How to Understand Emotions | Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of psychology at Northeastern University and a world expert in the science of emotions. She explains what emotions are and how the brain represents and integrates signals from our body and the environment to create our unique emotional states. We discuss the relationship between emotions and language, how the specificity of language impacts emotional processing, the role of facial expressions in emotions and how emotions relate to sleep, movement, nutrition and the building and reinforcement of social bonds. We also share actionable tools to regulate feelings of uncertainty and to better understand the emotional states of others. This episode will interest anyone curious about the neuroscience and psychology underlying emotions and those who seek to better understand themselves and relate to others and the world in richer, more adaptive ways. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Levels: https://levels.link/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman Huberman Lab Social & Website Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab Twitter: https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Website: https://hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett Website: https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com Academic Profile: https://cos.northeastern.edu/people/lisa-barrett "How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain": https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/how-emotions-are-made "Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain": https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/seven-and-a-half-lessons-about-the-brain TED Talk: https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/2018/01/13/ted-talk-you-arent-at-the-mercy-of-your-emotions-your-brain-creates-them X: https://twitter.com/lfeldmanbarrett TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@professor.lisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-feldman-barrett Articles Emotional Expressions Reconsidered: Challenges to Inferring Emotion From Human Facial Movements: https://bit.ly/46R3XNq Books "Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution": https://amzn.to/3QirDEZ "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma": https://amzn.to/3rUQyVO "An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us": https://bit.ly/3QhMFU9 "I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life": https://amzn.to/3M2CY9B Other Resources Dr. Karl Deisseroth: Understanding & Healing the Mind: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/karl-deisseroth-understanding-and-healing-the-mind Counterintuitive Ideas About How the Brain Work (Lex Fridman Podcast): https://lexfridman.com/lisa-feldman-barrett Love, Evolution, and the Human Brain (Lex Fridman Podcast):: https://lexfridman.com/lisa-feldman-barrett-2 Timestamps 00:00:00 Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett 00:03:01 Sponsors: Eight Sleep & Levels 00:05:46 Core Components of Emotions 00:10:42 Facial Movement & Interpretation, Emotion 00:19:33 Facial Expressions & Emotion, Individualization 00:31:03 Emotion Categories, Culture & Child Development 00:36:53 Sponsor: AG1 00:37:50 Legal System, ‘Universal’ Emotions & Caution 00:41:07 Language Descriptions, Differences & Emotion 00:48:18 Questions & Assumptions; Language, Emotions & Nervous System 00:53:40 Brain, Uncertainty & Categories 01:02:51 Sponsor: InsideTracker 01:03:57 Brain & Summaries; Emotions as “Multimodal Summaries” 01:14:45 Emotional Granularity, Library Analogy 01:19:40 Brain & Compression, Planning 01:29:04 Labels & Generalization 01:34:29 Movement, Sensation, Prediction & Learning 01:42:44 Feelings of Discomfort & Action 01:50:32 Tool: Feelings of Uncertainty, Emotion, “Affect” 02:01:18 Tool: Experience Dimensions & Attention; Individualization 02:08:36 Affect, Allostasis & Body Budget Analogy 02:15:41 Depression, “Emotional Flu” 02:20:20 Tool: Positively Shift Affect; Alcohol & Drugs; SSRIs 02:27:40 Relationships: Savings or Taxes, Kindness 02:36:50 Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com Disclaimer: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer