Improving our neuroplasticity | Dr. Kelly Lambert | TEDxBermuda

TEDx Talks

3 Feb 202019:42

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRIn this insightful talk, a neuroscientist explores the paradox of rising depression rates despite the multibillion-dollar antidepressant industry. She posits that our sedentary lifestyles and disconnection from nature might be contributing factors. Drawing on neuroscience and historical insights, she introduces the concept of 'behaviorceuticals'—activities like knitting and gardening that can positively alter our neurochemistry and mental health. Through engaging stories and rat studies, she emphasizes the importance of effort-based rewards and enriched environments in fostering resilience and well-being.

Takeaways

🧩 The human brain is uniquely designed to solve mysteries, and one such mystery is the increasing rate of depression despite the multibillion-dollar antidepressant industry.
💊 Neurochemistry is a common area of focus for treating depression, but the approach has limitations because it's challenging to mimic natural neurochemical balances with medication.
🏃‍♂️ The speaker suggests that the brain's design for movement might be a clue to understanding depression, as movement is a fundamental behavior that our brains are wired to facilitate.
🧠 The cerebellum, which contains 80% of the brain's neurons, plays a significant role in motor coordination, indicating the importance of movement to our brains.
🛋️ A modern sedentary lifestyle, with less physical movement, could potentially impact our brains and mental health, contrasting with the active lifestyles of our ancestors.
📺 The speaker reflects on how lifestyle changes over the past century, such as the introduction of television, have reduced our physical activity and potentially affected our mental well-being.
👵 The speaker shares personal anecdotes about her grandmother's active lifestyle and the sense of accomplishment and community it fostered, contrasting with today's more passive activities.
🌱 The idea that our ancestors' physical interaction with the environment might have been a natural form of mental health support, akin to 'prehistoric Prozac'.
🚶‍♂️ Charles Darwin's use of walking as a method to regulate his emotions is highlighted as an early example of behavior influencing neurochemistry.
🧶 The concept of 'behaviorceuticals' is introduced, suggesting that engaging in behaviors that change neurochemistry in healthy ways could be beneficial for mental health.
🧘 The speaker's research with rats indicates that effort-based rewards and enriched environments can increase neuroplasticity and emotional resilience, supporting the idea that behavior can positively affect mental health.

Q & A

What is the main mystery that the speaker is trying to solve in the script?
-The main mystery the speaker is trying to solve is why depression rates continue to rise despite the existence of a multibillion-dollar antidepressant industry.
What is the speaker's profession and how does it relate to the topic of the script?
-The speaker is a neuroscientist, which relates to the topic of depression and its potential solutions through understanding the brain's neurochemistry and behavior.
Why does the speaker believe that our brains are uniquely designed to solve mysteries?
-The speaker believes that our brains are uniquely designed to solve mysteries due to their complex circuits that allow us to put pieces of puzzles together.
What is the speaker's perspective on the effectiveness of neurochemical antidepressants?
-The speaker suggests that neurochemical antidepressants are not very precise and do not reliably help everyone with depression, indicating a need to explore other approaches.
What role does the cerebellum play in the brain according to the script?
-The cerebellum, which contains about 80% of the brain's neurons, is most noted for its role in controlling motor coordination.
How does the speaker relate the physical movement and our brain's design to mental health?
-The speaker suggests that our brains have evolved to move our bodies and that physical movement, which engages various parts of the brain, might have a positive impact on mental health.
What is the term 'behaviorceuticals' coined by the speaker and what does it imply?
-'Behaviorceuticals' is a term coined by the speaker to imply the idea that engaging in certain behaviors can change our neurochemistry in healthy ways, similar to how pharmaceuticals do.
What historical example does the speaker provide to illustrate changes in human lifestyle and its potential impact on mental health?
-The speaker provides the example of the invention of television in 1939 and the subsequent lifestyle changes, suggesting that a more sedentary lifestyle could have an impact on mental health.
How does the speaker connect the concept of effort-based rewards to the brain's reward system?
-The speaker connects effort-based rewards to the brain's reward system by explaining that engaging in behaviors that result in tangible outcomes can stimulate the nucleus accumbens and other related areas, potentially improving mental health.
What experiment did the speaker conduct with rats to understand the impact of effort-based rewards on their brains?
-The speaker conducted an experiment where rats were trained to 'harvest' Froot Loops by digging in an arena, creating a connection between effort, reward, and brain activity, with a control group receiving rewards without effort.
What was the outcome of the rat experiment involving an enriched environment and its impact on learning to drive a car?
-Rats from the enriched environment learned to drive a car in 22 trials, while the standard environment rats did not learn to drive effectively, suggesting that an enriched environment enhances learning and possibly mental health.

