Brain Tricks to Learn Faster: Applying Concepts to Software Development

This podcast, hosted by Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine, focuses on neuroplasticity and the role of motor neurons. It explains how humans have the unique ability to change their nervous system through specific, deliberate actions, focusing particularly on aspects of movement and balance.

How does it apply to you?

This understanding of neuroplasticity can be applied in various fields, from physical therapy and rehabilitation to enhancing learning and memory in educational settings.

Applied Learning to Developer Enablement

The principles of behavioral science can be used to cultivate positive habits and a growth mindset among the team members. This can be done by implementing a program that focuses on specific activities designed to promote positive habits and a growth mindset.

Changing the Nervous System

Understanding how to change the nervous system for the better can be applied in the organization by promoting activities that stimulate the brain and enhance learning capabilities. This can include brain games, puzzles, or other cognitive exercises.

Changing Our Nervous System Through Actions

The concept of altering the nervous system through deliberate actions can be applied by encouraging activities that stimulate the brain and enhance learning capabilities. This can include brain games, puzzles, or other cognitive exercises.

Introduction to Neuroplasticity

The idea of neuroplasticity can be utilized in the organization to foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement. By understanding that the brain can change and adapt, team members can be encouraged to continuously learn and improve their skills.

Brain and Nervous System's Control Over Behavior

Understanding how the brain and nervous system control behavior can be used to develop better training programs. By understanding how the brain works, training programs can be designed to be more effective and engaging.

Role of Lower Motor Neurons

The concept of 'muscle memory' can be applied in a software development environment by encouraging repetitive practice of coding skills. This can help developers to become more efficient and accurate in their work.

Role of Upper Motor Neurons

Understanding the role of upper motor neurons can help in designing better training programs. By understanding how the brain processes information, training programs can be designed to be more effective and engaging.

Upper and Lower Motor Neurons

The concept of upper and lower motor neurons can be applied in the organization by understanding how the brain processes and stores information. This can help in designing better training programs.

Changing Motor Patterns

Understanding how to change motor patterns can be applied in a software development environment by encouraging developers to experiment with new coding techniques and practices. This can help in fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Developer Checklist

Learning Techniques

Understanding Neuroplasticity

Motor Learning and Movement

Summary

Introduction and Sponsorship Acknowledgement

The podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. This platform is his way of providing zero cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools. The podcast is sponsored by Headspace, a meditation app, and Athletic Greens, an all-in-one vitamin, mineral, and probiotic drink.

Meditation with Headspace

Andrew shares his personal experience with Headspace and how it has made meditation easier for him, allowing him to maintain a regular practice. The app offers scientifically backed meditations and is designed to make starting and completing meditations simple. Andrew initially started using these meditations during flights and has since moved on to using the app.

Nutrition with Athletic Greens

Andrew has been using Athletic Greens since 2012 due to its comprehensive blend of essential vitamins and minerals. The drink also contains probiotics, which are crucial for maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. This is important for cognitive function, immune function, and metabolic function. The drink is easy to consume and tastes good, making it a convenient way to ensure a full base of all necessary vitamins and minerals.

Behavioral Science with Madefor

Madefor, another sponsor of the podcast, is a behavioral science company that makes learning positive habits and growth mindset easy. Andrew is involved with Madefor as the lead of their scientific advisory. The company offers a 10-month program, each month focusing on a specific activity designed to cultivate positive habits and a growth mindset.

Changing the Nervous System

Andrew introduces the main topic of the podcast: how to change your nervous system for the better. The nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord, and connections with the body's organs, is responsible for all our knowledge, behaviors, emotions, perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs. It is central to our entire experience.

Changing Our Nervous System Through Actions

Humans possess the unique ability to alter their nervous system through specific, deliberate actions. Focusing on motor commands and aspects of movement and balance, we can manipulate our nervous system, using movement and balance as portals. These changes are not necessarily about learning new movements or improving our balance, but can be directed towards changing our nervous system the way we want.

Introduction to Neuroplasticity

The discussion dives into the basic science of neuroplasticity, aiming to explain without excessive technical jargon. The talk will cover protocols and tools that the scientific literature points to for changing our nervous system. This is not limited to learning new motor movements or improving balance, but extends to learning how to feel differently about particular experiences, both past, present, and future, as well as how to learn faster. The focus is on scientific mechanisms and data, not on quick fixes or gimmicks.

Brain and Nervous System's Control Over Behavior

The brain and the nervous system control behavior. When discussing movement, two categories of neurons are essential in the context of neuroplasticity: lower motor neurons and upper motor neurons. Lower motor neurons live in the spinal cord and extend an axon into the peripheral nervous system, connecting with muscles and controlling their contraction. The concept of 'muscle memory' is a misnomer as muscles do not have a memory; it is the neurons that control the muscles where all information for motor patterns is stored.

Role of Lower Motor Neurons

Lower motor neurons, located in the spinal cord, extend a wire (axon) into the body and connect with muscles. These neurons control muscle contraction based on commands they receive. They receive instructions from two sources: circuits in the brainstem called central pattern generators (CPGs) and upper motor neurons. CPGs generate repetitive patterns of movement, such as inhaling and exhaling, or the pattern of walking. Lower motor neurons follow the commands they receive, triggering muscle contractions at specific times.

Role of Upper Motor Neurons

Upper motor neurons reside in the motor cortex at the top of the brain. They are involved in sending commands to the lower motor neurons. The detailed role and functioning of these neurons will be discussed in the following segment.

Upper and Lower Motor Neurons

Upper motor neurons send very specific signals for deliberate actions, such as making a cup of coffee. These signals are sent to lower motor neurons, which control the muscles. Over time, complex movements can become almost reflexive, with the information about how to perform that movement passed off to circuitry in the brainstem and below the motor cortex.

Changing Motor Patterns

To change motor patterns, it's necessary to understand where in the circuitry changes are possible and most likely to occur. It's also important to know how to signal to the brain and nervous system that a change is necessary.

Brain's Control Over Behavior

The brain controls behavior through upper motor neurons, lower motor neurons, central pattern generators, and some connection with the muscle. This control mechanism allows for the performance of complex tasks, such as making a cup of coffee, without conscious thought.

Plasticity

Plasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt. It can be leveraged to access changes to our emotional experience, belief system, or ability to remember and use specific kinds of information. However, simply going through motor patterns or exercising does not open up plasticity unless certain conditions are met.

Behavior's Impact on the Brain

Behavior can change the brain, provided that the behavior is different enough in specific ways from the behaviors that one already knows how to perform. This difference is a key element to accessing neuroplasticity.

Learning and Memory

While there are many gimmicks about learning and memory, the goal should not be to remember everything. Instead, it's important to be selective about brain changes and focus on adaptive changes. This involves engaging in behaviors that access neuroplasticity, which can then be applied to the specific things one wants to learn or unlearn.

Introduction to Behavioral Plasticity

Behavioral plasticity refers to the ability to use behavior as a gateway to access different states of mind and body, thereby allowing for change and adaptability. This concept is particularly useful for individuals looking to enhance their learning abilities, unlearn certain emotional experiences, or improve their athletic performance. The idea is to leverage behavior to tap into one's inherent capacity for change.

Types of Plasticity

There are different kinds of plasticity available to us. One such type is representational plasticity, which refers to the internal representation of the outside world. This involves various 'maps' of auditory space, visual space, and motor space. These maps help us understand and respond to our environment, guiding our movements and sensory experiences.

Creating Plasticity through Errors

Creating plasticity involves creating mismatches or errors in performance. This sends signals to the brain that something is wrong or different, triggering the release of certain neurochemicals that signal the neural circuits to change. This process is crucial for neuroplasticity and is often underappreciated. Flow, or optimal state of performance, is not a state for learning but rather an expression of what we already know how to do.

The Role of Errors in Shaping the Nervous System

Making errors repeatedly is the route to shaping the nervous system to perform better. This is different from pushing to the point of physical failure in activities like gym workouts. Making errors triggers the release of chemicals that allow for learning and creates an environment that facilitates learning in other areas, such as language or mathematics. Understanding this process is crucial to leveraging our inherent capacity for change.

