Huberman Lab

Dr. Kathryn Paige Harden, PhD, is a psychologist, behavioral geneticist and professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. We discuss how genes interact with your upbringing to shape your level of risk-taking and morality. We also discuss how genes shape propensity for addiction and impulsivity in males versus females. Finally, we discuss how biology impacts societal views of sinning, punishment and forgiveness.

Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.

Pre-order Protocols: https://go.hubermanlab.com/protocols

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman

BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman

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Our Place: https://fromourplace.com/huberman

Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Kathryn Paige Harden

(00:03:10) Adolescents, Genes & Life Trajectory; Adolescence Ages

(00:06:44) Puberty, Aging & Differences; Epigenome; Cognition

(00:14:05) Sponsors: BetterHelp & Lingo

(00:16:45) Puberty Onset & Family; Communication & Empathy

(00:22:26) 7 Deadly Sins, Substance Use & Conduct Disorders, Genes

(00:27:33) Family History; Genes & Brain Development

(00:33:05) Personality & Temperament, Motivation, Addiction; Trauma

(00:37:59) Knowing Genetic Risk & Outcomes; Understanding Family History

(00:46:06) Sponsor: AG1

(00:46:57) Genetic Information & Decision Making; Personal Identity & Uncovering Family

(00:52:12) Nature vs Nurture, Bad Genes?; Aggression, Childhood & Males

(01:00:17) The Original Sin; Whitman Case & Brain Tumor; Genetic Predisposition

(01:10:31) Free Will; Genes & Moral Judgement; Skillful Care for Kids; Social Cooperation

(01:21:03) Breaking the Cycle; Genetic Recombination & Differences; Identity

(01:25:21) Sponsor: Our Place

(01:27:01) Status, Dominance, Science; Positive Attributes of Negative Traits

(01:36:15) Relational Aggression & Girls; Male-Female Differences & Conflict

(01:40:36) Genes, Boys vs Girls, Impulse Control

(01:45:00) Behavior Punishment vs Rewards, Responsibility

(01:51:29) Sponsor: Helix Sleep

(01:53:03) Accountability; Suffering, Cancel Culture & Punishment

(02:00:01) Life Energy & Punishment, Prison

(02:08:16) Backward vs Forward-Looking Justice; Forgiveness, Retribution, Power, Choice

(02:16:11) Reward, Unfairness & Inequality

(02:21:59) Punishment, Reward & Power; Online vs In-Person Communities

(02:29:49) Identical Twin Differences; Genetic Influence & Age; Sunlight & Genes

(02:39:24) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

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In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Ido Portal, a movement coach and world expert on human movement.

We explore the science and practice of movement, including how the nervous system shapes our actions, the distinction between reflexive and deliberate movement patterns and how emotion and awareness influence our movement. Ido shares how to build a holistic movement practice into everyday life through an exploration-based approach grounded in playfulness and self-inquiry.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman

LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Ido Portal

(00:00:20) Movement Practice, Self-Inquiry

(00:02:08) Wordlessness, 3 Core Elements of the Body; Focus & Movement

(00:06:35) Sponsor: LMNT

(00:08:09) Mental & Physical Postures; Virtuosity

(00:12:36) Vision & Eyes; Focus vs Relaxed Vision; Tool: Panoramic View

(00:17:53) Hearing; Different Opinions

(00:20:59) Body Shape; Developing Many Walks

(00:23:53) Sponsor: AG1

(00:24:45) Playful Exploration, Openness

(00:27:25) Peripersonal Space & Movement, Proximity, Reactivity, Discomfort

(00:32:18) Exercise, Traditional Movements; Examination of Movement

(00:37:43) Exploration; Acknowledgements

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Dr. Read Montague, PhD, is a professor and director of the Center for Human Neuroscience Research at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and an expert in how dopamine and serotonin shape human learning, motivation and decision-making. We discuss how they impact focused effort in the context of short- and long-term goals of all kinds. Also, how SSRIs and low-effort, high-engagement activities reduce the rewarding properties of dopamine, and how AI algorithms are revolutionizing understanding of the brain.

Episode show notes are available at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman

David: https://davidprotein.com/huberman

Joovv: https://joovv.com/huberman

Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman

LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Read Montague

(00:02:54) Dopamine, Motivation & Learning

(00:08:49) Reward Prediction Error, Expectations

(00:12:24) Sponsors: David & Joovv

(00:14:54) Foraging, Dating, Expectations vs Outcomes; AI

(00:23:36) Dopamine, Expectation, Motivation; Forward Drive; Dopamine "Hits"

(00:29:58) Baseline Dopamine & Fluctuations; Parkinson's Disease

(00:34:36) Movement, Urgency; ADHD, Bee's Dance, Explorer vs Focus Mode

(00:42:29) Sponsor: AG1

(00:43:40) Social Media, ADHD; Explorers vs Task-Based, Combat

(00:50:54) Effort, Learning; Social Media & Phones, Resisting Behaviors

(01:01:36) Serotonin & Dopamine, Opponency, SSRIs

(01:11:21) Hunger, Dopamine; Negative Feedback, Learning, Trauma; Torture

(01:18:34) Drugs of Abuse & High Dopamine

(01:19:48) Sponsor: Function

(01:21:35) Trauma & Dopamine Adaptation

(01:27:34) SSRIs, Dopamine, Positive Experiences

(01:29:50) Deep Brain Stimulation; Measuring Dopamine & Serotonin in Humans

(01:36:16) Sleep; Divorce; Science is a Contact Sport

(01:45:14) Long-Term Motivation, Learning How to Fail, Tool: Kids & Sports

(01:54:14) Sponsor: LMNT

(01:55:34) Meditation, Breathing, Learning; Dopamine as a Currency

(02:04:38) Function of Sleep, Motivation; Time Perception & Dopamine, Tracking Time

