Change Your Mind = Change Your Brain

Doug Downs (00:12):

There are two ways you can think of your brain, scientifically and philosophically. Scientifically, your brain is just three pounds of jelly. That's it. With a memory storage capacity equivalent to a computer, able to store a hundred million TV shows. In high definition, you have extraordinary memory capacity. You just don't use it. Neither do I, neither does anybody else, but your brain is just a part of your body. It has the ability to influence other parts, but they too influence how you think. If your hands are cold, you think differently. If your feet hurt, you think differently. Your brain is not autonomous. It's a part of your body. Philosophically, your brain is somewhat profound when you think about it. Any part of your body can be replaced. New hip or new knees, sure, new organs like a heart, a liver, even new eyes, hair transplants, other transplants, prosthetics, any part of your body can be replaced except your brain. Take your brain and put it in another body. It's you in another body. You are your brain.

(01:54):

And the good news is you weigh only three pounds. When we change our mind, we decide to change the way we think about something. You already know that what influences that are social factors. Those close to us who share thought and society overall has influence on how we think. New information when we become aware of something we didn't know before, or old information we did know, but it wasn't top of mind, something or someone reminds us. And lastly, familiarity. If we are familiar with something, we might grow to think of it as our own, a sense of belonging to a tribe, if you will. But this episode is not about those behavioural influences, it's about the structural change in the brain. When we think differently about something today on stories and strategies, when we change our mind, how does our brain change? And are we entirely in control of that? My name is Doug Downs. My guest this week is Allyson Andrade. Hi Allyson.

Allyson Andrade (03:23):

Hi, Doug. How's it going?

Doug Downs (03:25):

Going well, you're joining today from Canada's biggest city, Toronto, which if you live there, of course you don't say it like that, you say Tawranna. So how's Tawranna today?

Allyson Andrade (03:34):

Well, actually I am in a city just outside of Toronto. It's called Guelph. And this is where I go to school. So I do all of my work here. So I live here and it's actually, it's really nice today.

Doug Downs (03:46):

Bonus points to you at home if you know how to spell Guelph. Beautiful area, just west of Toronto and a bit of a snow belt in the winter. But yeah, that's for, that's another day. Allyson, you're a PhD candidate studying behavioural neuroscience at the University of Guelph. You have a bachelor of science and a minor in biology from Wilfred Laurier University and a master's of Science and Psychology specializing in neuroscience from the University of Guelph. And you're also completing a business certificate at Guelph. Now your focus is on the neurobiology of learning and memory. Specifically how learned associations between stimuli fine tune our expectations about future events and guide our behaviour. So Allyson, to get started, we thought we'd put the glossary upfront. We're talking about how the brain physically changes. We should probably introduce some terms that are going to come up because I know you're going to refer to them. So real quick, back and forth, quick, and you can study these for years by the way, which people do. But quick definitions for neuroplasticity.

Allyson Andrade (04:54):

So neuroplasticity is the ability for the brain in its organization, function, structure, and connections to change and adapt in a way that is triggered or influenced by new experiences, learning or changes in the environment and its demands.

Doug Downs (05:16):

Perfect. And we're going to get into that a bit later. And that is a newer concept for science.

Allyson Andrade (05:21):

It is,

Doug Downs (05:21):

Yeah, the amygdala.

Allyson Andrade (05:23):

So when it comes to the brain, I just want to say this, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, meaning, right? Several brain regions function in concert to process some input or produce some output. So no brain region is necessarily responsible or can do just one thing. So when I talk about these brain regions, I'm mostly referring to the processes that they're heavily involved or implicated in. So with that being said, the amygdala, it's an almond shape structure, and it plays a key role in processing and regulating emotions. In particular, those related to fear. And it helps us to detect and respond appropriately to threatening situations

Doug Downs (06:07):

And nearby the hippocampus.

Allyson Andrade (06:10):

So the hippocampus, it's a structure that's critical for encoding and consolidating several types of memory. In particular, those related to facts, events or the environment. So spatial memory.

Doug Downs (06:25):

Perfect. And the prefrontal cortex.

