Brain HealthCaltech Neuroscientist Reveals How Emotions Are Built and How to Regulate Them
In this Huberman Lab episode, Caltech professor Dr. Ralph Adolphs breaks down the neuroscience of how emotions are generated, prioritized, and regulated. Key topics include the roles of the amygdala and insula, whether emotions are truly stored in the body, and whether facial expressions reliably signal internal states. Adolphs discusses practical emotion-regulation tools — including deliberate cold exposure, cognitive reappraisal, meditation, and breathing techniques — that have scientific backing. The conversation also covers emotional granularity, the link between emotional intelligence and context-dependent social behavior, and how emotions shape attention and decision-making. For longevity-focused listeners, chronic emotional dysregulation is a recognized driver of inflammation, poor sleep, and cardiovascular risk, making the ability to regulate emotions a genuine healthspan lever.
