Dr. Jay Kumar
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Thanks to everyone who attended the successful workshop last weekend on "Contemplative Neuroscience: Your Body as a Sacred Vessel." Please enjoy the podcasts to the lecture.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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The Political Brain Is an Emotional Brain:
Recent developments in brain imaging scans indicate that it is your emotional brain, and not your rational brain, that ultimately makes decisions on whom you marry, what brand of cereal you buy, the movies you see, and even the final choices you make in the voting booth. Anyone who keeps up with the news can tell you that politics, like religion, is an emotional trigger that greatly affects human behavior and decisions. The long-held view by neuroscientists and psychologists that your brain is largely a cool, rational, dispassionate thinking machine is no longer true. In fact, the human brain has more in common with those of our animal cousins when it comes to how we arrive at important decisions. Studies consistently show that human emotions and our primal instincts play more of a role in deciding who our next president is than the facts and figures of policy issues, political maps, or polling data. It is exactly this reason why candidates spend inordinate amounts of money on TV ads, in billboards, and through social media – they all are affective strategies that tap into your base emotional centers of the brain and influence how you will vote!
When it comes to politics and how people vote, whenever you pit the thinking rational brain against the intuitive, emotional brain, the latter invariably wins. Despite our human superiority in logic, reasoning, mathematics, and science, when it comes down to the final decision in the voting booth, your deeper emotions and primal passions ultimately win out. When you look at all the political ads, debates, and campaign speeches made by the candidates, it’s their innate ability to connect to the emotions of the electorate that ultimately wins the vote. This concept of the political brain as the emotional voting brain is now being substantiated by a growing number of neuroscientists and psychologists.
In the ground-breaking book The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation, the author Drew Westen argues that there are three things that ultimately win over voters: emotions toward a particular party and its platform, feelings toward a particular candidate, and emotional reactions toward a candidate’s policy positions. The reason why your emotions play such a crucial role in political elections is due to a concept known as the unconscious confirmation bias. Basically put, when your brain has made an opinion or already reached an unconscious decision, it will then employ the rational brain to gather selective facts and figures as evidence to support your decisions and validate your beliefs.
This aspect of the human brain reveals exactly why liberals and conservatives hold such strong and divergent beliefs on the same political topics such as abortion, gun control, taxation, health care, and marriage equality. No matter how many hard facts and figures candidates use to convince a person otherwise, once a predetermined opinion is grounded in your unconscious emotional brain, will it rarely be swayed by dispassionate logic or rational argument. As a result, this reason accounts for why both liberals and conservatives become equally convinced that existing evidence validates their fundamental respective views. This unconscious confirmation bias explains that even when presented with an overwhelming body of contrary evidence, our subliminal brain will always biasly pick and choose evidence that substantiates and confirms our original beliefs while discarding or reinterpreting the facts that threaten these opinions. It is why the human brain is always biased toward our emotions and deeper passions when it comes to whom and how we vote. (Full article in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Vol. 18, No. 11, pp. 1947-1958
Logos versus Pathos in the Brain:
With the recent breakthroughs in brain scans and neural imaging, we now have a clearer window that identifies where exactly in the brain we make our decisions and how we ultimately vote. The human brain, like the human psyche, has both a rational and empirical logos area and a subjective and emotional pathos part, which are often in conflict. In Westen’s study, a number of partisan test subjects, each affiliated with one particular political party, were shown videos of political candidates from the opposing party expressing a contrary argument for a specific policy position. The brain scans of these volunteers showed something completely novel and fascinating. When people were exposed to images of candidates, whom they disliked, presenting clear and objective facts on a certain policy point, the area of the brain associated with logical and rational decision making (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) was relatively inactive and quiet. The areas of the brain connected to our emotions (orbital frontal cortex), conflict resolution (anterior cingulate), and our pleasure-reward system (ventral striatum) were all highly active when test subjects were reacting to the policy facts and figures presented by the opposing candidate.
The research concluded that the brains of people watching political videos showed no increased activity in the rational and logical areas connected with processing facts and figures or asscociated with empirical reasoning. Rather, the parts of the brain that appeared to be the most active during the experiment were the areas connected with primal emotional responses, conflict resolution, and in the rewarding of selective behavior. It argues the point exactly how the unconscious confirmation bias actually occurs in our brain and in our decision making. When already having made a firm decision, your brain will take the facts and figures to either validate that belief or twist and manipulate the data to support your existing opinion, a process that takes place not in your rational and empirical logos brain, but exclusively in your subliminal emotional pathos brain. It is this neurological process that manfests in the political arena and accounts for why political candidates have a greater success of victory when speaking to the unconscious, emotional brain of a potential voter.
