The Biology of Social Interactions & Emotions | Dr. Kay Tye

Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Dr. Kay Tye. Dr. Kay Tye is a professor of neuroscience at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She did her training at MIT and at Stanford and is currently an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which is a highly curated group of individuals who are incentivized to do high-risk, high-reward work and pioneer new areas of biological study. Throughout her career, Dr. Kay Tye has made fundamental breakthroughs into our understanding of the brain, including demonstrating that a brain area called the amygdala, which most people associate with fear and threat detection, is actually involved in reinforcement of behaviors and experiences that are positive and involve reward. Her current work focuses on various aspects of social interaction, including what happens when we feel lonely or isolated. Indeed, today, Kay Tye will tell us about her discovery of so-called loneliness neurons, neurons that give us that sense that we are not being fulfilled from our social interactions. She also describes a phenomenon she discovered called social homeostasis, which is our sense that we are experiencing enough, not enough, or just enough social interaction, irrespective of whether or not we are an introvert or an extrovert. We also talk about social hierarchies and social rank, how people and animals tier out into so-called alphas and betas, subordinates and dominants, et cetera, in all sorts sorts of social interactions. I think everyone will find that discussion especially interesting. And we talk about the role of social media and online interactions and why, despite extensive interaction with many, many individuals, those social media and online interactions can often leave us feeling deprived in specific ways. We talk about the neurochemical, the neural circuit, and some of the hormonal aspects of social interactions. It's a discussion that, by the end, will have you thinking far more deeply about what is a social interaction and why certain social interactions leave us feeling so good, others feeling sort of meh, and why other social interactions or lack of social interactions can often leave us feeling quite depleted, even depressed. It's a conversation central to mental illness and the understanding of things like depression and anxiety, PTSD, and isolation, and it's a conversation central to mental health and in order to build healthy social interactions. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero-cost-to-consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep makes smart mattress covers with cooling, heating, and sleep tracking capacity. Now, I've spoken many times before on this and other podcasts about the fact that sleep is the foundation of mental health, physical health, and performance, and one of the key aspects to getting a great night's sleep is to control the temperature of your sleeping environment. And that's because in order to fall and stay deeply asleep, your body temperature actually has to drop by about one to three degrees, and in order to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, your body temperature actually has to increase by about one to three degrees. Eight Sleep makes it extremely easy to control the temperature of your sleeping environment at the beginning, middle, and throughout the night and when you wake up in the morning. I've been sleeping on an Eight Sleep mattress cover for nearly three years now, and it has dramatically improved my sleep. If you'd like to try Eight Sleep, you can go to eightsleep.com/huberman to save $150 off their Pod 3 cover. Eight Sleep currently ships to the USA, Canada, UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia. Again, that's eightsleep.com/huberman. Today's episode is also brought to us by Levels. Levels is a program that lets you see how different foods and different activities and your sleep patterns impact your health by giving you real-time feedback on your diet using a continuous glucose monitor. Now, blood glucose, sometimes referred to as blood sugar, has an immediate and long-term impact on your energy levels and your overall health. One of the best ways to maintain focus and energy throughout your day as well as to keep your so-called metabolic health in best order is to make sure that your blood glucose never spikes too much nor does it get too low. With Levels, you can monitor how different foods and food combinations impact your blood glucose levels on a moment-to-moment basis. I've been using Levels for some time now, and it's really helped me understand which foods and food combinations, exercise schedules, and sleep schedules are optimal for my blood glucose levels and how that translates to energy levels and other metrics of health. If you're interested in learning more about Levels and trying a continuous glucose monitor, you can go to levels.link/huberman. Levels has just launched a new CGM sensor that is smaller and has even better tracking than before. Right now, they're also offering two free months of membership. Again, that's levels.link, L-I-N-K, /huberman to try the new sensor and two free months of membership. Today's episode is also brought to us by LMNT. LMNT is an electrolyte drink that has everything you need and nothing you don't. That means zero sugar and the appropriate ratios of the electrolytes sodium, magnesium, and potassium. And that correct ratio of electrolytes is extremely important because every cell in your body, but especially your nerve cells, your neurons, relies on electrolytes in order to function properly. So when you're well hydrated and your hydration also includes the appropriate ratios of electrolytes, your mental functioning and your physical functioning is improved. I drink one packet of LMNT dissolved in about 16 to 32 ounces of water when I wake up in the morning, as well as while I exercise. And if I've sweat a lot during that exercise, I often will drink a third LMNT packet dissolved in about 32 ounces of water after I exercise. LMNT comes in a variety of different flavors. Personally, I like all the fruit flavors, so raspberry and watermelon are my favorite. I also like the citrus-flavored one. Frankly, I can't really pick just one of the fruit flavors, I like them all so much. And it also comes in chocolate and chocolate mint flavors, which I find are best in the winter months because, of course, you don't just need hydration on hot days and in the summer and spring months, but also in the winter when the temperatures are cold and the environment tends to be dry. If you'd like to try LMNT, you can go to DrinkLMNT, spelled L-M-N-T, .com/huberman to try a free sample pack. Again, that's DrinkLMNT.com/huberman.And now for my conversation with Dr. Kay Tye. Dr. Kay Tye, welcome.