BioLogical

Ansh

Welcome to BioLogical where I make science, health, and fitness easy to understand. I’m your host, Ansh Moolinti, breaking down big questions and offering answers that actually make sense. Join me on this epic journey and discover how simple science can be!

  1. JAN 31

    Procrastination, NOT Laziness: Why Not Doing Something Important Is Bio(logical)

    This episode explains procrastination as a brain-based emotion regulation problem rather than laziness, showing how stress, discomfort, and short-term relief can override long-term planning systems. By understanding the neural circuits involved—and how sleep, stress, and small actions influence them—listeners learn why procrastination happens and how it can be retrained without shame. Credits: American Psychological Association. Why people procrastinate.https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/04/procrastinate American Psychological Association. Procrastination: A matter of self-regulation.https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov01/procrastinate National Institutes of Health (NIH). Emotion regulation and decision-making.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4050437/ NIH. Neural mechanisms of self-control.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089982 Nature Reviews Neuroscience. Prefrontal cortex and cognitive control.https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2647 Harvard Medical School. How stress affects your brain.https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/how-stress-affects-your-brain NIH. Sleep deprivation and executive function.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449130/ National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Sleep deprivation and deficiency.https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation NIH. Reinforcement learning and behavior.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4141622/ Nature Reviews Neuroscience. Rethinking self-control and motivation.https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2016.13 Frontiers in Neuroscience. Motivation, dopamine, and behavior change.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4915811/

    6 min
  2. JAN 24

    Consciousness and Why We Know Next to Nothing About It

    What does it actually mean to be conscious—and how does the brain create experience at all? In this episode, I show you what neuroscience knows and doesn’t know about awareness. I look at how brain networks integrate information, why consciousness can fade during sleep or anesthesia, and why there is still no single agreed-upon explanation. Along the way, we separate solid science from speculation and show how studying consciousness teaches us to think carefully about complex systems, uncertainty, and the limits of human knowledge. Credits: NIH – Disorders of consciousnesshttps://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/disorders-consciousness Nature Reviews Neuroscience – Neural correlates of consciousnesshttps://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2016.22 NIH – Brain networks and awarenesshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6341011/ Tononi et al., Nature Reviews Neuroscience – Integrated information theoryhttps://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2016.44 NIH – Sleep and consciousnesshttps://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep New England Journal of Medicine – Disorders of consciousnesshttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1607615 Stanford Neurosciences Institute – The hard problem of consciousnesshttps://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/what-hard-problem-consciousness Nature – What we don’t know about consciousnesshttps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02207-1 NIH – Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitionhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449130/ Nature Reviews Neuroscience – Predictive processinghttps://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2018.12

    5 min
  3. JAN 4

    How Exercise REALLY Helps Prevent Disease

    In this episode explains, I explain how exercise reduces disease risk by acting as a whole-body biological signal that improves metabolism, lowers chronic inflammation, strengthens the heart and blood vessels, and supports brain health. Rather than being about weight or appearance, regular movement trains the body’s systems to function more efficiently over time, making exercise one of the most reliable tools for disease prevention. Credits: NIH – Physical Activity and Healthhttps://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/physical-activity CDC – Benefits of Physical Activityhttps://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm NIH – Inflammation and Chronic Diseasehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5838345/ Nature Reviews Immunology – Exercise and immune regulationhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-019-0233-1 NIH – Exercise and Insulin Sensitivityhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4531010/ Harvard Medical School – Exercise and Metabolic Healthhttps://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-exercise-affects-your-metabolism NIH – Exercise and Brain Healthhttps://www.nia.nih.gov/health/exercise-and-physical-activity Frontiers in Neuroscience – Exercise and BDNFhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4915811/ WHO – Physical Activity Guidelineshttps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity CDC – How Much Physical Activity Do You Need?https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm NIH – Role of Lifestyle in Disease Preventionhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5881985/ NIH – Exercise Benefits and Limitshttps://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/physical-activity

    8 min
  4. 12/28/2025

    Mental Illness: Does It Make You Broken or Are You Just Wired Differently?

    In this episode, we discover how mental illness is not a personal failure but a reflection of how specific brain circuits involved in threat, reward, stress, and self-control are functioning under pressure. We will see that neuroscience shows that these systems can change with experience, effort, and support—giving people real agency, even though the science is still evolving and not all the answers are settled. NOTICE: The episodes, from here on out, will be in a different format. They will progress in chapters, with each chapter discussing a different portion of a topic to give you the full picture of said topic. Credits: National Institute of Mental Health – Brain Basics & Mental Disordershttps://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/mental-disorders Nature Reviews Neuroscience – Large-scale brain networks in psychopathologyhttps://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2016.163 NIH – Neural circuits and mental illnesshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6354620/ Harvard Center on the Developing Child – Toxic Stresshttps://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/toxic-stress/ NIH – Effects of stress on the brainhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573560/ Nature – The genetics of psychiatric disordershttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41576-019-0134-1 NIH – Gene–environment interaction in mental illnesshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6042095/ National Institute of Mental Health – RDoC Frameworkhttps://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/research-funded-by-nimh/rdoc APA – Limits of diagnostic categorieshttps://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/07/diagnostic NIH – Sleep and mental healthhttps://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation Harvard Medical School – Exercise and mental healthhttps://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression NIH – Brain changes after cognitive behavioral therapyhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5797481/ Nature Reviews Neuroscience – Beyond the chemical imbalance theoryhttps://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2015.18 NIH – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Alters Brain Activity in Children With Anxiety https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-updates/2024/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-alters-brain-activity-in-children-with-anxiety

    8 min

About

Welcome to BioLogical where I make science, health, and fitness easy to understand. I’m your host, Ansh Moolinti, breaking down big questions and offering answers that actually make sense. Join me on this epic journey and discover how simple science can be!