Episodes
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Dr. Beatriz Luna is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, where she directs the Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development. Dr. Luna is an expert in adolescent brain development and the neurodevelopment of the dopamine reward system, and its interactions with inhibitory control to produce developmental changes in sensation seeking and risk-taking.
In this episode, we discuss Dr. Luna’s Driven Dual-Systems Model of adolescent-risk taking, adolescence as a sensitive period for neurocognitive development, and how the dopamine reward system changes with age and puberty. We discuss the role of hormones explaining sex differences in brain development, sensation seeking, and risk-taking, and their evolutionary origins and comparisons in other mammals. Lastly, we discuss translational implications of Dr. Luna’s work for understanding mental health, and findings from clinical endocrinology populations informing theories of how hormones influence brain development prenatally and during puberty.
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Dr. Robert Chavez is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Oregon, where he directs the Computational Social Neuroscience Lab. https://csnl.uoregon.edu/
In this episode, Rob and I discuss our shared background in cognitive science and statistics, our mutual interests in neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, social cognition, personality, behavioral genetics, artificial intelligence, and philosophy, and the divergence in research. Where my interests turned more developmental, Rob’s turned computational. We discuss Rob’s research using a variety of advanced neuroimaging analysis and machine learning techniques in order to understand individual differences in social cognitive traits, how to interpret diffusion MRI, white matter structure, and connectivity. We also discuss how evolutionary theory and animal research informs our understanding of social cognition, introspection, and consciousness, and speculate about these traits in artificially intelligent systems.
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Dr. Larry Young is the William P. Timmie Professor of Psychiatry at Emory School of Medicine, where he directs the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience and the Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition at Emory University. He is the author of The Chemistry Between Us: Love, Sex, and the Science of Attraction explores the latest discoveries of how brain chemistry influences all aspects of our relationships with others. Dr. Young’s research focuses on the role of oxytocin and vasopressin in mediating social bonding and sexual behavior across a wide range of species, with emphasis on understanding the evolution and neural circuit mechanisms underlying love, attachment, and social bonding in humans. 00:27 A Childhood Fascination with Animal Behavior
01:11 From Biochemistry to Behavioral Biology: A Scientist's Journey
02:14 Exploring the Sexual Behavior of Lizards
05:25 The Red Queen Hypothesis and Evolutionary Biology
08:02 Diving into Human Hormones and Brain Development
08:58 The Complex World of Gender and Sexuality in Nature
15:14 Unraveling the Mysteries of Love and Bonding in Voles
18:42 Oxytocin: The Hormone of Birth, Bonding, and Beyond
22:06 The Science of Touch and Social Connection
26:59 Understanding Love as a Form of Addiction
30:08 The Impact of Losing a Partner on Prairie Voles
31:56 Exploring Love and Addiction Through Oxytocin Studies
32:27 Debating Love: Chemical Reaction or More?
34:09 The Science of Attraction: Oxytocin's Role
37:01 Understanding Love and Bonding Across Species
41:28 The Intricacies of Sexual Behavior and Attraction
47:42 The Evolutionary Mechanisms of Mating and Bonding
59:41 Utilizing Science to Strengthen Relationships
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Steve Rathjay is a Psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Social Identity and Morality Lab of New York University. He is an expert in the psychology of social media use and one of the leaders of the Global Social Media Experiment, an international collaboration examining the causal impact of social media usage in 76 countries around the world. Dr. Rathje received his PhD from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, and completed his undergraduate education in Psychology and Symbolic Systems at Stanford University. He has received numerous grants and awards for his research, and runs the science communication channel @stevepsychology with more than 1 million followers on TikTok.00:07 Exploring Social Media's Impact on Political Polarization
02:15 The Paradox of Virality: Why Negative Content Spreads
10:17 Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Media Behavior
14:50 The Creator's Dilemma: Navigating Virality and Authenticity on TikTok
36:07 The Science of Clickbait: Understanding What Captivates Us
40:41 The Power of Podcasts: Fostering Connection in the Digital Age
42:39 Exploring Parasocial Relationships and Social Media Dynamics
46:06 The Impact of Negativity Bias and Climate Doomerism
51:46 Social Media's Role in Global Connectivity and Cultural Evolution
01:14:11 The Power of Inoculation Theory Against Misinformation
01:22:13 Navigating the Complex Landscape of Social Media Regulation
01:28:50 Concluding Thoughts on Social Media's Societal Impact
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Dr. Rob Henderson is a Psychologist, Air Force Veteran, and author of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class. Expanding on our past episode, in which we discuss luxury beliefs, social status, and classism at length, this time our discussion is much more personal. In this episode, Rob and I discuss formative experiences written in his memoir, the impacts of childhood poverty on health and future success, the importance of self-discipline, the politics of diversity and inclusion in academia, trickle-down meritocracy, and much more.
