The science of emotions and relationships | Huberman Lab Podcast #13
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In this episode, Professor Huberman discusses the science of emotions, covering resource-related topics like stress, resiliency, and motivation.
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The conversation centers around understanding emotions, which play a fundamental role in everyone’s experience, though each person’s perception of emotion is unique. Knowing how emotions develop is critical in brain science and psychology. Emotions arise due to specific connections between certain areas in the brain and body, allowing for interoception and exteroception attentional focus.
Professor Huberman emphasizes that it’s important to study healthy emotional development as it forms the foundation for understanding how emotions arise, how bonds are formed, and ultimately how one can predict future emotional states.
To aid in better understanding emotions, the Mood Meter app developed by researchers at Yale University can help predict future emotional states after the user selects their current mood and matches it to a color. Balancing interoceptive and exteroceptive focus, recognizing faces and voices, and understanding the nuances of emotional language and body language are all critical in understanding emotions.
Professor Huberman also reveals that puberty is a biological event marked by the transition to reproductive maturity. Hormonal and brain changes occur during puberty, which can have implications for emotional and mental health. Puberty occurs earlier in females than in males and is triggered by leptin, which is produced by body fat and signals the brain when enough fat is available.
While much is still unknown about the biological mechanisms involved in puberty, the importance of interoception and exteroception in understanding emotionality cannot be overstated. Emotional regulation occurs when focus on the internal and external environment is systematically shifted, with the brain involved in attentional processes. Indeed, biases toward interoception or exteroception can greatly affect attention and activity levels.
A deeper understanding of emotions is essential to better predict future emotional states and to promote healthy emotional development. By understanding early childhood development and puberty, we can shift our attention from negative emotional experiences to more positive ones, building stronger bonds with both ourselves and others.
Puberty and emotional development are two of the most critical periods of human development that shape the way we relate to others and to ourselves. We looked at various ideas from a podcast and organized them into paragraphs for better readability.
The first section discussed the role of kisspeptin in triggering puberty by releasing the GnRH hormone. This hormone then causes the release of the LH hormone, which stimulates ovaries to produce estrogen in females and testes to produce testosterone in males. Kisspeptin can stimulate high levels of both estrogen and testosterone even after puberty, which athletes sometimes use as a performance-enhancing drug. Moreover, it has therapeutic uses for people with low hormone levels.
Puberty is also a critical period of brain development during which adolescents transition from being generalists to specialists. Genetic biases like height, hair and eye color are programmed into the genome, but we also inherit other biases. During puberty, we see an increase in neural changes, hormonal biases, and shifts in social bonds and behavior. As we grow older, the ability to change the brain in response to experience starts to taper off, and thus puberty is the fastest rate of maturation we go through at any point in our lives.
The Nature journal reviewed the biology of adolescence and puberty and listed the core needs for successful emotional maturation. These needs include social engagement, support and guidance from trusted adults, opportunities for independence, and healthy sleep patterns. The biology of puberty suggests that adolescents have an intense desire to get further away from primary caregivers and spend more time with friends and peers. Recommendations include later start times in schools, promoting healthy sleep patterns, and providing opportunities for social engagement and independence.
Sleep interventions are important for youth at increased risk for mental health issues. Adolescence and puberty are critical periods for developing autonomy and assessing one’s emotions. Hormonal and peptide changes during these periods trigger physical and cognitive growth. Emotional development involves a seesawing back and forth between dopaminergic and serotonergic states that starts with infant and caretaker relationships. Healthy emotional development begins with calm and soothing behaviors that drive serotonin and the endogenous opioid system.
Language lateralization is another aspect of human development. It is more nuanced than the myth that the left-brain is analytical and the right brain is emotive. There are variations in language lateralization depending on handedness and nuances. Prosody, a language’s rising and falling patterns, varies by language, and the right brain is more involved in spatial information manipulation.
Oxytocin is a hormone that is released in response to various stimuli and is essential for pair bonding and the establishment of social bonds. It increases synchrony of internal state and awareness for the emotional state of others. Intranasal oxytocin has been used to increase bonding in couples and to help autistic children establish better social connections and empathy.
Vasopressin is a molecule important for social bonds and emotionality that suppresses urination and causes water retention. Alcohol consumption inhibits vasopressin, which can result in excessive urination and fluid excretion. Vasopressin creates feelings of giddy love and increases memory. The vagus nerve is important in understanding the neuroscience of emotions.
Finally, emotions should be thought of as elements of the brain and body that encompass levels of alertness and our perception of our internal state. By conceptualizing emotions in this way, we can develop a richer emotional experience, which is supported by scientific research.
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Link to podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcuMLQVAgEg
These notes are my take on the podcast and not word-for-word, so don’t come at me if they are not perfect. I did my best to get it right, but mistakes happen. So, take them with a grain of salt, use them as a map, and double-check the details by listening to the podcast yourself. Remember, if you take any action based on these notes, it’s all on you. Hope you find them helpful!
