My BrainWise Coach

My BrainWise Coach
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Welcome to My BrainWise Coach — a podcast exploring the intersection of neuroscience, behavioral science, and psychology to help you live and lead better lives. Hosted by Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon, each episode connects brain science to everyday life, leadership, and relationships. You’ll gain practical insights into emotional intelligence, habits, trust, change, growth, and many other topics — all grounded in research and real human experience. 🧠 Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay BrainWise.

  1. 5d ago

    1 in 4 NFL Players Had CTE: What the New Study Means (S3E18)

    A new study in The BMJ puts a hard number on something researchers have chased for years. At least one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE at the time of death, and that is the most conservative reading of the data, not the likeliest one. Cole and Phil walk you through where that number comes from, why it reaches well past American football, and what is actually happening inside the brain, in plain English. Learn more, get certified, take the Personal Threat and Reward Profile (PTP), and book personalized 1:1 coaching at brainwiseenterprises.com. What you get in this conversation: Daniel Daneshvar's 2026 BMJ study, and why 25% is the floor rather than the estimateThe donation bias problem, and how the same data supports a ceiling near 97%The 2022 Glasgow study on former Scottish rugby internationals and their 2.67 times higher neurodegenerative disease riskA 2025 meta-analysis placing CTE prevalence at 64.7% in rugby and 53% in American footballThe 2019 NEJM soccer study and the 3.5 times higher rate of death from neurodegenerative diseaseBobby Hull, stage 2 CTE, and what the hockey data addsTau explained as scaffolding: how impact makes it sticky, how it clumps, how it spreadsWhy subconcussive hits, not diagnosed concussions, appear to drive the cascadeYouth heading restrictions from the FA and US Soccer, and whether they go far enoughThe informed consent question the BMJ editorial puts to every contact sport If this helps you think differently about how your brain works, rate and review wherever you listen, then follow, comment, and share at @mybrainwisecoach. 00:00 The Deal No Neuroscience Jargon 02:09 The BMJ Study One In Four 03:13 Why Brain Bank Data Is Biased 04:07 What CTE Is Four Stages 05:34 Rugby Players Neurodegenerative Disease Risk 06:36 Hockey Boxing And Bobby Hull 07:16 Soccer Heading And Dementia Risk 09:34 The Technical Version Of CTE 10:53 Tau Explained As Brain Scaffolding 12:51 Subconcussive Hits The Silent Damage 14:28 Should Kids Head A Football 15:42 What Leagues Are Actually Doing 16:40 Informed Consent And Tobacco Parallel 17:55 The Scaffolding Summary Field Guide 19:11 Ten Thousand Small Hits Daneshvar, D. H., Mez, J., Nowinski, C. J., Cantu, R. C., et al. (2026). Prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy among former National Football League players. The BMJ, August 25, 2026. https://concussionandcte.org/nfl-cte-prevalence-study/Russell, E. R., Mackay, D. F., Lyall, D., Stewart, K., MacLean, J. A., Robson, J., Pell, J. P., & Stewart, W. (2022). Neurodegenerative disease risk among former international rugby union players. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 93(12), 1262–1268. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2022-329675Qi, et al. (2025). Prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in athletes with repetitive head impacts: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 35, e70047. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.70047Mackay, D. F., Russell, E. R., Stewart, K., MacLean, J. A., Pell, J. P., & Stewart, W. (2019). Neurodegenerative disease mortality among former professional soccer players. New England Journal of Medicine, 381(19), 1801–1808. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1908483Ling, H., Morris, H. R., Neal, J. W., Lees, A. J., Hardy, J., Holton, J. L., Revesz, T., & Williams, D. D. R. (2017). Mixed pathologies including chronic traumatic encephalopathy account for dementia in retired association football (soccer) players. Acta Neuropathologica, 133(3), 337–352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-017-1680-3Boston University CTE Center (2023). CTE diagnosed in 345 of 376 former NFL players. https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/Concussion Legacy Foundation and Boston University CTE Center (2025). Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull diagnosed with CTE. https://www.bu.edu/cte/2025/02/19/hockey-hall-of-famer-bobby-hull-diagnosed-with-cte

  2. Oct 18

    How Limiting Beliefs Get Installed and How the Brain Breaks Them (S3E17)

