Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
About Robert Sapolsky
Robert Maurice Sapolsky (born 1957) is an American scientist and author. He is currently Professor of Biological Sciences, and Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and, by courtesy, Neurosurgery, at Stanford University. In addition, he is a Research Associate at the National Museums of Kenya.
Subscribe
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
OK, just finished #2. Dopamine drives goal directed behavior? Wow. So, that means that if you don’t want to be depressed, you should always have some goal, right? Or is that too simplistic an interpretation?
Who has more insight into this subject and can explain? I’m not sure I’m educated enough on the matter to make a valid interpretation of his statement. C’mon readers, somebody must be smarter or better educated than I am. MOST of you should be – I ain’t that bright.
Wow. I thought this was endlessly entertaining due to the speaker’s style and sense of humor, and yet it was full of information and much of it I didn’t know. I quit reading about this subject long ago except for the occasional magazine article that would happen to get my notice. But the message at the end, THAT was the real meat. The entire thing led up to that – and don’t just skip to the end or you’ll MISS the actual meaning of what he has to say – and it was wonderful. I needed to hear that. AND, I’m sending this URL to my kids so that they can hear it too.
Great study & explanation. It does not explain, however, dysfunction & deviation from norms…depression can be affected when a person gets off their ass & motivates, but HOW one is forced to do that relies on chemical components in the body/brain(the vicious cycle: dopamine is produced by exercise & is NEEDED to motivate exercise)….as well as environment pressures. This guy seems to present a well rounded study, a good foundation! Too bad he can’t teach our politicians! And…he does NOT explain the absurdity of inane belief in the impossible…seems to me to be a creative invention used as a coping mechanism.