Le podcast en version blog : www.neurosapiens.fr A bientôt pour un nouvel épisode ! ____________ SOURCES Bartels A, Zeki S. The neural basis of romantic love. Neuroreport. 2000 Nov 27;11(17):3829-34. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200011270-00046. PMID: 11117499. Acevedo BP, Aron A, Fisher HE, Brown LL. Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Feb;7(2):145-59. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsq092. Epub 2011 Jan 5. PMID: 21208991; PMCID: PMC3277362. Insel TR, Winslow JT, Wang Z, Young LJ. Oxytocin, vasopressin, and the neuroendocrine basis of pair bond formation. Adv Exp Med Biol. 1998;449:215-24. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4615-4871-3_28. PMID: 10026808. Cormier, Z. Gene switches make prairie voles fall in love. Nature (2013). S. Stroope et al., Marital characteristics and the sexual relationships of U.S. older adults: an analysis of national social life, health, and aging project data, in Arch. Sex. Behav., vol. 44, pp. 233-247, 2015. B. P. Acevedo et al., Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love, in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, vol. 7, pp. 145-159, 2012. K. D. O'Leary et al., Is long-term love more than a rare phenomenon ? If so, what are its correlates ? in Social Psychology and Personality Science, vol. 3, pp. 241-249, 2012. Insel, T. R., and Hulihan, T. (1995). A gender-specific mechanism forpair bonding: Oxytocin and partner preference formation in mo-nogamous voles. Behav. Neurosci. 109, 782–789. Insel, T. R., and Shapiro, L. E. (1992). Oxytocin receptor distributionreflects social organization in monogamous and polygamousvoles. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 5981–5985 Helen Fisher, Why We Love : The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love, Henry Holt, 2004 Helen Fisher, Why Him? Why Her? : Finding Real Love By Understanding Your Personality Type, Oneworld Publications UK-Commonwealth, 2009.  Musique d'intro KEEP ON GOING Musique proposée par La Musique Libre Joakim Karud - Keep On Going :https://youtu.be/lOfg0jRqaA8 Joakim Karud : https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud

In this episode, my guest is Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, professor of education, psychology and neuroscience at the University of Southern California and director of the Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education, who has done groundbreaking research on emotions, self-awareness and social interactions and how these impact the way we learn and change across our lifespan. She explains how an understanding of emotions can be leveraged to improve learning in children and in adults, and how the education system should be altered to include new forms of exploration and to facilitate better learning and to include more diverse learning (and teaching) styles. This episode ought to be of interest to anyone interested in how we learn, human development in children and adults, as well as those generally interested in education, psychology or neuroscience. For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman HVMN: https://hvmn.com/huberman ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman The Brain Body Contract https://hubermanlab.com/tour Timestamps (00:00:00) Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang (00:02:11) Sponsors: Eight Sleep, HVMN, ROKA (00:05:54) Inspiration, Awe & Story (00:09:59) Brain-Body, Narratives (00:15:58) Emotions, Durability & Lifespan (00:21:47) Conjuring Stories, Historical Context & Emotion (00:32:16) Sponsor: AG1 (00:33:30) Hierarchal Emotion Organization, Default Mode Network, Story & Emotion (00:46:24) Emotional Development & Lifetime (00:57:13) Narrative & Genocide; Checking Assumptions & Mental Flexibility (01:05:22) Social Media, Cognitive Dissonance (01:09:52) Education, Deconstructing Beliefs & Curiosity (01:17:22) Sponsor: InsideTracker (01:18:32) Emotion & Learning; Constructing Meaning (01:28:59) Good Teachers & Curiosity (01:33:25) Inter-disciplinary Education; Development & Culture (01:50:58) Idea Exploration, Tolerance (01:56:53) Reframing Education, Deconstructing Assumptions (02:03:28) Safety, Creativity & Default Mode Network (02:12:15) Civic Discourse & Education; Deconstructing Ideas (02:27:31) “Mirror” Neurons, Shared Social Experiences (02:35:49) Cold Exposure & Sickness; Role of Education (02:38:51) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

HCD MindSet had an insightful conversation with Pedro Almedia Ph.D. to discuss how the world of "neuromarketing" needs to be cautious about both the words that are thrown around and the claims that are made. Pedro, Kathryn, and Michelle break down major issues within the industry (including the misunderstanding between biometrics vs psychophysiology) and provide some potential solutions for how to stay valid and reliable when doing research in this space. #neuromarketing #terminology #biometrics #psychophysiology Meet our guest! Pedro Almedia is the CEO of MindProber. He holds a Ph.D. in Psychology, in the field of Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. He was Resident Researcher in the Neuropsychophysiology (Psychology Department) from 2007 to 2012 and a Professor of Biosocial Criminology (Law Department) from 2012 to 2022 at the University of Porto. His research expertise includes the cognitive electrophysiology of emotional processing, neurobiology of criminal behavior and psychopathy, and applied psychophysiology. Throughout his career, he combined his academic profile with consultancy roles in market research, which resulted in the founding of MindProber in 2016. Extra Information: MindProber: https://mindproberlabs.com/ Pedro's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-almeida-mprober/ ICO Statement: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2022/10/immature-biometric-technologies-could-be-discriminating-against-people-says-ico-in-warning-to-organisations/ Be sure to give us 5 Star rating, leave a review, or subscribe to your preferred method of listening. Don't forget to also follow us on any of our social media platforms listed below. Kathryn on LinkedIn Michelle on LinkedIn HCD Research Website MindSet Website Page Sign up for HCD Newsletter Our Socials YouTube - @HCDResearchInc. LinkedIn - @HCDResearch Twitter - @HCDNeuroscience Twitter - @HCDResearchInc Facebook - @HCDResearch Instagram - @HCDResearch MindSet is excited to have each and everyone one of you join our curious conversations! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mindset-hcd-research/message

Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang⁠ studies the psychological and neurobiological bases of social emotion, self-awareness and culture and their implications for learning, development and schools. She is a Professor of Education at the ⁠USC Rossier School of Education⁠, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program Faculty at the University of Southern California, and Director of the USC ⁠Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE)⁠. Mary Helen was elected 2016-2018 president of the International ⁠Mind, Brain and Education Society⁠ by the society's membership. She is serving as a distinguished scientist on the Aspen Institute's National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee on the Science and Practice of Learning. Mary Helen is also associate Editor for the award-winning journal Mind, Brain and Education and for the new journal AERA Open, and sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Psychology. In her research work, Mary Helen leads cross-cultural, longitudinal studies investigating adolescent brain and social-emotional development, academic success and relations to school and life achievement in urban contexts as well as the neural and psychosocial correlates of mindsets in low-SES adolescents from different cultural groups. She also serves as scientific adviser to several Los Angeles schools/districts. Mary Helen's 2015 book, ⁠Emotions, learning and the brain: Exploring the educational implications of affective neuroscience⁠, is available from W.W. Norton publishers (author proceeds are donated to education-related causes).  In May 2020, Mary Helen wrote a must-read article in ASCD with ⁠Doug Knecht⁠ (⁠Bank Street College of Education⁠) entitled ⁠Building Meaning Builds Teens' Brains⁠, if you're interested to find out more about the significant implications of Mary Helen's work this is a great place to start! Social Links LinkedIn: ⁠@maryhelenimmordino-yang⁠ Twitter: ⁠@CandleUSC Dr. Zachary Stein is a philosopher of education, psychologist, futurist, and author. He is a founding member of The Consilience Project, with Daniel Schmachtenberger, which is dedicated to improving public sensemaking and building a movement to radically upgrade digital media landscapes. Zak is also co-founder of Lectica, Inc. (with Theo Dawson, a non-profit dedicated to the research-based, justice-oriented reform of large-scale standardized testing in K-12, higher-education, and business), as well as the Civilizational Research Institute, and the Center for World Philosophy and Religion. Zak is the author of Social Justice and Educational Measurement (2016) and Education in a Time Between Worlds: Essays on the Future of Schools, Technology, and Society (2019).