    You have carried a belief about yourself since childhood that someone else handed you, and you have probably never tested it. Phil Dixon has spent years watching one of those beliefs come apart in about ninety seconds, using nothing more than an orange and a single change of instruction. This episode walks you through exactly what happens in the brain when that belief falls, and why the mechanism applies to far more than catching. Learn more, get certified, take the Personal Threat Profile, and work with us one on one at brainwiseenterprises.com. What you get in this one: Why "I can't catch" lives in explicit declarative memory rather than in your motor systemHow the prefrontal cortex retrieves the identity statement and triggers the threat response before your hand ever movesThe one instruction that removes the task, occupies the prefrontal cortex, and frees the visual motor pathway to run cleanThe woman with vision in one eye who was told her whole life that she had no depth perception, and what happened when she watched the dimple insteadMonocular depth cues, optical expansion, motion parallax, and the cerebellum's predictive modelHow the audience does real neurological work by flipping the protection driver into the participation driverThe seven-step field guide for running the demonstration yourselfWhat the tears actually are when a lifelong belief gets falsified in publicRate and review us wherever you listen, and follow @mybrainwisecoach across platforms. Your review helps another BrainWise friend find the show. 00:02 The Moment A Belief Breaks 01:21 Welcome And Neuroscience Of Sports 02:14 Choosing The Volunteer Who Cannot Catch 03:05 What The Belief Looks Like Neurologically 04:45 Where The Belief Came From 06:21 The Orange And The Dimple 07:24 Removing The Task From The Brain 08:20 Why The Motor System Runs Free 09:36 Escalating Throws Build Witnessed Evidence 11:03 How The Audience Does Neurological Work 12:18 The Woman With One Eye 15:29 A Belief Installed As Medical Fact 16:46 Why People Cry After Catching 18:12 Seven Step Field Guide 21:37 What The Orange Actually Proves 22:41 Practitioner Guide And Close

  3. Oct 11

    What Causes Depression? New Brain Cell Research Changes the Answer (S3E16)

    Your friend is quiet at lunch, and by evening you are certain she is upset with you. A landmark study out of Columbia, published in Nature Medicine this month, traces that exact experience down to a stalled process inside a single region of your hippocampus. Phil and I read the paper carefully so you can understand what it actually shows and what it does not. Learn more, get certified, take your Personal Threat Profile, and book 1:1 coaching at brainwiseenterprises.com. You'll hear: How the Columbia team profiled roughly 495,000 hippocampal cells from depressed and non-depressed donorsWhy adult hippocampal neurogenesis stalls in depression rather than stopping outrightWhat pattern separation is, and how the dentate gyrus keeps similar memories from bleeding togetherWhy impaired pattern separation makes neutral events arrive already feeling like threatsHow the BrainWise protection driver gets calibrated against old rejections instead of current eventsThe unresolved scientific debate over whether adult humans make new neurons at allSorrells 2018, Boldrini 2018, and the March 2026 Nature multiomic studyMaura Dupont's vision of reclassifying depression by molecular features, the way oncology reclassified cancerWhy roughly a third of patients do not respond adequately to standard antidepressantsWhat exercise and antidepressants actually do to hippocampal neurogenesis Rate, review, and follow at @mybrainwisecoach so more people find this work. 00:00 The Lunch That Felt Wrong 01:55 Welcome And Episode Roadmap 02:59 Inside The Columbia Hippocampus Study 04:15 How Adult Neurogenesis Actually Works 06:28 Pattern Separation Explained 07:54 Why Neutral Events Feel Threatening 10:06 Protection Driver And Threat Profile 11:16 The Adult Neurogenesis Debate 14:30 Reclassifying Depression Like Cancer 17:29 Exercise Antidepressants And Neurogenesis 18:48 What Depression Actually Is 20:17 Support Resources And Close Peng, M. S., et al. (2026). Dysregulated adult hippocampal neurogenesis in major depressive disorder. Nature Medicine. Open access. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04571-8 Sorrells, S. F., et al. (2018). Human hippocampal neurogenesis drops sharply in children to undetectable levels in adults. Nature, 555, 377-381. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25975 Boldrini, M., et al. (2018). Human hippocampal neurogenesis persists throughout aging. Cell Stem Cell, 22(4), 589-599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2018.03.015 Tosoni, G., et al. (2023). Mapping human adult hippocampal neurogenesis with single-cell transcriptomics: Reconciling controversy or fueling the debate? Neuron. https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(23)00206-4 Disouky, A., et al. (2026). Human hippocampal neurogenesis in adulthood, ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10169-4 Krotkova, O. A., et al. (2025). Delayed, transient, lateralized deficits in pattern separation and pattern completion after focal hippocampal irradiation in humans. Scientific Reports, 15, 43846. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-29852-z Pereira, A. C., et al. (2007). An in vivo correlate of exercise-induced neurogenesis in the adult dentate gyrus. PNAS, 104(13), 5638-5643. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0611721104 Erickson, K. I., et al. (2011). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. PNAS, 108(7), 3017-3022. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1015950108 Columbia University Irving Medical Center press release: https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/depression-stalls-formation-new-brain-cells

