The Nature & Nurture Podcast

Dr. Alexey Tolchinsky is a licensed psychologist and an adjunct professor at the George Washington University. 

In this episode, we discuss Alexey’s clinical experience as a therapist, our shared research interests in neuropsychoanalysis, chaos theory as a way to measure complexity in neuroscience and psychology, narrative fallacy in research, and the importance of specifying the right level of analysis for psychological problems. As case studies we discuss personality traits, anxiety, core affects within basic emotion theory, and their connections to evolutionary psychology and analytic psychology.

Dr. Nicholas Christakis is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University, where he directs the Human Nature Lab. Dr. Christakis is an MD-PhD physician and sociologist known for applying social network analysis to the study of public health and the evolutionary psychology of cooperation. He is the author of several books including Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society.

In this episode Dr. Christakis and I discuss the methods of social network analysis, similarities and differences to game theory and population simulation research, and how cooperation and friendship co-evolved with social cognition. We discuss evolutionary explanations of modern day public health dilemmas including disease spread, obesity, loneliness, and internalizing disorders, as well as their development across the lifespan and cross-culturally. 

Dr. Mark Solms is a neuropsychologist, Professor at the University of Cape Town, and author of The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness. 

In this episode, we discuss The Hidden Spring - core areas within the brainstem which are the root of all feeling and consciousness in all vertebrates - and pioneering discoveries from affective, cognitive, and computational neuroscience that bridge together to build this theory. We discuss connections to philosophy of mind, active inference and predictive processing theories of consciousness, the (im)plausibility of panpsychism, whether memory is necessary for consciousness, the difference between metacognition and consciousness, how brain damage influences consciousness, feeling, and decision-making, whether invertebrates or even single cellular life can learn and possess consciousness, and where cognitive neuroscience has gone astray in being overly reductionist and dismissive of the complexity of animal subjective experience. We also talk about core differences between basic emotion theory, which states that we evolved with core brain systems dedicated to innate qualitatively distinct emotions, and constructed emotion theory, which argues that all emotions are cognitive contextual interpretations of affective valence and arousal. Finally, we discuss Dr. Solms’ early research on dreams, the connection between dreams, memory consolidation, imagination, and problem-solving, and the history and legacy of psychoanalysis in shaping modern neuropsychology.

Dr. Jorge Morales is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at Northeastern University, where he directs the Subjectivity Lab. In this episode, we discuss Jorge’s research on the neuropsychology and philosophy of visual perception, introspection, and theory of mind as lenses through which to study consciousness.

We discuss the neural and computational building blocks of perception, the evolution of self-awareness, consciousness in simple organisms, and the plausibility of panpsychism and other theories of consciousness. We also discuss brain damage and psychiatric illnesses, such as blindsight agnosia and schizophrenia hallucinations as windows into how our brain constructs or misconstructs the reality in front of us. Lastly, we discuss philosophical questions of ontology and epistemology: do objects really exist in the way that our mind perceives them?

Dr. Beatriz Luna is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, where she directs the Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development. Dr. Luna is an expert in adolescent brain development and the neurodevelopment of the dopamine reward system, and its interactions with inhibitory control to produce developmental changes in sensation seeking and risk-taking. 

In this episode, we discuss Dr. Luna’s Driven Dual-Systems Model of adolescent-risk taking, adolescence as a sensitive period for neurocognitive development, and how the dopamine reward system changes with age and puberty. We discuss the role of hormones explaining sex differences in brain development, sensation seeking, and risk-taking, and their evolutionary origins and comparisons in other mammals. Lastly, we discuss translational implications of Dr. Luna’s work for understanding mental health, and findings from clinical endocrinology populations informing theories of how hormones influence brain development prenatally and during puberty. 

Dr. Robert Chavez is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Oregon, where he directs the Computational Social Neuroscience Lab. https://csnl.uoregon.edu/

In this episode, Rob and I discuss our shared background in cognitive science and statistics, our mutual interests in neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, social cognition, personality, behavioral genetics, artificial intelligence, and philosophy, and the divergence in research. Where my interests turned more developmental, Rob’s turned computational. We discuss Rob’s research using a variety of advanced neuroimaging analysis and machine learning techniques in order to understand individual differences in social cognitive traits, how to interpret diffusion MRI, white matter structure, and connectivity. We also discuss how evolutionary theory and animal research informs our understanding of social cognition, introspection, and consciousness, and speculate about these traits in artificially intelligent systems. 

Dr. Adriene Beltz is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, where she directs the Methods, Sex Differences, and Development Lab.

Dr. Larry Young is the William P. Timmie Professor of Psychiatry at Emory School of Medicine, where he directs the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience and the Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition at Emory University. He is the author of The Chemistry Between Us: Love, Sex, and the Science of Attraction explores the latest discoveries of how brain chemistry influences all aspects of our relationships with others. Dr. Young’s research focuses on the role of oxytocin and vasopressin in mediating social bonding and sexual behavior across a wide range of species, with emphasis on understanding the evolution and neural circuit mechanisms underlying love, attachment, and social bonding in humans.

01:11 From Biochemistry to Behavioral Biology: A Scientist's Journey

02:14 Exploring the Sexual Behavior of Lizards

05:25 The Red Queen Hypothesis and Evolutionary Biology

08:02 Diving into Human Hormones and Brain Development

08:58 The Complex World of Gender and Sexuality in Nature

15:14 Unraveling the Mysteries of Love and Bonding in Voles

18:42 Oxytocin: The Hormone of Birth, Bonding, and Beyond

22:06 The Science of Touch and Social Connection

26:59 Understanding Love as a Form of Addiction

30:08 The Impact of Losing a Partner on Prairie Voles

31:56 Exploring Love and Addiction Through Oxytocin Studies

32:27 Debating Love: Chemical Reaction or More?

34:09 The Science of Attraction: Oxytocin's Role

37:01 Understanding Love and Bonding Across Species

41:28 The Intricacies of Sexual Behavior and Attraction

47:42 The Evolutionary Mechanisms of Mating and Bonding

59:41 Utilizing Science to Strengthen Relationships

02:15 The Paradox of Virality: Why Negative Content Spreads

10:17 Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Media Behavior

14:50 The Creator's Dilemma: Navigating Virality and Authenticity on TikTok

36:07 The Science of Clickbait: Understanding What Captivates Us

40:41 The Power of Podcasts: Fostering Connection in the Digital Age

42:39 Exploring Parasocial Relationships and Social Media Dynamics

46:06 The Impact of Negativity Bias and Climate Doomerism

51:46 Social Media's Role in Global Connectivity and Cultural Evolution

01:14:11 The Power of Inoculation Theory Against Misinformation

01:22:13 Navigating the Complex Landscape of Social Media Regulation

01:28:50 Concluding Thoughts on Social Media's Societal Impact

Dr. Rob Henderson is a Psychologist, Air Force Veteran, and author of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class. Expanding on our past episode, in which we discuss luxury beliefs, social status, and classism at length, this time our discussion is much more personal. In this episode, Rob and I discuss formative experiences written in his memoir, the impacts of childhood poverty on health and future success, the importance of self-discipline, the politics of diversity and inclusion in academia, trickle-down meritocracy, and much more.