How your nervous system works and changes | Huberman Lab Podcast #1
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In this first episode, Professor Huberman explores the parts list of the nervous system and its history of discovery.
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Taking care of our nervous system is crucial for our overall health and wellbeing as it governs all other biological systems. It is important to understand that our experience of the world is influenced by which nerve cells are active, and that nerve cells pass electricity and chemicals to each other. Therefore, we should prioritize activities and habits that support a healthy nervous system, such as exercise, healthy diet, and stress management, in addition to seeking professional help if needed.
Our nervous system is responsible for transmitting electrical and chemical signals throughout our body to govern all biological systems. Memories and experiences are formed by unique patterns of electricity in neurons, and activities such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet can support a healthy nervous system. Seeking professional help is also important if needed.
Advancements during World War One led to a collection of patients with specific brain lesions which gave neurologists insight into the different functions of various regions of the nervous system, such as speech and face recognition. The study of these patients showed the importance of understanding the nervous system and its abilities.
Our brains create a map of our experiences, as evidenced by the discovery of a neuron that only becomes active when viewing pictures of Jennifer Aniston. The brain is biased towards learning certain things, and we come into the world with a natural readiness for learning. Understanding the nervous system is crucial to our health and wellbeing as it governs all other biological systems. Prioritizing activities and habits that support a healthy nervous system, such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet, is essential. Seeking professional help if needed can also be of benefit.
To understand and improve the nervous system, it’s crucial to recognize the function of sensation, supported by sensory receptors in the eyes, skin, and ears which filter our perception of life. While there are species that can perceive things humans cannot, technology like infrared goggles can help us experience a wider range of sensations. By understanding and prioritizing activities that support a healthy nervous system, we can optimize our overall health and wellbeing.
Understanding the function of sensation and perception is important in understanding how animals navigate. While certain animals can detect magnetic fields and migrate, humans cannot sense magnetic fields as we do not have receptors for it. Prioritizing activities that support a healthy nervous system, such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet, can optimize our overall health and wellbeing. Seeking professional help if needed, as well as using tools like Athletic Greens and Inside Tracker, can also be beneficial for monitoring and improving health parameters.
While sensation is based on our biological ability to receive information through our senses, perception is the ability to focus on and make sense of those sensations. Perception is controlled by our attention and allows us to explore and remember our senses. Focusing on specific sensations, such as the feeling in our feet, can help us better understand and prioritize our perception for better overall health.
To improve attention and focus, it’s important to understand that attention can be split and directed to different tasks simultaneously, and that covert attention allows for focus on something specific while still being aware of surroundings. Attention can be made more diffuse or concentrated, and tools such as supplements or brain machines can assist with improving concentration. Rest is crucial for deliberate and focused attention, and the nervous system plays a role in directing attention.
To optimize daily life, it’s important to understand the difference between reflexive and deliberate actions in our nervous system. Reflexive actions rely on bottom-up processing and are automatic, while deliberate actions require conscious thought and are top-down. Both types of actions are necessary for daily tasks, and the nervous system can switch between them based on sensory input. Prioritizing activities that support a healthy nervous system, such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet, can optimize our overall health and wellbeing. Seeking professional help if needed, as well as using tools like Athletic Greens and Inside Tracker, can also be beneficial for monitoring and improving health parameters.
Reflexive actions are automatic and come naturally to us, while deliberate actions require conscious effort and mental strain. Both types of actions are necessary in daily life and the nervous system can switch between them based on sensory input. Prioritizing activities such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet can optimize our overall health and wellbeing. Seeking professional help if needed and using tools like Athletic Greens and Inside Tracker can also be beneficial for monitoring and improving health parameters.
Understanding emotions and feelings is essential for optimal health and wellbeing, as they are the product of the nervous system and involve the activity of neurons and neuromodulators. Neuromodulators are chemicals that bias the activity of neurons and create either positive or negative emotions. Dopamine creates an upbeat mood and motivates us towards external things, while serotonin focuses on our internal landscape and makes us feel good with what we have. The study of neuromodulators can provide insight into human emotions and behavior.