  4. Oct 4

    Big Five Personality Test: Why Knowing Your Results Won't Change You (S3E15)

    You take a personality assessment, read the results, and think yes, that's me. Six months later you land in the exact situation it warned you about and respond exactly the way it predicted, having changed nothing. Phil and Cole unpack the neuroscience behind that gap, and why a description of what you're like is a fundamentally different measurement from a map of what your brain is most alert to. Visit https://brainwiseenterprises.com to learn more, get certified, take your Personal Threat Profile, and book personalized 1:1 coaching. What you get in this conversation: The lexical hypothesis and the 1936 dictionary study that produced the Big FiveCosta and McCrae's NEO Personality Inventory and the 60-item NEO-FFIWhat a personality trait actually measures, and why traits hold steady across situationsBig Five predictive validity, from conscientiousness and job performance to neuroticism and stressWhy a neurological sensitivity is a different kind of measurement from a traitThe Personal Threat and Reward Profile's five drivers: protection, participation, prediction, purpose, and pleasureFour coaching cases where the Big Five alone misreads the client, including the introvert with a high participation driver and the low-agreeableness client with a hidden belonging needWhy two people with identical neuroticism scores need completely different coaching conversationsThe double edge principle and the developmental calibration of threat sensitivity Rate and review the show wherever you listen, then follow @mybrainwisecoach on every platform. CHAPTERS 00:00 Why Personality Assessments Don't Change Behavior 01:21 Welcome To My BrainWise Coach 02:28 Lexical Hypothesis And Big Five Origins 04:33 What Personality Traits Actually Measure 06:15 Traits Versus Neurological Threat Sensitivity 07:45 The Personal Threat And Reward Profile 09:48 Four Cases Where Frameworks Diverge 15:16 What Each Framework Uniquely Gives You 17:48 Field Guide Summary And Close REFERENCES Allport, G. W., and Odbert, H. S. (1936). Trait-Names: A Psycho-Lexical Study. Psychological Monographs, 47(1). https://doi.org/10.1037/h0093360 Costa, P. T., Jr., and McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory and NEO Five-Factor Inventory Professional Manual. Psychological Assessment Resources. Barrick, M. R., and Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1991.tb00688.x McCrae, R. R., Terracciano, A., and 78 Members of the Personality Profiles of Cultures Project (2005). Personality Profiles of Cultures: Aggregate Personality Traits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(3), 407-425. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.3.407 CONNECT Website and Personal Threat Profile: https://brainwiseenterprises.com Podcast: https://brainwiseenterprises.com/podcast Everywhere else: @mybrainwisecoach #Neuroscience #BigFive #PersonalityTest #Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #MyBrainWiseCoach

  5. Sep 27

    Working With a Visionary Founder: The Curse of Knowledge Explained (S3E14)