(02:13:18) LLMs, AI, Uses & Problem Solving

(02:18:33) Future Projects, Commercial Brain-Machine Interfaces; Concentration

(02:25:57) Dopamine "Hits"?; Depression & Schizophrenia; Quitting

(02:30:17) Dopamine & Serotonin Misunderstandings; Internal Satisfaction; Motivation

(02:35:58) Serotonin Syndrome; Acknowledgements

(02:38:31) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

Disclaimer & Disclosures
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I discuss why play is a powerful yet often overlooked tool for shaping the brain across the entire lifespan, not just during childhood. I explain how play engages specific brain circuits and neurochemicals, allowing us to explore different roles and learn in low-stakes environments uniquely suited to learning. I also describe why adults benefit from deliberately reintroducing play and which forms of play are most effective for expanding cognitive flexibility and creative thinking.

Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman

Mateina: https://drinkmateina.com/offer

Our Place: https://fromourplace.com/huberman

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Power of Play

(00:00:37) Play, Brain & Exploring Contingencies; Creatives

(00:03:27) Childhood Play & Low-Stakes Scenarios

(00:05:18) Sponsor: Mateina

(00:06:21) Tool: Adults & Playful Mindset

(00:08:53) Play Postures; Eyes

(00:12:00) Group Play, Testing & Breaking Rules

(00:14:32) Role Play

(00:15:43) Sponsor: AG1

(00:16:34) Play Mindset, Low-Stakes Situations, Tool: Adult Play for Brain Health

(00:22:29) Tinkerers & Creatives, Playful Spirit

(00:24:54) Sponsor: Our Place

(00:26:09) Tool: Play to Enhance Neuroplasticity: Dynamic Movement, Chess & Mental Roles

(00:30:15) Personal Play Identity, Adulthood

(00:33:23) Recap

Disclaimer & Disclosures
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Dr. David Eagleman, PhD, is a neuroscientist, bestselling author and professor at Stanford University. We discuss how to leverage the science of neuroplasticity to learn new skills and information and how accurate and false memories form and are forgotten. We also discuss time perception and why it speeds up or slows down depending on our age and stress level. We cover dreaming and the meaning of visual and other dream content. And we discuss the neuroscience of cultural and political polarization and how to remedy it. This episode provides science-based knowledge and practical tools you can use to enhance learning and better understand your experience of life in the past, present and future.

Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman

Mateina: https://drinkmateina.com/offer

Rorra: https://rorra.com/huberman

Lingo: https://hellolingo.com/huberman

Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman

Timestamps

(00:00:00) David Eagleman

(00:02:35) Neuroplasticity & Learning; Cortex, Flexibility & Repurposing, Savantism

(00:11:07) Sponsors: Mateina & Rorra

(00:13:27) Specialization vs Diversification, Practice; Internet & Curiosity

(00:22:05) Building a Well-Rounded Brain, Tool: Critical Thinking & Creativity

(00:28:18) Neuroplasticity & Adults, Tools: Novelty & Challenge

(00:32:41) Neuromodulators & Plasticity, Psychedelics; Directed Plasticity

(00:38:50) Sponsor: AG1

(00:39:41) Building a Better Future Self, Tool: Ulysses Contract to Avoid Bad Behaviors

(00:50:13) Brain Chatter, Aphantasia & Practice

(00:56:57) Specialization vs Diverse Experience, Childhood & Brain

(01:00:50) Space & Time Perception, Tool: Space-Time Bridging Meditation

(01:06:17) Are We Good at Estimating Time?; Fear, Time & Memory

(01:11:23) Sponsor: Lingo

(01:12:53) Fearful Situations & Time Perception; Joyful Events & Novelty, Tool: Do Things Differently

(01:18:56) Staying in the Present, Mental Illness & Time Domains, Addiction

(01:27:09) Social Media, Addiction, Curiosity

(01:30:51) Vision & Auditory Deficits, Sensory Substitution, Neosensory Wristband

(01:35:26) Sponsor: Function

(01:37:13) Sensory Reliance, Echolocation, Potato Head Theory, Sensory Addition

(01:41:36) Why We Dream, Vision & Neuroplasticity, REM Sleep, Blindness

(01:49:55) Victims, Fear, Memory Drift & Recall, Eyewitness Testimony & Jury Education

(01:56:10) Kids vs Adults, Memory Manipulation; Photos

(01:59:27) Polarization, In vs Out Groups, Empathy; Fairness

(02:06:31) Polarization, Reward vs Punishment; Propaganda, Language, Complexification

(02:19:27) Current Projects; Acknowledgements

(02:21:44) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

Disclaimer & Disclosures
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices