David Eagleman

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.

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.

Okay, now you take an equivalent set of rats, you give them an acetylcholine blocker. They do exactly the same number of trials they're doing the thing, but they don't get better and their brain doesn't change. They don't ever get better at the task. They're not faster at doing it because they don't have the plasticity available to them anymore. Because you need the acetylcholine.

Okay, now you take an equivalent set of rats, you give them an acetylcholine blocker. They do exactly the same number of trials they're doing the thing, but they don't get better and their brain doesn't change. They don't ever get better at the task. They're not faster at doing it because they don't have the plasticity available to them anymore. Because you need the acetylcholine.

Okay, now you take an equivalent set of rats, you give them an acetylcholine blocker. They do exactly the same number of trials they're doing the thing, but they don't get better and their brain doesn't change. They don't ever get better at the task. They're not faster at doing it because they don't have the plasticity available to them anymore. Because you need the acetylcholine.

By the way, something that, of course, we know is all of the neuromodulators and neurotransmitter systems, these are all working together in a very complicated dance. So, you know, dopamine is involved in saying like, hey, that was, you know, good, bad, better or worse than expected. But acetylcholine is the thing that says, hey, let's make plasticity available here.

By the way, something that, of course, we know is all of the neuromodulators and neurotransmitter systems, these are all working together in a very complicated dance. So, you know, dopamine is involved in saying like, hey, that was, you know, good, bad, better or worse than expected. But acetylcholine is the thing that says, hey, let's make plasticity available here.

By the way, something that, of course, we know is all of the neuromodulators and neurotransmitter systems, these are all working together in a very complicated dance. So, you know, dopamine is involved in saying like, hey, that was, you know, good, bad, better or worse than expected. But acetylcholine is the thing that says, hey, let's make plasticity available here.

Yeah, it's interesting because there's so many acetylcholine blockers that are used in animals for things, but I don't know what the emotional experience is for a human on that. My guess, if I were just pulling something out of a hat, would be that they just feel like they don't care about this particular thing.

Yeah, it's interesting because there's so many acetylcholine blockers that are used in animals for things, but I don't know what the emotional experience is for a human on that. My guess, if I were just pulling something out of a hat, would be that they just feel like they don't care about this particular thing.

Yeah, it's interesting because there's so many acetylcholine blockers that are used in animals for things, but I don't know what the emotional experience is for a human on that. My guess, if I were just pulling something out of a hat, would be that they just feel like they don't care about this particular thing.

I don't know. I don't know. Good question. But just, you know, I'm trying to think through what it would feel like. Imagine that you were trying to learn a new sport that you haven't played. You know, pickleball, let's say. So you're... And we're both learning the sport at the same time. And for some reason, it's really relevant to us.