“Each emotional system is hierarchically arranged throughout much of the brain, interacting with more evolved cognitive structures in the higher reaches, and specific physiological and motor outputs at lower levels.” Jaak Panksepp Watch our interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/siJ1FUeUD40 On today's Episode #282 we will cover ✔ How Gabrielle Usatynski's NEW book The Power Couple Formula, Applies Jaak Panksepp's 7 Core Emotions to Transform Your Relationships, Family, Career and Life. ✔ What We Should All Know About The Attachment Theory. ✔ A Deep Dive into Each of the 7 Core Emotions and How They Map in the Brain. Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I'm Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is to our everyday life and results using the most current brain research. If there's a tool, strategy or resource that I find, that could be helpful to improve productivity and results, whether we are a teacher in the classroom, a coach or in the modern workplace, I will share it here. On today's episode #282, we will be speaking with an important guest, who reached out to me shortly after we released EPISODE #270 with Lucy Biven[i] who co-authored The Archeology of Mind, with Jaak Panksepp.  She let me know she was a couple's therapist, educator and an author, with a new book coming out next month and was amazed to see our episode with Lucy Biven, as she cites The Archeology of Mind on nearly every page of her new book, The Power Couple Formula: Unlock the Power of Your Instincts and Transform Your Relationship. She even mentioned that a colleague of Dr. Panksepp, Dr. Doug Watt, was currently reviewing her manuscript to offer his guidance on the subject. When this email came through, I was taking a short break from interviews, gathering my bearings with a tight schedule, but when I saw this email, I knew I had to learn more about our next guest, Gabrielle Usatynski, and her new book, the Power Couple Formula. We met briefly to chat, and I've got to say that we could have recorded that conversation. She spoke eloquently about her background as a therapist, and the history of our emotions. I couldn't take notes fast enough, but saw that not only does Gabrielle understand Jaak Panksepp's work (that many find to be difficult) but she could explain it in a way that made sense to me, with examples of how to each of the core emotions. A bit about Gabrielle: BIO: Gabrielle Usatynski, MA LPC is the founder and director of Power Couples Education. An internationally renowned therapist, speaker and educator, she is the author of the forthcoming book, The Power Couple Formula, scheduled for release this year. She is the originator of ground-breaking online programs that help couples build relationships based on safety and trust and offers professional training programs for therapists in the Power Couple Method.  Her work is regularly featured in such publications as CNN, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Parents Magazine, Counseling Today, and Women's Health.  For over a decade, Gabrielle has helped thousands of couples. Her clinical work has earned her numerous awards, including: the USA Prestige Award for Couples Counseling Service of the Year, the Best of Boulder Award for Couple and Marriage Counseling, and the Top 10 Best Marriage Counselors of Boulder, CO Award. Gabrielle is a graduate of McGill University and also specializes in the treatment of traumatized children and their families. So today, we will meet Gabrielle Usatynski, and learn how Jaak Panksepp's work plays out in our most personal relationships, with tools that we can all use and apply right away. Welcome Gabrielle, it's incredible to see you again. Thank you for coming on the podcast to share your knowledge on what many of us would consider a topic that's not the easiest to explain because most of us are still trying to understand this topic of our emotions and how they play out in our lives, specifically with our relationships. Thank you for being here. You know I was thrilled to meet you as I just love learning, and making connections, especially when the topic is challenging, or makes you think a bit. INTRO Q: I wanted to ask you first, before diving into your new book, The Power Couple Formula,  Why did you write this book, and why did you focus on the work of Dr. Panksepp?" Q1: I put an image in the show notes of the 7 CORE emotions. Can you explain this chart I put in the show notes, and what Dr. Panksepp discovered about these emotions, that you found to be so important? Q1B: What did Dr. Panksepp discover about where our emotions reside in the brain? Q2: Can you orient us to what therapists were taught about our emotions, The Attachment Theory, and how important it is to completely deactivate this system in intimate relationships? 2B: Why should we understand Attachment Theory, and where does Affective Neuroscience come into this understanding? Q3: How do we use your book as a map, with tools and resource to help us personally, with our family, career, or even with the work we are doing in the world? When I first saw these 7 core emotions, I actually printed them and put them on my desk to see if I could notice them in my life. In the neuroscience certification course I took, we spent a lot of time on the PLAY system (especially as it relates to learning and our schools) but I wonder if we could take a look at your book, and go through 4 of the 7 action systems? Of course, I'd love to cover them all, but I picked the ones that stuck out to what I would think our listeners would like to dive deeper into. Q4: I know that the PANIC/GRIEF system is important, especially as you've cited Dr. Bruce Perry who we had on the podcast. What are the impacts of early bonding on our physical and mental health? Q5: What are some tools that could help de-activate panic/grief/rage in our relationships to avoid the conflict that goes along with it? Q5B: As I was reading through the book, I saw that you have strategies to help ALL of the attachment styles. Wouldn't it help people to know this BEFORE they marry someone so you can kind of guess how things would pan out during conflict? Q6: To close out, is there anything important that we haven't talked about, knowing that we didn't cover all the core emotions, but to encourage people to read your book, and learn the strategies for ALL of the systems. What have we missed here? Gabrielle, I want to thank you for coming on the podcast and sharing your new book with us. For people who want to learn more about you and your book, is the best place your website? https://powercoupleseducation.com Final Thoughts We opened up this episode with a quote from Dr. Panksepp that said “each emotional system is hierarchically arranged throughout much of the brain, and I think the image I put in the show notes and our YouTube interview clearly shows these 7 core emotions (or our 7 basic needs) that are hard-wired deep within our brain stem, bringing Dr. Panksepp's quote to life in a way that we can now visualize these core emotions within the deepest, oldest part of our brain. When I first began to study Dr. Panksepp's work, I printed these core emotions and put them on my desk, for me to glance at throughout my day, and I wondered how they were showing up for me on a day to day basis. As I'm reflecting on Gabrielle's book, and our interview, I'm doing so from how I think these core emotions have shown up in my daily life, and for you, it will be different, but I'm hoping that at least I've started the ball rolling to have us ALL think about how to take our understanding of ourselves to a deeper level, using Dr. Panksepp's Core Emotions and Gabrielle's book, as a map. Gabrielle was very thorough with her research that you will see within each chapter. I can now see how these 7 core emotions interact with the “more evolved cognitive structures in the higher reaches” of my brain, and this understanding can now help me to see how each emotion I'm feeling, (that's generated way deep down in the oldest part of my brain) and shows up behind the actions I'm taking. You'll get a deeper understanding of why you feel a certain way, and why you do the things you do, with this book. You'll also get to look at why others close to you, do the things they do, as you begin to match Bowlby and Ainsworth's Attachment Theory to your most intimate relationships. What did I notice with each action system? SEEKING, RAGE/Anger, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC/Sadness, and PLAY. Seeking: This core emotion is evident with my need to connect with others around the world and this need is about getting more out of life with continual research and learning. While I can't jump on an airplane and travel to Australia, India, Sweden or South African (at least not this week), and have conversations with curious minds like myself, I can write and release podcast episodes that travel around the world, to you, on my behalf.  This kind of helps with this action system and keeps me working, and researching. I also need to seek others to learn from, and when the research becomes difficult, I can remember what Dr. Zadina[ii] said on our recent episode, where she would find articles that she was interested in first (seeking) and then read them over and over again, gaining more understanding each time. When you read Ch. 5 in Gabrielle's book, you can learn how secure seeking develops in relationships, so that you can support your partner with ways that each of you can continue to expand, learn and grow together. That's what I learned about the how I interact with the seeking system. What about you? Where do you notice this core emotion of SEEKING plays out in your life? Rage/Anger: Some people I've noticed get angry easily, for different things. My oldest daughter doesn't like injustice, I don't like disorder, but the key is to notice what makes this emotion come out in you, and know it's hard-wired deep in our brain stem, so that when this emotion sets you off, that you find a strategy to help create more space between the stimulus (the thing that you didn't like) you're your response to it. I've noticed that meditation has helped me be less reactive here.  Chapter 7 of Gabrielle's book covers the fear system, and Chapter 8 covers the Rage system, and she reminded us in our interview that we want to work towards NOT triggering rage and fear in our relationships. These are both good chapters to review for all of her tools and strategies for de-activating rage. What about you? Where have you noticed rage/anger come up in your life? Do you have a strategy to bring you some understanding that can help you to de-activate this emotion? Fear:  This emotion is a powerful one to look at. Have you ever thought of your deepest, innermost fears? I remember a program I did years ago, that asked us to look at what we were afraid of, and that to “know our fears” would help us to overcome them, or at least help us to move towards the idea of having “no fear.” I know exactly what I'm afraid of, and it's there right in front of me daily, and I side-step around it most days, but I see it, whether it's out of the corner of my eye, or I'm staring directly at it. Now this isn't even going into subconscious fears and traumas like Dr. Bruce Perry's work, this is just looking at what we are consciously aware we are afraid of. What about you? Have you ever looked at this for yourself? Do you “know” your fears? I think once we can identify them, then life just becomes easier. There's no mystery with these fears. I don't talk about what I'm afraid of, giving them more energy, but I know exactly what they are, and just knowing this, makes me feel that I'm more powerful than these fears. I can step around them, sometimes jump over them, when they come up, not letting them ever stop me from doing the things I want to do in life. Who doesn't want to be FEARLESS? Taylor Swift says it nicely. Lust: I'm not going to leave this one out, since everyone wants to talk about sex, and it is an important part of our most intimate relationships. Gabrielle covers this topic in Chapter 9 and 10 of her book, and when I was reading these chapters I was actually dying laughing because she made a comparison with sex, to a sport that will identify her as a Canadian. I'm not going to tell you the sport, but you'll have to read the book to see how she made this comparison. She does say that most problems within relationships are a lack of the care system, they are not sexual. When reading this chapter, I thought about how right she was that we have to have trust first here, and of the importance of repairing our relationships quickly and often so we don't trigger the rage, fear of panic/grief circuit. We've covered The Speed of Trust[iii] on past episodes with Stephen Covey who says that “trust is the glue to life” and “the one thing that affects everything else you're doing.” Gabrielle mentioned that this system requires CARE that she outlines as commitment, availability, relief and empathy. While we all know this core emotion is important, I wonder what Dr. Panksepp would say about other ways we can use this energy? If he were here, I'd ask him about Napoleon Hill's Chapter on Sex Transmutation that we covered on EPISODE 195[iv] where Napoleon Hill, in his famous book, Think and Grow Rich, talks about how this powerful force can be “transmuted or transferred from one form of energy to another” which is a way of using this force to reach higher levels of achievement. Care: Gabrielle covers this core emotion in Chapter 4 of her book, explaining why caring feels so good with the release of oxytocin, the bonding hormone and that “when you administer oxytocin to couples, they make more eye contact, are more self-disclosing, validate each other's feelings more, and show a significant decrease in criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling, Gottman's four behaviors that predict divorce.” (page 81, The Power Couple Formula). Looking at this system makes me think about how care existed in my household growing up. Not that I didn't feel loved, but this system was definitely turned down, as affections weren't openly discussed or shown, so it's interesting to see that I want this system dialed up now that I'm raising my own children, and interacting with my husband, and this one is a work in progress for me.  The key to understanding these core emotions is to think about how they show up in our life, gain a deeper level of self-awareness, and then find tools and strategies to improve how we show up in our relationships. This is exactly what Gabrielle wrote her book to accomplish. How does the core emotion of care show up for you? Are you able to easily show those close to you, who you love, that you care about them? If this doesn't come naturally to you, do you have a strategy in place to dial this emotion up? Panic/grief/response: Gabrielle covered this system thoroughly on our interview, explaining how it goes off when we are separated from those we love, or care about. While she does suggest that in our close relationships we should always work on NOT triggering RAGE, FEAR or PANIC/GRIEF by being mindful of what sets these systems off in others, and working on keeping them in the OFF position. But knowing your attachment style (and your partners') helps here if you ever are faced with PANIC/GRIEF as it will shape the experiences you will have. Gabrielle covers extensively how each attachment style deals with PANIC/GRIEF. Do you know how YOU respond to PANIC/GRIEF in your relationships? If you are securely attached, this system rarely goes off. If you are anxiously attached, “you will worry that someone won't be there for you consistently.” (page 36, The Power Couple). If you are avoidant, you will “have lost touch with unmet needs for connection and security.” (page 36, The Power Couple). Your attachment style will help you to understand yourself better, how quickly you will be able to recover from a breakup or even your ability to be apart from your partner without feeling panic. Play: This is the emotion I spent the most time learning about when I was first introduced to Dr. Panksepp's work. Mark Robert Waldman who I took a neuroscience certification course with would have us thinking daily about how we would incorporate play with our work, to make it more enjoyable. When it comes to making neuroscience fun, this core emotion is vital. Or for students in the classroom in our schools, how can we make learning more fun? My family tells me all the time “you are so serious, lighten up a bit” and I really do try, but I'm also the one who makes sure homework is completed each night, and day to day life stays on track, so I leave this part to others who are better at it than I am. But who doesn't want to have more fun every day? I've been playing around on the podcast, and working on having fun with interviews, but I'm not the type who will suddenly tell you a joke or something, or break out a fancy wrestling move with my kids which is what science would call “rough and tumble play” that Gabrielle says “reflects millions of years of evolution.” I've got some work here to add more fun into my day. What about you? Do you have fun with your work? Do you think that play is only for children? Do you think that animals play? Gabrielle covers this core emotion in Chapter 11 with Five Ways We Can Add Play into Our Relationships. The part I loved the most about this chapter, is that Gabrielle left this core emotion till the end of the book on purpose. Life is full of pressure and stresses and play only works “when its initiated in the absence of acute or chronic stress” (Page 295, The Power Couple Formula). This is good to think about, as it's important to be mindful of the stress levels of those around you. Lucy Biven, co-author of The Archeology of Mind weighs in on the quote I posted at the beginning of this episode.  Before releasing this, I wondered if I had a solid grasp of the quote I chose to open up this episode with, so I emailed Lucy Biven, who we interviewed on EPISODE #270 at the start of this year. Here's as close to Dr. Panksepp as I could get to be sure we've got a handle of his 7 core emotions. She wrote: “As for the quote - The hierarchy that Jaak wrote about was basically from bottom to top of the brain (brainstem to cortex).   The hub of all 7 emotional systems is situated in the upper brainstem and in Jaak's view, emotional arousal always generates affective consciousness (emotional feelings).  The hierarchy lies in the fact that without emotional arousal/affective consciousness, no consciousness is possible.  So the upper brainstem is most important in generating consciousness - it is top of the hierarchy. How do we know that the brainstem is all-important?  Tiny lesions so parts of the upper brainstem, specifically the parabrachial nuclei and the periaqueductal gray obliterate consciousness while quite large cortical lesions obliterate components of consciousness (sight, hearing, memory) but not consciousness itself. If my visual cortex were damaged, I would be blind, but I would know who I am, I would know who you are and I would understand my relationship with my children and grandchildren and I would retain everything that I know about neuroscience.  In short, nothing else would change.  But if I had a bad stroke in my upper brainstem, I would become comatose and vegetative.  Everything would be lost.   The idea about the hierarchy from emotion to cognition is this:  Emotions evolved in order to solve life problems.  Some emotional responses are instinctive - for example, when frightened we freeze and might be overlooked by a predator.  Others we learn, for example we discover from experience where the predator frequents and we avoid those places.  Since emotional arousal is a precondition for cognition, we think about things that arouse our emotions.  For example, if I am smart enough, I might set a trap for the predatory animal, thereby solving my problem for good.  So cognition expands and refines emotional problem solving.    That is the emotion/cognition hierarchy.  Jaak posited that in the emotion/motor hierarchy, emotions are primary because emotions are inherently linked to motor responses.  I am not sure that he expanded on this beyond the observation that electrical (or pharmacological) arousal of emotional systems generates motor responses, like FEAR resulting in freezing or running away (depending on the strength of stimulation.   And with that, I'll close out this episode on “How to Use Jaak Panksepp's 7 Core Emotions to Transform Your Relationships, Family, Career and Life” and hope you found this deep dive into Gabrielle's Power Couple Formula book to be as useful as I have. I hope that if you print the list of the 7 core emotions, and put them in front of you, while you are working, that you can begin to think about how these emotions show up in your life day to day, and how you can use this understanding to develop stronger, more resilient relationships at home, with your family and in the workplace.” Have a Happy Easter Weekend, and I'll see you next week. CONNECT with GABRIELLE Gabrielle Usatynski, MA LPC 303-859-1825 https://powercoupleseducation.com https://powercouplescounseling.com Gabrielle's new book, The Power Couple Formula!  FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/     RESOURCES: Attachment Theory: Bowlby and Ainsworth's Theory Explained By Saul Mcleod, Ph.D. Feb. 8, 2023 https://simplypsychology.org/attachment.html The 4 Attachment Styles in Your Relationships and How to find Yours by Kelly Gonslaves March 10, 2023  https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/attachment-theory-and-the-4-attachment-styles The Gottman Institute https://www.gottman.com/ The Four Horseman that can predict the end of a relationship https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-four-horsemen-recognizing-criticism-contempt-defensiveness-and-stonewalling/   REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #270 with Lucy Biven https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/lucy-biven/ [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE  #280n wit Janet Zadina https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneering-neuroscientist-janet-zadina-reflects-on-her-journey-of-bridging-neuroscience-and-education/ [iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #207 on The Neuroscience of Trust  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-trust/ [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 on “Think and Grow Rich PART 5: The Mystery of Sex Transmutation  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/  

This is a recording of a dharma talk Lisa Dale Miller gave March 19, 2003 at Marin Sangha. Recently neuroscientist Richard Davidson reiterated a long-held tenet of Tibetan Buddhism that all human beings share the same wish to be happy and free of suffering, and that this wish emerges from innate basic goodness. This goodness is often viewed in Mahāyāna and Vajrayana Buddhism as an expression of Buddhanature, the fundamental awakened mind of all beings. There is not much in the Pāli Canon to support the notion of innate goodness. However, the Buddha did teach unconditioned mind—a mind purified through contemplative effort, not an innately awakened mind. This dharma talk compares these two frameworks and explores the cultivation of ethical goodness using specific suttas and findings from affective neuroscience. And I am joined by a co-teacher ChatGPT, which explicates historical references to goodness and investigates its own sense of how to engage in ethical conduct. Lisa's catalogue of Dharma Talks can be found on the Groundless Ground and those done prior to 2020 are available on my clinical website. 

In this episode, we discuss emotions in dogs. We explore the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for emotions in all mammals. I briefly overview the Blue-Ribbon emotions and how and why this matters when working with dogs. The information in this episode is largely based on Affective Neuroscience by Jaak Panksepp. Visit the Podcast Episode Page for additional content and a list of episode references. Buy Ralf's book If Your Dog Could Talk - Understand Your Dog Like Never Before (5th Edition) on Amazon.