Review of Basic Principles of Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity involves changes in the brain triggered by certain neurochemicals. Contrary to popular belief, not everything we do or experience changes our brain. Instead, specific neurochemicals, such as acetylcholine and epinephrin, are responsible for initiating these changes.

Neurochemical Release for Neural Change

Neurochemicals such as dopamine are released in specific ways and at specific times to mark neural circuits for change. This change usually occurs during sleep. The release of a certain cocktail of chemicals in the brain allows for a particular behavior to reshape the way the brain works. Therefore, the question arises of what triggers the release of these neurochemicals.

Role of Focus and Dopamine

Focus plays a significant role in the release of certain chemicals in the brain. Additionally, other chemicals in this cocktail, specifically dopamine, are crucial. The discussion centers around making errors and why making errors is the signal that tells the brain that it's time to change or pay attention to things so that change occurs.

Motor and Vestibular Programs

Motor and vestibular programs are not just for learning motor commands and balance, but also for setting a stage or a condition in the brain where you can go learn other things as well. Error making is an essential aspect in this process as it signals the brain to change.

Brain Plasticity and Age

The brain is incredibly plastic from birth until about age 25, and passive experience will shape the brain due to the arrangement of neurons and the chemicals present. After 25, plasticity tapers off, and different mechanisms are required to engage plasticity as an adult. However, knowing how to tap into these plasticity mechanisms is powerful at any age.

Enhancing Brain Plasticity

To enhance brain plasticity, especially for those younger than 25, it's recommended to get a broad education including math, chemistry, physics, literature, music, and learn how to play an instrument. Find something that captures passion and excitement and put a lot of additional effort there.

Neural Maps of Experience

We learn to take our different maps of experience, our motor maps, our auditory maps, our visual maps, and align them. This alignment allows us to respond accurately to different stimuli. For example, if we hear a sound off to our right, we look to our right. This alignment of maps of visual space, auditory space, and motor space is a critical feature of our nervous system.

Neuroplasticity and Spatial Perception

Neuroplasticity allows us to move and function fluidly in our environments. Our brains establish maps for direction and movement during development. These maps, however, are plastic meaning they can adapt and shift. These shifts are governed by specific rules.

Key Experiment on Neuroplasticity

An experiment conducted by Eric Knudsen demonstrated this adaptability. The experiment involved subjects wearing prism glasses that altered their visual field. The results showed that the subjects' auditory and motor maps would eventually adjust to this shift, indicating the plasticity of these maps.

Effects of Prism Glasses

Wearing prism glasses distorted the subjects' perception, causing them to perceive objects at different locations than where they actually were. This distortion extended to sounds as well, with sounds appearing to come from the wrong location. Despite these distortions, young subjects were able to adjust their motor behavior within a few days to correctly interact with their environment.

Plasticity in Older Individuals

The ability to adjust to these distortions is less effective in older individuals. In some cases, the maps in their brains never fully adjust. This emphasizes our capacity to create dramatic shifts in our representation of the world, especially during youth.

Triggering Plasticity

Experiments have shown that the signal for triggering this plasticity isn't simply the wearing of prism glasses or the visual distortions they cause. Instead, the signal that triggers the necessary shifts in the brain is the act of making errors. These errors signal to the nervous system that the current approach isn't working, prompting necessary adjustments.

The Importance of Errors

Making errors is a fundamental part of the learning process. The frustration that often accompanies these errors can be a barrier to learning, but it's important to realize that these errors are signaling to the brain that adjustments need to be made. This understanding can help facilitate learning and adaptation.

The Brain's Perception of Errors

The brain does not perceive frustration or the phrase 'something isn't working' as emotional states. Instead, it interprets these situations through the release of neurochemicals, specifically epinephrine and acetylcholine. These chemicals are also involved when we begin to correct our behavior or when we start getting something right, even marginally. This perception of error is the basis for neuroplasticity and learning.

Neurochemical Response to Errors

When errors are made, the nervous system releases neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, signaling that something needs to change in the circuitry. This leads to the release of epinephrine, which increases alertness, and acetylcholine, which enhances focus. This is why walking away from a task due to frustration is detrimental because it creates an opportunity to focus on the error margin, the distance between the current performance and the desired outcome.

Role of Dopamine in Learning

When a task is performed correctly, even slightly, dopamine is released. Dopamine facilitates rapid plastic changes in the brain. This process occurs naturally in young brains but tends to be slower in older brains. However, if frustration is leveraged towards focusing deeper into the task, it sets up a robust mechanism for neuroplasticity to engage.

Impact of Frustration on Learning

Frustration can either enhance or hinder learning, depending on how it's handled. If it leads to quitting, it can cause the brain to rewire, often resulting in feelings of misery. However, if frustration is used to further engage with the task, it sets up a beneficial mechanism for learning. This is particularly important for adult learning.

The Importance of Incremental Learning

Young individuals can make massive shifts in their learning representations quickly and efficiently, whereas adults typically learn slower and struggle to achieve the same level of neuroplasticity. Incremental learning, making smaller changes over time, is essential for adults. This could involve smaller bouts of focused learning or dealing with smaller bits of information at a time.

Adult Learning and Plasticity

Adults can learn a substantial amount of information, but the learning process needs to be broken down into smaller increments. This is due to the capacity of the adult nervous system to engage in significant plasticity. However, this plasticity is most effectively accessed through smaller, focused learning sessions. This approach is beneficial as it allows the brain to isolate and correct errors, signaling a state of plasticity that extends beyond the specific skill being learned.

Practical Example: Learning Free Throws

An example is learning to shoot free throws in basketball. The learning process should continue until a point of frustration is reached, then extended for 10 to 100 more trials. The focus should be on trying different parameters until a desirable behavior is approximated, and then working on consistency. The key is to make and isolate errors in specific aspects of the motor movement, which signals to the brain that it's in a state of plasticity.

Two Aspects of Plasticity

There are two aspects to plasticity: one is plasticity geared towards the specific skill being learned, and the other is a general state of mind and body that enables access to plasticity. Motor movements are an effective way to access states of plasticity, either for the sake of learning the motor movement itself or for accessing plasticity more broadly.

Key Element of Incremental Learning

The key element of incremental learning is signaling to the nervous system what needs to change. This is achieved by defining and isolating errors during practice. The nervous system will self-adjust based on the deviation from the desired behavior. However, adding a variety of new errors can confuse the nervous system, hence the importance of short learning bouts.

Learning Duration for Adults

For adults, learning bouts of 7 to 30 minutes, provided they are fully focused and attentive, can be a significant stimulus for learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument.

Plasticity in the Nervous System

The potential for plasticity, or the ability of the brain to change and adapt, is not limited to childhood or youth. Even in adulthood, it's possible to achieve a high degree of plasticity, similar to that of a young person. The Knudsen Lab demonstrated this by setting a serious condition on learning, where subjects had to find food displaced in their visual world. This task required them to adjust their visual world to get food, which led to plasticity. However, this change was slow, unless they had to hunt for food, which required a high level of plasticity and resulted in rapid change.

Importance of Incentive in Plasticity

The rate and magnitude of plasticity in the brain are determined by the significance of the task or the incentive. The more important a task or change is to us, the faster our brain adapts and changes. This is why simply going through the motions or routine repetitions are not enough to cause significant changes in the nervous system. When we need to accomplish something crucial, like finding food or earning income, our nervous system reshapes quickly. This shows that the nervous system has the capacity to change at any age if the need is crucial enough.

Plasticity and Addiction

This understanding of plasticity has important implications for people struggling with addiction. While it's acknowledged that addictions have a biological component, and changing behavior can be extremely difficult, there are also cases where massive change is possible when the need to change is internally driven. If the desire to change is strong enough, it can result in significant plasticity in the nervous system.

Underlying Mechanism of Plasticity

The fact that significant plasticity can be achieved in adulthood, especially when the need is high, suggests that there's an underlying neurochemical system at work. This isn't about external interventions like brain surgeries or drugs, but about tapping into the chemical stores that already exist in our brains. The key is to understand which specific behaviors release particular categories of chemicals that allow us to maximize incremental learning and induce a high level of plasticity.

