Huberman Lab
Dr. Kay Tye: The Biology of Social Interactions and Emotions
Mon Feb 05 2024amygdalaemotional processingsocial interactionsocial isolationsocial mediasocial rankdominancepsychedelicsacademic environment
Description
This episode explores the role of the amygdala in emotional processing, social interaction, and social isolation. Dr. Kay Tye's groundbreaking research on the amygdala's involvement in reinforcement of positive behaviors and experiences is discussed. The impact of social media on well-being and the harmful effects of social isolation are explored. The episode also delves into the concept of social rank and dominance, as well as the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. Finally, the importance of creating a healthy academic environment is highlighted.
Insights
The amygdala assigns meaning to anything that could have motivational significance.
This includes both fear-inducing stimuli and rewarding stimuli.
Social media interactions may create more hunger for social interaction rather than satisfying the need.
Different types of social media responses elicit different levels of interbrain synchrony and anxiety.
Social isolation and perceived loneliness have significant health consequences, including shortened lifespan and increased mood disorders.
Creating dynamic social experiences and protecting alone time can help maintain flexibility and resilience in the social homeostatic system.
Psychedelics offer the ability to experience different brain states and have long-lasting effects on one's life habits.
Current research involves recording from animals given psilocybin while performing conflict tasks to study decision-making under the influence of psychedelics.
Trainees in academia are not compensated or treated well enough to make it an attractive choice.
Developing sustainable ecosystems within leadership and management is crucial for creating resilience and adaptability in academic systems.
Chapters
- Understanding the Role of the Amygdala
- Social Interaction and Loneliness Neurons
- The Impact of Social Isolation
- Social Media and Its Impact on Well-being
- Understanding Social Rank and Dominance
- Exploring Psychedelics and Brain States
- Creating a Healthy Academic Environment
Summary
Transcript
Understanding the Role of the Amygdala
00:00 - 21:28
- Dr. Kay Tye, a professor of neuroscience, has made breakthroughs in understanding the amygdala's role in reinforcement of positive behaviors and experiences.
- The amygdala helps determine whether an environment or situation is safe and may be active when encountering novel situations.
- The amygdala assigns meaning to anything that could have motivational significance.
- The amygdala responds to novel stimuli that could be significant, such as fire alarms.
- Neurons in the amygdala predict both reward and fear/punishment.
- The amygdala is important for assigning importance but not for producing autonomic arousal associated with fear or panic.
- Damage to the amygdala can result in a lack of emotional response to different stimuli.
- The amygdala receives information from the rest of the body and can detect hunger through ghrelin receptors.
Social Interaction and Loneliness Neurons
13:59 - 35:03
- Dr. Tye's current work focuses on social interaction and loneliness neurons.
- She discovered a phenomenon called social homeostasis, which determines our satisfaction with social interaction regardless of introversion or extroversion.
- Social interactions have a significant impact on emotions, especially subtle ones that don't threaten life or safety.
- Detecting social cues and interpreting gestures involve complex processes that are still being studied.
- Social media platforms have created an arena where people seek positive feedback while avoiding negative feedback.
- Social media may not provide the same level of social contact as in-person interactions due to its asynchronous nature.
The Impact of Social Isolation
48:34 - 1:02:41
- Social isolation and perceived loneliness have significant health consequences, including shortened lifespan and increased mood disorders.
- The neuroscience community lacks comprehensive knowledge about social isolation due to historical experiments that caused irreparable damage to baby monkeys.
- Solitary confinement is considered torture, highlighting the negative effects of social isolation in humans as well.
- Acute social isolation leads to a rebound of pro-social behavior when reintroduced to the social group, while chronic social isolation results in territorial behavior and aggression.
- Creating dynamic social experiences and protecting alone time can help maintain flexibility and resilience in the social homeostatic system.
Social Media and Its Impact on Well-being
1:09:03 - 1:23:06
- Social media interactions are different from in-person or video chat interactions and may create more hunger for social interaction rather than satisfying the need.
- Different types of social media responses elicit different levels of interbrain synchrony and anxiety.
- Quality of social interaction matters, as the same gesture can have different meanings depending on the relationship and context.
- Anonymous interactions on social media can be difficult to interpret without additional context.
- Social media is designed to make us want to use it rather than making us feel better.
- Social media exposes people to things they didn't know they were missing, leading to a fear of missing out.
Understanding Social Rank and Dominance
1:43:26 - 1:57:01
- There are circuits within us that create desire or aversion responses, and many aspects of life offer opportunities to stimulate these circuits.
- The perception of social rank triggers certain brain regions, like the amygdala, and raises questions about inequality and resource allocation.
- Studying social rank is challenging because it's difficult to differentiate between individual identity and actual rank in brain activity.
- Dynamic hierarchies based on competence are healthier than rigid hierarchies based on one skill.
- The transition from being a trainee to becoming a scientist or investigator is discussed, highlighting the importance of taking initiative and doing experiments without explicit instructions.
Exploring Psychedelics and Brain States
1:56:39 - 2:11:07
- Psychedelics offer the ability to experience different brain states and have long-lasting effects on one's life habits.
- While there is ongoing research on using psychedelics as therapy for various conditions, the speaker aims to explore the cellular mechanisms and quantitative aspects of hallucinations and psychedelic experiences.
- There are different thresholds and states within the psychedelic experience, such as having a positive outlook, unity with oneself and others, clarity of the world, and more flexible thoughts.
- It is possible that transition probabilities between different brain states become looser during a psychedelic experience, allowing access to various emotions and thoughts.
- Current research involves recording from animals given psilocybin while performing conflict tasks. This helps study what happens when there's ambiguity or conflict in decision-making under the influence of psychedelics.
Creating a Healthy Academic Environment
2:17:39 - 2:25:47
- Academic research needed certain principles to establish itself as a profession, but the current academic culture is crumbling and struggling to retain people.
- Trainees in academia are not compensated or treated well enough to make it an attractive choice.
- The speaker received unexpected attention on social media after criticizing the problematic aspects of "Advice for Young Investigator," leading to a book deal and the opportunity to write their own book.
- Academia ranks second after the military in terms of sexual misconduct and retaliation issues, highlighting the need for change in power structures and hierarchy within academia.
- Developing sustainable ecosystems within leadership and management is an area that lacks literature but is crucial for creating resilience and adaptability in academic systems.