    A visionary founder shares a brilliant idea, someone asks a reasonable clarifying question, and the meeting falls apart. You have probably watched this happen, or lived it from one side or the other. Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon explain why the pattern is neurologically predictable rather than anyone's fault, and hand you seven tools that work with the founder's brain instead of against it. Learn more, get certified, take your Personal Threat Profile (PTP), and book personalized 1:1 coaching at brainwiseenterprises.com. What you get: Why high openness to experience and reduced latent inhibition let visionary founders see connections other people missThe schema problem, and why a founder's idea feels complete to them and incomplete to everyone elseThe curse of knowledge, first documented by Camerer, Loewenstein, and Weber in 1989How the protection driver turns a clarifying question into a perceived attack on competenceWhy the team's prediction and participation drivers make speaking up feel socially riskySeven tools: confirmation questions, extension questions, the prototype sketch, the yes and opening, the designated translator, structured idea capture, and the PTP-informed pre-meeting frameWhy the team member who does not understand the idea is your map, not your obstacle If this episode helps you think differently about how your brain works, rate and review us wherever you listen, and follow @mybrainwisecoach everywhere. CHAPTERS 00:00 The Joy And The Terror01:42 Welcome To My BrainWise Coach02:51 High Openness And Latent Inhibition04:13 The Schema Problem Explained05:10 The Curse Of Knowledge06:02 The Clarification Trap Explained07:11 Why The Team Nods Along08:51 How The Failure Mode Accumulates09:29 Tool One Confirmation Not Clarification11:05 Tool Two Extension Not Evaluation12:00 Tool Three The Prototype Sketch13:00 Tool Four The Yes And Opening13:50 Tool Five The Designated Translator15:07 Tool Six Structured Idea Capture16:01 Tool Seven PTP Pre-Meeting Frame17:27 Phil's Single Most Important Point18:51 White Paper And Closing Thoughts REFERENCES AND MATERIALS DISCUSSED Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., and Weber, M. (1989). The Curse of Knowledge in Economic Settings: An Experimental Analysis. Journal of Political Economy, 97(5), 1232 to 1254. https://doi.org/10.1086/261651 Carson, S. H., Peterson, J. B., and Higgins, D. M. (2003). Decreased Latent Inhibition Is Associated With Increased Creative Achievement in High-Functioning Individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(3), 499 to 506. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.499 Peterson, J. B., and Carson, S. (2000). Latent Inhibition and Openness to Experience in a High-Achieving Student Population. Personality and Individual Differences, 28(2), 323 to 332. Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge University Press. Felsman, P., Gunawardena, S., and Seifert, C. M. (2020). Improv Experience Promotes Divergent Thinking, Uncertainty Tolerance, and Affective Well-Being. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 35. Lewis, C., and Lovatt, P. J. (2013). Breaking Away From Set Patterns of Thinking: Improvisation and Divergent Thinking. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 9, 46 to 58.

  6. Sep 20

    Neuroscience of Creativity: Why Your Prefrontal Cortex Blocks Ideas (S3E13)

    Your best ideas rarely show up at your desk. They arrive in the shower, on a run, in the car, at the exact moment you stop trying to solve the problem. A brand-new Emory study explains why, and the answer is that the most sophisticated part of your brain is often the thing standing in your way. Learn more, get certified, take the Personal Threat Profile (PTP), and book personalized 1:1 coaching at brainwiseenterprises.com. Cole and Phil walk you through: The 2026 Emory study in Science Advances by Kai Lu and Robert Liu, showing that silencing the medial prefrontal cortex lets mice learn a better strategy three times fasterWhy the prefrontal cortex runs a "win-stay" system that conserves old patterns instead of breaking themCharles Limb and Allen Braun's 2008 jazz improvisation fMRI study and the dorsolateral prefrontal deactivation it foundSiyuan Liu's 2012 freestyle rap study reproducing the same neural fingerprintArne Dietrich's transient hypofrontality hypothesis and what hard exercise does to your evaluating brainThe 2026 Frontiers review on flow states and default mode to executive network connectivityRight temporal alpha and the neuroscience of the aha momentWhy creative generation and creative evaluation need separate calendar blocksThe prediction driver in the Personal Threat and Reward Profile, and why high-certainty brains feel this mostThe cognitive mechanism that makes psychological safety a creativity intervention, not just a culture oneRate, review, and follow the show at @mybrainwisecoach. It moves the episode in front of the leaders who need it. 00:00 When Your Best Thinking Happens01:52 Welcome To Neuroscience Digest02:54 The Emory Mouse Maze Study04:17 Silencing The Prefrontal Cortex05:19 The Poker Player Analogy06:10 The Mouse Model Caveat07:20 Jazz Improvisation In The Scanner08:34 Freestyle Rap Shows The Same Pattern09:18 Transient Hypofrontality And Hard Exercise10:23 Exercise Intensity And Divergent Thinking11:16 What Flow States Reveal12:31 The Aha Moment Mechanism13:21 Why Four Studies Converge14:55 Generating Versus Evaluating Ideas16:03 The Prediction Driver Connection17:11 Stop Brainstorming At Peak Focus18:09 Exercise As A Cognitive Strategy19:07 Psychological Safety And Creative Output20:23 The Single Most Important Point21:50 Closing Thoughts And Sign-Off Lu, K., Wong, K. T., Yang, C. J., Zhou, L. N., Shi, Y. T., Costello, M. L., & Liu, R. C. (2026). Neural competition between prefrontal and auditory cortex constrains novel sound strategy learning. Science Advances. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb3005 Limb, C. J., & Braun, A. R. (2008). Neural substrates of spontaneous musical performance: An fMRI study of jazz improvisation. PLoS ONE, 3(2), e1679. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0001679 Liu, S., Chow, H. M., Xu, Y., Erkkinen, M. G., Swett, K. E., Eagle, M. W., Rizik-Baer, D. A., & Braun, A. R. (2012). Neural correlates of lyrical improvisation: An fMRI study of freestyle rap. Scientific Reports, 2, 834. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00834 Dietrich, A. (2003). Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis. Consciousness and Cognition, 12(2), 231-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1053-8100(02)00046-6 Maleki, M., Ahmadpour, A., Moraru, A., & Memmert, D. (2024). Acute aerobic exercise and creative thinking: Comparison of transient hypofrontality state and strength model of self-control's theoretical predictions. Retos, 58. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v58.103685 Barnett, K., & Vasiu, F. (2026). Enhanced functional connectivity between the default mode network and executive control network during flow states may facilitate creativity and emotional regulation. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 19, 1690499. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1690499