Outlines

00:00

🧩 The Puzzle of Persistent Depression

The speaker begins by expressing the enjoyment of reading mysteries during rare moments of leisure, highlighting the human brain's innate ability to solve puzzles. However, they express concern over the paradox of rising depression rates despite the existence of a multibillion-dollar antidepressant industry. With nearly 300 million people suffering from depression, the speaker calls for better solutions and suggests looking beyond neurochemistry for answers, hinting at the importance of movement and the brain's design for physical activity.

05:01

🤔 The Search for Alternative Depression Solutions

This paragraph delves into the challenges of treating depression with neurochemical drugs, which, while seemingly logical due to the brain's rich neurochemical environment, often fail to precisely address the imbalances associated with depression in all individuals. The speaker, a neuroscientist, proposes considering the brain's evolution for movement, pointing out the cerebellum's significant role and the striatum's involvement in motor coordination. The speaker ponders the impact of modern sedentary lifestyles on our brains, contrasting them with the active lives of our ancestors.

10:03

🌾 Reflecting on Ancestral Movement and Mental Health

The speaker reminisces about their grandmother's active lifestyle and the sense of accomplishment derived from her labor-intensive activities, suggesting a link between physical work and mental well-being. They propose that our ancestors' reliance on physical interaction with the environment might have provided a natural form of mental health support, akin to a 'prehistoric Prozac.' The speaker also touches on Charles Darwin's use of walking as a means to regulate his emotions, foreshadowing the concept of 'behaviorceuticals'—using behavior to alter neurochemistry.

15:03

🧶 The Therapeutic Power of Repetitive Activities

In this paragraph, the speaker discusses the therapeutic effects of repetitive activities like knitting, which were historically prescribed to women to alleviate anxiety. The speaker explains the neuroscientific basis for this, including the increase in serotonin levels during repetitive behavior and the boost in dopamine associated with anticipation and pleasure. They also mention the reduction in stress hormones and the potential increase in oxytocin when engaging in such activities with others, emphasizing the importance of these neurochemical changes in mental health.

🐀 The Rat Experiments: Effort-Based Rewards and Neuroplasticity

The speaker shares findings from experiments with rats, where they investigated the effects of effort-based rewards on brain health. Rats trained to 'harvest' Froot Loops as a reward for their efforts showed increased neuroplasticity and better coping mechanisms compared to a control group that received rewards without effort. The speaker also discusses the benefits of an 'enriched environment' for rats, which led to higher emotional resilience and improved learning capabilities, suggesting that such environments could have a positive impact on mental health.

🌳 The Importance of Nature and Enriched Environments

The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of reconnecting with our evolutionary roots and incorporating effort-based rewards, particularly those involving nature, into our modern lives to improve mental health. They share an anecdote about teaching rats to 'drive' a car, demonstrating that those from enriched environments learned the task much faster, underscoring the power of environmental enrichment on learning and mental well-being. The speaker advocates for the integration of 'behaviorceuticals' into our lives to naturally enhance our neurochemistry and neuroanatomy for better mental health.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Neurochemistry

Neurochemistry is the study of chemical processes and substances that occur in the nervous system, particularly in the brain. In the context of the video, it is highlighted as a critical area of focus in understanding and treating depression, given the significant impact of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, and glutamate on behavior, emotions, and thoughts. The script discusses the challenges of using pills to mimic natural neurochemical balances, emphasizing the complexity of brain chemistry.

💡Depression

Depression, as mentioned in the video, is a mental health disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest or pleasure in activities. The script uses the term to underscore the paradox of increasing depression rates despite the existence of a multibillion-dollar antidepressant industry, suggesting that current treatments may not be fully effective or that there may be other contributing factors to consider.