Allyson Andrade (06:28):

So this is the most frontal region of our brain, and it's involved in so-called executive functions that encompass goal-directed behavior, decision making, planning ahead as well as attention and focus to certain situations. And it's also highly involved in social behavior and emotional regulation.

Doug Downs (06:53):

I've read somewhere that if I have a dream, the dream is crazy. I don't realize that while I'm dreaming, it all seems rational. But I wake up and very suddenly I realize, well, that was stupid. Why was I what the, it's because my prefrontal cortex is not really engaged while I'm dreaming. Do I have that right?

Allyson Andrade (07:10):

Yeah. I mean, I don't know about dreams, but we will get into this later, but that is certainly the case. When we're highly stressed, our prefrontal cortex tends to stop functioning as it should because our emotional processes start to kick in at that point.

Doug Downs (07:29):

Survival. Yeah. And then lastly, and importantly, how do electrical, chemical, and hormonal balances influence my brain? Real quick?

Allyson Andrade (07:40):

So this is going to be a long one actually. Okay. So in general, electrical, chemical, hormonal signaling, it plays a really important role in facilitating communication as well as coordination between ourselves and our tissues and organs, both within the brain and body. And so when it comes to electrical signaling, it mainly happens within neurons, which are specialized brain cells, also called nerve cells. And normally a nerve cell or neuron has a resting state where it's calm. It's not actively sending or receiving any signals, but when it does receive information from other neurons or senses, some change in the environment, it becomes stimulated. And when this stimulation is strong enough, it triggers what's called an action potential, which would be the equivalent of flipping on a switch in that it turns on the neuron to start sending its message from one end to the other. And once this process is initiated, these charged particles called ions, so they're both positive and negative, they move in and out of the neurons membrane to create these electrical changes or charges that ultimately help to propagate information from one end to the other.

(09:05):

So essentially what's happening is information is encoded and transmitted in neurons through these electrical signals. And it's the rate, the patterns, frequency, timing, and the coordination of other neurons firing that ultimately play a role in characterizing the message that's being sent. And so once the action potential reaches that other, the opposite end of the neuron, and we call this the pre-synaptic neuron, it triggers the release of special chemicals called neurotransmitters to a neighboring neuron called the post-synaptic neuron. And these transmitters tend to bind to the post-synaptic neuron, which can have a variety of effects depending on the type of neurotransmitter, the receptor that it's binding to, as well as where in the brain it's being transmitted. So we'll go through an example dopamine, it's, it's a very commonly known neurotransmitter

Doug Downs (10:05):

It's the happy transmitter, right?

Allyson Andrade (10:07):

It is in some ways, and it plays a role in reward and motivation, but it does have many other functions. But in the context of reward, there are dopamine neurons in the ventral segmental area, and this is located at the base of the brain. And these neurons within this region extend to various other regions that we mentioned earlier, including the amygdala, the nucleus accumbens, which is involved in motor functioning, the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. So let's imagine trying cookies for the first time. In that scenario, dopamine neurons within the ventral medial area, they're activated and action potential is triggered causing these dopamine neurons, as you can imagine by the name to release dopamine into these various regions. And I'm anthropomorphizing here, but dopamine release into the amygdala in its capacity to pro process emotions. The amygdala is going to say, okay, I really enjoyed this cookie.

(11:10):

I'm feeling so happy right now. Your hippocampus is going to kick in and say, okay, let's remember everything about this experience so we can do it again. Let's remember the chocolate chips and that you found them in the cookie jar, far in the corner of the kitchen, contextual details like that. Awesome. Your nucleus accumbens. It says in its capacity to influence motor functions. Okay, let's have another bite. How about another one? And how about another cookie? How about two? And your prefrontal cortex is maintaining focus and attention on this pleasurable experience while filtering out everything else that's going on that doesn't seem to matter in that moment. So after each bite, this process is repeated. And the ultimate consequence of this dopamine release through its contribution in eliciting pleasure learning and memory, motor control decision making, is that an organism will likely engage in behaviours that produce that dopamine in the first place. So again, this is just one example of what neurotransmitters can do, but we can see from here they have a very powerful influence on our brain and ultimately our behaviour.

Doug Downs (12:25):

Absolutely. Now, my son Owen, is 20. He flew to Toronto to see his favourite band, Weezer. And they, as far as I could recall, they'd always been his favourite band. When I picked him up at the airport, he told me a story though about how he used to hate Weezer, not just they were under his radar. He really, really disliked them. He did like the song Beverly Hills, but he hated Weezer. So then a friend of his who's close to suggested, no, don't, you should, Owen, you should sit and listen to some of their songs. And he did. And eventually Weezer became his favourite band. He changed his mind. So we can see a few things there in terms of the behavioural changes, there was social influence from his friend and then familiarity as he sat and listened to the music. My question is, what happened within his brain potentially?

Allyson Andrade (13:18):

So that's so funny. I have a very similar experience where growing up and going to university during my undergrad specifically, I didn't like country music at all. I was so opposed to it, with the exception of Shania Twain, of course. But then because my roommates and a lot of my friends, they loved country music, I was exposed to it a lot. And so by the end, and when I went to go complete my graduate studies, I realized, wait a minute, I actually really like this music. And I attribute this change to the fact that country music became associated with a lot of positive experiences and memories. And this idea that something neutral or even aversive can acquire new meaning by virtue of their association with something else is what behavioralists call Pavlovian conditioning. And we can look at the classic example of Ivan Pavlov's dog, where he was initially studying the physiology of dogs.

(14:19):

He was looking at digestion, and he realized that when food was presented, dogs began to salivate. And he realized that when he paired the food with a neutral stimulus such as a bell, the bell acquired similar meaning to the food such that when the bell was presented on its own, it elicited salivation. So the psychology of this is that in the dog's mind, the bell acquired meaning that was representative or indicative of food. And these associations, they are very subject to change over time and can be influenced or even weakened by the formation of new associations that prove to be more useful or adaptive.

Doug Downs (15:00):

So what's happening there? Is it dopamine that's being released in my brain? And then, yeah.

Allyson Andrade (15:04):

So going back to your son, at one point, Weezer was associated with something negative, and this would elicit strong negative emotions and avoidance for their songs. But through experiences where Weezer was paired with some reward, like social rewards, such as going to their concert or being at a party and listening to their music, it acquired desirable properties. So let's say you're at a Weezer concert and you're having a blast with your friends within the brain, perceptible information about the stimulus. In this case, it's the music or auditory information travels to sensory regions such as the thalamus and then to the auditory cortex where it's initially processed. At the same time, the information about social reward is relayed to the amygdala as well as other brain regions involved in processing rewards that I mentioned earlier, like the hippocampus, the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex. And so the amygdala in particular receives input from both the auditory cortex and the regions that are processing reward.

(16:10):

And it acts as a convergence point between these signals which allow the stimulus, which is the music and the rewarding information to come together. And over time, the repeated pairing of the music and the reward leads to changes in the connections between neurons and the amygdala, which is a process called synaptic plasticity, where connections between these neurons become more effective in their ability to communicate and they become strengthened. So as the connections between Weezer and social reward became strengthened, and by virtue the connection between music and the aversive emotions that your son had, at one point, as they become weakened, your son becomes more susceptible to seeking opportunities to listen or somehow engage with their music because it's now deemed more desirable by virtue of this association.

Doug Downs (17:07):

And the same could be true in that I could love something and I could learn or hate it. Absolutely. I could learn to detest it. Yeah.

Allyson Andrade (17:14):

So I mean, in that case, if you love something that you learn to detest, there's something about loving that thing that becomes something that you want to avoid and detesting it becoming, for some reason, rewarding. So it has a lot to do with the motivation.

Doug Downs (17:40):

When I want to change someone's mind, let's say someone is very much opposed to something, and it's my job to change their mind about it. I want them to first not oppose the thing that I'm introducing, but then I eventually want them to support it if I shame them, if I call them deniers of the thing I feel should be supported, or if I call them idiots for not supporting the thing that I support, we know that they entrench, they get deeper in the thing. They already believe in what's happening in the brain there.