What do we do when we can't make predictable or ordered decisions? What do we do when things are unordered? How do we approach those decisions in ways we haven't in the past? These questions are just some of what you get to hear about on this episode with our guest, Sherry Johnson.   Sherry, like so many others we have had the opportunity to interview, grew up not knowing she was a person with autism. She often wondered why she felt she was an outsider in the world. It wasn't until her 40s that she was finally diagnosed. By then, she had gone to college and became a teacher of English and the theater.   Now, she is a coach, a course creator and the founder of the company Cultivating Strategy. Our discussion ranges far beyond autism and neurodivergence. We even get into a story from Sherry about her facilitating a church discussion about gun control. Wait until you hear what happens. (Hint: no, the gun control issue is not solved, but diametrically opposed people do learn to listen to and talk with opponents.)     About the Guest: With a background in arts education, community organizing, and volunteer coordination, Sherry likes inspiring folks to experiment with new ways of being together. Sherry enjoys bridging divides between people. She likes helping leaders and experts make complicated information more accessible, while elevating homegrown leadership and expertise.  Sherry leverages her autistic mind to help people see their own assumptions and biases, so that everyone is freer to be seen and heard more faithfully. Sherry blends Technology of Participation, emergent strategy, Asset-Based Community Development, and current brain research—particularly the neuroscience of emotion and mindfulness—into her approach. Her North Star is interrupting linear and conventional thinking, which so often hampers care and innovation in human systems. Most of her clients are in the civic and nonprofit sectors. Sherry's feet touch the ground in St. Paul, Minnesota, her heart's home. She loves her family, most cats, playful dogs, corvids, and a good windstorm.   How to connect with Sherry: My website My Facebook Page My LinkedIn Profile My December training on Adaptive Leadership     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson  01:21 Well, a pleasant afternoon to you wherever you happen to be. I am Michael Hingson, your host and you are listening to unstoppable mindset. Now we get to interview lots of different people who do lots of different things, which really makes it fun, we get to inspire. And I frankly will tell you I love being inspired. We get to talk with Sherry Johnson today who has a company called cultivate strategy, and we'll get to that but a little known fact, except for a close circle around sherry. She had a birthday yesterday. So Sherry, welcome to unstoppable mindset and happy birthday.   Sherry Johnson  01:57 Thank you so much.   Michael Hingson  02:00 We won't we won't give away your age. That's entirely up to you. But I want to tell you, we're really glad you're here. I enjoyed chatting with you and preparing for this. So split start by telling you or asking you to tell us a little bit about your roots, you know where you came from growing up what it was like, and all that kind of stuff.   Sherry Johnson  02:22 Yeah, thanks. I'm happy to be here. And so lucky to get to do this. And so I came from southern Wisconsin and a rust belt town called Janesville, Wisconsin. And my tone really was embodied a lot of what shapes me, deep divisions, we produce Janesville, both Russ Feingold and Paul Ryan to two completely opposite politician, if you don't say, Yes, that's right. And even my own household was a fractal image of that my mother was a union steward and a factory. My dad retired for agent first sergeant first class in the army. And they used to joke how they canceled out one another's boats all the time. So really grew up in a lot of tension. And also a lot of people have lost their jobs during the mid 80s, as so many did, and that rust belt town got a lot rest year, and that kind of sense of loss and some of the family traumas that compounded around that and my family's background, shaped a lot of how I approach my work and who I become and how I relate to those routes all the time. And I think to you know, this will come up later, but I think to Mike family was also impacted, not just from, you know, caste and job loss, but also generational trauma that may have actually come from being neuro divergent in a world in which that is not really created for us to be successful. Right.   Michael Hingson  04:01 So, yeah. Where did the neuro divergence come in?   Sherry Johnson  04:06 Well, you know, it's genetic. A lot of that I actually came had a midlife autism diagnosis. And when I looked back and kind of, you know, the crash that I had, at that time, I look back at a lot of the family trauma that I experienced and, and sort of see started seeing these signs of OCD, ADHD, autism in my family of origin, and how a lot of that sort of set up some, some difficulties and how we were able to approach live view live, get along with others, collaborate or not, and it really isolated us in our town.   Michael Hingson  04:50 So do you think or do you know, were there other people in your family who had neurodivergent kinds of things or are you the one on choosing one   Sherry Johnson  05:02 I dealt my dad was very likely OCD, autistic, possibly ADHD as well. I, my mother was most definitely autistic and really struggled with some depressive issues and that life because of that, I believe my grandfather was I think there were lots of folks on my father's side as well. And so just kind of growing up along around that, and not really being able to trace back some roots about why is my family so different? What is it about us not being able to fit in and really find our places in society? Why are we so sort of isolated? Why do we continue to isolate ourselves? And I feel like I have a lot more answers about that example.   Michael Hingson  05:49 So how old were you when you were diagnosed?   Sherry Johnson  05:52 I was, um, sexually. So I live here in St. Paul, Minnesota now. But for a while my spouse's job moved, and we had to move out to Seattle for a handful years. And having been sort of taken out of my context, and my community that I had built up. In my mid 30s, I had a breakdown. There were days where I was laying on the couch with a, you know, blanket over my head, and I literally could not get up. And I know that my story is not unique. You know, I had to start over that I didn't know how, and it felt very much like a lot of you sort of go through this year or so of reinterpreting your entire life, nothing, why? Why you made certain decisions or not, and what it felt like it again, your family of origin, and all of that. And I took all of that and sort of had to rebuild who I was and how I saw myself as a disabled person in a world that was not necessarily designed for me to be successful. Right.   Michael Hingson  07:04 So when did you get diagnosed?   Sherry Johnson  07:07 That was 3030. I've missed a 38.   Michael Hingson  07:11 Sir. You know, I've talked to a number of people on this podcast, who got diagnosed with autism, or other disabilities, in their 30s ran into into their 40s. I know, several people who were diagnosed with autism and ADH D in their 30s. For her I know one person who we talked with who knew that they didn't see well, but never really got a diagnosis until a little bit later. Wow, how how was it for you when you got a diagnosis and really understood what was going on?   Sherry Johnson  07:55 Um, well, I went again, I went through that year of just kind of reinterpreting my entire life, there was a lot of anger. I remember feeling for a long time that the whole world was hiding something from me, like, there were all these inch implicit rules, that I wasn't in on all these shortcuts to emotions, and it   Michael Hingson  08:16 didn't send you the memo. Right?   Sherry Johnson  08:18 Right. Like and it was entire light bulb feeling like I missed the memo. And by the way, this is part of my executive dysfunction is numbers was actually my early 40s, that I was diagnosed. And, and I remember just feeling that profound sense of grief, of loss time, of not understanding myself of not understanding that there are people like me, that there have been always fuchal, like me, you know, you go through this, you read a lot of books, if you start seeing yourself represented, we talked about representation in mass media all the time. And I'm so excited to be able to see myself and that's what helped me kind of redefine myself from an I'm an outsider, feeling like an outsider all my life to an outlier, someone who has something different to give. And so I started creating a field with the ways that I was approaching training and consulting and facilitation and coaching and allowing my neurology to kind of shape something new.   Michael Hingson  09:24 And really, I'm not even sure I would go so far as to say outlier, because what it allowed you to do was to realize who you were, which allowed you to then move forward and become a real part of and feeling like a real part of society.   Sherry Johnson  09:43 Yeah, yeah. I mean, I always feel like I'm the sauciest one who Pena sees things a little bit differently and kind of is a lot really intense for a lot of people. I'm proud of that difference, and at the same time, it's helped We appreciate even more other's differences, and to try to help people collaborate in ways where we can honor those differences, lift them up, celebrate how those differences are really where innovation comes from there. Those differences are how we move forward in new ways and in healthier ways. Right?   Michael Hingson  10:21 Well, let's go back. So when you were growing up, you went to regular public schools and all that kind of thing, I assume.   Sherry Johnson  10:27 Yeah. Yep. We were, I should say there was these gifted programs that they were experiment, experimenting with back in the 80s. And almost every two a one of us were nerve divergent at sunset. And so we, we had our own different social milieu, some of which was damaging, some of which was healthy. But we were kept together, separated and kept together from about fourth grade. So that eighth grade, and then just sort of thrown thrown out of that program in ninth grade. And so that that even added, I think, to this sense of isolation and difference and outlier ship or outsider ship at the time. Yeah. You're just like, whoa, what just happened? And then suddenly, you're in all these classes where you're breaking the curve, and upsetting upper class people, because you're the, you're the freshman and chemistry getting a plus. Right? And nobody and you just feel you feel ostracized? ostracize, you don't make a lot of friends? Let me tell you.   Michael Hingson  11:36 Yeah, it is tough on when I was in high school, I actually was taken out of our freshman General Science course for the last quarter of the year. Because my general science teacher said, you know, you seem pretty bored. And I said, Yeah, this is all pretty straightforward stuff. And they put me in the senior physics class. Oh, I had this experience, I had that experience, too. As a, as a blind person. I know, I wasn't in most of the social groups, the social cliques and so on. And I was, no one was mean, it just was that I didn't end up associating with, with people a lot directly. I've talked to some of my high school colleagues a whole lot more after graduation, and over the past several years, then, then in high school. But yeah, I know exactly what you're saying. Yeah, I believe it. And at some point, you really have to decide, you can only do what you can do, and you don't have control over how people feel.   Sherry Johnson  12:37 Yes. And, and I think, you know, speaking of how people feel, I think one of the things that's really shaped me, post diagnosis is I got deep, deep, deep into understanding how we construct emotions. I'm a huge fan of this neuro neuroscientist cut aspect of neuroscientists and Risa Feldman Barrett, who talks about the theory of construction, emotion, and the predictive brain model and how that impacts us and impacts our relationships. And thinking about that through an autistic lens. And I've really brought a lot of that Affective Neuroscience work into my work. And it's helped me also kind of reinterpret my past and see why human differences so hard for a lot of us to address in a constructive way. But once you understand it, you can kind of start piecing together some experiments to help us connect better across different.   Michael Hingson  13:36 Well, this whole concept of diversity, which everyone seems to embrace, unfortunately, when you deal with it in terms of their traditional ways today. For many of us, it never seems to affect us. For example, diversity doesn't seem to include disabilities today. Oh, we're a diverse society. We are diverse all the way around. We deal with race and gender and sexual orientation and culture and so on. But you never hear mentions about disabilities. And what's really, what's really unfortunate   Sherry Johnson  14:14 about it.   Michael Hingson  14:17 Yeah, they're, they're trying to get us. What's really unfortunate is that when we when we talk about these differences, and diversity in reality, we are leaving so many people out, which is why I like the term inclusion a lot more than diversity. Because if you're really going to take inclusion literally, you can't say well, we were partially inclusive. No, it doesn't work that way. You either are or you're not. You can't leave people out.   Sherry Johnson  14:50 Absolutely. I had the pleasure of working with the Minnesota Council of disability on disability lately, and they taught me so much about you know, I thought I was doing it pretty good job of making making my documentation accessible? No, that's all their work with them Did I see all these different ways that what I thought was inclusive, wasn't there it you know, it wasn't to their standard, and they really taught me a lot. And so adding that lends to, you know, being neuro divergent as well, and having an idea about lots of different neuro types and how to be inclusive of that. And of course, I've also done other diversity, equity inclusion work around anti racism, and gender inclusion. And I think all of that work, you know, has a lot more commonality than then indifference. I think a lot of what makes something universally accessible, is also what makes something a place fully inclusive of all those things.   Michael Hingson  15:52 Yeah. We, we need to, we need to recognize that there's nothing wrong with being different than everyone else around us. It doesn't make us less or doesn't make us more, which is the unfortunate part about the term disabilities because people just interpret that as well. You're not able? Well. That's why what we really need to do because I haven't come up with a better word. We need to change the definition of disability.   Sherry Johnson  16:24 Read it. Yeah. I Yeah. And whenever I talk about my own, myself being disabled, I tried to talk about disabled in a context disabled because something was not designed for me. And there are barriers to it being designed for me to access it, you know, just the rhythms of everyday life. Honestly, a lot of the organizations I work with right now, for example, we know that there's been this great resignation, and this passive quitting, because we're all sort of overtaxed and traumatized by the last few years. Well, that's how I felt most of my life. So I can kind of bring some of that feeling and some of those adaptations that I've made for myself, and listening to my body and self liberating my values and and being more mindful, I can bring that to groups and help them you know, even folks who've never experienced any kind of, quote, unquote, disability feel like there are steps that they can take to succeed more to be plugged in more, to collaborate better, in healthier ways that is honoring to themselves, their bodies, their communities, one another.   Michael Hingson  17:39 There's an interesting book written by Henry Mayer, entitled all on fire. And it's the story of the abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison from the 1840s. And one of the things that Mayor talks about in the book is a time when garrison was looking for more people to join the movement. And he suggested to his people that they contact two ladies, their sisters, they grim case sisters, and the sisters were very active suffragettes. And of what what happened was that the his his people said, well, we shouldn't contact them. They're not relevant to what we're doing. They're dealing with something totally different than what we're dealing with. And that would just detract. And Garrison said something, which I think is extremely profound. He said, It's all the same thing. And how true it is. The reality is we're all fighting to become part of the same society. And doesn't matter whether it's suffrage doesn't matter whether it's abolition of slavery, doesn't matter whether it's dealing with any kind of disability or whatever, it really is all the same thing. And we need to recognize that and include everyone to deal with the issue.   Sherry Johnson  19:04 Absolutely. And, and also celebrate and lift up and represent those differences, and nonfiction and fiction media, right. Like I said, seeing myself starting to see myself represented was really important to me. And I know that that's been really important to many other colleagues from from different backgrounds. For sure,   Michael Hingson  19:26 well, so what did you do after high school?   Sherry Johnson  19:29 I became a high school English and theater teacher, because that was the role model that I had from the cast. I was from right. As a first generation college student I the whole concept of going to grad school even though I really wanted to be a medical doctor or something like that. I just couldn't understand the concept. And that you went to college. I did go to college. I was I was very lucky to get a full ride scholarship at UW Madison. And I studied education in theater, taught theater and English to high schoolers for about 10 years, and then transitioned into above, I had my kid, and my teenager, they're now 15 was also autistic. Because, again, we're genetic. And that was really tough as an autistic person who didn't know it yet, you know, having had this autistic person with other high needs, and not really having a lot of space or help around that. And so I made some choices, right, I got into community organizing a taught yoga for a while I got into my body, I started working on my own emotional landscape. And mindfulness, started doing community organizing, which brought me into consensus processes and collaboration. And that's why I became a technology participation certified facilitator, I still train that on a regular basis. And then it just started, it kind of led me from there. Now I do strategic planning for nonprofits, I work with local governments to improve their systems. And it's all just sort of taken off where those last, you know, 1015 years, it's kind of put me in a completely different spot. But then I've always been a bit of a polymath, I think that might come from some add tendencies as well in my brain. But I think that all of that kind of like, what you were just saying, from the quote from the book is, like, all is everything. And if you can have your hands and a lot of different things, you can bring a sense of wildlife and plant ecology, and to changing human systems, right. And it can make that process more meaningful and adaptable. So it's stuff like that, that I live for that kind of synthesis.   Michael Hingson  21:55 You said something several times, and I'm not we're not going to get political or anything. But we I hear a number of people say, Oh, my child is autistic, because they had vaccinations and so on, and they don't even look at the whole genetic thing. What do you think about all that?   Sherry Johnson  22:13 It is 100% genetic? And I think that we're gonna find that we've always had autistic people with us, we've always had add people with us. And, and, and I think, and I know that, you know, all the studies are the vaccines have nothing to do with creating, or enabling or turning on any genes when it comes to autism, you know, vaccines. And I think, for the for us in the community, the Autistic community. It's kind of maddening to, to hear that come up again. Because it was essentially a fake study that even started that whole thing. And now that gentleman makes a lot of money selling that story to different organizations and traveling the world and writing books. And it's really unfortunate how much damage he's done.   Michael Hingson  23:05 Well, so you how long ago did you form creative strategy? Cultivate strategy? Yeah. polyphase strategy? Yeah, um, it's another C word. I call it a base. All right.   Sherry Johnson  23:17 And of course, cultivation comes from ecology. But But I, you know, I started my own business when I before even left for Seattle about 1012 years ago. But it wasn't until I came back from Seattle about 533234 years ago that I that I built, called the Bates strategy out of kind of an amalgamation of all these things that I learned. And, you know, it's my third business and was happy to build it in a state of Minnesota. And I just felt like there was this niche I needed to fill. And I've grown to think of myself more and more as a complexity coach, both for individuals and organizations to help us think about just to sort out the different complexities and when we can't make predictable decisions. When things are unordered. What do we do? How do we approach those decisions in ways that we haven't in the past? And that's changed the way that I approach strategic planning and students the way that I've approached leadership orientation, and things like that.   Michael Hingson  24:30 Will Tell me a little bit more about your approach and what you do if you would, please. Sure. So   Sherry Johnson  24:35 I come from this place where you know, it's kind of taken me a long time to kind of define this because I was always about helping people collaborate across Denver. Well, what is that about? It can be about almost anything, but I think where I'm finding my niche is helping people understand when a linear plan a time based linear plan with goals is not always the right frame, it's not always the right way to go. Increasingly, we know that the less predictable our world is, the less predictable the context of an organization, the more experimental we have to be, the more we have to allow things to emerge between humans and within human networks that can be sustainable. It's through changing a system through relatively simple interactions is what one of my favorite thinkers Adrian Marie brown talks about in this changing complex adaptive systems, and thinking about ourselves more as part of nature than something that's imposing order upon nature. And that's, that's what excites me and gets me out of bed every day. So I have a leadership course coming up, for example, it's based on leadership orientations and figuring out what situations you're most gifted to lead in. And when you should really be stepping back and recognizing the leadership orientation of others who are more able to move in that particular context, which is again, about celebrating difference, and was something that always has always bugged me is about just moving and operating in a tip in a neurotypical world is that oftentimes those things that I've been teased about throughout my life was overthinking, you're overthinking. You're anxious, you're trying too hard. Those things have been a gift to me. That's how my brain works. And it's how I do what I do. And yes, I burn hot, I'm intense. But a lot of that is what allows me to lead in a different way. And more effectively in some contexts. And that's what I'm trying to bring into the organizations I work with to   Michael Hingson  26:54 one of the things that I have found about leadership and being part of a team is the best team leaders are the ones who also know how to use your words, how to step back and let someone else take the lead to do a particular thing.   Sherry Johnson  27:10 Absolutely. Yeah. And who knows? Yeah, go ahead.   Michael Hingson  27:14 Because they don't necessarily themselves have all the gifts or they know, who might be better gifted to do a particular thing?   Sherry Johnson  27:22 Absolutely. And we all know that, you know, information doesn't flow through human systems unless we trust and care about one another. You don't, you know, that's where information hoarding happens in systems where care and trust are missing, or deficient. And we know too, that as our systems as our organizations become more and more complex information is everything. Sharing information is everything. So how do we meet this moment and figure out how to care for ourselves and one another, even as we're working on these harder and harder problems?   Michael Hingson  27:59 Yeah. And it isn't just information, it is absolutely sharing information. We we grow up in a world today where trust is so much under attack, which is what's so unfortunate to me. Because in reality, we trust in so many ways, and we should be more open to trust than we tend to be.   Sherry Johnson  28:22 Yeah, in fact, I had the most one of the most beautiful situations I've been in in the last few years is the day after Donald Trump was elected in 2016. You know, I remembered it was one of the most divisive. It was the Sunday after rather, one of the most divisive times I can think of even even more so than now just this sort of everybody holding their breath. And I was hosting a conversation at my suburban Seattle church on gun control, can you imagine, are you and we had a very heated, we had all kinds of people in that room. There were there were 2530 people in that room. And we had a very heated, very intense high conflict, but but carrying, because we were all part of this same community carrying conversation that I was able to facilitate within some good boundaries. And that was one of the most effective situations I've been in because we realized, I think in that moment, that we needed to find a way to care about each other, we needed to leverage our care to have a conversation together about something that is just so high, high conflict, right. And that can be a lot of hope for even where we are now and how we can move forward with the right good boundaries around conversation and collaboration. And I want more of that.   Michael Hingson  29:56 So what was the main bone of contention or the main conflict since you all came from a church environment. You were you were all there. And as you point out, people really cared what was the main issue that was hard to address or deal with?   Sherry Johnson  30:15 It just there were, you know, again, suburban, mainline, you know, Methodist Church, about half of the folks in the room were very pro Second Amendment, NRA members, and about half of the room were very sort of liberal Moms Demand Action types of folks who were very, very frustrated with the state of gun legislation in the country. And, you know, even even in that context, those tensions exist. And in fact, I think churches, mainline churches, particularly, are one of the last places where you can find that level of difference, even in a caring community. And those differences, by the way, often are under the rug, and we'll talk about when pretend everything is okay. Until we can.   Michael Hingson  31:11 Well, was there any room to discuss things like does the the idea of gun control? Since we're talking about it? Is there any, was there any room to discuss? Does gun control really mean you're gonna lose your guns? I mean, that that's, of course, the the whole argument the NRA makes, and that people say when they talk about the Second Amendment, we ought to have the right just to have our guns. And that's all there is to it. But there is there was there any room to say? Well, wait a minute. Is it really that black and white?   Sherry Johnson  31:47 Absolutely. I think one of the best. One of the best things about being a facilitator, and the longer you do it, is that you start to be able to ask the right question. And you notice that you're working with the group, and they stop talking to you, the facilitator and they start talking to each other. And that doesn't always happen. But when it does, it leads to situations in which that did happen in this group. I remember the look on there were two really passionate people, and it was toward the end of the conversation. And they just stood and faced each other they stood up. And there was people were a little bit afraid, I was feeling pretty good about it. But she just said, Look, I don't want to take your guns, you know, and he said, You want to take my guns, I don't want to take your guns. And it was, and I was just about to interrupt. And then there was a pause. I'm Scott Peck, one of my favorite thinkers talks about this where we're in this sense of chaos. We live in pseudo community most of the time, and then we get this sense of chaos when we realize our differences. And it's only after a period of emptiness that we become a community. And what I watched was this emptiness, this period where no one said anything. And then I think one of them asked the other the question, I don't remember it. I wish I did. But she got a real answer. And then he asked her a question. And she gave him a real answer. This is the trust piece. And they never, they did not agree with one another walking out of that room. And meanwhile, everybody else is sort of watching this happen. But I think we all learn something about emptying ourselves of that need to control the situation and be right. And really just get curious and see what's behind this. This person's thinking.   Michael Hingson  33:34 Yeah, we, we spend so much time hearing the shallow sound bites and so on. And then we just buy that rather than thinking more about it. You know, of course, we could talk about Donald Trump. So many people say I'd vote for him again, because I trust him. And what I always wonder, and I would wonder it about any politician really is, what do you really trust? You hear words, but do you dig down to look at the actions behind the words? Do you look at all the things that they do or not? And unfortunately, we don't tend to allow ourselves and I think we also don't teach our children nearly enough to be curious,   Sherry Johnson  34:30 right? Yes. Yes, Curiosity is so key. And that that negative capability of being able I love this concept of negative capability, have you heard this, the neuroscientific concept where basically, you're allowing about it? Well, sorry, you're allowing yourself to realize that you don't have the answer in the moment. Our society is so obsessed with having the right answer, usually a simple answer, right? And the moment that something's needed And unless you're in a true crisis, potentially really bad to make a decision really? Yeah, it's really good to step back and employ this concept of negative capability. You see how long you can wait in that space of unknowing to have an answer. And you'll find that people with a higher negative capability, make better decision? Because it allows them to consult others be curious, fill that space in their brains of even what they done that unknown unknowns like, what do I not know? Let's find out what I don't even know that I don't know. And that that, that can really bring us way beyond where we're at with our relationships. And I think too, that's one of the strengths of being an autistic person is that I have? I think, a lot of negative capability, because I've spent my entire life sort of going, why did they just do it? What was the assumption behind that? I don't have those simple rules that I think neurotypical culture has. And it's always led me to always take a step back and ask, why did that happen and get curious. And I love sharing that, that negative capability, the father's   Michael Hingson  36:15 interesting concept, I wasn't really familiar with it. But the other part about it is you also said, The only really good time or the necessary time to make a fast decision is when there's a crisis, right. But I would also add to that, that making a fast decision in a crisis also comes down to as much preparation ahead of time. So of course, for me, the example is the World Trade Center, and all the things that I did to prepare for an emergency, not necessarily ever expecting one, but at the same time, needing to know information. I had a discussion just yesterday with someone who asked me the question about, well, was it? Or could it be an advantage in a situation like the World Trade Center, not to see as opposed to being able to see? And what I pointed out was, that you're still basing that question on having eyesight, and comparing more or less eyesight? And that's not really the question to ask or the issue to discuss. The issue really is what do you do to prepare for different situations in your life. So for me, going out and, and exploring, learning what to do in the case of an emergency, was something that I felt really necessary and required for me to do as the leader of an office. It also prepared me for an emergency. And it gave me information that sighted people would not normally get because they just rely on the science to tell them what to do and where to go, which only works if you can see the signs. And if you have time to read the signs. So it's it's really not site versus not site. It's preparation versus not preparing.   Sherry Johnson  38:21 Yes, absolutely. And in the autism community, we talk about the concept of social story that is very similar. A lot of times autistic people aren't said like, Wow, you really know what to do in a crisis. And we can turn off all our feelings and be these heroes and crises. And we may bring that with us and a lot of PTSD, we now are much more kin kin we are much more susceptible to PST, PTSD. But with our neuro types, but we're really good in a crisis. I think it's exactly what you were just talking about when the world I don't know about you, Michael, but I think when the world is sort of designed for not you, yeah. You, you have to take that extra step to get curious about your own planning, your own approach to things that the rest of the world takes for granted. And I think that that's a richness that those of us who bring that bring these various lenses can bring into the greater world like, Hey, have you ever thought about it this way? And they were really, you know, I'm really glad that that served you well and that situation?   Michael Hingson  39:30 Well, the other part of that is the world The world may not be designed with me in mind in some way for help preparing and doing what I do. Can I help the world become a little bit more designed for more of us than less of us? And the more of us may not be the majority, but can the world be made to be more designed for more of us than less of   Sherry Johnson  40:01 us. Absolutely.   Michael Hingson  40:02 That's great. And I think that that is an important part of it. It isn't just learning. It's then utilizing that information. And in reality, it is my belief that everyone should learn what to do in an emergency. And very frankly, I would say, for most people learn what to do as a blind person, because you rely way too much on your eyesight much too often. And you don't learn nearly as much as you can learn by utilizing some other skills, which isn't to say, don't use your eyes. But don't limit yourself to your eyesight.   Sherry Johnson  40:45 Yeah, I think that's brilliant. And it forces you to just sit just regard your surroundings differently, I would imagine to this reminds me to of another of my favorite thinkers, Duncan green, has this wonderful book, how change happen. And he talks about that preparation piece. And he said, you know, working for an NGO, the idea was that if you really wanted to change systems, you would figure out your entire plan for changing something. And you would present the entire plan when the crisis happens. The moment the crisis happens, if you're the first one to plop down the plan for moving out of that crisis, you've just changed the system forever. I love that concept.   Michael Hingson  41:33 And it makes perfect sense. The reality is that we should be doing more of that we shouldn't just be moving around as robots which we do way too often.   Sherry Johnson  41:43 Absolutely. Yeah. mechanization and expertise. Have no person that points for sure. So   Michael Hingson  41:50 I, you know, I have a wife, who we've now been married almost 40 years, it will be 40 years next month. And I've had to learn what eyesight is all about. And I've learned to explore that and learn what she sees how she sees how other people see. And that helps me be more part of that world. But at the same time, then I can use that to say, okay, but here are the limitations of that. Now, take that another step. And really look at what if you don't just use your eyes? And what are the advantages of expanding your horizons as it were?   Sherry Johnson  42:36 Yeah. Yeah, I like that.   Michael Hingson  42:39 So it's a challenge. So you started your company? And what do you do? What What exactly does the company do today?   Sherry Johnson  42:50 Well, we like I said, we moved from sort of doing strategic planning into more organizational change, work, leadership work. And I spell into doing this work around looking at large systems, to now taking that into the city of St. Paul, we did a constituent services study, and we looked at equity implications around who is who can access constituent service and who can't? And what is the quality of that service? And what's the experience? What's the user journey, like? And how can you improve it? And how can you improve the system, looking at all those different more and less predictable ways of working, and looking at all those different ways that people can lead from anywhere in the system and the types of things that they can do. And then I'm hoping to get some new work, knocked out of wood, where I get to do more of that, but also employ narrative ethnography. I'm very excited about this. Do you remember Cambridge Analytica in 2016? Yeah, basically, worked through Facebook to try to find the narratives that were shaping the culture and shift them so that they would get what they wanted out of the election, I kind of want to be the good guy and use that technology for good it is be able to trace the narratives that a culture is telling itself and look for narratives that are positive that would help emerging narratives that will help lead that organization in the right direction and in the direction of its values, and try to move a system by studying those things. So that's the next horizon for me. And it's a project I've been hoping and planning for for the last five years. So I'm hoping that I'm really the one that's putting my book down full of steps and that I'm the first one. I'm not the first by far but I'm excited to do this new work at a larger scale.   Michael Hingson  44:46 You'll be the first to do it the way you do it. I   Sherry Johnson  44:48 spa and slow state.   Michael Hingson  44:52 Tell us more about this concept of narratives.   Sherry Johnson  44:55 Yeah, um, so narratives are the stories we tell ourselves of that shape our behavior, they shape our behavior, they shape our emotions, they shape our relationships, our culture on a grander scale, right. And a culture can believe a set of narratives individuals do. And these can be good or bad working with human narratives, the stories we tell ourselves can be good or bad. Like I said, Cambridge analytic, a bad example of something where you can harness what people believe the predictions that their brains have made about the world way the world works, and make them more afraid, make them do things that are more reactive. But you can also find those hopeful narratives and a culture those narratives that will lead you toward more connection more care, and amp those up, repeat those tell those stories, and lead a culture in a different way. And this works for individuals too. There's a lot of different facilitative frameworks where you can work with an individual or a small group to help them kind of shift their image of themselves and move them in a new direction. So it's that level of change work that is really harnessed in this concept of narratives, because our brains literally predict every moment. And if you can help people predict differently, you can help people change.   Michael Hingson  46:19 How do you incorporate mindfulness into the things that you do? And what is mindfulness? How would you define it? That's a broad subject, isn't it? Yeah. No,   Sherry Johnson  46:29 I mean, that that's about awareness and curiosity, right? That's about, um, you know, being as much as you can be in your body, knowing what's happening within your body, knowing what that says, for you in, in your context about how you're feeling about things. What is your what is good for you? What is bad for you? What feels good or bad? I think a lot of us are so caught up in this sort of perfectionist gogogo culture of, you know, and even in my family of origin, how will you work your way till your next paycheck? You're working more out of competition, fear. Sometimes perfectionism. I know, that was me before my autism diagnosis, I still struggle with it. But what mindfulness does that helps you just kind of check in with yourself and be able to read what is what do I actually need in this moment? What am I actually desiring in this moment? And it's only then when you can help folks feel bad about their own selves that you can help a group be more mindful of one another culture, be more mindful of it. So   Michael Hingson  47:44 how do you teach people to do that?   Sherry Johnson  47:46 playfully. I used to be a theater teachers. So there's a lot of improv involved, sometimes in a more playful sense. With more serious groups, it's just about inviting people to close their eyes and check in with our bodies before virtual I'll say, you know, feel free to turn off your camera, we're just gonna take a few breaths, taking pauses when a group would normally speed ahead, you remember what I said about emptiness? Right? Yeah, we need to be able to take those moments of silence emptiness, to check in with ourselves to see where we're really at. And that, you know, brainstorming works much better when you can take some time of pause, take a break, go on a walk, come back. That's that net negative capability thing again, pausing before deciding, pausing before gathering, pausing to consider, those are all things that I would consider to be mindfulness. And you can do their exercises to do that. Certainly, I taught yoga for a while. And I could do that with certain groups. For the most part, it's much simpler than that. It's about just pausing.   Michael Hingson  48:56 It's also about giving yourself permission, and hopefully encouraging yourself and changing your habits and mindset to doing it. So often, we we just hear excuses. I don't have time to do that. Yeah,   Sherry Johnson  49:12 yeah. Yeah. And it doesn't have to be meditation. Meditation doesn't actually work for everyone. And it works for me, I love it. But I've know a lot of folks who really struggle with it, particularly in the ADB community, but I think it's just about taking time. And for some people that might be taking a walk, for some people, it might be spinning something in their hand. For some people, it's sitting and breathing and feeling the weight of gravity, right. But whatever it is, I try to help people find that. Yeah.   Michael Hingson  49:46 So when you say meditation, what do you mean by that?   Sherry Johnson  49:49 Um, I, you know, that's a tool. That's a highly cultural concept, right? It's different across cultures. For me, I I think of the sort of the Desert Fathers in Christianity and just sort of being silent and sitting in the presence of God, you know, others would say, it's about being silent and just sitting in the presence of nature, or whatever it is, or checking in with our chakras, or whatever it is. Different cultures have different definitions for what it means that it's about taking time. And, you know, we know that some some folks believe that meditation is only just sort of freeing your mind and not thinking about anything. But I think what I've noticed is a pattern, at least in my own small way, is that so much of it is about self compassion. It's like, No one starts out being able to meditate perfectly. But a lot of us can benefit from it, if we have self compassion, and just, you know, keep trying.   Michael Hingson  50:58 And, of course, the whole idea of meditation sure, is being silent, and possibly emptying your mind. But the whole idea behind mindfulness, in a sense, is meditation, it's taking time to not just go forward and confront the day. And it doesn't really matter how you do it. But you do need to take time mentally for yourself, or to slow down. It's something I think that's as much a concept of meditation as is anything else. Absolutely. There's always transcendental meditation where you say a mantra. And that can be very helpful to people who do it. And it may help more people, then think that they could do it. But still, it's all about taking time to slow down and disconnecting from just what goes on in the world.   Sherry Johnson  51:52 Yeah, yeah. But really just noticing more, right? Taking it more with more of your senses, what is actually happening? Yeah, because that predictive brain of ours, we actually don't see, we don't hear, we don't taste we don't smell we don't touch most things. In the moment. We've already predicted those things. If we only really sense what we predicted, we would sense, we actually have to slow ourselves down to truly sense of what's happening around.   Michael Hingson  52:25 So what's next for you?   Sherry Johnson  52:29 Well, I'm like I had this project that hopefully, I'll get to do some narrative ethnography and what we call sensemaking. I've got a course coming up on adaptive leadership on December 3, sign up for that at my website, cultivate strategy that calm slash events, be teaching today, my Two Day technology participation facilitation course, if you want to learn about how to facilitate and collaborate better, I teach that about once a quarter either in Seattle are online, hopefully will start to teach teach that in Minnesota too. And, you know, someday, you would ask me about this earlier, Michael, before the show. I am hoping to complete my musical about growing up as an autistic kid and trying to fit in. So working on that, too.   Michael Hingson  53:21 There you go. Are you going to write the lyrics? Are you going to write the songs? Or are you going to write the words around them? And let let somebody else come in and do it?   Sherry Johnson  53:30 You know, it's going to be I think it's going to be a jukebox musical. So it'll be just hits from the 80s and 90s. Ah, you know, moving moving through my own experiences middle in early high school with the dialog that I'm right. Yeah. Have you   Michael Hingson  53:49 thought about taking a lot of the content of your courses, and putting them into a book? And using that as another mechanism to teach?   Sherry Johnson  54:00 Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of existing books, particularly on the technology of participation. I do write blogs pretty regularly. And I've started to do some video logs as well, on tic tac, and Facebook, but someday, I might start to gather some of that stuff together and make a compendium or something that makes sense, but I'm a little too random, maybe to make that full nonfiction book for resale. I'm always fine. It's nothing new to talk about and work on instead.   Michael Hingson  54:35 And, and that's valuable. And as you said, so your courses will be online as well. And they are online.   Sherry Johnson  54:42 Yeah, yeah. The deciding how to decide is online. And there's both an in person and online version of that top facilitation methods which is actually through top trading dotnet you can sign up for courses in that all over even the world   Michael Hingson  54:59 top training dotnet A   Sherry Johnson  55:00 trained dotnet as the US arm of the Institute for Cultural Affairs, is the purveyor of that that particular band of training. Cool? Yeah.   Michael Hingson  55:14 Well, so you've sort of said it, but if people want to reach out to you and maybe learn more about you talk with you, and do you do individual coaching?   Sherry Johnson  55:23 I do. Yeah. So yeah. So   Michael Hingson  55:26 how do they reach out to you and learn, but all of that   Sherry Johnson  55:29 they there is a website, there's a form on my website, cultivatestrategy.com. And you can also just email me at Sherry at cultivatestrategy.com S H E R R Y. I'm happy to respond.   Michael Hingson  55:41 And strategy singular, just to make sure everybody understands. Yes. Well, Sherry, this has been fun. I've enjoyed it. I really appreciate you coming on. And my dog has stayed awake over here, so you must be happy with it. There you go. That's awesome. Alamo pays attention to everything I do. I can't get away with anything. We do have the door closed. So the cat doesn't get to come in. And I understand why cats.   Sherry Johnson  56:10 I adore cats. I have two of them, including the best get in the world and then kissick,   Michael Hingson  56:16 we have a cat we rescued seven and a half years ago. We thought we were just going to find her a home. And I learned that the cat's name was stitch. And my wife is a quilter Do you think that cat was going to go anywhere?   Sherry Johnson  56:32 Oh, it adopted you.   Michael Hingson  56:37 Oh, it took over us? Yeah. He's a great and and she and Alamo get along very well. So we're happy with that. That's great. Well, thanks again for being here. And I want to thank you for listening. And wherever you are. Please give us a five star rating. We appreciate it. That's another thing share. You could do a podcast.   Sherry Johnson  56:57 Oh goodness, I've done I've done it. I've done something like it. We'll see someday.   Michael Hingson  57:05 But wherever you are, please give us a five star rating. I'd love to hear from you. Please reach out to me at Michaelhi at accessibe A C C E S S I B E.com. And Sherry will have to talk about your website and see how accessible it is.   Sherry Johnson  57:21 Oh, I'm working on it. It's not it's not there yet.   Michael Hingson  57:26 Checkout accessiBe it can help and it's not expensive. It's a way to really help. And I'll be glad to help you with that. But we hope that wherever you are, you'll give us a rating and you'll reach out I'd love to hear your thoughts. And we'll be back of course again very soon with another episode of unstoppable mindset. We're inclusion, diversity. And my favorite part the unexpected meet and again, Sherry, thank you for being a part of this.   Sherry Johnson  57:51 Thank you for having me, Michael, this was fun.   Michael Hingson  57:58 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com. accessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Did you know that mindfulness practice can shrink the amygdala which is the part of the brain that is responsible for fight, flight or freeze? While I know the benefits of mindfulness, I sometimes struggle to actually practice it. But several years ago, I was able to finally start on my mindfulness journey - by using food! This can be done with any type of food but I particularly love using berries or chocolate. Take a listen to learn how to use this technique…The topics I cover in this episode are:How mindfulness with food can helpI run through an exercise with you from ‘The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook' on mindful eatingHow I used this strategy during lockdown to help my clientsPlease keep in mind that clients may have food allergies or sensitivities so I encourage you to check with families before you do this activity. And remember, do not forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun!—Resources mentioned in the podcastTaren, A. A., Gianaros, P. J., Greco, C. M., Lindsay, E. K., Fairgrieve, A., Brown, K. W., … Creswell, J. D. (2015). Mindfulness meditation training alters stress-related amygdala resting state functional connectivity: a randomized controlled trial. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 10(12), 1758–1768. http://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv066About The Host - Janine HalloranJanine Halloran is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an author, a speaker, an entrepreneur and a mom. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Janine has been working primarily with children and adolescents for over 15 years. She loves to create products and resources, so she started two businesses to support families and professionals who work with children and teens. ‘Coping Skills for Kids' provides products and resources to help kids learn to cope with their feelings in safe and healthy ways. It's the home of the popular Coping Cue Cards, decks of cards designed to help kids learn and use coping skills at home or at school. Janine's second business ‘Encourage Play' is dedicated to helping kids learn and practice social skills in the most natural way - through play! Encourage Play has free printables, as well as digital products focused on play and social skills.Coping Skills for Kids - https://copingskillsforkids.comEncourage Play - https://www.encourageplay.comInterested in reading my books? The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook/products/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook-digital-versionSocial Skills for Kids - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/encourage-play/products/social-skills-for-kids-workbookConnect with Janine on Social MediaInstagram: @copingskillsforkidsFacebook: facebook.com/copingskillsforkids and facebook.com/encourageplayYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JanineHalloranEncouragePlay