💡Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system, including the brain. The speaker, being a neuroscientist, uses this term to describe her approach to understanding the brain's role in movement and its implications for mental health. The video emphasizes the importance of considering the brain's evolutionary design and its relationship with physical movement when exploring solutions for depression.

💡Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a region of the brain that is responsible for motor control, coordination, and precision. The video script points out that the cerebellum contains about 80% of the brain's neurons, indicating its significant role in movement. This is used to argue that the brain's design for movement might be more important for mental health than previously considered.

💡Motor Cortex

The motor cortex is a region of the brain involved in voluntary movement. The script highlights the motor cortex's role in controlling specific muscles, with a large proportion dedicated to hand movements, suggesting that physical activity, particularly involving the hands, could be integral to brain health and emotional well-being.

💡Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that facilitate communication between neurons. The video discusses several neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, which are crucial for mood regulation and are implicated in depression. The script suggests that while drugs can alter these chemicals, a more natural approach to rebalancing them through behavior might be beneficial.

💡Behaviorceuticals

Behaviorceuticals is a term coined in the video to describe the concept of using intentional behaviors to change neurochemistry in a healthy way, as an alternative to taking pills. The video argues that engaging in activities that have a positive impact on mental health, such as knitting or other repetitive tasks, can naturally increase beneficial neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.

💡Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. The video script discusses how engaging in certain behaviors can increase neuroplasticity, which is associated with better mental health outcomes. The speaker's research with rats demonstrates that effort-based rewards and enriched environments can stimulate neuroplasticity naturally.

💡Stress Hormones

Stress hormones, such as cortisol, are chemicals released in response to stress and can have negative effects on mental health when present at high levels. The script points out that reducing stress hormones is important for combating depression, and behaviors that can decrease these hormones, like knitting or being in an enriched environment, are suggested as beneficial.

💡Oxytocin

Oxytocin, often referred to as the 'cuddle hormone,' is a hormone that plays a role in social bonding and stress reduction. The video script mentions that engaging in cooperative activities in an enriched environment can increase oxytocin levels, which may contribute to better mental health and emotional resilience.

💡Effort-Based Rewards

Effort-based rewards are positive outcomes that result from an individual's own efforts or actions. The video discusses the concept as a key component of 'behaviorceuticals,' suggesting that activities that require effort and result in a tangible reward, such as cooking or gardening, can have a positive impact on mental health by reinforcing the brain's reward pathways.

Highlights

The speaker discusses the paradox of increasing depression rates despite a multibillion-dollar antidepressant industry.

The human brain's unique ability to solve mysteries is highlighted, drawing a parallel to the ongoing challenge of understanding depression.

Neurochemistry is identified as a key area in the search for clues about depression, with neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin playing significant roles.

The difficulty of mimicking nature's balance with antidepressants is emphasized, pointing to the limitations of current treatments.

The importance of movement and the brain's design for physical activity is underscored, suggesting a potential overlooked factor in mental health.

The cerebellum's role in motor coordination and its significance due to the high number of neurons it contains is noted.

A historical perspective on lifestyle changes and the advent of television is used to illustrate the shift from active to more sedentary behaviors.

The speaker's personal anecdotes about her grandmother's active lifestyle and its potential mental health benefits are shared.

The concept of 'behaviorceuticals' is introduced, proposing that engaging behaviors can alter neurochemistry in healthy ways.

Knitting as a historical example of a 'behaviorceutical' is discussed, explaining its calming effects through increased serotonin and dopamine.

The role of oxytocin in fostering positive relationships and reducing stress is examined in the context of social behaviors.

The speaker's research with rats is described, focusing on the effects of effort-based rewards on brain plasticity and resilience.

The impact of an enriched environment on rats' learning abilities and emotional resilience is detailed.

The surprising finding that rats in an enriched environment learned to 'drive' a car more effectively is shared.

The conclusion that our evolutionary roots and behaviors are crucial for mental health, not just pharmaceuticals, is presented.

The speaker calls for a balance between technology and our innate need for effort-based rewards to support mental well-being.

Transcripts

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