Mindset Neuroscience Podcast

Memory is not just in the brain. Many of you have heard of the book, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk. The main idea of the book is that memory is not just something contained in... READ MORE The post Our Body Keeps the Score, Our Cells ‘Remember’ with Dr. Nikolay Kukushkin appeared first on StefanieFaye.

When we focus on trying to 'fix' dysregulation without acknowledging how it emerged, we are conveying a message that somehow the anxiety or overreaction just ‘appeared’ because of an imbalance in their brain and that distress, dysregulation and anxiety are an isolated problem about that individual.  Treating the brain in isolation not only sends a disempowering message to the person experiencing challenges, it's also neurologically inaccurate. The ability to self-soothe is not genetically programmed to just ‘happen’ without the right conditions.  Our ability to self-regulate comes from social feedback systems that help us build our self-regulating circuitry.

The formation of self-identity and group identity through the lens of hyper-coherent networks, key features of what makes a system resilient.    (remember - your brain, your relationships and human society are all systems).   To help systems become more flexible and innovative, we need to understand the mechanisms of change. A mindset or paradigm shift is one of those mechanisms.   A level higher than that: being able to rise above paradigms altogether*.   This is what can free our mind to experiment with perspectives that are guided by our values - rather than only confirming a narrow field of vision based on our past, which is largely driven by our tribal identity. The post Season 2 Episode 5 – Resilience, Stability and Hyper-Coherent Networks appeared first on StefanieFaye.

The human species has some pretty spectacular systems built into us to achieve mental, emotional and physiological states that most of us are not even really aware of.  We also have systems and features within us that make us very vulnerable to being influenced and 'programmed' into behavior that is not reflective of our most evolved neural circuitry. Technology is interfering with and manipulating those systems.  And the more we get to know how technology is interfering with those systems, the more we can get control over our internal state rather than let the tech companies (who do not have the best interests of the human brain and nervous system in mind) hack into our vulnerabilities.

What do a viral video and a stampede of animals have in common? It's a mechanism that is also related to 'self-fulfilling prophecies', self-beliefs, anxiety and negative thinking in general. It has to do with something called 'positive feedback'. This is not verbal commentary, like 'you're doing a great job!' Positive feedback is something that enhances or amplifies an effect. In a stampede of animals, the abrupt movement and running of one animal gets detected by another, and another, and this effect continue to amplify until a stampede occurs. Something similar can happen to a person in certain cases of anxiety. In some cases, a person may have hyper-interoceptive awareness. This means that they are very aware of fluctuations within their body, including their heart rate. their interpretation of these sensations may lead them to think something is wrong, that their body is not 'supposed' to do that. Having this type of interpretation then creates a feedback loop of anxiety about what is wrong, which can lead to for example, a faster heart beat, which then leads to more anxiety. Something that can have a balancing or correcting effect on a positive feedback loop is 'negative feedback'. In the case of someone who may become anxious due to their heart beating fast (as an example), a negative feedback could include introducing thoughts that the body is doing something adaptive or beneficial. A faster beating heart can also mean we are excited, engaged, alert and feeling alive. I also talk about this idea of 're-appraising physiological signals' in my Neuroscience of Bravery Video In this episode, we cover how positive feedback loops might be causing us challenges in our thinking, and what we can do to try to interrupt these feedback loops so we can feel more regulated and resilient. References Oliver Cameron - Visceral Sensory Neuroscience  Donella Meadows - Systems Change Santa Fe Institute - Complexity Podcast Laurence Gonzales - Surviving Survival University of Wisconsin Madison study on negative interpretation of stress

One of the most complex adaptive systems we know of is the brain*.  When we are trying to understand a complex system, one of the most important things for us to think about is its function.  One of the main functions of the mind-brain-body’s main is to make predictions.  It does this by using our past to make assumptions about what’s happening now.  Another word for these ‘assumptions’ are ‘predictive models’. The mind-brain-body creates predictive models by taking snippets of information and then creating models that it uses to predict lots of things without needing to have all the information of everything it comes across.  it would be way less efficient if it had to analyze everything in order to understand it.   These predictive models affect our relationships, behaviors, and even our emotional well-being. One way these predictive models influence our relationships and how we interact with people is that they prevent you from seeing people as they actually are.  Instead, you're seeing them through your model - or paradigm -  that's built from your history.

Everything you perceive with your senses, you perceive through a filter that was built in your past. Each one of us has built up neural networks and sensory thresholds that are unique to us, and our mind-brain-body uses our past to create 'predictive models' about how the world works.  What people's intentions are, what things and people are appealing or repulsive to us.    Our brain filters information in a way that 'fits' with what it predicts.   This can make us become very repetitive, tied to our past and not able to see new opportunities or explanations to things. These models are influenced by our first encounters with a very small group of people who see over and over again.  And these models are also influenced by our culture and the subcultures we are a part of. When we try to predict or understand human problems and behaviors without thinking about all of these other systems that influence us, we are distorting the 'lens' we look through.  We aren't getting the bigger picture. This 'lens' we look through is another word for 'paradigm'. The latin roots of the word paradigm are to 'show beside'.  Or 'show side by side'.     Sometimes we don't realize how much we are missing from what we perceive until we are shown a contrast or a new, or higher, wider, bigger perspective. In Season 2, we are going to look more deeply into the idea of what paradigms or lenses are dominant in our world and in our lives, and how these influence our choices and interactions.    In Episode 1, we'll go into the idea of 'Systems Thinking', which is a paradigm shift from a world view that has dominated science and much of the ways we try to make improvements to things like education or within organizations - often without much success, because we are using a framework that doesn't actually make much sense when we are dealing with something as complex as human beings.