  7. Sep 13

    Can Dogs Smell Stress? What Brain Scans Reveal About Your Dog (S3E12)

    You walk in after a brutal day, and before you say a word your dog is already there, doing the specific thing they do when something is wrong. You assume you are projecting. Four peer-reviewed studies say you are not. Learn more, get certified, take the Personal Threat Profile (PTP), and book 1:1 coaching at brainwiseenterprises.com. Hernández-Pérez and Cuaya's 2026 iScience study at the University of Vienna, scanning awake pet dogs in an fMRI as they viewed human facesWhy a human smile lights up the caudate nucleus, the dog's reward center, and the caveat the authors raise themselvesWilson, Campbell, Petzel and Reeve at Queen's University Belfast, where four dogs identified human stress by scent alone at 93.75% accuracyHow your stress chemistry changes your breath and sweat within four minutes, and what that means for service dogs and panic attacksKoskela and colleagues on heart rate variability synchrony between dogs and owners, and why the dog appears to be leadingSundman's finding that long-term cortisol mirroring survives when you control for shared exerciseNagasawa's oxytocin gaze loop and Larry Young's feedback model of social bondingWhere the participation, pleasure, and protection drivers show up inside the dog-human bond Rate, review, and follow @mybrainwisecoach wherever you listen. Your review is what helps other people find the show. 00:00 Your Dog Already Knows Something 01:03 Four Studies On Dog Cognition 01:46 Awake Dogs Inside An fMRI 03:01 Happy Faces Light Reward Centers 03:55 Separating Anger Fear And Sadness 05:26 What Brain Scans Cannot Prove 06:16 Can A Dog Smell Stress 07:54 Ninety Three Percent Scent Accuracy 09:25 Service Dogs And Panic Attacks 09:58 Heart Rate Variability Synchrony Explained 11:36 Long Term Cortisol Mirroring Owners 12:24 The Oxytocin Loop Both Ways 13:19 Three BrainWise Drivers Explained 15:35 The Practical Takeaway For Owners 16:21 Closing Thoughts And Sign Off Hernández-Pérez, R., Concha, L., Andics, A., Bernal-Gamboa, R., & Cuaya, L. V. (2026). Dog brain representations of human facial expressions: Encoding happiness and differentiating specific negative expressions. iScience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.116900 — Published August 7, 2026. First author Raúl Hernández-Pérez, senior author Laura V. Cuaya, University of Vienna.Wilson, C., Campbell, K., Petzel, Z., & Reeve, C. (2022). Dogs can discriminate between human baseline and psychological stress condition odours. PLOS ONE, 17(9), e0274143. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274143 Koskela, A., Törnqvist, H., Somppi, S., Tiira, K., Kykyri, V.-L., Hänninen, L., Kujala, J., Nagasawa, M., Kikusui, T., & Kujala, M. V. (2024). Behavioral and emotional co-modulation during dog–owner interaction measured by heart rate variability and activity. Scientific Reports, 14, 25201. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76831-x Sundman, A.-S., et al. (2019). Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners. Scientific Reports, 9, 7391. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43851-xNagasawa, M., et al. (2015). Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human–dog bonds. Science, 348(6232), 333–336. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261022Stoeckel, L. E., Palley, L. S., Gollub, R. L., Niemi, S. M., & Evins, A. E. (2014). Patterns of brain activation when mothers view their own child and dog: An fMRI study. PLOS ONE, 9(10), e107205. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107205Young, L. J. (1967–2024), Emory University. Founder of the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience and the Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition. See obituary: Larry J. Young (1967–2024), Neuron. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.05.014

