The Brain Blown Podcast

Things start becoming addictive when we start chasing the want and not the like. Yes, you want something... but are you enjoying it for the sake of enjoyment... or are you numbing something you don't want to feel instead? Following our full episode, the Neuroscience of Pleasure, this mini episode shines a giant light on our nervous system and its key role in managing pleasure and avoiding addiction. For more ways to get involved with the Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn about our offers! If you have any topic suggestions for future episodes, don't hesitate to reach out! Send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com. We'd love to hear from you. REFERENCES The Neuroscience of Happiness and Pleasure by Morten L Kringelbach and Kent C. Berridge Neuroscience of Affect: Brain mechanisms of pleasure and displeasure -- Kent C. Berridge and Morten L. Kringelbach The Neuroscience of Pleasure and Happiness By Luciano Marinelli A neuroscience perspective on pleasure and pain -- Dan-Mikael Ellingsen, Morten Kringlebach, and Siri Leknes

The balance of pleasure and pain is on an ever-swinging scale. (Cause they use the same receptors!) And encouraging others' pleasure enters us onto a whole new playing field. Following our full episode, the Neuroscience of Pleasure, this mini episode starts to steer us away from our own experiences of pleasure, and towards how our feelings (and actions) can affect others. __________________________________________________ For more ways to get involved with the Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn about our offers! If you have any topic suggestions for future episodes, don't hesitate to reach out! Send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com. We'd love to hear from you. REFERENCES The Neuroscience of Happiness and Pleasure by Morten L Kringelbach and Kent C. Berridge Neuroscience of Affect: Brain mechanisms of pleasure and displeasure -- Kent C. Berridge and Morten L. Kringelbach The Neuroscience of Pleasure and Happiness By Luciano Marinelli A neuroscience perspective on pleasure and pain -- Dan-Mikael Ellingsen, Morten Kringlebach, and Siri Leknes

If dopamine isn't pleasure (like we all think it is)... Then what is pleasure? Following our full episode, the Neuroscience of Pleasure, this mini episode dives more into dopamine's role while also highlighting a key neurotransmitter that doesn't get enough attention and might be the key to truly enjoying life's pleasures. Lastly, we look at some common pleasures - sex, food, etc. - and discuss how to enjoy them to the fullest. __________________________________________________ For more ways to get involved with the Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn about our offers! If you have any topic suggestions for future episodes, don't hesitate to reach out! Send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com. We'd love to hear from you. REFERENCES The Neuroscience of Happiness and Pleasure by Morten L Kringelbach and Kent C. Berridge Neuroscience of Affect: Brain mechanisms of pleasure and displeasure -- Kent C. Berridge and Morten L. Kringelbach The Neuroscience of Pleasure and Happiness By Luciano Marinelli A neuroscience perspective on pleasure and pain -- Dan-Mikael Ellingsen, Morten Kringlebach, and Siri Leknes

Pleasure is what drives us to do anything and everything in life. So how does our brain decide what we enjoy? What does too much pleasure look like, and how can we make sure the pleasures we pursue in life are healthy? Tune in to learn more, and look out for a few more mini-episodes along this topic next month. ______________________________________________________ For more ways to get involved with the Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn about our offers! If you have any topic suggestions for future episodes, don't hesitate to reach out! Send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com. We'd love to hear from you. REFERENCES The Neuroscience of Happiness and Pleasure by Morten L Kringelbach and Kent C. Berridge Neuroscience of Affect: Brain mechanisms of pleasure and displeasure -- Kent C. Berridge and Morten L. Kringelbach The Neuroscience of Pleasure and Happiness By Luciano Marinelli A neuroscience perspective on pleasure and pain -- Dan-Mikael Ellingsen, Morten Kringlebach, and Siri Leknes