"Jaak Panksepp was the first and only neuroscientist who focused squarely on the emotional brain. There followed a lengthy and instructive series of emails between Jack and Lucy that ultimately resulted in the publication of this book" Jaak Panksepp and Lucy Biven, authors of the famous book that is often required reading for those studying an Introduction to the Field of Neuroscience, The Archeology of Mind. Watch our interview on YouTube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH3j5WDXvEk   On today's Episode #270 we will cover ✔  An introduction to Lucy Biven, who co-authored the well-known book, The Archeology of Mind, with Jaak Panksepp. ✔ How Lucy went from being the Head of Psychotherapy at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in England, to writing a leading resource in the field of Neuroscience, with Jaak Panksepp. ✔ How neuroscience gave her answers to a court case she was asked to advise, that 19 experts in the field of child development couldn't solve, without an understanding of how our brain works. ✔ How an understanding of our brain can help us to be better parents, teachers, coaches and managers. ✔ Where Jaak Panksepp's work filled in the missing gaps for Lucy, opening doors with this new understanding of our brain, and emotions. ✔ 3 often discussed Theories about Emotions and Affect (Feedback Theory, Brainstem Theory and Conceptual Act Theory, or Theory of Constructed Emotion and which one Lucy believes in today. ✔ Lucy makes a case for Panksepp's Brainstem Theory, as well as Damasio's work. ✔ Lucy and Andrea discuss the hard question of consciousness and why all traditional attempts to answer this complex question, has failed. ✔ Lucy shares how she uses Panksepp's Brainstem Theory to help 2 boys knowing when to take the role of a coach, versus a traditional therapist, to help them to overcome mental blocks that were holding them back from living a successful life.  I'm so grateful to have this opportunity today to speak with Lucy Biven, who co-authored The Archeology of Mind, with the one and only, Jaak Panksepp. Those who study the field of neuroscience will know his name, and if you haven't heard of him, I hope this episode sheds some light on his work, combined with Lucy's as pioneer researchers in the field of Affective Neuroscience. Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I'm Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. This season (Season 9) we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics for the next few months, as we welcome some phenomenal pioneers in the field of Neuroscience, paving a pathway for all of us to navigate our lives with more understanding with our brain in mind. My goal with this next season (that will run until the end of June) is that going back to the basics will help us to strengthen our understanding of the brain, and our mind, to our results, and provide us with a springboard to propel us forward in 2023, with this solid backbone of science. With some new and exciting responsibilities on my end, we will be doing one episode a week, going back to the basics each week, that I know will be helpful for all of us. For today's guest and EPISODE #270, we will be speaking with someone who many of you who study in the field of neuroscience will recognize. There are those who I would call “rockstar” researchers, whose work has revolutionized the field. If you take a neuroscience course, or like I did, a Neuroscience Certification Program, you are a clinician, a psychotherapist, you will have come across her first book as required reading. Metapsychology Online Review thinks this book should be “essential reading not only for mind professionals, but for teachers, parents, personal and physical trainers and coaches.” So when I had an email from this next guest, one of the rockstar authors we come across and highlight in our notebooks, letting me know she has recently published a new book, and that her first book she co-authored with Jaak Panksepp, I almost fell off my chair in my office. She could have been Mick Jagger emailing me, as that would be the equivalent in this field of neuroscience research. Her first book The Archaeology of Mind[i] that she co-authored with Jaak Panksepp “describes the new scientific discipline called affective neuroscience, which seeks to illuminate how our most powerful emotional feelings—the primal emotional affects—arise from ancient neural networks situated in brain regions below the neo-cortical thinking cap.” "An exhaustive work, covering a neglected and often misunderstood field . . . . Nowhere else will you really find due diligence done on the non-conscious biases of humans and animals . . . . Essential reading, not only to us as mind professionals, but to teachers, parents, personal and physical trainers and coaches. Emotions are still everything, and vital to understanding why we are what we are, and why we do and have done, everything in the past and now. An amazing buy." ― Metapsychology Online Reviews "Panksepp's perspective on the continuity of animal and human minds has not received the attention it deserves. Here are the collected facts and the reasoning behind that compelling view. An indispensable volume." ― Antonio Damasio, author, Self Comes to Mind; David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience and Director, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California "This book has the capacity to integrate affective neuroscience into the consciousness of not only therapists, but also those interested in understanding depth motivation that sustains or pathologizes our every action and thought. It is a truly pioneering effort. Its deep truths about the origins of mind and feeling, and the implications for altering how we see ourselves over evolutionary time, connected to our fellow social mammals and birds, also has implications for how we treat our fellow travelers on this planet." ― Stuart Brown, MD, Founder and President, The National Institute for Play   Our next guest, Lucy Biven, who co-authored The Archeology of Mind with Jaak Panksepp,  is the former Head of the Department of Psychotherapy at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, part of the National Health Service in Leicestershire, England.  She became interested in neuroscience about 20 years ago when she was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to devise and implement a protocol for the transfer of custody of a 2½ year old girl from the home of a couple whom the child regarded as her parents, to the home of her biological parents. Like most of her colleagues, Lucy worried about the little girl's psychological development, yet the child progressed well and today is an emotionally healthy young woman. Where did it all go right?  She looked towards neuroscience for the answers she was looking for and found that, along with meeting Jaak Panksepp who coined the term “affective neuroscience” (a field that studies the neural mechanisms of emotions and how consciousness emerges from strong emotional stimuli). My goal with this next interview is learn directly from Lucy Biven, how an understanding of our emotions and our brain can help us to be better teachers in the classroom, coaches in the field of sports, or improve our effectiveness in the modern workplace.  Her most recent book A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience was released last summer, and I look forward to learning what this rockstar from the field of psychology and neuroscience can teach us with her work, research and experience. Welcome Lucy, thank you very much for reaching out to me when you did, it was perfect timing for the direction we are going with the podcast, and going back to the basics to start our year. Welcome. INTRO Q: To start off with, I must ask, what type of reaction do you typically get from people when you reach out to them, like you did to me. Have most people read The Archeology of Mind? The reason I ask this, is that Antonio Damasio mentioned that "Panksepp's perspective on the continuity of animal and human minds has not received the attention it deserves” and I had heard that before, so I wonder were you surprised when I knew exactly who you were, with the massive amounts of respect that go along with those who spearhead a field? Q1: I always like to know what brought people to where they are now, and you explain what brought you to this field in the Introduction of your book A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience[ii]. Can you give a snapshot of your career path (so I don't think I was crazy that you were in England)? What did your work entail as Head of the Department of Psychotherapy at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (in England) and why were you appointed that case by the Michigan Supreme Court? Q1B: The book opens with an incredible example of how neuroscience helped to inform the outcomes of those cases involving children and their caregivers that dated back to 1993. Can you explain how neuroscience explained the outcomes that 19 experts in child development couldn't see without understanding how the brain works? I'm asking from the point of view not of a researcher who has a sound understanding of how our brain works, but for of those of us who have a thirst to understand this information, that we were never taught. Q2: The introduction of your book is interesting as neuroscience proved something that 19 experts in child development couldn't see, even from the point of view of a parent. I always wondered if I had made a mistake when I moved from Canada to the US (only AFTER I had children) but it was with the difference we see with maternity leave in the US where we have about 12 weeks compared to a full year in Canada. I always wondered if I was doing something wrong when I dropped my daughter off at daycare and drove off to work. I was shocked when I learned that “The hippocampus creates enduring personal memories, but it does not begin to function until a child is about four years old (Newcombe et al. 2000; Gleitman et al. 2007). Babies and young children can retain short-term memories, but the neural pathways that encode these memories dissolve after a few weeks or months and the children forget” (Fivush and Hamond 1990). So, for all those parents out there who feel guilty dropping their kids off at daycare, or leaving them for a few hours with a caregiver, this bit of research could really have helped me back then to not stress so much about that, right? How else can you see an understanding of our brain, helping us beyond your Supreme Court Case, or for young parents raising their children? Do you have any other neuroscience tips that surprised you? Q3: What was it about Jaak Panksepp's work that filled in the missing gaps for you, and for lay people like me and others listening who want to understand the important workings of the brain (for improved results in our schools, sports environments or modern workplaces?) Q4: The first 3 chapters discusses different schools of thought about emotion and effect. Can we talk about each one and give an example of how something like a gunshot would be experienced with each theory? Feedback Theory-affects emerge from cognitive parts of the cortex or cortex creates all forms of consciousness (Kawkabani, 2018) We hear a gunshot, and freeze but why according to FBT are we not afraid? Brainstem Theory-maintains that all mammalian brains contain genetically programmed emotional systems). I've seen Panksepp's 7 Emotional Systems written out in many places but didn't realize there was a reason behind the ALL CAPS of each system. What did he want to show with the all caps? Panksepp's 7 core emotions: ALL mammalian brains have these 7 emotions? Why do you think these 7 emotions have been overlooked by psychologists and neuroscientists if they appear in the upper brainstem, indicating they evolved a long time ago? With brainstem theory, we hear a gunshot, what happens? We feel fear that originates from the brainstem?   3. Conceptual Act Theory (CAT)-claims that emotional systems do not exist and that emotions do not emanate from any brain region. Affects depend on concepts we construct largely on the basis of social experience. (Lisa Feldman Barrett-Theory of Constructed Emotion-explains the experience and perception of emotion). Her research shows emotions are invented using our memory and imagination (Waldman). With a gunshot, how would you explain your reaction if emotions don't exist in the brain? Did my brain create a fearful affect based on what I watched on TV, my memory and imagination?   Q5: In chapter 5 and 6 you dive deeper into brainstem theory by looking at 2 different hypothesis—Jaak Pankseep and Antonio Damasio, explaining how affects might be created.  Both are similar, involving the brainstem, but they explain different mechanisms for how this happens. What is Damasio's view involving homeostasis/consciousness? What is Panksepp's major contribution to affective neuroscience? Q6: All the research in the first 7 chapters show how the brain creates conscious affective feelings. In chapter 7, you evaluate Damasio and Panksepp's Hypothesis. You mention that both Damasio and Panksepp maintain that all consciousness includes a conscious unified sense of self (Ramachandran, 2009) who we've come across on this podcast as he inspired the work of Dr. Baland Jalal EPISODE #211.[iii] Ramachandran sites that people with male bodies feel like men, and people with female bodies feel like women. What does neuroscience research say about our sense of self and our consciousness and what was the point with Ramachandran's research? Q7: Chapter 8 we have the hard question of consciousness. On EPISODE #251, I looked at “Exploring Consciousness” and learned that “consciousness is the most astonishing act our big, complex, interconnected brains pull off and scientists are only just beginning to understand it.”[xiv] (National Geographic, The Brain). I learned that “Some scholars reckon the puzzle of consciousness is something the human mind is incapable of solving” (National Geographic) but that Daniel Dennett, Philospher and Cognitive Scientist from Tufts University (MA) says that this line of thinking is “culpably wrong. It isn't impossible at all. It's just that we have to buckle down and do it.”[iv] Why do all traditional attempts to answer the hard questions of consciousness fail? Which brain structures and functions correlate with consciousness? How does the physical brain create nonphysical conscious experiences (like seeing colors, tasting flavors, feeling joy and sorrow, anticipating the future, and remembering the past? What makes us happy, lonely, caring or curious? (no one knows how this happens Greenfield 2000). Q8: In chapter 10, you show how neuroscience helped you to treat 2 boys using the SEEKING system. How did you help each boy differently by knowing when to act like a coach, or like a traditional therapist and identifying the 7 emotional sytems that needed help? NOTE: Lucy wanted to be sure we included a distinction between emotion and affect in the show notes. Neuroscientists see emotion as purely physical reactions that occur inside the body (influx of stress or calming chemicals) and behavior (smiling, grimacing, approaching, running away). Affects, on the other hand, are private conscious experiences that cannot be directly observed - you can only deduce affects from behavior and verbal reports.   How could others use this system to help students, or athletes, who've gone off track somehow, or even managers and supervisors in the corporate world who might be having a challenge with their employees? Lucy, I want to thank you very much for first of all sending me that note before the holidays. For those of us who spend a lot of time learning, someone who can understand these difficult concepts, and explain them in a way that we can all use them, really are rockstars in my eyes. Like Dr. Daniel Siegel[v], who wrote the foreword to The Archeology of Mind and suggested that scientists or researchers would be interested in “the abundance of academic references” but for clinicians, educators or general readers, he suggests to read the pages of that book like a fascinating nonfictional story, and let the words sink in over time. Thank you for joining the rockstar researchers who have come on our podcast, like Dr. Daniel Siegel and those who have helped us to embrace a world where neuroscience can provide us with answers to move us forward, if we can take the time to stop, think, and understand the research that you've gathered, and then see how we can implement your last tip, to impact change in our worlds, backed by science. Thank you for all you have shared today. If people want to reach you, what is the best way?  Email Lucy at LucyBiven@gmail.com  If people want to purchase your books, what is the best way? A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience by Lucy Biven Published July 6, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Short-Cut-Understanding-Affective-Neuroscience-ebook/dp/B0B69SSNXV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= RESOURCES: Palaces of Memory by George Johnson https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/in-the-palaces-of-memory-how-we-build-the-worlds-inside-our-heads_george-johnson/572819/item/3589928/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT-NyFHlqgUK_OySTM5OHSRM3Ic-W9ocGM_kDYtAqd4dUnj8SIp0kecaAuMREALw_wcB#idiq=3589928&edition=1903120 The Emotional Brain by Joseph LeDoux Published September 22, 201We https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Brain-Mysterious-Underpinnings-Life-ebook/dp/B00AK78PDC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=   Who's in Charge by Michael Gazzaniga Published November 15, 2011 https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Charge-Free-Science-Brain-ebook/dp/B005UD1EVG/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT_G3h7DHS5KOnaE-oZBRaqInCY5h6x_azxOw6cDettoKFu73XQ2Om0aAvU3EALw_wcB&hvadid=295460754701&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9467293520721770679&hvtargid=kwd-564030166002&hydadcr=22594_10348222&keywords=who%27s+in+charge+michael+gazzaniga&qid=1673931510&sr=8-1     REFERENCES: [i] The Archeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotion by Jaak Panksepp and Lucy Biven Published September 17, 2012 https://www.amazon.com/Archaeology-Mind-Neuroevolutionary-Interpersonal-Neurobiology/dp/0393705315 [ii] A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience by Lucy Biven Published July 6, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Short-Cut-Understanding-Affective-Neuroscience-ebook/dp/B0B69SSNXV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= [iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #211 with Dr. Baland Jalal on “Sleep Paralysis”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-neuroscientist-drbaland-jalalexplainssleepparalysislucid-dreaming-andpremonitionsexpandingour-awareness-into-the-mysteries-ofourbrainduring-sl/ [iv] What is Consciousness Published on YouTube Sept. 10, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir8XITVmeY4 TIME STAMP 1:31/12:42 [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #28 with Dr. Daniel J Siegel on “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/  