Ultradian Rhythm and Plasticity

Ultradian rhythms, or the 90-minute cycles that break up our 24-hour day, also play a role in learning and plasticity. These rhythms help break up our sleep into different cycles, like REM and non-REM sleep, and also structure our day for optimal learning within 90-minute cycles. This understanding can be used to tap into plasticity by completing tasks or working towards something repetitively within these cycles.

Understanding the Ultradian Cycle and Learning

The ultradian cycle is the natural rhythm of the body that impacts focus and learning. For instance, if one decides to learn a new language, such as French, the cycle suggests that for the first 5 to 10 minutes, the mind will drift before focus kicks in. This focus, however, will only be achieved if the learner restricts their visual world to just the material in front of them. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the learner will enter a state of deliberate and focused learning, which can last for about an hour. Towards the end of this cycle, the brain will start to wander again, and by the 90-minute mark, it's probably best to stop and do something else before returning for another learning session. This cycle is meant to happen within a 90-minute block.

The Importance of Making Errors in Learning

The process of making errors is critical for learning. When a learner is in a mode of repeating errors, despite their best efforts, they are signaling their brain that plasticity needs to occur. This error-making process is frustrating, but it liberates the chemical cues that signal which neurons need to be active for learning to occur. This period of intense error-making can last anywhere from 7 to 30 minutes and is an essential part of the ultradian learning cycle.

The Effect of Negative Experiences on Learning

Negative experiences can have a profound impact on learning. The nervous system's main job is to keep us safe, and negative experiences cue us to the fact that something is very different than usual. These experiences result in high levels of norepinephrine and acetylcholine, which help us remember the event. While this can have negative psychological and emotional effects, it is a process designed to keep us safe.

The Role of Dopamine in Learning

Dopamine is a molecule often associated with pleasure and motivation. It's released when we believe we're on a path towards a particular goal, and its release can increase neuroplasticity and motivation. Dopamine is also released in response to natural behaviors that aid in the progression of our species, such as food and social connection. However, it's important to note that dopamine is highly subjective and can vary from person to person.

Linking Dopamine to Error-Making

One way to enhance the rate of learning is to subjectively associate the release of dopamine with the process of making errors. This combination of two modes of plasticity can accelerate learning. The frustration experienced during error-making can be a cue for the release of dopamine. By associating this frustration with something positive, it can increase motivation towards a goal and accelerate plasticity.

Subjectivity of Dopamine Release

The release of dopamine is highly subjective. While it is released in response to basic behaviors and activities, it is also released according to what we subjectively believe is beneficial for us. This subjectivity makes dopamine a powerful tool in learning processes.

Recommendations for Enhancing Learning

To enhance learning, make lots of errors and remind yourself that these errors are important for your overall learning goals. Try to release dopamine in your brain when you start making errors. Keep learning bouts relatively short if you're an adult, as younger people can engage in more bouts of learning due to their brain's natural, healthy neurochemicals that afford them more learning opportunities.

The Importance of Specialization

The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding something that excites you and specializing in it. This specialization should ideally serve the world for the better. The speaker suggests that individuals should have a sense of what excites them by about age 30 or younger.

Optimal Learning Conditions

There are optimal times throughout the day where individuals are better at tolerating errors and focusing on what they are trying to do. Finding these times of day where mental acuity is highest can lead to more effective learning sessions. The speaker recommends making errors and drilling through them for 7 to 30 minutes to create the optimal neurochemical environment for learning.

The Effect of Learning on Subsequent Activities

After a learning session, the brain is in a heightened state to learn and retain information. This effect lasts for at least an hour, making it an ideal time to engage in other important activities that require learning and focus. The speaker suggests that the ability to learn cognitive and language information, among other things, is enhanced during this period.

The Concept of Limbic Friction

Limbic friction, a term coined by the speaker, refers to the state where our autonomic nervous system isn't where we want it to be. This could refer to situations where we're overly alert and trying to calm down (the stress response), or when we're fatigued and trying to be more alert. The speaker suggests that understanding and managing this friction can have important implications for learning.

The Role of Stress in Neuroplasticity

Stress is a significant factor in neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. The term 'stress' may not accurately describe what people experience as stressful, as it could be a state of being either too tired or too alert. To access neuroplasticity, one needs focus, subjective reward, and the ability to make errors. However, many people find it challenging to enter this state due to tiredness or excessive alertness.

Methods to Regulate Alertness

Regulating alertness is crucial for learning and accessing neuroplasticity. For those who are overly alert or anxious, techniques such as a double inhale and exhale, known as a physiological sigh, can calm the mind. This is a natural mechanism that offloads carbon dioxide from the lungs. Other techniques include removing tunnel vision and adopting panoramic vision. These strategies can help individuals move up and down the level of autonomic arousal, finding a state of alertness that matches their learning or performance needs.

Addressing Limbic Friction

Limbic friction, or the inability to focus due to being too tired or too alert, can hinder access to neuroplasticity. If one is too tired, getting a good night's sleep or using a Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) protocol can help. If that's not enough or not possible, other methods like drinking coffee or super oxygenation breathing (inhaling more than exhaling) can help increase alertness. It's important to assess the level of limbic friction before learning and engage in behaviors that bring you to an optimal state for learning.

The Role of Vestibular System in Neuroplasticity

The vestibular system, which is responsible for balance, plays a crucial role in neuroplasticity. This system is particularly engaged in high-dimensional skill activities, such as sports, diving, gymnastics, and other activities involving inversions and lateral movements. The vestibular system is a hardwired system for balance and it operates across three main planes of movement. Engaging this system can enhance neuroplasticity and learning.

Understanding Modes of Movement

The brain understands the position and orientation of the body through three main planes of movement: pitch (nodding), yaw (shaking head side to side), and roll (tilting head side to side). This understanding comes from the proprioceptive feedback we receive from our bodies.

Role of Semicircular Canals in Balance

The inner ear contains semicircular canals that play a crucial role in maintaining balance. These canals contain little bits of calcium that move with our body's movement, providing the brain with information about our body's orientation. This information is used by the brain to compensate for shifts relative to gravity.

Link Between Vestibular System and Brain Plasticity

When we are off-balance, our brain has to compensate by responding to the world differently. This process triggers the cerebellum, a part of the brain, to signal deeper brain centers that release certain chemicals such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine. These chemical pathways are the gateways to brain plasticity, the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.

Optimal Learning State

The ideal state for learning is to be clear, calm, and focused, with a slight level of heightened arousal. This state prepares us for the learning process and allows us to start making errors, which are crucial for learning.

Enhancing Learning Through the Vestibular System

Disrupting the vestibular motor relationship can release neurochemicals in the brain that place you into a state that makes learning more effective. This process also makes the act of making errors more pleasurable, which in turn makes learning more engaging.

Flow State vs Learning State

Flow state is an expression of what you already know how to do, not how you learn. It's important to distinguish between the two. Flow state is a highly desirable state that we can reach once we have mastered the learning process.

Neurochemical State and Learning

Performing certain operations can create a neurochemical state that enhances the ability to learn quickly, irrespective of age. This is not limited to specific activities like yoga or cycling, but is influenced by how regularly a particular motor behavior is performed and how novel it is. The more novel a behavior is in relation to gravity, the more it opens up opportunities for plasticity.

Novelty and Plasticity

Experiencing novelty, such as jumping out of a plane for the first time, floods the body and brain with neurochemicals that create a state conducive to learning. However, as the novelty wears off with repeated exposure to the same activity, the learning effect diminishes. This illustrates the importance of bringing novelty to the vestibular motor experience.

Role of Gravity in Learning

The orientation relative to gravity plays a significant role in learning. For instance, being good at handstands won't create any plasticity, as the body is fully comfortable walking on hands. It's the failures, errors, and the relationship to gravity that are typical for an individual which do not create any learning or plasticity. Therefore, to use motor practices to open up plasticity for learning, it's important to create a sense of novelty relative to gravity.

Vestibular Motor Sensory Mismatch

A mismatch in vestibular motor sensory signals the release of neurochemicals such as dopamine and epinephrin that aid in learning. For instance, stationary bikes that provide a visual experience of moving through space without actual physical movement do not provide any vestibular feedback, hence do not contribute to learning. It is the departure from the normal relationship to gravitational pull that triggers learning.