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Dr. Sergio Pellis is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge and one of the world’s leading experts in the neurobiology of play.
In this episode, we discuss how play behavior across mammals relies on the same neural reward circuitry, the evolutionary origins and benefits of play, and how hormones contribute to sex differences in aggression, sexual, and play behavior. We also discuss connections between play across species and empathy, its impact on the development of social skills in children, and the impacts of social isolation on brain and cognitive development.
00:15 The Neuroscience of Play: A Historical Perspective
04:01 The Evolutionary Purpose of Play
06:37 The Role of Reward Systems in Play
15:36 The Developmental Stages of Play in Animals
27:20 The Social Functions of Play
34:29 The Neurobiology of Play and Its Impact on Brain Development
35:54 The Impact of Play on Brain Development
36:41 Exploring Sex Differences in Play
37:49 The Role of Hormones in Play Behavior
39:20 The Influence of Rearing Environment on Play
39:40 The Shift in Play Tactics at Puberty
41:23 The Complexity of Sex Differences in Play
45:14 The Impact of Social Isolation on Brain Development
46:26 The Importance of Play for Both Sexes
50:11 The Influence of Play on Executive Functions
01:00:30 The Role of Pheromones in Social Interactions
01:08:15 The Impact of Play Deprivation on Brain Development
01:10:05 The Psychological Training Aspect of Play
01:11:08 The Empathy Developed Through Animal Research
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Angel Millar is a hypnotist, martial artist, and author of The Path of the Warrior-Mystic: Being a Man in an Age of Chaos.
In this episode we discuss the balance between masculine and feminine traits, discipline and creativity, mind and body, and tradition and modernity. The warrior-mystic, Angel explains, represents the ideal balance between these traits, and we discuss historical examples including Greek philosopher-athletes, Japanese samurai-artists, and English knight-poets. We discuss the virtues of discipline and delayed gratification, how they apply to modern life amidst our panoplies of temptation, their relation to evolution and sexual selection, and the archetypal symbols in each of these motifs and in mythology. Lastly, we discuss Angel’s career as a hypnotist, and our formative experiences leading to our shared interests in psychology, mysticism, and traditional masculinity.
00:24 Exploring Masculinity and Spirituality
02:14 The Warrior Mystic: Balancing Masculine and Feminine
03:07 Historical Shifts in Masculinity and Femininity
03:45 Impact of World Wars on Gender Roles
06:22 The Role of Archetypal Patterns in Culture
09:30 The Power of Anticipation and Delayed Gratification
12:15 Exploring the Benefits of Meditation
15:00 The Journey into the Unknown: Sir Gawain's Story
16:32 The Role of Boredom in Creativity
18:54 The Impact of Social Media on Honesty
23:13 The Intersection of Video Games and Personal Growth
25:17 The Importance of Balance in Personal Development
28:00 The Role of Risk-Taking in Personal Growth
30:24 The Power of Diverse Interests in Innovation
33:12 The Role of Creativity in Leadership
37:52 The Role of Masculinity in Modern Culture
38:32 The Dichotomy of Gender Roles
41:03 The Symbolism of Beheading in Art
43:43 The Phoenix Motif and Its Connection to Christ
45:50 The Influence of Past on Self-Improvement
52:27 The Role of Hypnotism in Self-Improvement
57:53 The Influence of Attractiveness on Self-Improvement
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Daniel Quintana is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. He leads a lab investigating biological systems that link psychological and social factors to health, with a focus on neuroendocrine systems (e.g., oxytocin) and the autonomic nervous system. His lab uses various research approaches, including intranasal oxytocin studies, large-scale genetics studies, neuroimaging, and the collection of autonomic nervous system data (e.g., heart rate variability). Learn more about Daniel’s work at: https://www.dsquintana.com/
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Dr. Lee Cronin is a Professor and the Regius Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, where he leads research on the chemical origins of life, computerized chemistry, and assembly theory. In this episode, we explore how assembly theory, analogues between chemistry and computation, the origins of life, the concepts of entropy and time, quantum mechanics, consciousness, simulation theories of the universe, and much more.