In Episode 6, Dr. Nally dives into willpower, hope and how this relates to motivation. He talks about the amygdala and it's effect on cravings, addiction and the autonomic nervous system. Listen in as he gives 5 steps to controlling anxiety, panic & cravings. How can a ketogenic lifestyle help irritable bowel? Find out on today's podcast. References: 1. Berenz EC, Vujanovic AA, Coffey SF, Zvolensky MJ. Anxiety sensitivity and breath-holding duration in relation to PTSD symptom severity among trauma exposed adults. J Anxiety Disord. 2012 Jan;26(1):134-9. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.10.004. Epub 2011 Oct 17. PMID: 22047652; PMCID: PMC3254809. 2. McKay, M., Wood, J.C. and Brantley, J. (2007) The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook. New Harbinger, Oakland. 3. Van Dijk, T. A. (2013). The field of Epistemic Discourse Analysis. Discourse Studies, 15(5), 497–499. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445613501448 4. The Human Amygdala, by Paul J. Whalen & Elizabeth A. Phelps (2009) 5. Molecules of Emotion The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine, by Candace B. Pert (1997) 6.Wibowo, E., Wong, S.T.S., Wassersug, R.J. et al. Sexual Function After Voluntary Castration. Arch Sex Behav 50, 3889–3899 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02094-6 7. Britta K. Hölzel, James Carmody, Karleyton C. Evans, Elizabeth A. Hoge, Jeffery A. Dusek, Lucas Morgan, Roger K. Pitman, Sara W. Lazar, Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Volume 5, Issue 1, March 2010, Pages 11–17, https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsp034 8 . Lowen MBO, et al. Effect of hypnotherapy and educational intervention on brain response to viscerla stimulation in the irritable bowel syndrome. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2013 June ; 37(12): 1184–1197. doi:10.1111/apt.12319. 9. Sumithran P., Prendergast L. A., Delbridge E., Purcell K., Shulkes A., Kriketos A., et al. . (2011). Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. N. Engl. J. Med. 365, 1597–1604. 10.1056/NEJMoa1105816 10. Transforming Therapy by Gil Boyne (1989). #DocTalk #LimbicSystem #amygdala #Cravings # Anxiety #PanicAttacks #IBS #PrinciplesOfLife #DeepThoughts #ChangeYourThoughtsChangeYourLife #ChronicIllness #ChronicDisease #ObesityMedicineSpecialist #HormoneSpecialist #ClinicalHypnotherapist #JustKeepEsterifying #WhoIsListeningAnyway #DocMuscles #DocMusclesLife #LeadFollowOrGetOutOfMyWay #DocTalk #LiftRunShootKetoForLife #KeepHammering #ImNotDeadYet #Keto #Carnivore #Ketogenic #BaconMakesYourPantsFallOff

