Brain Politics

Voices Around Us™
Brain Politics

In the podcast, Dr. Parinja will start by taking us through the brain, one neural system at a time. He will look at the function and purpose of these neural systems. He will use a "brain politics" model to discuss how these neural systems sometimes work in tandem and sometimes come into conflict with each other. He will use stories to illustrate how these systems produce thoughts, feelings and behavior. This understanding can be applied to preventing addiction, some mental health problems and improving wellbeing. Have Questions? Email Us with any questions you may have. We're here to help!

Episodes

  1. 12/12/2023

    Conclusion (Can We Do Better Than Just Treat Mental Illness?): A Second Meeting With ET

    Jack wants not just to recover from mental illness to his baseline but to do better. We discuss Jack’s exploration of the things that make him happier in a conversation with him and we go with him in to a dream in which he gets recommendations from ET on spirituality.

  2. 11/28/2023

    What Would E.T. Say? (An Alien Anthropologist's Perspective): A First Meeting

    Dr. Parinja’s fictional patient Jack meets ET in his dreams and comes away with a different perspective on the state of human progress and learns how we should logically have a lot more positive emotions than we do. He gets an idea of what the distant human future could look like as artificial intelligence grows and Jack and ET try their hand at some evolutionary hypotheses.

  3. 11/14/2023

    Managing Brain Politics When Two Realms Meet (Communication and Conflict Resolution)

    Every interaction between two people can be thought to be an interaction of two realms, each with their own respective characters. Successful communication involves managing not only one's own realm but also navigating the realm of the other person to get them to understand and feel what you are trying to tell them. We walk through some of the techniques and pitfalls of communication using the two realm concept. We learn about the Dukes' love of dueling and how to overcome it.

  4. 10/31/2023

    What People Want and Why (A Deep Dive Into Our Evolutionary History)

    We take a journey in a time machine to see how ancient humans lived and also get some insights into the evolutionary challenges that shaped our brains using dreams that Dr. Parinja’s fictional patient Jack had, inspired by two iconic Hollywood movies. This episode summarizes what humans want socially and why.

  5. 10/17/2023

    The Robot and the Ghost (The Brain's Ancient Autonomous Systems)

    The Robot is the brain's habit system. It works to automate anything that we do repeatedly. It reduces the effort needed for the action and eventually takes over the action so we can do it without thinking. The Ghost is the brain's unconscious. There is a lot that goes on in the brain outside of our conscious awareness, which profoundly influences how we think act and feel. Knowing the rules by which these two systems operate is vital for the King to excel at Brain Politics.

  6. 10/03/2023

    The King (The Brain’s Executive Functions)

    The King sits in front and above the rest of the systems. He is younger (in evolutionary terms) than some of the more ancient systems. The King can inhibit and modulate the drives arising from the other parts of the brain. He is smart but not he must take his time to know the rules by which the other players operate to help us get the outcomes we want. The King must be an expert in Brain Politics to keep his hold on the realm.

  7. 09/19/2023

    The Duke of the Brain (The Emotional System): A Second Meeting

    We revisit emotions and see what goes into making people have the kind of emotional system they have. We look at the impact of childhood experiences in shaping our emotional lives. We move on from negative emotions to the positive emotion-happiness. We discuss a pitfall that comes with pursuing happiness.

  8. 09/05/2023

    The Duke of the Brain (The Emotional System): A First Meeting

    The emotional system is the Duke of the brain. It is ancient, powerful and makes us think, feel and want to act in certain ways. It also makes us see everything through the emotional lens we are feeling. It makes us recall information linked to the emotion and our future seems to be imbued with the emotion we are feeling. We look at the evolutionary function of emotions and some life lessons we can draw from them.

  9. 08/22/2023

    The Treasurer of the Brain (The Reward System)

    The Reward System is like the brain’s treasurer makes us like and want anything that we want. It has its peculiarities and certain rules that govern it. We learn those rules from events in Jack’s life. We understand the basis for the one cardinal Reward System rule for our well being and lay out that rule.

  10. 08/08/2023

    Can Your Brain Handle Ice Cream?

    This an introduction the challenges our modern environment poses to our brains that are evolution optimized for another time. A time when food shortages were a greater risk to the health of humans then excess food intake. We meet my fictional patient Jack for the first time.

  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

In the podcast, Dr. Parinja will start by taking us through the brain, one neural system at a time. He will look at the function and purpose of these neural systems. He will use a "brain politics" model to discuss how these neural systems sometimes work in tandem and sometimes come into conflict with each other. He will use stories to illustrate how these systems produce thoughts, feelings and behavior. This understanding can be applied to preventing addiction, some mental health problems and improving wellbeing. Have Questions? Email Us with any questions you may have. We're here to help!

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