00:32 Understanding Assembly Theory
01:47 Bridging the Gap: Physics, Chemistry, and Biology
03:27 The Role of Information Processing
04:24 Complexity in Biology and Neuroscience
06:02 Applying Assembly Theory to Molecules
08:57 Exploring the Origins of Life
18:16 Entropy and Complexity
22:21 Time and Selection
32:45 Quantum Mechanics and Uncertainty Principle
37:47 Heat Death State and Space as an Emergent Property of Time
39:07 Emergence of Space and Time
41:28 Randomness, Free Will and Consciousness
42:27 Panpsychism and Consciousness
52:45 Free Energy Principle and Neuroscience
58:38 Simulation Theories and Combinatorial Explosions
01:03:15 Scientific Anarchy and Progress
#Chemistry #Physics #Biology #AssemblyTheory #Consciousness #Simulation #Entropy #Time #Quantum #Selection #Evolution #FreeWill
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Dr. Alex Byrne is a Professor of Philosophy at MIT and author of Trouble with Gender.
In this episode, we talk about the problematic concept of gender, which is often used interchangeably to mean sex, gender identity, gender role, gender norm, or gender stereotypes. Alex and I discuss each of these, and their precise definitions in philosophy, biology, or sociology in detail. We also discuss the problem of identity and categorization in philosophy of mind and language more broadly, as a source of some of the confusion. Lastly, we discuss the nuances of defining sex and gender in intersex and transgender populations, the essentialist nature of felt gender identity, the concept of transracialism, the ethics of social and medical gender transition in children, and answer the question: What is a woman?
00:18 Understanding the 'Trouble with Gender'
02:19 Exploring the History of Gender Philosophy
05:07 The Role of Language in Defining Gender
05:46 The Complexity of Gender Terminology
10:16 The Misinterpretation of Gender Concepts
22:22 The Absurdity of Precise Definitions
41:33 The Biological Definition of Sex
58:18 The Hypothetical Cat-Dog: A Thought Experiment of Social Perception
01:02:32 Gender, Sex, and the Complexity of Identity
01:03:35 The Practical Implications of Defining Gender
01:05:51 Transgender Identity and the Question of 'Passing'
01:20:21 The Philosophical Dilemma of Pronouns and Gender Identity
01:22:33 Transracialism and the Social Construct of Identity
01:46:13 The Controversy of Autogynephilia and Gender Identity
01:53:29 The Reception and Impact of Controversial Philosophical Ideas
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Dr. Wolfram Schultz is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and one of the world’s leading experts on dopamine. In this episode, we discuss the dopamine system's role in reward processing, evolutionary fitness, the functioning of dopamine neurons, the interplay between reward vs punishment, and the complexity of neurons. Dr. Schultz overviews core mechanisms of value-guided decision-making, risk-taking, addiction, the role of prediction error in shaping reinforcement learning, how these are all explained by dopamine, and the differences between dopamine and serotonin00:18 Understanding Reward Processing in Animals01:29 Evolutionary Role of Reward System03:31 Complexity of Reward System and Dopamine Neurons04:31 Differentiating Reward and Avoidance Systems05:35 Role of Emotion in Reward Processing08:07 Exploring Consciousness and its Measurement08:49 Dopamine Firing in Different Scenarios11:41 Understanding the Complexity of Neurons18:23 Exploring the Concept of Prediction Error27:36 Understanding the Role of Dopamine in Depression30:52 Understanding the Role of Serotonin and Dopamine33:55 Exploring the Concept of Metacognition43:28 Understanding the Development of Reward System in Humans43:59 Understanding the Reward System in Infants45:36 The Maturation of the Reward System46:41 The Role of Neural Connections in Reward System47:23 The Concept of Reward Sensitivity During Adolescence48:44 The Importance of Exploration in Reward System54:53 The Role of Dopamine in Reward System01:02:41 Understanding Addiction and Dopamine's Role01:02:45 The Impact of Modern Day Environment on Reward System01:13:04 The Role of Risk in Assessing Subjective Reward Value01:18:06 Understanding Individual Differences in Reward Sensitivity01:20:14 The Never-Ending Journey of Incentive Reward #Neuroscience #Dopamine #RewardProcessing #BehavioralEconomics #Addiction #RiskTaking #NatureandNurture
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Dr. Camilla Nord is a neuroscientist, leader of the Mental Health Neuroscience Lab at the University of Cambridge, and the author of The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health.
In this episode we talk about The Balanced Brain, prediction error as the source of positive and negative emotion, how dopamine controls motion, motivation, and pleasure, how serotonin regulates mood and response to the social world, and how anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications work on the brain. We also talk about the neuroscience of hallucinations in schizophrenia and on psychedelics, the role of homeostasis and the gut microbiome in regulating mood consciously and unconsciously, interactions between the brainstem and cortex in producing consciousness, the role of mindfulness in mental health, and much more.