Preparing for Learning

To optimize learning, it's important to arrive at the appropriate level of autonomic arousal. Being clear and focused is best, but a little anxiety or fatigue is acceptable. Making errors is also a part of the learning process. The vestibular motor sensory relationship is key for heightened or accelerated plasticity.

Neuroplasticity and Movement

Neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, is enhanced through movement, particularly movements that engage the body in different relationships to gravity. This is observed in children who tend to move a lot in different dimensions. As adults, we tend to move less and in more linear, regular patterns, which may contribute to reduced neuroplasticity as we age.

Neuroplasticity and Aging

As we age, our engagement in neuroplasticity reduces, partly due to changes in the structure and molecular components of neurons. However, this decline might also be a result of our behavioural changes, as we tend to engage in fewer different movements and experiences. It's a reciprocal relationship, meaning that lack of engaging in certain behaviours might be causing less deployment of chemicals necessary for neuroplasticity and vice versa.

Exercise and Neuroplasticity

Exercise, particularly those that engage the body in different relationships to gravity, can stimulate neuroplasticity. This is due to the role of the vestibular system, which helps control balance and spatial orientation, in stimulating the release of chemicals like dopamine, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine that promote neuroplasticity. However, it's the learning of new movements and relationships to gravity that actually enhances the windows for plasticity, not the mastery of them.

Limitations to Enhancing Neuroplasticity

While certain behaviours and activities can enhance neuroplasticity, there are limits to how much it can be accelerated. This limit is still unknown, but it's clear that one cannot instantly acquire a large amount of knowledge or skills. The idea of brain-machine interface, where one could download knowledge directly into their brain, is still in the realm of science fiction.

Increasing Focus and Neural Chemicals

There are certain substances that can increase focus by enhancing the activity of specific neurotransmitters. For example, acetylcholine activity can be amplified by certain substances, as can dopamine and epinephrine. L-tyrosine and caffeine are examples of substances that can increase dopamine and epinephrine respectively. However, it is important to heed the warnings on the bottles of these substances and not to consume them without medical advice.

Behavioral Tools for Learning and Plasticity

Behavioral tools and specific ways of structuring learning bouts can enhance brain plasticity, or the brain's ability to change and adapt. Incremental learning, for example, is a powerful tool. The vestibular system, which is involved in maintaining balance and spatial orientation, can also open up opportunities for plasticity. The use of these tools can enhance plasticity regardless of age.

The Intersection of Yoga and Neuroscience

While yoga practices may appear to align with the concepts discussed, such as the use of the vestibular system, it's important to clarify the difference. Yoga practices often lack a detailed understanding of the underlying mechanisms at play. Conversely, science often lacks practical tools and practices. The goal is to bridge these gaps, using neuroscience as a grounding point. Understanding the mechanisms behind practices like yoga can provide flexibility to adapt our circumstances and behaviors.

Understanding Mechanisms

Understanding the mechanisms behind practices allows for flexibility and adaptability. This is not just physical flexibility, but the ability to adapt practices based on circumstances. For example, understanding why we might look at sunlight at a certain time allows us to adapt if we aren't able to do so. This understanding, through the lens of neuroscience, can be very powerful.

Goal of the Podcast

The aim of this podcast is to provide an understanding of the mechanisms and insights into the underlying biology. This understanding allows listeners to tailor foundational mechanisms to suit their particular learning needs. The presenter encourages questions and comments, highlighting that the entire month is dedicated to the topic of neuroplasticity.

Supporting the Podcast

The podcast can be supported by subscribing to the YouTube channel and leaving questions or comments in the comments section. Subscribing on Apple or Spotify is also encouraged. Apple users can leave a five-star review if they think the podcast is deserving of it. Recommending the podcast to friends, family, or anyone who might find the information useful is a great way to support. Checking out the sponsors mentioned at the beginning of the podcast is another way to support.

Supplements for Enhancing Sleep and Neuroplasticity

The host discusses various supplements that can be useful for enhancing sleep and neuroplasticity. However, it is emphasized that behavioral practices should be the starting point and supplements should not be the first solution for people looking to enhance these aspects of their nervous system and life. The host mentions that they take supplements from Thorne, a company known for its stringent quality control. The supplements the host takes can be found on Thorne's website, and a 20% discount is offered for purchases.

Upcoming Episodes on Neuroplasticity

The next few episodes of the podcast will continue to explore the topic of neuroplasticity. The approach of the podcast is to delve deeply into a topic over the course of several episodes so that listeners have a strong understanding of how to apply the principles of neurobiology to their own lives. The host thanks the listeners for their time and attention, acknowledging the amount of information presented and encouraging them to return to the archived content as needed.

FAQs

Who is the host of the podcast? The podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.

What is the purpose of Andrew Huberman's platform? The platform is Andrew Huberman's way of providing zero cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools.

Who are the sponsors of the podcast? The podcast is sponsored by Headspace, a meditation app, and Athletic Greens, an all-in-one vitamin, mineral, and probiotic drink.

How has Headspace helped Andrew with meditation? Headspace has made meditation easier for Andrew, allowing him to maintain a regular practice. He initially started using these meditations during flights and has since moved on to using the app.

Why does Andrew use Athletic Greens? Andrew has been using Athletic Greens since 2012 due to its comprehensive blend of essential vitamins and minerals. The drink also contains probiotics, which are crucial for maintaining a healthy gut microbiome.

What is Madefor? Madefor is a behavioral science company that makes learning positive habits and growth mindset easy. The company offers a 10-month program, each month focusing on a specific activity designed to cultivate positive habits and a growth mindset.

What is the main topic of the podcast? The main topic of the podcast is how to change your nervous system for the better.

How can humans alter their nervous system? Humans can alter their nervous system through specific, deliberate actions. Focusing on motor commands and aspects of movement and balance, we can manipulate our nervous system, using movement and balance as portals.

What is neuroplasticity? Neuroplasticity is the basic science of how we can change our nervous system. This can extend to learning how to feel differently about particular experiences, both past, present, and future, as well as how to learn faster.

How do the brain and the nervous system control behavior? The brain and the nervous system control behavior through two categories of neurons essential in the context of neuroplasticity: lower motor neurons and upper motor neurons.

What is the role of lower motor neurons? Lower motor neurons, located in the spinal cord, extend a wire (axon) into the body and connect with muscles. These neurons control muscle contraction based on commands they receive from circuits in the brainstem called central pattern generators (CPGs) and upper motor neurons.

What is the role of upper motor neurons? Upper motor neurons reside in the motor cortex at the top of the brain. They are involved in sending commands to the lower motor neurons for deliberate actions, such as making a cup of coffee.

How can we change motor patterns? To change motor patterns, it's necessary to understand where in the circuitry changes are possible and most likely to.

How does the brain control behavior? The brain controls behavior through upper motor neurons, lower motor neurons, central pattern generators, and some connection with the muscle. This control mechanism allows for the performance of complex tasks, such as making a cup of coffee, without conscious thought.

What is plasticity? Plasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt. It can be leveraged to access changes to our emotional experience, belief system, or ability to remember and use specific kinds of information.

How can behavior impact the brain? Behavior can change the brain, provided that the behavior is different enough in specific ways from the behaviors that one already knows how to perform. This difference is a key element to accessing neuroplasticity.

What is the goal of learning and memory? The goal should not be to remember everything. Instead, it's important to be selective about brain changes and focus on adaptive changes. This involves engaging in behaviors that access neuroplasticity, which can then be applied to the specific things one wants to learn or unlearn.

What is behavioral plasticity? Behavioral plasticity refers to the ability to use behavior as a gateway to access different states of mind and body, thereby allowing for change and adaptability.

What is representational plasticity? Representational plasticity is a type of plasticity that refers to the internal representation of the outside world. This involves various 'maps' of auditory space, visual space, and motor space.

How can you create plasticity through errors? Creating plasticity involves creating mismatches or errors in performance. This sends signals to the brain that something is wrong or different, triggering the release of certain neurochemicals that signal the neural circuits to change.

What is the role of errors in shaping the nervous system? Making errors repeatedly is the route to shaping the nervous system to perform better. Making errors triggers the release of chemicals that allow for learning and creates an environment that facilitates learning in other areas.