In January we learned about the Neuroscience of Decision Making, and in this episode, we're taking a closer look at long-term decisions. So... how's that New Year's resolution coming along? Is it feeling like a wishful dream these days? Or maybe you've fallen off the wagon so many times, it seems easier to quit than keep at it? Your brain likes to make sticking to long-term decisions (like resolutions) feel as difficult as it seems... but what if there are ways to "cheat the system" and trick your brain to almost guarantee success in the long run? Give this mini-episode a listen to find some encouragement from your brain to keep going, along with useful suggestions to make it easier to reach your goals. _______________________________________________________ For more ways to get involved with the Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn about our offers! If you have any topic suggestions for future episodes, don't hesitate to reach out! Send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com. We'd love to hear from you. P.S. Like our new cover art? Just as this podcast continues to develop, so has our image. But we think this one may be the keeper! Stay tuned for the full image on our website -- update coming very soon. REFERENCES

From the everyday to the extraordinary, our decisions shape the course of our lives. So how exactly do the choices we make every day, and the people we come in contact with, change that course? And how can knowing more about our brains lead to better decisions -- ones that we can feel confident in and that match our strengths and values? Tune in as we uncover the secrets to better decision-making by understanding the inner workings of our brains. ______________________________________________________ For more ways to get involved with the Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠⁠⁠ to learn about our offers! If you have any topic suggestions for future episodes, don't hesitate to reach out! Send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com. We'd love to hear from you. P.S. Like our new cover art? Just as this podcast continues to develop, so has our image. But we think this one may be the keeper! Stay tuned for the full image on our website -- update coming very soon. REFERENCES

In light of our focus this season on mental health, we leave you with this tool to help ground your mind, activate your whole brain, and ease your body into a more relaxed state. Stay tuned for Season 3 of The Brain Blown Podcast coming in the new year! www.brainblownpodcast.com

Let's celebrate the holiday season with TWO EXTRA episodes to round out Season 2 of The Brain Blown Podcast! Following Part 1, this last shorter episode dives back into the neuroscience of trauma and specifically examines the body's role in storing trauma. Laine also highlights some brilliant takeaways we can all use to try and manage the stress in our lives and be prepared to take on everything life throws at us. This will be the final episode of the season, and we look forward to bringing you more brain-blowing info in the new year! Much Love, Cherys & Laine REFERENCES

Introducing our capstone episode of the season, and arguably one of the most important topics we've discussed to date. As it turns out, trauma is proven to play a much more direct role in our lives than we may have realized (as you'll hear around the 22-minute mark). In this episode, as Laine walks us through some of the science most noted from neuroscientist Bruce Perry, we discover just how impactful trauma -- both "capital T" and "little T" -- can be. In my experience while recording this episode, it took almost the entire hour+ to grasp the difference between these two traumas, and that shockingly enough, it's not the event that causes trauma. There's a lot to cover on this topic, and to do it justice, we've decided to break it up into two episodes. You'll receive one more episode + a bonus meditation in November! REFERENCES

As humans, we prioritize sight more than all other senses. But how does it work? How does our brain take light (and the absence of it) and turn it into the most vivid, detailed, and extravagant images and experiences of life? No surprise -- there's a lot more to it, and Laine tells us all about it in our final mini episode of the season. Listen in for a preview of what next season's mini-episodes could cover! REFERENCES The Science of Sight -- Scrippts Research Jean-Paul Noel, Mark Wallace, and Randolph Blake -- Cognitive Neuroscience: Integration of Sight and Sound outside of Awareness? Charlene Kasdorf -- Neuroscience of Sight Informs Visual Language Dr. Gregory Schimeca -- Your Eyes See Upside Down and Reversed Making Sense of Our Evolution by Darren Curnoe

