The neuroscience of emotion: challenging conventional theories of emotion, how the brain predicts and constructs our experiences, and gaining greater control over how we feel
This week on The Drive
The neuroscience of emotion:
challenging conventional theories of emotion, how the brain predicts and constructs our experiences, and gaining greater control over how we feel
In episode #413 of The Drive, Peter sits down with Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D., a psychologist, neuroscientist, and University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University best known for the theory of constructed emotion. Lisa challenges the long-held view that emotions like fear, anger, and sadness are hardwired states with universal biological signatures, and explains why the brain is better understood as a predictive system than a reactive one. She and Peter examine how past experience shapes what we perceive and feel, how the brain anticipates the body’s energy needs through allostasis, and how this framework can offer a greater sense of agency over our emotional lives.
They also cover:
- The search for a biomarker of emotion, and why neither facial expressions nor amygdala activity can reliably identify what someone feels
- How scientific averages can hide meaningful individual variation, and what that meant for Lisa’s own treatment of Hashimoto’s disease
- Why cortisol is better understood as a metabolic hormone than a stress hormone
- The long-term toll of childhood adversity and chronic stress, even when the harm is not immediate
Get the full breakdown of the studies, insights, and actionable takeaways from this episode
Premium members get exclusive access to the full show notes, including:
How changing what you do can change how you feel, and why practicing a new response in advance makes it easier to use when it counts
The daily practice Lisa used to find moments of awe when her nervous system most needs a break
Why lasting change depends less on willpower than on shaping your environment
What grief does to the body’s regulation, and what helps people recover more quickly
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