What are the basic principles of neuroplasticity? Neuroplasticity involves changes in the brain triggered by certain neurochemicals. Specific neurochemicals, such as acetylcholine and epinephrin, are responsible for initiating these changes.

What is the role of neurochemicals in neural change? Neurochemicals such as dopamine are released in specific ways and at specific times to mark neural circuits for change. This change usually occurs during sleep.

What is the role of focus and dopamine in brain plasticity? Focus plays a significant role in the release of certain chemicals in the brain. Additionally, other chemicals in this cocktail, specifically dopamine, are crucial. Making errors is the signal that tells the brain that it's time to change or pay attention to things so that change occurs.

What are motor and vestibular programs? Motor and vestibular programs are not just for learning motor commands and balance, but also for setting a stage or a condition in the brain where you can go learn other things as well. Error making is an essential aspect in this process as it signals the brain to change.

How does brain plasticity change with age? The brain is incredibly plastic from birth until about age 25, and passive experience will shape the brain due to the arrangement of neurons and the chemicals present. After 25, plasticity tapers off, and different mechanisms are required to engage plasticity.

How can one enhance brain plasticity? To enhance brain plasticity, especially for those younger than 25, it's recommended to get a broad education including math, chemistry, physics, literature, music, and learn how to play an instrument. Find something that captures passion and excitement and put a lot of additional effort there.

What is the role of neuroplasticity in spatial perception? Neuroplasticity allows us to move and function fluidly in our environments. Our brains establish maps for direction and movement during development. These maps, however, are plastic meaning they can adapt and shift. These shifts are governed by specific rules.

What was the key experiment on neuroplasticity? An experiment conducted by Eric Knudsen demonstrated this adaptability. The experiment involved subjects wearing prism glasses that altered their visual field. The results showed that the subjects' auditory and motor maps would eventually adjust to this shift, indicating the plasticity of these maps.

What are the effects of prism glasses on perception? Wearing prism glasses distorted the subjects' perception, causing them to perceive objects at different locations than where they actually were. This distortion extended to sounds as well, with sounds appearing to come from the wrong location. Despite these distortions, young subjects were able to adjust their motor behavior within a few days to correctly interact with their environment.

How does the brain trigger plasticity? Experiments have shown that the signal for triggering this plasticity isn't simply the wearing of prism glasses or the visual distortions they cause. Instead, the signal that triggers the necessary shifts in the brain is the act of making errors. These errors signal to the nervous system that the current approach isn't working, prompting necessary adjustments.

What is the importance of errors in learning? Making errors is a fundamental part of the learning process. The frustration that often accompanies these errors can be a barrier to learning, but it's important to realize that these errors are signaling to the brain that adjustments need to be made. This understanding can help facilitate learning and adaptation.

How does the brain perceive errors? The brain does not perceive frustration or the phrase 'something isn't working' as emotional states. Instead, it interprets these situations through the release of neurochemicals, specifically epinephrine and acetylcholine. These chemicals are also involved when we begin to correct our behavior or when we start getting something right, even marginally. This perception of error is the basis for neuroplasticity and learning.

What is the role of dopamine in learning? When a task is performed correctly, even slightly, dopamine is released. Dopamine facilitates rapid plastic changes in the brain. This process occurs naturally in young brains but tends to be slower in older brains. However, if frustration is leveraged towards focusing deeper into the task, it sets up a robust mechanism for neuroplasticity to engage.

What is the impact of frustration on learning? Frustration can either enhance or hinder learning, depending on how it's handled. If it leads to quitting, it can cause the brain to rewire, often resulting in feelings of misery. However, if frustration is used to further engage with the task, it sets up a beneficial mechanism for learning. This is particularly important for adult learning.

What is the importance of incremental learning? Young individuals can make massive shifts in their learning representations quickly and efficiently, whereas adults typically learn slower and struggle to achieve the same level of neuroplasticity. Incremental learning is recommended for adults.

What is the importance of incremental learning for adults? Incremental learning, making smaller changes over time, is essential for adults. This could involve smaller bouts of focused learning or dealing with smaller bits of information at a time. It allows the brain to isolate and correct errors, signaling a state of plasticity that extends beyond the specific skill being learned.

What is a practical example of incremental learning? A practical example of incremental learning is learning to shoot free throws in basketball. The learning process should continue until a point of frustration is reached, then extended for 10 to 100 more trials. The focus should be on trying different parameters until a desirable behavior is approximated, and then working on consistency.

What are the two aspects of plasticity? There are two aspects to plasticity: one is plasticity geared towards the specific skill being learned, and the other is a general state of mind and body that enables access to plasticity.

What is the key element of incremental learning? The key element of incremental learning is signaling to the nervous system what needs to change. This is achieved by defining and isolating errors during practice. The nervous system will self-adjust based on the deviation from the desired behavior.

What is the ideal learning duration for adults? For adults, learning bouts of 7 to 30 minutes, provided they are fully focused and attentive, can be a significant stimulus for learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument.

Can adults still have plasticity in their nervous system? Yes, even in adulthood, it's possible to achieve a high degree of plasticity, similar to that of a young person. The potential for plasticity, or the ability of the brain to change and adapt, is not limited to childhood or youth.

What determines the rate and magnitude of plasticity in the brain? The rate and magnitude of plasticity in the brain are determined by the significance of the task or the incentive. The more important a task or change is to us, the faster our brain adapts and changes.

How does understanding plasticity help people struggling with addiction? Understanding plasticity has important implications for people struggling with addiction. While it's acknowledged that addictions have a biological component, and changing behavior can be extremely difficult, there are also cases where massive change is possible when the need to change is internally driven.

What is the underlying mechanism of plasticity? The underlying mechanism of plasticity involves an underlying neurochemical system at work. This isn't about external interventions like brain surgeries or drugs, but about tapping into the chemical stores that already exist in our brains.

What is the role of Ultradian rhythms in learning and plasticity? Ultradian rhythms, or the 90-minute cycles that break up our 24-hour day, also play a role in learning and plasticity. These rhythms help break up our sleep into different cycles, like REM and non-REM sleep, and also structure our day for optimal learning within 90-minute cycles.

What is the ultradian cycle and how does it impact learning? The ultradian cycle is the natural rhythm of the body that impacts focus and learning. For instance, if one decides to learn a new language, learning can be optimized by understanding and utilizing these cycles.

What is the ultradian learning cycle? The ultradian learning cycle suggests that for the first 5 to 10 minutes, the mind will drift before focus kicks in. This focus will only be achieved if the learner restricts their visual world to just the material in front of them. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the learner will enter a state of deliberate and focused learning, which can last for about an hour. Towards the end of this cycle, the brain will start to wander again, and by the 90-minute mark, it's probably best to stop and do something else before returning for another learning session.

Why is making errors important in learning? The process of making errors is critical for learning. When a learner is in a mode of repeating errors, despite their best efforts, they are signaling their brain that plasticity needs to occur. This error-making process is frustrating, but it liberates the chemical cues that signal which neurons need to be active for learning to occur.

How do negative experiences affect learning? Negative experiences can have a profound impact on learning. The nervous system's main job is to keep us safe, and negative experiences cue us to the fact that something is very different than usual. These experiences result in high levels of norepinephrine and acetylcholine, which help us remember the event.

What role does dopamine play in learning? Dopamine is a molecule often associated with pleasure and motivation. It's released when we believe we're on a path towards a particular goal, and its release can increase neuroplasticity and motivation. Dopamine is also released in response to natural behaviors that aid in the progression of our species.

How can dopamine enhance the rate of learning? One way to enhance the rate of learning is to subjectively associate the release of dopamine with the process of making errors. This combination of two modes of plasticity can accelerate learning. The frustration experienced during error-making can be a cue for the release of dopamine. By associating this frustration with something positive, it can increase motivation towards a goal and accelerate plasticity.

What are the recommendations for enhancing learning? To enhance learning, make lots of errors and remind yourself that these errors are important for your overall learning goals. Try to release dopamine in your brain when you start making errors. Keep learning bouts relatively short if you're an adult, as younger people can engage in more bouts of learning due to their brain's natural, healthy neurochemicals.

What is the importance of specialization in learning? Specialization is important in learning. Finding something that excites you and specializing in it can enhance the learning process. This specialization should ideally serve the world for the better.

What are the optimal conditions for learning? Optimal learning conditions involve finding times of day where mental acuity is highest, which can lead to more effective learning sessions. It is also recommended to make errors and drill through them for 7 to 30 minutes to create the optimal neurochemical environment for learning.

How does learning affect subsequent activities? After a learning session, the brain is in a heightened state to learn and retain information. This effect lasts for at least an hour, making it an ideal time to engage in other important activities that require learning and focus.

What is 'Limbic Friction' and how does it affect learning? Limbic friction, a term coined by the speaker, refers to the state where our autonomic nervous system isn't where we want it to be. This could refer to situations where we're overly alert and trying to calm down (the stress response), or when we're fatigued and trying to be more alert. Understanding and managing this friction can have important implications for learning.

What is the role of stress in neuroplasticity? Stress is a significant factor in neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections.

What is neuroplasticity? Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.

What are some methods to regulate alertness? Methods to regulate alertness include techniques such as a double inhale and exhale, known as a physiological sigh, and removing tunnel vision and adopting panoramic vision.

What is limbic friction? Limbic friction, or the inability to focus due to being too tired or too alert, can hinder access to neuroplasticity.

What is the role of the vestibular system in neuroplasticity? The vestibular system, which is responsible for balance, plays a crucial role in neuroplasticity. Engaging this system can enhance learning.

How does the brain understand the position and orientation of the body? The brain understands the position and orientation of the body through three main planes of movement: pitch (nodding), yaw (shaking head side to side), and roll (tilting head side to side). This understanding comes from the proprioceptive feedback we receive from our bodies.

What is the role of semicircular canals in balance? The inner ear contains semicircular canals that play a crucial role in maintaining balance. These canals provide the brain with information about our body's orientation, which is used to compensate for shifts relative to gravity.

What is the link between the vestibular system and brain plasticity? When we are off-balance, our brain compensates by responding to the world differently. This process triggers certain chemicals such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine to be released, which are the gateways to brain plasticity.

What is the optimal learning state? The ideal state for learning is to be clear, calm, and focused, with a slight level of heightened arousal. This state prepares us for the learning process and allows us to start making errors, which are crucial for learning.

How can learning be enhanced through the vestibular system? Disrupting the vestibular motor relationship can release neurochemicals in the brain that place you into a state that makes learning more effective. This process also makes the act of making errors more pleasurable, which in turn makes learning more engaging.

What is the difference between flow state and learning state? Flow state is an expression of what you already know how to do, not how you learn. It's a highly desirable state that we can reach once we have mastered the learning process.

How does the neurochemical state affect learning? Performing certain operations can create a neurochemical state that enhances the ability to learn quickly, irrespective of age. The more novel a behavior is in relation to gravity, the more it opens up opportunities for plasticity.

What is the relationship between novelty and plasticity? Experiencing novelty floods the body and brain with neurochemicals that create a state conducive to learning. However, as the novelty wears off with repeated exposure to the same activity, the learning effect diminishes.

What is the role of gravity in learning? The orientation relative to gravity plays a significant role in learning. It's the failures, errors, and the relationship to gravity that creates opportunities for learning and plasticity.

What is the role of novelty in motor practices for learning? Novelty in motor practices can stimulate learning and plasticity. It's important to create a sense of novelty relative to gravity.

What happens when there is a mismatch in vestibular motor sensory signals? A mismatch in vestibular motor sensory signals can trigger the release of neurochemicals such as dopamine and epinephrin that aid in learning.

How can one optimize learning? To optimize learning, it's important to arrive at the appropriate level of autonomic arousal. Being clear and focused is best, but a little anxiety or fatigue is acceptable. Making errors is also a part of the learning process.

How does movement enhance neuroplasticity? Movement, particularly movements that engage the body in different relationships to gravity, can enhance neuroplasticity.

What happens to neuroplasticity as we age? As we age, our engagement in neuroplasticity reduces, partly due to changes in the structure and molecular components of neurons and partly due to our behavioural changes.

How does exercise affect neuroplasticity? Exercise, particularly those that engage the body in different relationships to gravity, can stimulate neuroplasticity due to the role of the vestibular system.

Are there limitations to enhancing neuroplasticity? Yes, while certain behaviours and activities can enhance neuroplasticity, there are limits to how much it can be accelerated.

Can certain substances increase focus and enhance the activity of specific neurotransmitters? Yes, certain substances can increase focus by enhancing the activity of specific neurotransmitters. For example, acetylcholine activity can be amplified by certain substances, as can dopamine and epinephrine.

What are some behavioral tools for learning and plasticity? Behavioral tools and specific ways of structuring learning bouts can enhance brain plasticity. Incremental learning is one such tool.

What is the intersection of Yoga and Neuroscience? While yoga practices may appear to align with the concepts discussed, such as the use of the vestibular system, it's important to clarify the difference. Understanding the mechanisms behind practices like yoga can provide flexibility to adapt our circumstances and behaviors.

What is the goal of the podcast? The aim of this podcast is to provide an understanding of the mechanisms and insights into the underlying biology. This understanding allows listeners to tailor foundational mechanisms to suit their particular learning needs.

How can I support the podcast? You can support the podcast by subscribing to the YouTube channel and leaving questions or comments in the comments section. Subscribing on Apple or Spotify is also encouraged. Apple users can leave a five-star review if they think the podcast is deserving of it. Recommending the podcast to friends, family, or anyone who might find the information useful is a great way to support. Checking out the sponsors mentioned at the beginning of the podcast is another way to support.

What supplements are recommended for enhancing sleep and neuroplasticity? The host discusses various supplements that can be useful for enhancing sleep and neuroplasticity. However, it is emphasized that behavioral practices should be the starting point and supplements should not be the first solution for people looking to enhance these aspects of their nervous system and life. The host mentions that they take supplements from Thorne, a company known for its stringent quality control. The supplements the host takes can be found on Thorne's website, and a 20% discount is offered for purchases.

What will the upcoming episodes of the podcast be about? The next few episodes of the podcast will continue to explore the topic of neuroplasticity. The approach of the podcast is to delve deeply into a topic over the course of several episodes so that listeners have a strong understanding of how to apply the principles of neurobiology to their own lives.

Glossary

Athletic Greens: An all-in-one vitamin, mineral, and probiotic drink. It contains a comprehensive blend of essential vitamins and minerals, along with probiotics, which are crucial for maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. This is important for cognitive function, immune function, and metabolic function.

Behavioral Science: The study of human behavior through systematic research and scientific methods, drawing from psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and the social sciences.

Brain and Nervous System's Control Over Behavior: The brain and the nervous system control all our behaviors, emotions, perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs. They are central to our entire experience.

Changing Motor Patterns: The process of altering how we perform movements. This is done by understanding where in the circuitry changes are possible and most likely to occur.

Changing Our Nervous System Through Actions: The unique ability humans possess to alter their nervous system through specific, deliberate actions. Focusing on motor commands and aspects of movement and balance, we can manipulate our nervous system, using movement and balance as portals.

Headspace: A meditation app that offers scientifically backed meditations. It is designed to make starting and completing meditations simple.

Introduction to Neuroplasticity: The basic science of neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. It covers protocols and tools that the scientific literature points to for changing our nervous system.

Lower Motor Neurons: Neurons located in the spinal cord that extend an axon into the peripheral nervous system, connecting with muscles and controlling their contraction.

Madefor: A behavioral science company that makes learning positive habits and growth mindset easy. They offer a 10-month program, each month focusing on a specific activity designed to cultivate positive habits and a growth mindset.

Upper Motor Neurons: Neurons that reside in the motor cortex at the top of the brain. They are involved in sending commands to the lower motor neurons.

Upper and Lower Motor Neurons: Upper motor neurons send very specific signals for deliberate actions to lower motor neurons, which control the muscles. Over time, complex movements can become almost reflexive, with the information about how to perform that movement passed off to circuitry in the brainstem and below the motor cortex.

Behavior's Impact on the Brain: Behavior can change the brain, provided that the behavior is different enough in specific ways from the behaviors that one already knows how to perform. This difference is a key element to accessing neuroplasticity.