“What matters is not how things are, but how they interact.“ – Carlo Rovelli, theoretical physicist, in his book, Reality is Not What It Seems ​​​​​Relationships are the key to building our most powerful mind. Our relationships with others build... READ MORE The post Season 1 Episode 12 – “Relational Minds” appeared first on StefanieFaye.

No two people are ever experiencing reality in the same way, since our senses and neural architecture are built up by our own lifetime of unique experiences. Our brain and senses are constantly narrowing down our world.

Most growth mindset interventions don't work because they focus on: - changing 'other people's' attitudes rather than on the mindset of the person who is teaching or leading - catchphrases & posters rather than relationship & trust - specific results, like improving standardized test scores* *this is literally the opposite of how mindset shifts create change.

In order to teach growth mindset, we need to be sure it’s coming from an authentic place. It seems that much growth mindset teaching is focused on changing the attitudes of others’, rather than looking at how we internalize and... READ MORE The post Season 1 Episode 9 – How to be more authentic when you teach growth mindset appeared first on StefanieFaye.

Have you ever had a misunderstanding over text?  Maybe you texted someone and they didn’t reply right away.. or their answer left you feeling rejected or frustrated? Do you know why you feel the urge to put an exclamation mark... READ MORE The post Season 1 Episode 8 – Toxic Media: How social media impairs your brain, nervous system and relationship skills appeared first on StefanieFaye.

Earlier studies on fixed vs growth mindset reveal how we build bias and stereotypes. The original wording used by Carol Dweck and colleagues before they popularized ‘fixed versus growth mindset’ was ‘entity’ versus ‘incremental’ mindsets. Dweck’s research (included the idea... READ MORE The post Season 1 Episode 7 – How fixed mindset leads to bias, stereotype and prejudice appeared first on StefanieFaye.

The human ability to hear 'just noticeable differences' is significantly more powerful than what our eyes are able to detect on the visible wave spectrum. It's possible that what we hear is more important to our survival and well-being than what we see. And yet, in our digital age, we have become obsessed with what we look at.

Self-regulation requires special features of the brain that make us truly human: controlled, intentional and socially harmonious.  We are born to develop these skills - but we need to learn how to do this. Humans have a remarkable capacity to deliberately control their internal state.  It's not a skill that any other species has - and one that most of us don't really know how to do, but it can be developed.  How? By getting to know the autonomic nervous system, the vagus nerve and something called 'interoception': all three of which will make you better at noticing what our body and senses are constantly telling us.  Doing this helps us use more of the human features of the brain to keep us calm and in control.  In this episode, we'll move our focus away from the 'mental' and psychology-based idea of emotions, and move back into our body and senses to find out how we can have more control over our behaviors.

In this episode, we look at how neuroscience can help us develop a sense of 'Purpose': 1) That people are mainly reacting to life unconsciously (not 'on purpose').  Understanding this helps us get to the root of our issues, instead of repeating our reactions over and over again. 2) We can do more things 'on purpose':  by strengthening our prefrontal cortex, we can have more control over our reactions and behaviors. 3) How to tune in to a sense of purpose - the feeling that we know why we are here and what we are 'meant to do'. Topics covered: - A neuroscience explanation of the concept of purpose. - Methods and rituals we can use to have more control over our behavior and impulses. - Executive functioning skills. - Mindfulness and meditation. - Why we numb and distract ourselves, being uncomfortable to sit and go into our own thoughts. - Importance of expressing our uniqueness in a way that has value.

There's a lot of 'old science' out there. Stuff we humans used to believe that has been de-bunked. Things like...   'humans are more complex than other species, which means we have more genes.' Before the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, humans were estimated as having around 100,000 genes - more than any other species. Nope.  Turns out we only have between 20,000-25,000 genes. A tiny moss plant actually beats humans with 10,000 more genes than we do.  The sponge genome contains 18,000 genes, many of which are similar to people. In fact, humans and sponges share around 70 percent of their DNA. Previous generations simply did not have the same science and understanding of genes that we have now. They didn't know how much environment plays a role. "Genetic destiny" or determinism - the belief that we get what we get when we're born, and this will dictate the rest of our life... this is a belief that older generations had.    They were wrong. This includes our belief about the destiny of the brain.  In this episode, you'll find out the other two outdated systems most of us keep using that is holding us back from creating the change we hope to see. [Bonus: here's an extra science update that most people don't talk about: ALMOST ALL DINOSAURS were probably covered in feathers. The point?  We need to stay on our toes and make sure we don't keep passing on outdated thinking to the next generation :-) :-) ]

"It's not merely that we can't be loving or creative when we're scared; we can't heal." -Stephen Porges In order for us to access our most evolved neural and behavioral resources, we must be in a state of physiological and psychological safety. We'll explore this idea through the lens of something called the the Polyvagal Theory and the Social Engagement System.  This highly evolved system has to do with the 10th cranial nerve called the Vagus Nerve.  As soon as we move into a state of vigilance or defensiveness, we have less access to this very evolved system.  Understanding the Social Engagement System and the Vagus Nerve can help us do three key things: 1) regulate our own internal state, 2) have a better understanding of what other peoples triggers are and how to help them regulate themselves; and 3) create conditions that nurture the social engagement system and increase the chances that are more evolved systems can come online in a given moment.

In this revised first episode, we'll look at why fixed mindset is 'neurologically inaccurate', how our experiences build brain architecture, and two types of neuroplasticity that can help us re-program our behaviors We'll also see how struggle and failure spark powerful and creative changes in the brain why celebrating 'grit' and effort can be a bad idea. One of the most important ideas that anyone can bring into any learning environment is to help people recognize their capacity to learn. Simply because they are human. Simply because of the architecture of the human brain, they are capable of developing new adaptations and flexible ways of achieving their goals. And that is really what intelligence and learning is all about.