To optimize our mental health, it is important to understand the role of chemicals like serotonin and dopamine in our emotions and the impact of antidepressants and anti-psychotics. Different neuromodulators affect our emotions in different ways and can have side effects. It is also important to understand how different brain circuits are active in various mental states. While emotions are reflexive and not always under our control, prioritizing activities that support a healthy nervous system, such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet, can optimize our mental wellbeing.
People can choose to have a thought and thoughts can be directed and controlled consciously. It’s important to recognize that thoughts are similar to perceptions and draw from past memories and future anticipation. Furthermore, actions are connected to thoughts, highlighting the importance of prioritizing activities that support a healthy nervous system, such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet.
Engaging in deliberate behavior, such as duration, path, and outcome type of thinking or behavior, can recruit neuromodulators and brain circuits that cue our nervous system, leading to positive changes. Prioritizing activities that support a healthy nervous system, such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet, can optimize our overall health and wellbeing.
To optimize our behaviors and control unwanted impulses, it’s important to understand the role of top-down processing governed by the forebrain. Young children lack this circuitry, which can lead to impulsive behavior. Alcohol consumption or frontal lobe damage can impair top-down control, resulting in limbic friction. While engaging in top-down processing can be stressful due to the release of norepinephrine, prioritizing activities that support a healthy nervous system, such as exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet, can optimize our overall health and wellbeing. Learning to suppress or control responses can be challenging due to the chemical response in the body, but it is possible with practice and effort.
To optimize our brain’s adaptability and ability to change, we should understand the concept of neuroplasticity and how it requires effort and top-down processing. By engaging in adaptive plasticity, we can change our behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. The structure of a neuroplasticity regimen should be based on whether we are awake or sleepy. While adults can still experience neuroplasticity, it may require more effort than in younger individuals. The brain also has the remarkable ability to reallocate regions for different functions, as seen in blind individuals who use the area of the brain used for visual processing for braille reading.
Neuromodulators such as dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine control plasticity, and intense experiences can trigger the release of these chemicals. Alertness is necessary for neuroplasticity to occur, and focus is needed to direct plastic changes. Neuroplasticity occurs during sleep and deep rest, and 20 minutes of deep rest can promote neuroplasticity. Consistent effort and focus are required to trigger and maintain neuroplasticity.
To optimize our brain’s adaptability, it’s important to engage in intense activity followed by deliberate rest, prioritize deep sleep and periods of non-sleep deep rest to aid in consolidation, and use interference techniques to prevent traumatic experiences from becoming permanent. Neuroplasticity is a two-phase process and can be key in getting rid of negative emotions. While memories cannot be erased, their emotional load can be reduced. Future episodes of the podcast will explore neuroplasticity in depth.
To optimize our overall health and wellbeing, we should prioritize improving the quality of our sleep. The autonomic nervous system controls the transitions between wakefulness and sleep and consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Accessing deep states of non-do thinking, paying attention to our waking state rhythms, and improving sleep quality can support neuroplasticity, wound healing, learning, immune system function, and longevity. Achieving better sleep can be key in optimizing our health.
Understanding our ultradian rhythms and the 90-minute cycle can help improve our focus and motivation. Mastery of the autonomic nervous system can also improve access to neuroplasticity and better sleep, supporting overall health and wellbeing. Listeners can check out the Huberman Lab podcast for more information on sleep and non-sleep deep rest, and can support the podcast by subscribing, leaving feedback, and checking out the sponsors.
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Link to podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-XfCl-HpRM&t=1s
These notes are my take on the podcast and not word-for-word. I did my best to get it right, but mistakes happen. So, take them with a grain of salt, use them as a map, double-check the details by listening to the podcast yourself and take responsibility for your actions. Hope you find them helpful!