Your ability to flex your thoughts, feelings, and actions can transform your life, bolster your resilience, and foster your zest for living. Elaine Fox, PhD, psychologist and researcher, studies the science of neurological flexibility. In her new book, Switch Craft: The Hidden Power of Mental Agility, Elaine explores how we can expand and improve our mental agility, and why it is so critical to become as mentally agile as we can.   Guest Bio Elaine Fox, PhD is a psychologist and author and became Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide, Australia in 2022. Originally from Dublin, her academic career has been primarily in the UK, most recently as Professor of Psychology and Affective Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. She is a leading scholar on the science of resilience and wellbeing and her work was awarded with a prestigious European Research Council Advanced Investigator fellowship from 2013-2019 to set up a large study in Oxford investigating why some people are emotionally vulnerable (to anxiety, depression, & addictions) while others are resilient. She is an engaging writer and speaker with a passion for the science behind how our mind works. Her first book RAINY BRAIN SUNNY BRAIN describes the fascinating science and stories behind why some of us are optimistic and resilient while others take a more pessimistic slant on things. Translated into more than 20 languages, it is a bestseller in several countries.   For episode homepage, resources and links, visit: https://kristenmanieri.com/episode198   Learn more about coaching: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com   Mentioned in this Episode Switch Craft: The Hidden Power of Mental Agility https://www.amazon.com/Switch-Craft-Hidden-Mental-Agility/dp/006303008X   Guest's website: https://www.instagram.com/profelainefox/   Host Bio Kristen Manieri is a coach who works with teams to increase both productivity and wellbeing. She also helps individuals navigate transition with clarity and confidence. Her areas of focus are: stress reduction, energy management, mindset, resilience, habit formation, rest rituals, and self-care. As the host of the weekly 60 Mindful Minutes podcast, an Apple top 100 social science podcast, Kristen has interviewed over 200 authors about what it means to live a more conscious, connected, intentional and joyful life. Learn more at kristenmanieri.com/work-with-me.    Learn more about coaching: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com Connect with the 60 Mindful Minutes podcast   Web: https://kristenmanieri.com Email: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/60MindfulMinutes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristenmanieri_/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kristenmanieri/  

