neuroscience
May 18, 2021
Myth #1: Brain cells die off as we age. Brain cells, or neurons don’t necessarily die. In fact, neurogenesis is the process of expanding neurons as we age. Myth #2: Brain development ceases in childhood or early adolescence. It’s true the greatest neural development occurs in our youth. However, we can continue to build mental capacity as we age. Myth #3: We can’t change our brain or who we are. There are steps we can take to maintain and enhance our brain health, or cognitive fitness. Rodney Gilkey and Clint Kilts describe these steps in a Harvard Business Review article […]
March 21, 2021
Emotions do not start and stop. Emotions are continuous interpretations of our world. In the 1970s Walter Mischel’s studies demonstrated our ability to control our impulses has a huge impact on our entire life. Children who were able to postpone gratification of one marshmallow for the reward of two marshmallows if they could wait fifteen minutes scored 200 points higher on their SATs a decade later. Self-control allows us to make responsible choices when faced with other appealing short-term options. Trying to hide your feelings from someone is called expressive suppression. Studies show suppression is distracting because it requires having […]
January 13, 2020
Threat is more powerful than reward because our brains are designed to keep us safe. Studies show the avoid (threat) response generates more arousal, more quickly and lasts longer than the approach (reward) response. The limbic system within the brain controls our emotions. It can process information within a fifth of a second before it reaches conscious awareness. It remembers whether something should be avoided or approached. We may consider this intuition. It is reflex designed for survival. Physical and social pains produce similar responses. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows the same areas of the brain are stimulated whether the […]