David Eagleman

Oh, nice. Oh, I like that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's exactly right. And what's interesting, by the way, I talked about this in the Brain Plasticity course and in my book, LiveWire.

Oh, nice. Oh, I like that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's exactly right. And what's interesting, by the way, I talked about this in the Brain Plasticity course and in my book, LiveWire.

Oh, nice. Oh, I like that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's exactly right. And what's interesting, by the way, I talked about this in the Brain Plasticity course and in my book, LiveWire.

What's interesting is that given who you are and what you've already packed down into your machinery, that determines what is relevant to you for the next thing, such that there's a million things you could learn or could pay attention to at every moment, but you're only going to... take on those things that are relevant to you and push them down into the unconscious brain as a result.

What's interesting is that given who you are and what you've already packed down into your machinery, that determines what is relevant to you for the next thing, such that there's a million things you could learn or could pay attention to at every moment, but you're only going to... take on those things that are relevant to you and push them down into the unconscious brain as a result.

What's interesting is that given who you are and what you've already packed down into your machinery, that determines what is relevant to you for the next thing, such that there's a million things you could learn or could pay attention to at every moment, but you're only going to... take on those things that are relevant to you and push them down into the unconscious brain as a result.

And we know, for example, the acetylcholinergic systems are involved in this process, which is to say they tag relevance. They say, hey, this is something that means something to you for whatever reason, who knows, but you really care about stamp collecting or genealogy or artwork or whatever it is that you care about.

And we know, for example, the acetylcholinergic systems are involved in this process, which is to say they tag relevance. They say, hey, this is something that means something to you for whatever reason, who knows, but you really care about stamp collecting or genealogy or artwork or whatever it is that you care about.

And we know, for example, the acetylcholinergic systems are involved in this process, which is to say they tag relevance. They say, hey, this is something that means something to you for whatever reason, who knows, but you really care about stamp collecting or genealogy or artwork or whatever it is that you care about.

And so then you go on these missions from the world and you take stuff in and you start burning that stuff down and it means something to you, whereas the rest of the stuff just goes.

And so then you go on these missions from the world and you take stuff in and you start burning that stuff down and it means something to you, whereas the rest of the stuff just goes.

And so then you go on these missions from the world and you take stuff in and you start burning that stuff down and it means something to you, whereas the rest of the stuff just goes.

Yeah, so you've got these acetylcholinergic systems that say, hey, this is important. I want you to initiate plasticity here. And by the way, these systems, just like dopamine actually, broadcast all around the entire brain. So the dopamine system is involved in saying, hey, that was better than expected. I wasn't expecting that to happen. You get a positive burst of dopamine.

Yeah, so you've got these acetylcholinergic systems that say, hey, this is important. I want you to initiate plasticity here. And by the way, these systems, just like dopamine actually, broadcast all around the entire brain. So the dopamine system is involved in saying, hey, that was better than expected. I wasn't expecting that to happen. You get a positive burst of dopamine.

Yeah, so you've got these acetylcholinergic systems that say, hey, this is important. I want you to initiate plasticity here. And by the way, these systems, just like dopamine actually, broadcast all around the entire brain. So the dopamine system is involved in saying, hey, that was better than expected. I wasn't expecting that to happen. You get a positive burst of dopamine.

If, in contrast, you're expecting reward and you don't get it, you get a decrease in the amount of dopamine. You have a little baseline going on. Absence of an expected reward is technically a punishment. Exactly right. Yep. And so that's what the dopamine system is for, saying, oh, better than expected, worse than expected.

If, in contrast, you're expecting reward and you don't get it, you get a decrease in the amount of dopamine. You have a little baseline going on. Absence of an expected reward is technically a punishment. Exactly right. Yep. And so that's what the dopamine system is for, saying, oh, better than expected, worse than expected.

If, in contrast, you're expecting reward and you don't get it, you get a decrease in the amount of dopamine. You have a little baseline going on. Absence of an expected reward is technically a punishment. Exactly right. Yep. And so that's what the dopamine system is for, saying, oh, better than expected, worse than expected.

But acetylcholine is what happens when you're saying, I want to make plastic changes to the system. Let me just give you an example. Yeah, yeah. An experiment with mice, and they have to learn how to reach through a narrow slot to grab pellets and whatever. And they get better and better at it. And the parts of their brain that are involved in this task actually grow in their real estate.

But acetylcholine is what happens when you're saying, I want to make plastic changes to the system. Let me just give you an example. Yeah, yeah. An experiment with mice, and they have to learn how to reach through a narrow slot to grab pellets and whatever. And they get better and better at it. And the parts of their brain that are involved in this task actually grow in their real estate.