Dr. David Berson: Understanding Your Brain's Logic & Function

In this episode, my guest is Dr. David Berson, Ph.D., Professor & Chairman of Neuroscience at Brown University. Dr. Berson discovered the neurons in your eye that set your biological rhythms for sleep, wakefulness, mood and appetite. He is also a world-renowned teacher of basic and advanced neuroscience, having taught thousands of university lectures on this topic. Many of his students have become world-leading neuroscientists and teachers themselves. 
Here Dr. Berson takes us on a structured journey into and around the nervous system, explaining: how we perceive the world and our internal landscape, how we balance, see, and remember. Also, how we learn and perform reflexive and deliberate actions, how we visualize and imagine in our mind, and how the various circuits of the brain coordinate all these incredible feats. 
We discuss practical and real-life examples of neural circuit function across the lifespan. Dr. Berson gives us a masterclass in the nervous system—one that, in just less than two hours, will teach you an entire course's worth about the brain and how yours works.
Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.
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Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. David Berson  
00:03:11 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up
00:08:02 How We See  
00:10:02 Color Vision  
00:13:47 “Strange” Vision  
00:16:56 How You Orient In Time  
00:25:45 Body Rhythms, Pineal Function, Light & Melatonin, Blueblockers  
00:34:45 Spending Time Outdoors Improves Eyesight  
00:36:20 Sensation, Mood, & Self-Image  
00:41:03 Sense of Balance  
00:50:43 Why Pigeons Bob Their Heads, Motion Sickness  
01:00:03 Popping Ears  
01:02:35 Midbrain & Blindsight  
01:10:44 Why Tilted Motion Feels Good  
01:13:24 Reflexes vs. Deliberate Actions  
01:16:35 Basal Ganglia & the “2 Marshmallow Test”  
01:24:40 Suppressing Reflexes: Cortex  
01:33:33 Neuroplasticity  
01:36:27 What is a Connectome?  
01:45:20 How to Learn (More About the Brain)  
01:49:04 Book Suggestion, My Berson Appreciation  
01:50:20 Zero-Cost Ways to Support the HLP, Guest Suggestions, Sponsors, Supplements  
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