The Liberal versus Conservative Brain:
Medical research into the brain also reveals another startling piece of information – the brains of liberals and conservatives are actually different! While the subtle dissimilarities between the brains of males and females appear to perpetuate the battle of the sexes, neuroscience now similarly shows that the reason the political parties, like the sexes, always disagree might have a basis in neurology! While it’s not the intention to perpetuate stereotypes and to say that every liberal or conservative thinks the exact same way, more evidence points that there exist distinct correlations with brain and neural processing between the two political parties. Let’s explore just how exactly the brains of liberals and conservatives function differently.
The various studies measured specific involuntary responses in the nervous system, such as eye movement toward disturbing images and physical reaction to loud noises, in order to map their corresponding neurological activity in different parts of the brain. While the findings might be either controversial or comforting to those in both political parties, repeated studies point to an astounding conclusion. In the numerous experiments conducted, liberals appear to have more activity happening in the anterior cingulate cortex, the area in the brain associated with the ability to experience greater resilience to fear and tolerance to the unknown. On the other hand, the brains of conservatives when mapped were shown to have more activity in the right amygdala, the area responsible for greater sensitivity to change and reactivty to uncertainty. This difference in brain activity shows up not in only in how liberals and conservatives communicate and think differently, but also in how their brains are actually programmed to see the world differently!
Duke University psychiatrist Gregg Appelbaum explains the remarkable findings in a different way saying “the studies point toward conservatives’ tendency to avoid something called self-harm, while liberals avoid collective group harm.” While it’s not fair to stereotype all conservatives and liberals into either general category, the findings concur that there exists a general correlation between brain activity and political opinions, which ultimately determines how we vote. Basically, when exposed to images that illicit fear and uncertainty, if you tend to be a liberal the emotional part of your brain, responsible for feeling greater tolerance, will generally have a stronger capacity to cope with sudden changes in your environment. If you’re a conservative, the same images will trigger activity in the emotional brain associated with the greater need to experience precaution and judicious behavior when confronted with the unknown. As might be clear, both qualities of adaptability and precaution are vital tools for our human survival. In essence, the conclusions are not trying to state that being a liberal or a conservative is better than the other. The findings, however, observe that the brain behaviors of liberals and conservatives offer a profound neurological explanation exactly why the two parties have such a hard time seeing eye to eye.
According to Westen and similar research conducted by other neuroscientists, neuroscience won’t be able to predict one hundred percent of the time how a person will vote. The studies, however, can remarkably indicate within an 80-85% likelihood if a person will tend to have conservative or liberal leanings, based entirely on the different emotional regions in the brain that fire when exposed to certain policy issues. So basically, politics all comes down to emotions! How a person will make his or her decision when voting has more to do with how the right emotions will unconsciously confirm a person’s predetermined beliefs about a candidate or a critical piece of policy. According to what all the neuroscience studies attest, our rational, thinking brain tends to take the back seat in the voting booth. The research can be nicely summarized in a point I’d like to say is true: “Ultimately, the success of a politician isn’t in moving to the left or to the right but moving the hearts and emotional brains of the electorate.” Dr. Jay Kumar.
HAPPY VOTING!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Another affirming podcast on the profound healing power of the breath to create health & happiness in body, mind, heart, and spirit! Catch the episode with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show.
Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
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Neuroscience and global contemplative traditions both affirm the powerful health benefits of being present and living in the fullness of the here and now. Learn how you can experience greater joy, genuine happiness, and a positive outlook on life by "Being the NOW, Living in the WOW!" Learn more in the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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With the academic year in full swing, enjoy these great and valuable tips from brain research how you and your kids can improve focus, enhance memory, and make learning fun! Learn more in the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show. Catch all podcasts on my BLOG
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Take A Breather
My mantra for the past decade that I’ve been telling to my students and clients is that “how you choose to breathe determines how you choose to live, heal, and be.” I’m now going to add to that how you choose to breathe determines how you learn! We’ve all heard the phrase “Take a Breather” when we need to calm down from stress, frustration, or overwhelm, but it turns out that the phrase can now be backed up by neuroscience. The latest research into mind-body medicine consistently shows that slow, deep, focused breathing into the lower belly activates the body’s natural relaxation-response, a mechanism that is wired into the human nervous system and triggered by consciously shifting the quality of the breath. It now appears that the body's relaxation-response is not only an evolutionary tool for survival, but a vital mechanism to improve focus, maintain calm, and boost memory. Centering and focusing on your breath is such an effective technique in the learning process that I’ve recently decided to begin every university class that I teach by leading my students in a 5-miunte breathing exercise. We now know that when your brain and body come into alignment through the breath, it creates the important 4 C’s for learning: Calmness, Centeredness, Concentration, and Creativity! Watch this simple 5-minute guided video and breathing-exercise to teach help you get on track.