Brain Plasticity and Age: The brain is incredibly plastic from birth until about age 25, and passive experience will shape the brain due to the arrangement of neurons and the chemicals present. After 25, plasticity tapers off, and different mechanisms are required to engage plasticity.

Brain's Control Over Behavior: The brain controls behavior through upper motor neurons, lower motor neurons, central pattern generators, and some connection with the muscle. This control mechanism allows for the performance of complex tasks, such as making a cup of coffee, without conscious thought.

Creating Plasticity through Errors: Creating plasticity involves creating mismatches or errors in performance. This sends signals to the brain that something is wrong or different, triggering the release of certain neurochemicals that signal the neural circuits to change.

Introduction to Behavioral Plasticity: Behavioral plasticity refers to the ability to use behavior as a gateway to access different states of mind and body, thereby allowing for change and adaptability.

Learning and Memory: The goal should not be to remember everything. Instead, it's important to be selective about brain changes and focus on adaptive changes. This involves engaging in behaviors that access neuroplasticity, which can then be applied to the specific things one wants to learn or unlearn.

Motor and Vestibular Programs: Motor and vestibular programs are not just for learning motor commands and balance, but also for setting a stage or a condition in the brain where you can go learn other things as well.

Neurochemical Release for Neural Change: Neurochemicals such as dopamine are released in specific ways and at specific times to mark neural circuits for change. This change usually occurs during sleep.

Plasticity: Plasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt. It can be leveraged to access changes to our emotional experience, belief system, or ability to remember and use specific kinds of information.

Review of Basic Principles of Neuroplasticity: Neuroplasticity involves changes in the brain triggered by certain neurochemicals. Contrary to popular belief, not everything we do or experience changes our brain. Instead, specific neurochemicals, such as acetylcholine and epinephrin, are responsible for initiating these changes.

Role of Focus and Dopamine: Focus plays a significant role in the release of certain chemicals in the brain. Additionally, other chemicals in this cocktail, specifically dopamine, are crucial.

The Role of Errors in Shaping the Nervous System: Making errors repeatedly is the route to shaping the nervous system to perform better. This is different from pushing to the point of physical failure in activities like gym workouts.

Types of Plasticity: There are different kinds of plasticity available to us. One such type is representational plasticity, which refers to the internal representation of the outside world. This involves various 'maps' of auditory space, visual space, and motor space.

Enhancing Brain Plasticity: To enhance brain plasticity, especially for those younger than 25, it's recommended to get a broad education including math, chemistry, physics, literature, music, and learn how to play an instrument. Find something that captures passion and excitement and put a lot of additional effort there.

Neural Maps of Experience: We learn to take our different maps of experience, our motor maps, our auditory maps, our visual maps, and align them. This alignment allows us to respond accurately to different stimuli. For example, if we hear a sound off to our right, we look to our right. This alignment of maps of visual space, auditory space, and motor space is a critical feature of our nervous system.

Neuroplasticity and Spatial Perception: Neuroplasticity allows us to move and function fluidly in our environments. Our brains establish maps for direction and movement during development. These maps, however, are plastic meaning they can adapt and shift. These shifts are governed by specific rules.

Key Experiment on Neuroplasticity: An experiment conducted by Eric Knudsen demonstrated this adaptability. The experiment involved subjects wearing prism glasses that altered their visual field. The results showed that the subjects' auditory and motor maps would eventually adjust to this shift, indicating the plasticity of these maps.

Effects of Prism Glasses: Wearing prism glasses distorted the subjects' perception, causing them to perceive objects at different locations than where they actually were. This distortion extended to sounds as well, with sounds appearing to come from the wrong location. Despite these distortions, young subjects were able to adjust their motor behavior within a few days to correctly interact with their environment.

Plasticity in Older Individuals: The ability to adjust to these distortions is less effective in older individuals. In some cases, the maps in their brains never fully adjust. This emphasizes our capacity to create dramatic shifts in our representation of the world, especially during youth.

Triggering Plasticity: Experiments have shown that the signal for triggering this plasticity isn't simply the wearing of prism glasses or the visual distortions they cause. Instead, the signal that triggers the necessary shifts in the brain is the act of making errors. These errors signal to the nervous system that the current approach isn't working, prompting necessary adjustments.

The Importance of Errors: Making errors is a fundamental part of the learning process. The frustration that often accompanies these errors can be a barrier to learning, but it's important to realize that these errors are signaling to the brain that adjustments need to be made. This understanding can help facilitate learning and adaptation.

The Brain's Perception of Errors: The brain does not perceive frustration or the phrase 'something isn't working' as emotional states. Instead, it interprets these situations through the release of neurochemicals, specifically epinephrine and acetylcholine. These chemicals are also involved when we begin to correct our behavior or when we start getting something right, even marginally. This perception of error is the basis for neuroplasticity and learning.

Neurochemical Response to Errors: When errors are made, the nervous system releases neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, signaling that something needs to change in the circuitry. This leads to the release of epinephrine, which increases alertness, and acetylcholine, which enhances focus. This is why walking away from a task due to frustration is detrimental because it creates an opportunity to focus on the error margin, the distance between the current performance and the desired outcome.

Role of Dopamine in Learning: When a task is performed correctly, even slightly, dopamine is released. Dopamine facilitates rapid plastic changes in the brain. This process occurs naturally in young brains but tends to be slower in older brains. However, if frustration is leveraged towards focusing deeper into the task, it sets up a robust mechanism for neuroplasticity to engage.

Impact of Frustration on Learning: Frustration can either enhance or hinder learning, depending on how it's handled. If it leads to quitting, it can cause the brain to rewire, often resulting in feelings of misery. However, if frustration is used to further engage with the task, it sets up a beneficial mechanism for learning. This is particularly important for adult learning.

The Importance of Incremental Learning: Young individuals can make massive shifts in their learning representations quickly and efficiently, whereas adults typically learn slower and struggle to achieve the same level of neuroplasticity. Incremental learning is the process of learning in small steps, which is often more effective for adults.

Adult Learning and Plasticity: Adults can learn a substantial amount of information, but the learning process needs to be broken down into smaller increments. This is due to the capacity of the adult nervous system to engage in significant plasticity.

Importance of Incentive in Plasticity: The rate and magnitude of plasticity in the brain are determined by the significance of the task or the incentive. The more important a task or change is to us, the faster our brain adapts and changes.

Incremental Learning: Learning, making smaller changes over time, is essential for adults. This could involve smaller bouts of focused learning or dealing with smaller bits of information at a time.

Key Element of Incremental Learning: The key element of incremental learning is signaling to the nervous system what needs to change. This is achieved by defining and isolating errors during practice.

Learning Duration for Adults: For adults, learning bouts of 7 to 30 minutes, provided they are fully focused and attentive, can be a significant stimulus for learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument.

Plasticity and Addiction: This understanding of plasticity has important implications for people struggling with addiction. While it's acknowledged that addictions have a biological component, and changing behavior can be extremely difficult, there are also cases where massive change is possible when the need to change is internally driven.

Plasticity in the Nervous System: The potential for plasticity, or the ability of the brain to change and adapt, is not limited to childhood or youth. Even in adulthood, it's possible to achieve a high degree of plasticity, similar to that of a young person.

Practical Example: Learning Free Throws: An example is learning to shoot free throws in basketball. The learning process should continue until a point of frustration is reached, then extended for 10 to 100 more trials.

Two Aspects of Plasticity: There are two aspects to plasticity: one is plasticity geared towards the specific skill being learned, and the other is a general state of mind and body that enables access to plasticity.

Ultradian Rhythm and Plasticity: Ultradian rhythms, or the 90-minute cycles that break up our 24-hour day, also play a role in learning and plasticity. These rhythms help break up our sleep into different cycles, like REM and non-REM sleep, and also structure our day for optimal learning within 90-minute cycles.

Understanding the Ultradian Cycle and Learning: The ultradian cycle is the natural rhythm of the body that impacts focus and learning.

Underlying Mechanism of Plasticity: The fact that significant plasticity can be achieved in adulthood, especially when the need is high, suggests that there's an underlying neurochemical system at work.

Dopamine in Learning: Dopamine is a molecule often associated with pleasure and motivation. It's released when we believe we're on a path towards a particular goal, and its release can increase neuroplasticity and motivation.

