Dr. Kay Tye: The Biology of Social Interactions and Emotions

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Kay Tye, PhD, Professor of Systems Neurobiology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. We discuss the neural circuit basis of social interactions and loneliness. We also discuss how animals and people establish themselves in a group hierarchy by rank and how the brain responds to dominance and subordination. Much of our discussion relates to how social media impacts our sense of social connectedness or lack thereof. The topics covered in this episode are directly relevant to anyone interested in the neuroscience of mental health, work-life balance, abundance versus scarcity mindset, and interpersonal dynamics. For show notes, including referenced articles and additional resources, please visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/huberman Levels: https://levels.link/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Dr. Kay Tye (00:02:39) Sponsors: Eight Sleep, Levels & LMNT (00:06:40) Amygdala; “Valence” (00:12:43) Novelty; Reward & Punishment Response (00:20:06) Amygdala & Hunger; Social Interaction (00:26:21) Social Media & Social Connection; Tool: Email & Time Management (00:35:03) Sponsor: AG1 (00:36:30) Social Media; Friction & Feedback, Leadership (00:43:44) Social Isolation, Harlow Experiments, “Loneliness Neurons” (00:51:47) Social Homeostasis, COVID-19 Pandemic & Loneliness (01:01:29) Quality of Social Contact, Social Homeostasis, Social Media (01:08:40) Sponsor: InsideTracker (01:09:42) Social Media, Relationships; Social Isolation & Exclusion (01:18:26) Empathy: Friend vs. Foe (01:28:40) Background & Empathy, Diversity, Emotional Regulation (01:34:34) Abundance vs. Scarcity Mindset (01:37:22) Social Rank & Hierarchy, Sibling Order, Development (01:45:54) Dynamic Hierarchy; Dominants vs. Subordinates; Mentors (01:55:32) Psychedelics: Research & Mechanisms; Psilocybin (02:06:28) Work-Life Balance, Fitness & Extracurriculars (02:11:56) Personal Life, Diversity, Happiness; Typical Day (02:15:42) Science & Academia; Future Directions (02:23:48) Research & Science Outreach (02:28:48) Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, YouTube Feedback, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer

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Huberman Lab discusses neuroscience — how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. He has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning.  Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision, in 2017. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states such as fear and courage. He also works on neural regeneration and directs a clinical trial to promote visual restoration in diseases that cause blindness. Huberman is also actively involved in developing tools now in use by the elite military in the U.S. and Canada, athletes, and technology industries to optimize performance in high stress environments, enhance neural plasticity, mitigate stress and optimize sleep.   Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals including Nature, Science and Cell and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover and other top media outlets.  In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the top 5 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.