Cheerleading mutant. It sounds pretty awful, but it's actually a good thing. Because that optimism and gratitude help make your brain healthier and life better. That gives you the sort of cheerleading persona, but where does the mutant come in? Hang on and we're going to tell you . . . First let's define gratitude “Gratitude is associated with a personal benefit that was not intentionally sought after, deserved, or earned but rather because of the good intentions of another person” (Emmons & McCullough, 2004). Arthur C. Brooks wrote in an article called, “Choose to Be Grateful. It Will Make You Happier.” ‘Beyond rotten circumstances, some people are just naturally more grateful than others. A 2014 article in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience identified a variation in a gene (CD38) associated with gratitude. Some people simply have a heightened genetic tendency to experience, in the researchers' words, “global relationship satisfaction, perceived partner responsiveness and positive emotions (particularly love).” That is, those relentlessly positive people you know who seem grateful all the time may simply be mutants.” Though we may not have those genes, we can make the choice to become happier by working on being more grateful. It's like that smiling thing, we talked about ages ago (last month) where if you really smile and move all your facial muscles, your brain gets tricked into thinking you're happy. Brooks says, “If grinning for an uncomfortably long time like a scary lunatic isn't your cup of tea, try expressing gratitude instead. According to research published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, gratitude stimulates the hypothalamus (a key part of the brain that regulates stress) and the ventral tegmental area (part of our “reward circuitry” that produces the sensation of pleasure).” Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, believes that if you write notes to people telling them you're grateful for them, it makes you happier. That outgoing gratitude makes you more positive. He suggests writing two a day. According to positive psychology.com's Madhuleena Roy Chowdhyr, “Simple practices like maintaining a gratitude journal, complimenting the self, or sending small tokens and thank you notes can make us feel a lot better and enhance our mood immediately. Couple studies have also indicated that partners who expressed their thankfulness to each other often, could sustain their relationships with mutual trust, loyalty, and had long-lasting happy relationships.” “It was revealed that the reason why some of us are naturally more grateful than others, is the neurochemical differences at the Central Nervous System. People who express and feel gratitude have a higher volume of grey matter in the right inferior temporal gyrus (Zahn, Garrido, Moll, & Grafman, 2014).” The article goes on to say that gratitude lessens pain, improves the quality of your sleep, gets rid ‘of toxic” emotions and helps anxiety, depression and stress regulation. SOURCES! https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/01/26/could-gratitude-your-genes/jEFJBo92dxOHLa1trSmDKN/story.html https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/ https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/ https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-warned-someone-secretly-living-27635233 SHOUT OUT! The music we've clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License. Here's a link to that and the artist's website. Who is this artist and what is this song?  It's “Summer Spliff” by Broke For Free. WE HAVE EXTRA CONTENT ALL ABOUT LIVING HAPPY OVER HERE! It's pretty awesome. AND we have a writing tips podcast called WRITE BETTER NOW! We have a podcast, LOVING THE STRANGE, which we stream live on Carrie's Facebook and Twitter and YouTube on Fridays. Her Facebook and Twitter handles are all carriejonesbooks or carriejonesbook. But she also has extra cool content focused on writing tips here. Carrie is reading one of her poems every week on CARRIE DOES POEMS. And there you go! Whew! That's a lot! Here's the link. Write Better Now - Writing Tips podcast for authors and writers loving the strange the podcast about embracing the weird Carrie Does Poems