00:20 Understanding Emotions and Brain Processes
01:40 Exploring the Impact of Novelty and Curiosity
02:10 Introversion, Extroversion, and the Pandemic
03:16 Understanding Anxiety and its Role in Academia
05:05 The Balanced Brain: A Discussion on the Dynamic Nature of the Brain
06:56 The Influence of Predictive Processing on Mental Health
16:54 Exploring the Role of Psychedelics in Mental Health
21:22 The Interplay of Biology and Social Factors in Mental Health
23:22 Understanding the Role of Disgust in Mental Health
33:52 The Impact of Social Hierarchy on Mental Health
37:20 The Impact of Social Hierarchy on Academics
40:30 The Role of Dopamine in Motivation and Action Planning
42:11 Understanding Parkinson's Disease and Dopamine's Role
44:14 Differences Between Dopamine and Serotonin in Mental Health
45:30 The Effect of Antidepressants on Perception and Mood
47:55 The Role of Serotonin in Depression and Its Treatment
55:38 The Potential of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation in Treating Depression
01:02:32 The Continuum of Mental Disorders and the Role of Genetics
01:11:37 The Role of Spirituality and Rationality in Mental Health
#neuroscience #mentalhealth #Medication #SSRIs #serotonin #dopamine #depression #psychopathology #society #videogames #brainbodyinteraction #CamillaNord #anxiety #schizophrenia #antidepressants #cognitivetherapy
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Dr. Rachel Marsh is the Irving Philips Professor of Medical Psychology in Child Psychology at Columbia University Medical Center, where she runs the Cognitive Development and Neuroimaging Lab. Dr. Marsh studies the neurodevelopment of self-regulatory control and its pathology in disorders such as OCD, eating disorders, and Tourette’s syndrome. More recently, she studies how maternal stress contributes to intergenerational transmission of regulatory deficits.
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Dr. Walter Veit is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Reading and author of A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness. He is an expert in philosophy of mind, cognitive and biological sciences, applied ethics, and animal welfare.
In this episode, we talk about philosophy of mind and the evolution of consciousness in animals. Walter outlines his theory of the evolution of phenomenological complexity and affective experience in animals, its similarities and differences with computational theories of consciousness outlined by past podcast guests Kevin Mitchell and Mark Solms, and the diversity of consciousness ranging from humans, to other mammals, to octopuses and fish, to plant life and single cellular organisms. We discuss how animals’ capacity for experiencing pleasure and pain contribute to sentientist morality, whether human morality is anthropocentric, and how Walter’s research informs his views on animal welfare ethics.
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Dr. Ellen Langer is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and one of the pioneers of the positive psychology movement, known as the Mother of Mindfulness. Dr. Langer has won numerous awards including 3 Distinguished Scientist Award, the Staats Award for Unifying Psychology, and the Liberty Science Genius Award. She is the author of 13 books on mindfulness, including 5 on mindfulness, most recently The Mindful Body.
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Dr. Henning Tiemeier is a Professor of Social and Behavioral Science and the Sumner and Esther Feldberg Chair of Maternal and Child Health at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Tiemeier is an expert in pediatric epidemiology, focusing on prenatal exposures and the environmental determinants that influence brain development in children.
In this episode, we talk about pros and cons of different hormone measurement techniques and their use in pediatric epidemiology, neuroscience, and psychology. We also discuss how different environmental stressors, such as socioeconomic status and pollutants, impact brain and cognitive development prenatally, in early childhood, and during puberty. Lastly, we discuss neuroplasticity, and how public health research can intervene to improve the health and cognitive outcomes of at-risk populations during sensitive periods of development.
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Dr. Willem Frankenhuis, he's an Associate Professor of Evolutionary and Population Biology at the University of Amsterdam, a Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law, and Director of the Research Network on Communicating Strength-Based Approaches to Child Development and Learning in Adverse Conditions. He studies how cognition and behavior develop in harsh and unpredictable conditions.
The episode delves into what constitutes a typical human childhood, drawing on insights from the intersection of human development, evolutionary biology, and cultural anthropology.
We discuss 'hidden talents', abilities that adversity can enhance, and 'reasonable responses', behaviors that are adaptive strategies among individuals living in poverty. Dr. Frankenhuis also discusses his theoretical work involving mathematical modeling to study the evolution and development of plasticity – the ability to adjust development in response to different environmental conditions.
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Dr. Lars Chittka is a Professor of Sensory and Behavioral Ecology and the founder of the Research Center for Psychology at Queen Mary University of London. He directs the Bee Sensory and Behavioral Ecology Lab,and is the author of The Mind of a Bee. In this episode, we discuss the results of decades of research on intelligence in bees and other insects. This includes findings of numerical and spatial cognition, memory, perception, and personality. Lars describes differences and similarities between bumblebees, wasps, and honeybees, why honeybees produce so much honey and die after stinging and mating, and more. We also discuss the evidence for bees having emotions, feeling, and consciousness, and efforts for the preservation and ethical handling of bees.
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