If you've never had, or never known someone with an eating disorder, you might not feel like this episode applies to you. We promise you, it does, it applies to all of us. Because when it comes to eating disorders, it just feels so simple. Why can't this person just start (or stop) eating? But what if we told you it has very little to do with eating, and everything to do with how the brain sees the body? In this month's deep-dive episode, Laine walks us through the science behind the deadliest diagnosis in mental health. Using findings from scientists Riva, Southgate, Tchanturia, Treasure, Stanghellini, Ballerini, and Mancini we discuss things like: how the brain understands the body how this can and will rewire the brain why its so hard to stop a major takeaway to not only help stop unnecessary death but also change society and create more beauty and self-empowerment in our lives A small disclaimer: We will be connecting the research to understanding eating disorders to what we learned in both the Neuroscience of Depression and the Neuroscience of Addiction if you want to check those out ahead of time. If you want to know more ways to be part of our Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠⁠ to learn about our offers! If you have any topics you'd be interested in learning more about, please feel free to send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com! We'd love to hear from you. REFERENCES Giuseppe Riva, Ph.D. -- Out of my real body: Cognitive neuroscience meets eating disorders Laura Southgate, Kate Tchanturia, and Janet Treasure --Building a model of the aetiology of eating disorders by translating experimental neuroscience into clinical practice Giuseppe Riva, Ph.D. -- The Key to Unlocking the Virtual Body: Virtual Reality in the Treatment of Obesity and Eating Disorders Giovanni Stanghellini, Massimo Ballerini, and Milena Mancini -- The Optical-Coenaesthetic Disproportion Hypothesis of Feeding and Eating Disorders in the Light of Neuroscience

A little longer than usual, this mini-episode is a great follow-up to last month's topic on smell! (If you haven't given that one a listen, we recommend it but it's not required listening.) Prompted by a listener question: What's happening in our brains when we smell or taste, and what can we learn from it regarding losing those senses from COVID-19? Laine walks us through another surprising & brain-blowing topic! If you have any topics you'd be interested in learning more about, email us at info@brainblownpodcast.com! REFERENCES Hardwired for Taste by Bijal Trivedi Dana M. Small, Maria G. Veldhuizen, Barry Green -- Sensory Neuroscience: Taste Responses in Primary Olfactory Cortex Robert A. Wheeler and Regina M. Carelli -- The Neuroscience of Pleasure - Focus on "Ventral Pallidum Firing Codes; Hedonic Reward: When a Bad Taste Turns Good"

It's easy to assume that the brain functions differently for someone with schizophrenia... but you'll never guess why... And in this month's episode, Laine reports it to us short and sweet. (If you want to learn more about the extent of the science on your own time, be sure to check out the reference list below for more details.) But in addition to our usual content rundown for season two, Laine and I share space to discuss Enjoy this shorter episode, and be on the lookout for our last two episodes (and mini-episodes) coming out in September & October! If you want to know more ways to be part of our Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠ to learn about our offers! REFERENCES

Covid-19 has had wild effects on our sense of smell and taste... and for some, it completely blocked those senses altogether. So... how do we smell? Or equally important, why do we smell? What's going on in the brain that allows us to turn molecules from the air into a recognizable scent, that can even trigger memories? Learn the answers (and more next month) on this month's mini-episode! Visit our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BrainBlownPodcast REFERENCES Understanding Smell—The olfactory stimulus problem -- Benjamin Auffartha When the Sense of Smell Meets Emotion: Anxiety-StateDependent Olfactory Processing and Neural Circuitry Adaptation -- Elizabeth A. Krusemark, Lucas R. Novak, Darren R. Gitelman, and Wen Li What a Smell Looks Like -- Nsikan Akpan Smell and Taste Disorders in COVID-19: From pathogenesis to clinical features and outcomes -- Andrea Mastrangelo, Matteo Bonato, Paola Cinque The Sweet Smell of Success -- Dennis, C

Sometimes when we can't stop scrolling, we will joke that it's like we are addicted to our phones. Are we? Addiction is so prevalent both in numbers and in casual conversation, to the point where 'Wine Mom' and 'Beer Dad' are big box store t-shirts. But what is addiction? Is it a feeling that we crave, or is it more of an escape from something else? What keeps someone addicted, and why are addictions so hard to break? In this month's deep-dive episode, Laine walks us through some of the science behind the most prevalent and most impactful diagnosis we have had yet. Using findings from scientists Uhl, Koob, Cable, Volkow and Boyle, we discuss things like: For more resources on addiction, head to the episode on our website www.brainblownpodcast.com. If you have any topics you'd be interested in learning more about, please feel free to send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com! We'd love to hear from you. REFERENCES Donald L. Hilton,Jr and Clark Watts -- Pornography addiction: A neuroscience perspective George F. Koob, Pietro Paolo Sanna and Floyd E. Bloom -- Neuroscience of Addiction Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Maureen Boyle, Ph.D. -- Neuroscience of Addiction: Relevance to Prevention and Treatment George R. Ulh, George F. Koob, and Jennifer Cable -- The Neurobiology of Addiction

Endorphins -- a naturally-produced drug your body (and brain) can't get enough of. Legally Blonde fans know what we're talking about. ;) Enjoy this month's mini-episode where Laine continues to wow me with what our brains are capable of and how we can use its functions to better our lives. Our last two episodes in June were leading up to this, so if you haven't given those a listen we highly suggest it! RESOURCES: Rashad Roberson Nicholas A Kerna John Flores Kevin D Pruitt -- "Neuronal Mechanisms and Treatment Approaches to Emotional and Physical Pain" The Cleveland Clinic -- Endorphins

Throughout history, sexuality has been important to the continuation of our species. During this month of pride, we explore when we've turned sexuality into a diagnosis and where expressions of sexuality can be harmful or feel shameful. Cultural influences such as Rihanna's song "S&M," TikTok's 'book-tok' community's love of books with dominant characters, and "50 Shades of Gray" have all continued to bring more diverse sexual practices into the mainstream. Research has shown about 20% of people have some interest in kink. So why is this a diagnosis? Should it be? In this month's episode, Laine walks us through findings from Elise, Wuyts, Manuel, Morrens, and many others to help us better understand why the appeal for kink exists, when it can be harmful, and when it can be healthy. And helps explore: **Though this episode covers an adult topic, it does not have explicit content. As mentioned at the beginning of this episode, we've also started a Patreon! We value all of our listeners and want to get continue to grow this incredible work. Thank you so much to all our supporters and if you want to know more ways to be part of our Brain Blown Community, head to ⁠www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast⁠ to learn about our offers! RESOURCES https://www.esmeljames.com/ Elise Wuyts Manuel Morrens -- The biology of BDSM: a systematic review Kristina Gupta -- Protecting Sexual Diversity: Rethinking the Use of Neurotechnological Interventions to Alter Sexuality Siyang Luo, Xiao Zhang -- Embodiment and Humiliation Moderation of Neural Responses to Others' Suffering in Female Submissive BDSM Practitioners Umit Sayin -- DSM Controversies, Defining the Normal and the Paraphilia: Sexual Pleasure Objects, Fantasy, Variations, Soft-BDSM, ESR, Hypersexuality, Sex Addiction and Nymphomania Cara R. Dunkley, Anne Barringer, Silvain Dang, Lori A. Brotto -- Dispositional Mindfulness among BDSM Practitioners: A Preliminary Investigation Gautami Polepally Ashok -- Childhood Trauma, BDSM, and Self-Esteem: An Exploration of the Impact of Childhood Trauma on Sexual Behavior and the Effects to Self-esteem Ashley Brown -- A Systematic Scoping Review of the Prevalence, Etiological, Psychological, and Interpersonal Factors Associated with BDSM

We all know how it feels to be in pain. But WHERE you experience it may surprise you! In the Neuroscience of Pain, we'll explore how our brains process pain signals, how that process varies with different types of pain, and what you can do with this new knowledge to prepare and work through pain in the future. As mentioned at the beginning of this episode, we've also started a Patreon! We genuinely love sharing these brain-blowing facts and stories with you every month, and if you're enjoying it and would like to contribute (while getting some awesome Patreon perks in the process), head to www.patreon.com/brainblownpodcast to learn about our offers! REFERENCES Mauricio R. Papini, Perry N. Fuchs, Carmen Torres -- Behavioral Neuroscience of Psychological Pain James Giordano -- The Neuroscience of Pain, and a Neuroethics of Pain Care The Mindful Brain by Dr. Dan Siegal