Last time, we discussed the importance of loosening our attachment to our beliefs in order to have more productive discussions with people who disagree with us. Loosening our attachment to one belief in particular can alleviate mental suffering, boost our productivity through flow, and help us experience transcendence. What am I talking about?I'm talking about rejecting the idea of the self. No, I don't mean those experiments where someone tries a series of progressively stranger tasks in order to become desensitized to the sting of rejection. I'm talking about letting go of the concept of the self completely.The Self Is an IllusionFrench philosopher René Descartes once famously said, “Cogito ergo sum”—I think, therefore I am. Or to be more precise, “Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum”—I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am.Some philosophers and neuroscientists argue that Descartes' statement may be a non-sequitur, and the insecurity of needing affirmation of self-existence is likely in vain. According to Buddhist and Taoist philosophy, the idea of a stable, continuous self is an illusion, and a sizeable body of neuroscience research affirms this viewpoint.The self is likely a social construct consisting of our values, interests, hopes, fears, dreams, and relationships. If the self doesn't exist, any attacks on our personal character are rendered meaningless.In an amusing scene from Friends, Rachel and Monica take offense when Phoebe suggests that Rachel is a pushover and Monica is high maintenance. When Rachel and Monica counter that Phoebe is flaky, Phoebe remains unbothered and concedes that she is indeed flaky.How exactly is this illusion created?In his book No Self, No Problem, Chris Niebauer explains that the left side of the brain is responsible for processing language, interpreting meaning, and crafting stories. Consider the word ‘book.' What exactly does it mean? We might say it's a medium for recording information with writing and images, often bound by a cover.But we can't assign a quality that is universal to all books. Language is a tool that we use in order to interpret and understand reality; it gives us the illusion that the names we assign to things have actual meaning. But these names are simply shorthands or proxies to understand our surroundings.Perhaps René Magritte was trying to convey a similar idea in his infamous painting The Treachery of Images, which features the phrase “Ceci n'est pas une pipe” (French for "This is not a pipe") under the image of a tobacco pipe. Explaining the reasoning behind his painting, Magritte said:The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture ‘This is a pipe,' I'd have been lying!The pipe in the painting is not an actual pipe but a visual representation of one. To borrow from Polish-American scholar Alfred Korzybski, “The word is not the thing.”Niebauer points out that the illusion of the self is similar to that of a mirage in a desert—you observe, visualize, and experience it; it's just not actually there. If you try to answer the question “Who am I?,” your left brain will likely come up with a multitude of categories to define your selfhood such as gender, occupation, religion, values, and interests.But remove categories from the equation, and it becomes significantly harder to pin down the essence of who you are. The “I” is an illusion extrapolated from the language the left brain uses to process reality.Our left brains even assign meaning to various visual inputs. The Rorschach inkblot test is a way to conceptualize how this works. The Rorschach asks users to look at inkblot patterns on paper and report what they see. The act of ascribing meaning to these random images is a way to look at how the left brain works in real-time.Given an identical inkblot image, two people can have vastly different interpretations—informed by their own individual reference frames. Recognizing patterns can be helpful but can also lead to unnecessary suffering. Let's consider a real-world example.If an employee sees her fellow coworkers congregated together in the break room while whispering and casting glances in her direction, she may assume that her colleagues are conspiring against her. But they could just as well be planning a surprise in her honor.Our brains seek out patterns to explain reality. But these patterns only exist in our minds, and we need to realize that in order to reduce mental suffering.What's the antidote?How then can we quiet our left brains? If the left brain is the language processing center, then the right brain is the spatial center responsible for movement-based activities. Yoga and exercise are both great ways to tap into right-brain consciousness. The right brain is also responsible for our sense of intuition or that “gut feeling” we get when we have a hunch but can't exactly explain the reason for it.Practicing compassion and gratitude are two additional ways to engage your right brain. Buddhism defines compassion as “the ability to see another person as ourselves.” Compassion originates in the RTPJ, which sounds like a Myers-Briggs personality type but isn't. The RTPJ, or right temporoparietal junction, allows us to consider things from someone else's point of view.Gratitude also activates the right brain. A 2014 study published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience found that individuals who regularly practiced gratitude had more gray matter volume in the right inferior temporal gyrus. So the next time you find yourself stuck in rush-hour traffic or the middle of a rainstorm, remember that your perception of these experiences as ‘unfortunate' is simply a byproduct of one half of your brain. Rejecting this interpretation and replacing it with gratitude for the time to yourself will help prevent needless stress, anxiety, and mental suffering.In the same way that quieting the left brain can have health benefits, so too can deactivating the default mode network (DMN), which comprises several regions of the brain. The DMN is involved in activities of “wakeful rest” such as daydreaming or planning for the future. Research suggests that deactivating the DMN can help reduce stress and the risk of developing dementia.Uitwaaien, the Dutch term for unwinding, refers to the practice of spending time in natural environments and has been proposed as a method to modulate DMN hyperactivity. Along a similar vein, a 2019 study examined how playing sports can help athletes cut through “brain static” in order to better interpret audio inputs. Researchers hypothesized that the athletes' ability to tune out background noise could help prevent injuries and cardiovascular disease.Tapping Into Flow Means Letting GoAnother reason to reject the self is to boost productivity by tapping into flow, that state of being “in the zone.” When you refer to yourself as “I”, you invoke the ego (a construct of the left brain), but ego death allows us to focus more intently on creative pursuits.In order to tap into flow, we have to let go of our sense of self. That means releasing ourselves of any doubts, anxieties, fears, or insecurities. Flow is necessary for mastery of creative, artistic, and athletic endeavors.C. Wilson Meloncelli describes flow as a state between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. In other words, flow lies somewhere between “fight or flight” and “rest and digest.” Flow occurs when you are disengaged from your sense of self and work becomes effortless.Athletes, artists, and musicians frequently tap into the flow state when practicing their craft. Wide receiver Jerry Rice, soccer legend Pelé, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and violinist Itzhak Perlman are all prime examples. Author and coach Brad Stulberg explains,Releasing from such a tight attachment to one's self is a hallmark of flow, or that highly sought after state of being fully in the zone. Losing oneself is also the goal of most spiritual disciplines. (And athletic and creative ones, too.) The more you forget about yourself, the better you'll feel, the better you'll do, and the better you'll be.It's no wonder then that self-absorption is strongly correlated with clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. And the modern-day ethos unfortunately encourages self-absorption through influencer culture and appeals to the importance of building a personal brand.But Stulberg offers a couple ways to escape the perpetual cycle of self-consumption:Pursue mastery in any discipline: In his book Drive, Daniel Pink explains that autonomy, mastery, and purpose are deeply critical to high performance and life satisfaction. Psychologist Carol Ryff discovered that people who exhibited “a feeling of continued development” ranked higher on measures of life satisfaction and self-esteem than those who did not.Practice kindness: While devoting oneself to mastery is immensely powerful, devoting oneself to others may be mightier still. Sonya Lyubomirsky, one of the world's foremost happiness researchers, finds that individuals who regularly engage in volunteering, mentoring, coaching, or writing letters of gratitude report more positive emotions, both in the short-term and long-term. Psychologist Daryl Van Tongeren has corroborated her findings, reporting that altruistic acts give people a sense of meaning in their lives.When we take our attention off ourselves and our personal problems and dedicate ourselves to helping someone else, we gain so much in return.— Kathryn LubowLose Yourself to Live Life to the FullestYou better lose yourself in the music, the momentYou own it, you better never let it goYou only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blowThis opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo— Eminem, “Lose Yourself”Losing ourselves allows us to be fully present and live in the moment, and self-transcendent experiences have been shown to make us happier, kinder, and less stressed. We experience self-transcendence when we offer ourselves in service to others but also when we stand rapt in awe.We experience the feeling of being awestruck when we witness the sheer magnitude of formations like the Grand Canyon, phenomena like the Northern Lights, and structures like the Taj Mahal. In his webseries, Shots of Awe, Jason Silva defines awe as “an experience of such perceptual vastness you literally have to reconfigure your mental models of the world to assimilate it.”Arizona State University psychology professor Dr. Michelle Shiota explains, “The experience of awe involves feeling very small and insignificant yet also connected to something much greater than the self.” Experiences of awe have been shown to bolster resilience and increase feelings of compassion, empathy, altruism, and well-being.To recap, rejecting the notion of the self can make us happier, help us tap into the flow state for improved productivity, and experience the benefits of awe. The brain's left hemisphere, responsible for interpreting reality and recognizing patterns, creates the illusion of a stable, continuous self and often distracts us with inaccurate interpretations of reality.To counteract the left brain's chatter, we can engage our right brain through activities such as exercise, yoga, meditation, and gratitude practices. Rejecting the self frees up cognitive load, which allows us to enter the flow state, essential for mastery. Losing ourselves in awe-inspiring experiences enriches our lives for the better. Thanks for reading!Listen to “Evolving with Nita Jain” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Soundcloud, Deezer, TuneIn, or iHeart Radio! Music for this episode, “New Beginnings” by Joshua Kaye, was provided courtesy of Syfonix. Some links are affiliate. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nitajain.substack.com

Why would someone help a crashed car on a highway, and why would someone donate a kidney to a complete stranger‽ Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, and author of "The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psycopaths, and Everyone In-Between," Dr. Abigail Marsh, joins me today to discuss the spectrum from Altruism to Psychopathy. Bio: I am a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Georgetown University. I received my PhD in Social Psychology from Harvard University in 2004 and afterward conducted post-doctoral research at the National Institute of Mental Health until 2008. I direct the Laboratory on Social & Affective Neuroscience, research in which is aimed at addressing questions that include: How do people understand what others think and feel? What drives us to help other people? What prevents us from harming them? We tackle these questions using multiple approaches that include functional and structural brain imaging in adolescents and adults from both typical and special populations, as well as behavioral, cognitive, genetic, and pharmacological methods. Current research projects include online, behavioral, and brain imaging investigations of a variety of populations, including typical adults and children, highly altruistic adults (including those who have donated kidneys to strangers), and adults and children who have serious conduct problems and psychopathic traits. Our work has received awards that include the Wyatt Memorial Award for translational research from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Cozzarelli Prize for scientific excellence and originality from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I serve on the advisory boards of the National Kidney Donation Organization and 1DaySooner and am a co-founder of Psychopathy Is. Website: https://abigailmarsh.com/lab/abigail-marsh/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071YLCYZH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0 Artwork by Phillip Thor - https://linktr.ee/Philipthor_art To watch the visuals with the trailer go to https://www.podcasttheway.com/trailers/ The Way Podcast - www.PodcastTheWay.com - Follow at Twitter / Instagram - @podcasttheway (Subscribe/Follow on streaming platforms and social media!) Thank you Don Grant for the Intro/Outro. Check out his podcast - https://threeinterestingthings.captivate.fm Intro guitar copied from Aiden Ayers at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UiB9FMOP5s *The views demonstrated in this show are strictly those of The Way Podcast/Radio Show*

Ți s-a întâmplat vreodată în conflicte, să simți furia în corp, să-ți crească pulsul, să simți că fierbi și că te încordezi, dar să ții totul în tine? Dar să simți că explodezi la cel mai mic declanșator și că nu te poți stăpâni? Nemetabolizată sănătos, furia poate fi o emoție care rănește oamenii la care ținem cel mai mult și rupe sau erodează relații. Pe de altă parte, dacă o reprimăm și nu o eliberăm niciodată, ne simțim epuizați și poate duce chiar la afecțiuni fizice. Așadar, în acest episod descoperim ce este furia, cum am învățat să o trăim și gestionăm în copilărie, dar și ce putem face în viața adultă pentru a reuși să facem din ea aliat și nu inamic. Resurse: 1. Behave, Robert Sapolsky, neurobiolog și autor, 2017, carte 2. When the Body Says No, Gabor Mate, medic, 2003, carte 3. Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp, neurocercetător, 1998, carte

Let's talk about affirmations! What are they? Positive affirmations are statements or phrases you repeat to yourself to challenge negative or unhelpful thinking patterns. Do they even work? Yes! You can make them work for you with just some practice and intention. In this episode, we will learn more about affirmations and why they're so beneficial and then we'll do some affirmations together! Need an affirmation playlist? Check out this AMAZING playlist by @selfloversintherapy: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ZI7UZuuBxpvbCupkwZY7c?si=b5f3981fe25940ba References: Cascio, C. N., O'Donnell, M. B., Tinney, F. J., Lieberman, M. D., Taylor, S. E., Strecher, V. J., & Falk, E. B. (2015). Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(4), 621–629. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv136 Sherman, D. K., Bunyan, D. P., Creswell, J. D., & Jaremka, L. M. (2009). Psychological vulnerability and stress: The effects of self-affirmation on sympathetic nervous system responses to naturalistic stressors. Health Psychology, 28(5), 554–562. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014663 Steele, C. M. (1988). The psychology of self-affirmation: Sustaining the integrity of the self. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 261–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60229-4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

On this week's episode, Dr. Puder interviews Francis Stevens, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and author of the new book, Affective Neuroscience in Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide for Working With Emotions. Dr. Stevens trained as a therapist under cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic theories, as well as completing a postdoctoral degree in neuroscience. The lack of emphasis on emotion in these two approaches led Dr. Stevens to begin research on the neurobiological basis of emotion and to ultimately compile this book. Link to Blog. Link to Resource Library.   

Season 2 Episode # 13 Dr. Christian Montag is coming from Ulm, GermanyDr. Montag is an author, speaker, psychologist, and neuroscientist and currently works as a Professor for Molecular Psychology at Ulm University and as a visiting Professor at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu.Dr. Montag's research interests are centered around molecular genetics of personality and emotions. He combines molecular genetics with brain imaging techniques such as structural/functional MRI, to better understand individual differences in human nature. He also conducts research in the fields of Neuroeconomics and addiction, including new approaches from Psychoinformatics.  Listeners, it is going to be one educational and informational episode.Dr. Montag, Welcome to the show!TOTD  B.F. Skinner – “the emotions are excellent examples of the fictional causes to which we commonly attribute behavior.”In this episode:Tell me about life growing up Please tell the listeners about Ulm, founded in 1181 have a beautiful astronomical clock, on the Danube River and of course, the Ulm Minister Church…Jaak Panksepp coined “Affective Neuroscience.” Dr. Panksepp was your mentor… what attracted you to his work?  What are your essential ingredients?Instagramization – what are your thoughts on the influence it has on our brains and ability to connect to one anotherAddictionSmartphones – the impact of digital societies on human brainsWhat are our emotional needs in a digital society?  Is technology changing those needs?Gaming Disorder Your most recent book (6)– Animal Emotions – please provide an overview of the book.  Psychoinformatics – is that another way for psychologists to market to our vulnerabilities…All of this has been very interesting but if you had to summarize your work and why it is so important in answering this question – what is the implication for humanity if we don't take action to better understand our emotions and therefore, the influences that cause us so to say, to be emotionalLegacyOther place to find Christianwww.thescienceof.art (project with John Wright)My book "Animal Emotion" on Pankseppian Affective Neuroscience (PDF version free!): https://punctumbooks.com/titles/animal-emotions-how-they-drive-human-behavior/​​​​​​My book "DU GEHÖRST UNS" on the data business model behind digital applications (only German language): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.de/Paperback/Du-gehoerst-uns/Christian-Montag/Blessing/e583737.rhdMore on me: www.christianmontag.deOr on my research: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian-MontagTwitter: https://twitter.com/chrismontag77Thanks for listening and enjoy the show.

In this episode we discuss the impact of the mind on how we perceive and manage chronic pain. We have all heard the concept of mind over matter and the importance of having the right mindset to overcome adversity and to succeed.  But can your state of mind impact how you actually experience pain?  And to that extent, can psychotherapy teach your mind to process chronic pain differently so as to make it less debilitating? Now in asking these questions, we are in no way implying that pain is “all in your head.”  Rather, we are exploring if and how the mind can be trained to perceive and process pain signals from the rest of the body in a way that makes living with chronic pain manageable. To answer these questions we spoke to a researcher who has been studying this fascinating topic and whose recently published, groundbreaking study has yielded some pretty dramatic results.  Dr.Tor Wager is the Diana L. Taylor Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience at Dartmouth College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Cognitive Psychology in 2003, and served as an Assistant (2004-2008) and Associate Professor (2009) at Columbia University, and as Associate (2010-2014) and Full Professor (2014-2019) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Since 2004, he has directed the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience laboratory, a research lab devoted to work on the neurophysiology of affective processes—pain, emotion, stress, and empathy—and how they are shaped by cognitive and social influences.