Before You Achieve It, You First Have To Visualize & Believe It!
Memory is one of the key components in learning. The traditional model of education focused on rote memorization of facts and figures with the expectation to recall such details for an exam. While this type of learning might be good for short-term memorization, true and effective learning is a multi-sensory skill that that requires long-term memory and multiple intelligences. Recent advances in brain-imaging now show that, in fact, different parts of the brain activate in short versus long-term memory. The pre-frontal lobe, the outer and more recently developed region of the brain close to the skull, appears to be the predominant area responsible in short-term memory, also known as working-memory. Long-term memory involves more complex and integrated brain regions that employ the older evolutionary and more interior regions of the human brain, specifically the hippocampus and the limbic system. So why is this so important? It turns out these regions of the brain connected to long-term memory are where your brain makes cognitive associations and synthesizes incoming data from all your five senses. More importantly, these regions are intimately linked to other areas of the brain that govern emotions and visualization, which utilize other vital forms of intelligence, such as emotional, kinesthetic, visual, and spatial learning.
All the studies in neuroscience now indicate that the brain, like the body, is a muscle that you can strengthen and harness for your advantage to accomplish your goals in life. A technique I use myself and with my own students, which has been recognized to enhance memory, performance, and confidence in leaning is cognitive visualization. A quote I often use to explain cognitive visualization is: “Before you can achieve it, you first have to visualize and believe it!” Whether you want to call it “creative imagery,” “emotional learning,” or “muscle memory,” neuroscience now validates the long-held believe that in order to accomplish a task, your chance of success increases when you use multiple forms of intelligence such as emotional, visual, and kinesthetic. The technique of cognitive visualization starts by having you first visualize in your mind what you want to accomplish and then feel the emotional quality of successfully achieving that goal.
Let’s take an example where you have to give a report in front of the class. While you will have to prepare for the actual presentation by doing your research, writing your notes, and memorizing your speech, you can also do a cognitive visualization technique on a daily basis before the actual task. Perhaps, you can visualize yourself delivering the presentation to your audience, picture the actual room, and even repeat the speech in your mind, while at the same time feeling the emotions of confidence and enthusiasm. What you’re doing is actually training a part of your brain known as the premotor cortex to help your body, mind, and brain prepare for the activity well before the actual event occurs. In a recent article published in the journal Science, years of research into the premotor cortex reveal that this region is what accounts for us effectively planning and strategizing in order to accomplish a goal, whether that is an athletic performance, playing a musical instrument, or taking an exam. It is as if your brain is already doing the action even before the body moves a muscle! Learn how cognitive visualization allows Olympic athletes, CEOs, and even students gain a considerable advantage when it comes to achieving their goals in my article here.
Shake It Out: Move, Play, & Have Fun
We all know that movement and exercise are important for the body and for optimal health. Recently, more evidence from educational neuroscience supports the conclusion that movement of any kind, whether it’s recess, sports, dance, yoga, or just plain fun and play, stimulates the brain and improves learning! With advances in brain-mapping, we observe that there is a direct correlation between movement and cognitive function, specifically in an area of the brain called the cerebellum, a region located at the base of the brain in the back of the head. While the cerebellum is only about the size of a fist and constitutes about ten percent of the brain’s volume, it contains almost half of all the neurons of the human brain. One reason why the cerebellum is so densely packed with neurons and recognized as the most complex part of your brain is due to the fact that its primary function is to govern motor control. Even more remarkable is that recent studies now suggest that the cerebellum’s motor control functions send important signals to other parts of the brain responsible for attention, spatial perception, and most importantly, for memory.
Why is this so important for educators, parents, and students to know? What the latest medical research indicates is that the same region of your brain that involves movement, exercise, fun, and play is the exact same area that governs cognition and learning! While there is a common bias that play and movement are fine only for younger children, the scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the brain’s ability to increase cognitive function through movement, exercise, and play is one that continues throughout life! Not only do exercise, movement, and play keep the body healthy, they also appear to stimulate brain activity, improve learning, enhance memory, and even promote motivation and instill confidence in the learning process. Now that’s one game I’ll gladly play! Read article explaining how movement and exercise improve cognition and learning.