Bipolar Disorder has been listed as one of the leading disorders of the Global Burden of Diseases... Yet the amount of research and funding put towards it is abysmal. Laine and I share that during our clinical education, we were taught almost nothing about the experience of mania, diagnosing, or treating the disorders like Bipolar. This episode share's what we know so far (from the MANY articles Laine went through to try to make sense of it) and what's happening in the brain -- referencing studies from Harrison, Gettes, Tunbridge, Clark, Sahakian, and more. It also touches on what needs to be done to not only better support those who have experienced manic episodes or have been diagnosed, but what is required for the field of mental health to improve. The takeaways of this episode are some of our favorites -- you can hear it in Laine's voice at the end. Enjoy -- and as always, if you have any questions feel free to email us at info@brainblownpodcast.com. REFERENCES Dionisio et al. - "Cognitive flexibility impairment and reduced frontal cortex BDNF expression in the ouabain model of mania" Dzirasa et al. - "Impaired Limbic Gamma Oscillatory Synchrony during Anxiety-Related Behavior in a Genetic Mouse Model of Bipolar Mania" Ferrari et al. - "Depression and Mania Induce Pro-inflammatory Activation of Macrophages Following Application of Serum from Individuals with Bipolar Disorder" Schmidta et al. - "Cerebrospinal fluid hypocretin-1 (orexin A) levels in mania compared to unipolar depression and healthy controls" de Soussa et al. - "Lithium increases plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor in acute bipolarmania: A preliminary 4-week study" Paul J. Harrison, John R. Geddes, and Elizabeth M. Tunbridge1 - "The Emerging Neurobiology of Bipolar Disorder" Luke Clark, Barbara J. Sahakian - "Cognitive neuroscience and brain imaging in bipolar disorder" G.S. Kirshenbaum, C. R. Burgess, N. De'ry, M. Fahnestock, J. H. Peever and J C Roder - "Attenuation of mania-like behavior in na+,k+-atpase a3 mutant mice by prospective therapies for bipolar disorder: melatonin and exercise" Emre Bora - "Neurocognitive features in clinical subgroups of bipolar disorder: A meta-analysis" Ryan W. Logan, Ph.D. and Colleen A. McClung, Ph.D. - "Animal Models of Bipolar Mania: The Past, Present and Future"

Fitting for this time of year, this mini-episode is all about the birds & the bees... kind of. In the Neuroscience of Orgasm, Laine walks us through the research of what's going on (or not) in our brains during that peak moment of pleasure. But don't worry, as we mention at the beginning -- we keep things science-forward and professional (as best we can). And because there's SO much to talk about, we opted to make this episode a touch longer than our usual 15 minutes... Hope you don't mind! Enjoy, and if any other questions come up be sure to let us know! Send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com. REFERENCES Jari Tiihonen, Jyrki Kuikka, Jukka Kupila, Kaarina Partanen, Pauli Vainio, Juha Airaksinen, Markku Eronen, Tero Hallikainen, Jarmo Paanila, Ilpo Kinnunen, Janne Huttunen - "Increase in Cerebral Blood Flow of Right Prefrontal in Man During Orgasm" Janniko .R Georgiadis, Rudie Kortekaas, Rutger Kuipers, Arie Nieuwenburg, Jan Pruim, A. A. T. Simone Reinders and Gert Holstege - "Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Changes Associated with Clitorally Induced Orgasm in Healthy Women" Genaro A. Coria-Avila, PhD, Deissy Herrera-Covarrubias, PhD, Nafissa Ismail, PhD and James G. Pfaus, PhD - "The Role of Orgasm in the Development and Shaping of Partner Preferences" The Science of Orgasm by Barry R. Komisaruk, Carlos Beyer-Flores, Beverly Whipple · 2006