In this episode, I discuss the biology of emotions and moods in the context of relationships. I focus on the science of how early infant-caregiver attachment, combined with adolescence and puberty shape our adult patterns of attachment. I explain the three universal aspects of emotions, the reality of right-brain versus left-brain personalities, and how the roots of adult attachment are also grounded in specific aspects of puberty. I review what factors determine when puberty starts and ends, and the role of oxytocin and other chemicals in controlling how we perceive and remember others. As always, I refer to various practical tools including new tools for understanding and predicting our emotions before they occur, and neurochemicals that shape human connection.
Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.
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Timestamps
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:32 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up
00:05:10 Announcing New Cost-Free Resources: Captions, NSDR Link
00:07:40 Emotions: Subjective Yet Tractable
00:10:53 To Understand Your Emotions: Look At Infancy & Puberty
00:15:21 Your First Feeling Was Anxiety
00:17:36 What Are “Healthy Emotions”?
00:19:03 Digital Tool For Predicting Your Emotions: Mood Meter App
00:21:08 The Architecture Of A Feeling: (At Least) 3 Key Questions To Ask Yourself
00:24:00 You Are An Infant: Bonds & Predictions
00:27:57 Attachment Style Hinges On How You Handle Disappointment
00:32:40 “Glue Points” Of Emotional Bonds: Gaze, Voice, Affect, Touch, (& Written)
00:36:34 “Emotional Health”: Awareness of the Interoceptive-Exteroceptive Dynamic
00:37:50 An Exercise: Controlling Interoceptive-Exteroceptive Bias
00:42:19 Getting Out Of Your Head: The Attentional Aperture
00:46:59 Puberty: Biology & Emotions On Deliberate Overdrive
00:47:58 Bodyfat & Puberty: The Leptin Connection
00:50:34 Pheromones: Mates, Timing Puberty, Spontaneous Miscarriage
00:54:37 Kisspeptin: Robust Trigger Of Puberty & Performance Enhancing Agent
00:58:26 Neuroplasticity Of Emotions: Becoming Specialists & Testing Emotional Bonds
01:00:25 Testing Driving Brain Circuits For Emotion: Dispersal
01:07:48 Science-Based Recommendations for Adolescents and Teens: The Autonomy Buffet
01:11:05 “Right-Brain Versus Left-Brain People”: Facts Versus Lies
01:14:18 Left Brain = Language, Right Brain = Spatial Awareness
01:16:15 How To Recognize “Right Brain Activity” In Speech: Prosody
01:18:32 Oxytocin: The Molecule of Synchronizing States
01:20:09 Mirror Neurons: Are Not For “Empathy”, Maybe For Predicting Behavior
01:23:00 Promoting Trust & Monogamy
01:27:00 Ways To Increase Oxytocin
01:28:34 Vasopressin: Aphrodisiac, Non-Monogamy and Anti-Bed-Wetting Qualities
01:30:43 Bonding Bodies, Not Just Minds: Vagus Nerve, Depression Relief Via the Body
01:35:18 A Powerful Tool For Enhancing Range & Depth of Emotional Experience
01:36:43 MDMA and Other Psychedelic Compounds: Building A Framework
01:38:54 Roundup, Various Forms of Support
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