Allyson Andrade (18:19):

Yeah. So when you say entrenched, you mean like their beliefs are becoming further reinforced? Yes. Yeah. So in that case, when a person's beliefs are attacked and they respond dispersively, there could be a variety of biological and psychological factors that reinforce these very beliefs. So firstly, because our beliefs are so intertwined with our sense of identity and our self-concept, a person might perceive criticism or even harsh criticism of those beliefs as a personal threat to their identity. So this triggers an individual to engage in motivated reasoning, which involves defending their beliefs and becoming even more convicted to those values so as to protect their sense of self. And this is a more psychological concept, but with that said, when an individual's identity is threatened, this is perceived as a threat and triggers a stress response, which we know has many effects. So for one, the amygdala becomes activated, creating a very emotional response, and the prefrontal cortex at the same time becomes less activated.

(19:27):

And this is called the amygdala hijack because activity in the amygdala overrides activity in the prefrontal cortex. And typically this would be adaptive in a life-threatening situation because you need to act quicker than you think. But in this scenario, even if one person is factually correct, the stressed individual is experiencing decreased prefrontal cortex activity that would impair or prevent their ability to think critically about what the person is saying. And another thing that happens during a stress response is our focus and attention narrows on the immediate threat, which is the person while filtering out other information. And this so-called tunnel vision reduces our ability to think about the information that's being relayed. So instead, we're more likely to form an association between the person who is attacking us and the values and opinions that they're trying to relay. And this would reinforce the avoidance of learning about or having those particular views. So we're going to avoid being associated with that thing because we see it as a threat to our identity.

Doug Downs (20:44):

And last question, and this one's actually pretty loaded, and you already know the answer to this, the thought of, am I in charge of my own brain? Off the top, I was describing how philosophically we are our brain, we are our body too. Absolutely. But parts of our body can be replaced at the end, can't replace your brain that your consciousness, whatever that is, exists as a result of what's happening in your brain. Am I in charge of my own brain or can my mind change without me being in charge of that?

Allyson Andrade (21:19):

So yes and no. So new information or being exposed to new experiences has both long and short term effects at a cellular level, and we obviously can't control those changes. So our brain undergoes changes in a way that we're not even aware of. And we see companies market products in ways that leverage this notion that that exposure to certain information or stimuli can influence consumer behaviour in ways that increase sales. So for example, a highly emotional campaign can draw on those Pavlovian conditioning techniques that will facilitate a connection between the brand and feelings of happiness or nostalgia and point or loyalty systems tap into those reward systems to increase engagement and facilitate repeat business. But that doesn't mean we're computers operating according to some algorithm. We are humans. We have this amazing capacity to self-reflect and introspect, and clearly we're capable of learning about these mechanisms that drive our behavior. So with those things combined, we're equipped with the capacity to understand how certain situations or experiences might be influencing our core values and beliefs and subsequently our behaviour. And that if we really want to change those beliefs and values, we can. And usually it takes a really important reason to do so.

Doug Downs (22:47):

Wonderful. And there are marketers out there who will say things like, with the right words, you can change anyone's mind, man, that can under my skin, because there is no buy button within the brain. It changes and there's influence, but ultimately, through conscious application, you can influence your own brain, is what you're saying.

Allyson Andrade (23:12):

Yeah. If you're aware of these changes, and sometimes you might not be at first, sometimes it only comes later with, like I said, introspection, we rely on our prefrontal cortex to self-reflect. We can become aware of these changes and sort of rewire our brain to develop more adaptive ways of thinking, and ultimately adaptive ways of interacting and behaving with the world around us.

Doug Downs (23:45):

I sincerely love this. I wish we had triple the time or more. Thank you, Allyson.

Allyson Andrade (23:50):

No problem. Thank you for having me.

Doug Downs (23:53):

If you'd like to send a message to my guest, Allyson Andrade, we've got her email in the show notes, stories and strategies as a co-production of J G R Communications and Stories and Strategies, podcasts. If you like this episode, would you do us a favor, share it with one friend. That's good social influence. Thanks for listening.