Effect of Negative Experiences on Learning: Negative experiences can have a profound impact on learning. These experiences result in high levels of norepinephrine and acetylcholine, which help us remember the event. While this can have negative psychological and emotional effects, it is a process designed to keep us safe.

Effect of Learning on Subsequent Activities: After a learning session, the brain is in a heightened state to learn and retain information. This effect lasts for at least an hour, making it an ideal time to engage in other important activities that require learning and focus.

Importance of Making Errors in Learning: The process of making errors is critical for learning. When a learner is in a mode of repeating errors, they are signaling their brain that plasticity needs to occur. This error-making process is frustrating, but it liberates the chemical cues that signal which neurons need to be active for learning to occur.

Importance of Specialization: The importance of finding something that excites you and specializing in it. This specialization should ideally serve the world for the better.

Linking Dopamine to Error-Making: One way to enhance the rate of learning is to subjectively associate the release of dopamine with the process of making errors. This combination of two modes of plasticity can accelerate learning.

Limbic Friction: Limbic friction, a term coined by the speaker, refers to the state where our autonomic nervous system isn't where we want it to be. This could refer to situations where we're overly alert and trying to calm down, or when we're fatigued and trying to be more alert.

Optimal Learning Conditions: There are optimal times throughout the day where individuals are better at tolerating errors and focusing on what they are trying to do. Finding these times of day where mental acuity is highest can lead to more effective learning sessions.

Recommendations for Enhancing Learning: To enhance learning, make lots of errors and remind yourself that these errors are important for your overall learning goals. Try to release dopamine in your brain when you start making errors. Keep learning bouts relatively short if you're an adult.

Role of Stress in Neuroplasticity: Stress is a significant factor in neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections.

Subjectivity of Dopamine Release: The release of dopamine is highly subjective. While it is released in response to basic behaviors and activities, it is also released according to what we subjectively believe is beneficial for us.

Addressing Limbic Friction: The process of overcoming the inability to focus due to being too tired or too alert, which can hinder access to neuroplasticity. Techniques include getting good sleep, using a Non-Sleep Deep Rest protocol, drinking coffee, or super oxygenation breathing.

Enhancing Learning Through the Vestibular System: The process of releasing neurochemicals in the brain by disrupting the vestibular motor relationship, which makes learning more effective and engaging.

Flow State vs Learning State: The distinction between a state of performing what is already known (flow state) and a state of acquiring new knowledge or skills (learning state).

Methods to Regulate Alertness: Techniques for managing alertness levels to facilitate learning and access to neuroplasticity, such as a physiological sigh, panoramic vision, and other strategies.

Neurochemical State and Learning: Certain operations can create a neurochemical state that enhances the ability to learn quickly, irrespective of age. This is influenced by the regularity and novelty of a particular motor behavior.

Novelty and Plasticity: The concept that experiencing novelty floods the body and brain with neurochemicals that create a state conducive to learning. However, the learning effect diminishes as the novelty wears off with repeated exposure to the same activity.

Optimal Learning State: The ideal state for learning is to be clear, calm, and focused, with a slight level of heightened arousal. This state prepares us for the learning process and allows us to start making errors, which are crucial for learning.

Role of Gravity in Learning: The concept that the orientation relative to gravity plays a significant role in learning. It's the failures, errors, and the relationship to gravity.

Role of Semicircular Canals in Balance: The inner ear contains semicircular canals that play a crucial role in maintaining balance. These canals provide the brain with information about our body's orientation.

The Role of Vestibular System in Neuroplasticity: The vestibular system, responsible for balance, plays a crucial role in neuroplasticity. Engaging this system can enhance learning.

Understanding Modes of Movement: The brain understands the position and orientation of the body through three main planes of movement: pitch, yaw, and roll. This understanding comes from the proprioceptive feedback we receive from our bodies.

Vestibular Motor Sensory Mismatch: A mismatch in vestibular motor sensory signals leading to the release of neurochemicals such as dopamine and epinephrin that aid in learning. Stationary bikes that provide a visual experience of moving through space without actual physical movement do not provide any vestibular feedback, hence do not contribute to learning. It is the departure from the normal relationship to gravitational pull that triggers learning.

Preparing for Learning: The process of optimizing learning by arriving at the appropriate level of autonomic arousal. Being clear and focused is best, but a little anxiety or fatigue is acceptable. Making errors is also a part of the learning process. The vestibular motor sensory relationship is key for heightened or accelerated plasticity.

Neuroplasticity and Movement: Neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, is enhanced through movement, particularly movements that engage the body in different relationships to gravity. This is observed in children who tend to move a lot in different dimensions. As adults, we tend to move less and in more linear, regular patterns, which may contribute to reduced neuroplasticity as we age.

Neuroplasticity and Aging: As we age, our engagement in neuroplasticity reduces, partly due to changes in the structure and molecular components of neurons. However, this decline might also be a result of our behavioural changes, as we tend to engage in fewer different movements and experiences. It's a reciprocal relationship, meaning that lack of engaging in certain behaviours might be causing less deployment of chemicals necessary for neuroplasticity and vice versa.

Exercise and Neuroplasticity: Exercise, particularly those that engage the body in different relationships to gravity, can stimulate neuroplasticity. This is due to the role of the vestibular system, which helps control balance and spatial orientation, in stimulating the release of chemicals like dopamine, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine that promote neuroplasticity. However, it's the learning of new movements and relationships to gravity that actually enhances the windows for plasticity, not the mastery of them.

Limitations to Enhancing Neuroplasticity: While certain behaviours and activities can enhance neuroplasticity, there are limits to how much it can be accelerated. This limit is still unknown, but it's clear that one cannot instantly acquire a large amount of knowledge or skills. The idea of brain-machine interface, where one could download knowledge directly into their brain, is still in the realm of science fiction.

Increasing Focus and Neural Chemicals: There are certain substances that can increase focus by enhancing the activity of specific neurotransmitters. For example, acetylcholine activity can be amplified by certain substances, as can dopamine and epinephrine. L-tyrosine and caffeine are examples of substances that can increase dopamine and epinephrine respectively. However, it is important to heed the warnings on the bottles of these substances and not to consume them without medical advice.

Behavioral Tools for Learning and Plasticity: Behavioral tools and specific ways of structuring learning bouts can enhance brain plasticity, or the brain's ability to change and adapt. Incremental learning, for example, is a powerful tool. The vestibular system, which is involved in maintaining balance and spatial orientation, can also open up opportunities for plasticity. The use of these tools can enhance plasticity regardless of age.

The Intersection of Yoga and Neuroscience: While yoga practices may appear to align with the concepts discussed, such as the use of the vestibular system, it's important to clarify the difference. Yoga practices often lack a detailed understanding of the underlying mechanisms at play. Conversely, science often lacks practical tools and practices. The goal is to bridge these gaps, using neuroscience as a grounding point. Understanding the mechanisms behind practices like yoga can provide flexibility to adapt our circumstances and behaviors.

Understanding Mechanisms: Understanding the mechanisms behind practices allows for flexibility and adaptability. This is not just physical flexibility, but the ability to adapt practices based on circumstances. For example, understanding why we might look at sunlight at a certain time allows us to adapt if we aren't able to do so. This understanding, through the lens of neuroscience, can be very powerful.

Goal of the Podcast: The aim of this podcast is to provide an understanding of the mechanisms and insights into the underlying biology. This understanding allows listeners to tailor foundational mechanisms to suit their particular learning needs.

Neuroplasticity: The ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience or following injury.

Podcast: A digital audio or video file or recording, usually part of a themed series, that can be downloaded from a website to a media player or computer.

Supplement: A thing added to something else in order to complete or enhance it, in this case, substances that the body needs to stay healthy that are used to enhance sleep and neuroplasticity.

Thorne: A company known for its stringent quality control that provides supplements.

YouTube: A popular free video sharing website which lets users upload, view, and share videos.

Apple: A major tech company that is known for its electronic devices, software and online services.

Spotify: A digital music, podcast, and video streaming service that gives access to millions of songs and other content from artists all over the world.

Neurobiology: The study of cells of the nervous system and the organization of these cells into functional circuits that process information and mediate behavior.