#22 Social Neuroscientist: "What Everyone Gets Wrong about Dopamine & Serotonin"

Dr Taylor Guthrie is a social neuroscientist, researcher, and one of the leading experts in how our sense of self emerges from our relationships, our goals, and the powerful social forces around us

We all assume we know what’s happening inside our own minds. But what if the way you describe your identity—your inner narrative, your motivations, your beliefs—turns out to be incomplete?

What if you’ve spent your entire life overlooking how deeply social context shapes you? Taylor’s research suggests that most people don’t truly understand the hidden processes guiding how they think, feel, and behave

Expect to learn why the self is far more malleable than you might believe, how close friendships literally alter the brain’s activity, why dopamine is more about drive than pleasure, how the default mode network weaves your memories into a cohesive story, whether so-called “quick brain hacks” truly live up to the hype, and the fascinating ways that shared group identity can both unify and polarise us

This episode will make you question everything you thought you knew about your own mind.

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00:00 Intro: The Most Social Species On Earth

01:54 Why Should Anyone Care About Social Neuroscience?02:57 How Our Brains Evolved For Social Interaction

03:43 Language & Cooperation: The Human Advantage

05:04 Abstract Thinking & The Evolving Frontal Lobe

08:40 What Does It Mean To Have a “Self”?

10:47 How the Self Impacts Motivation & Memory

15:15 Seeing Others as Extensions of Ourselves

20:10 Shifting Selves Across the Lifespan

27:10 Redefining Goals: The Neuroscience of Change

34:55 Dopamine vs. Serotonin: A Complex Interaction

39:00 Intrinsic Motivation & Identity

42:50 Overcoming Bad Habits & Building New Paths

49:04 Mental Illness & the Self: Depression, Anxiety & Identity

56:00 Myths About Dopamine & “Quick Brain Hacks”

01:01:30 Cannabis, Psychedelics & Ego Dissolution

01:07:52 The Default Mode Network: A Master Conductor

01:13:10 Daydreaming, Self-Talk & Integrating Experience

01:21:59 Group Identity, Polarization & Belief Systems

01:30:25 Neuralink, AI & Real-Time Brain Data

01:40:52 The Potential & Risks of Brain-Tech Integration

01:48:45 Leaving Self-Limiting Beliefs Behind

01:56:15 Practical Takeaways for Changing Your Self-Concept

02:03:10 Final Reflections & Where Neuroscience Is Headed

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