  8. Sep 6

    Power Posing Debunked: What New Research Says About Posture and Mood (S3E11)

    In 2012 Amy Cuddy tells a TED audience that two minutes of open posture rewires your hormones. Three years later a bigger study finds nothing, and the original lead author publicly abandons her own finding. The question buried under that wreckage finally gets asked properly. Learn more, get certified, take the Personal Threat Profile (PTP), and book 1:1 coaching at brainwiseenterprises.com. Carney, Cuddy and Yap's 2010 power posing study and what it actually claimedEva Ranehill's 2015 replication in Psychological Science and why the hormone effects vanishedDana Carney's 2016 statement abandoning power pose effectsThe replication crisis in psychology and what it repairedDemand characteristics, and why telling someone to pose invalidates the testVeenstra, Schneider and Koole on stooped posture, mood recovery and negative thoughtsInteroception, and how your brain reads your body as live evidenceThe 2026 McGill study by Wainio-Theberge and Armony in the British Journal of PsychologyManipulating posture through desk height instead of instructionNeck angle measured objectively from video tracking softwareUpright posture, smarter risk-taking on the balloon task, and higher prideThe protection driver inside the BrainWise frameworkWorkplace ergonomics as a quiet input to your mood and your decisions Rate, review and follow @mybrainwisecoach so more people find the show. 00:00 The Power Pose Origin Story 02:14 Welcome To My BrainWise Coach 02:57 What Carney Cuddy And Yap Claimed 04:34 Why The Power Pose Spread 05:35 The 2015 Replication That Failed 06:38 Dana Carney Retracts Her Finding 07:48 The Question That Survived The Collapse 08:38 The Demand Characteristics Problem Explained 09:35 Veenstra Posture And Mood Recovery 11:22 Interoception And Body Brain Signals 12:19 The McGill Study Design Explained 13:59 Measuring Neck Angle From Video 15:31 Upright Posture And Better Risk 16:57 Protection Driver And BrainWise Framework 17:54 Workplace Ergonomics Field Guide 18:48 Why Science Correcting Itself Matters 19:44 Close And Final Takeaway Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363–1368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610383437Cuddy, A. (2012). Your body language may shape who you are. TEDGlobal 2012. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_areRanehill, E., Dreber, A., Johannesson, M., Leiberg, S., Sul, S., & Weber, R. A. (2015). Assessing the robustness of power posing: No effect on hormones and risk tolerance in a large sample of men and women. Psychological Science, 26(5), 653–656. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614553946Carney, D. R. (2016). My position on "Power Poses." Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. https://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/dana_carney/pdf_my%20position%20on%20power%20poses.pdfVeenstra, L., Schneider, I. K., & Koole, S. L. (2017). Embodied mood regulation: The impact of body posture on mood recovery, negative thoughts, and mood-congruent recall. Cognition and Emotion, 31(7), 1361–1376. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2016.1225003Wainio-Theberge, S., & Armony, J. (2026). Manipulating posture implicitly through environmental constraints influences mood and risk-taking behaviour. British Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.70083

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About

Welcome to My BrainWise Coach — a podcast exploring the intersection of neuroscience, behavioral science, and psychology to help you live and lead better lives. Hosted by Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon, each episode connects brain science to everyday life, leadership, and relationships. You’ll gain practical insights into emotional intelligence, habits, trust, change, growth, and many other topics — all grounded in research and real human experience. 🧠 Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay BrainWise.

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  • Creator
    My BrainWise Coach
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    115
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © My BrainWise Coach
  • Show Website
    My BrainWise Coach

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