Take a Hike, Literally!
Closely connected to the idea of how movement and exercise enhance learning is a corollary concept coming out of neuroscience that nature appears to promote a healthy brain conducive for learning. We all know how peaceful and relaxing it is to sit on the beach, hike in the mountains, or enjoy a beautiful sunset, but there appears to be something more profound happening in your brain whenever you’re immersed in nature. In a ground-breaking experiment published in Psychological Study a direct correlation was made between being in nature with increased cognitive attention. In 2002, a study was conducted in which 169 young girls living in public housing projects in urban Chicago were divided into two control groups: those living in units overlooking nature and greenery and those living in units void of views of nature. The results were astounding. The girls who had views of nature consistently performed better than those in the other control group in tests to measure focus, concentration, and mental discipline.
So how exactly does nature improve focus, enhance concentration, and perhaps even reduce anxiety and depression? The answer resides in your brain and relates again to the relaxation response, an evolutionary mechanism that appears to be “wired” into our neurobiology. The growing field of ecopsychology studies the affects of nature on the brain and reveals that your brain has two forms of attention: voluntary (direct) and involuntary (indirect). The voluntary/direct attention enables you to focus your thoughts and harness neural energy for tasks that require direct concentration, e.g. writing this article, taking an exam, or listening to a lecture. The other type is an involuntary/indirect attention that your brain does with little or no effort, e.g. watching a sunset, meditating, having a casual conversation, dancing, or being in nature.
In our current non-stop technologically driven world, a student's brain process on average 4 billion bits of information every second and about 700 ads every day, which doesn’t even include all the texts, emails, and other virtual data students receive on a daily basis. The brain is overwhelmed with all this sensory data, as it requires an unimaginable amount of forced and focused attention to be in this voluntary/direct mode. As a result, your brain functions in a constant stressful beta-wave state for the majority of your waking day. Rarely, do we take the time in our awake state for the brain to go into the involuntary/indirect attention state that correlates to the calming, soothing alpha-waves. (Learn about the different brain waves here) It appears that when we are immersed in nature, our brains automatically drop into the involuntary, indirect attention-mode that is connected with the healing alpha-wave brain state. Research suggests that even a short walk in the park during your lunch break, touching a tree on your way to school, or literally “stopping to smell the roses” once in a while is beneficial, as it is an evolutionary trait that your brain evolved to do. So while it turns out that certainly being in nature has tremendous benefits on the mind, brain, and learning, it appears that just having a view of nature from your home or in school can increase cognitive focus and attention in the classroom.
Relax & Sleep: More ZZZZ's Make for More A's
Of all the neuroscience tips for better learning, the one by far that is the easiest and simplest to do is sleep. In order to get those A’s you might need to get more Zzzz’s! Why sleep is so important is that scientific studies demonstrate it to have a significant impact on memory and learning. A fascinating experiment conducted at the Harvard Medical School on sleep, memory, and learning reveals that learning actually continues to occur while you are asleep and that getting a good night’s sleep after learning is just as important as getting rest before an exam.
Furthermore, it appears that the brain consolidates learning in sleep during the specific phase of Rapid Eye Movement (REM), better known as dream-state sleep. During this period important neural information is released from the hippocampus, the area responsible for memory, into specific areas of the cortex required for learning. Thus, the more sleep one gets the greater the duration of these important sleep phases to increase distribution of cognitive material into the appropriate neural networks. So the night after you learn about the American Civil War in school, during REM dream sleep your brain appears to review and reenact all that information, eventually solidifying them into your brain’s memory banks. What all the research into sleep, memory, and learning observes is very simple–the more sleep you get in the bedroom, the better chance of success in the classroom!
Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar
"How you choose to breathe determines how you choose to heal, to be, and live!" Learn what medical research affirmingly shows that shifting something as simple as your breath can transform your brain, heal your body, and create genuine happiness. Learn more in the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show.
Catch all podcasts on my BLOG.
Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar
"How you choose to breathe determines how you choose to heal, to be, and live!" Learn what medical research affirmingly shows that shifting something as simple as your breath can transform your brain, heal your body, and create genuine happiness. Learn more in the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show.
Catch all podcasts on my BLOG.
Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar
Neuroscience now shows that your brain, just like muscles in your body, is something you can strengthen and improve with practice and training. In fact, more medical research suggests that cultivating the qualities of compassion, empathy, and acceptance in your life can lead to a Healthy Brain, a Healthy Body, and Healthy You! Learn more in the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on The Doug Stephan Good Day Show. Catch all podcasts on my BLOG.
Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar