Accelerate Learning & Increase Cognitive Capacity | Dr. Tommy Wood
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How does high-intensity interval training affect hippocampal function in older adults?
There's a much more recent study that took again older adults and randomized them across three different groups. One was like a low intensity group. Another group basically did kind of zone two type work on a treadmill three times a week. And the third group did a high intensity interval training intervention, which was the Norwegian four by four protocol. So four minutes, 85 to 95% of maximum heart rate. They had a three minute rest in their protocol. They did that four times over.
That's three times a week.
Three times a week for six months. That's pretty intense. But what they showed was that that high intensity interval training group, they improved their fitness just as well as the zone two group, interestingly, but they had much better improvements in hippocampal function and maintenance of hippocampal structure on an MRI scan. And they maintained that benefit for five years after the six month intervention. So they worked really hard for six months, but that benefit was maintained for a really long period of time.
Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
What is neuroplasticity and how does pruning versus new connections shape learning?
My guest today is Dr. Tommy Wood. Dr. Tommy Wood is a medical doctor and neuroscience researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is also the chief science officer of BetterBrain, a company that provides free brain health coaching. Tommy is an expert in neuroplasticity and human performance, and how science-based protocols can be used to improve your focus, ability to learn, and skill expression. His work applies to everyone, from the novice to the elite expert, and for all kinds of skills, cognitive, language skills, athletic, and creative endeavors. Today we discuss the brain states that favor learning, and importantly, how to get yourself into those states. We also discuss how to get the most from a learning session.
For instance, how long that session should last, how many sessions to do per day, and perhaps most importantly, how to tune your mind and body to get better at learning. That's something we don't often hear in the context of learning and neuroplasticity, that our brain circuits for focusing and learning are also capable of plasticity, meaning you can literally get better at getting better. Today, we discuss things like flow states, and something called a clutch state, which is a seldom mentioned but critical brain state to accelerate learning and performance. In fact, a clutch state is the state that you want to seek to learn and perform at your best. We also discuss how different types of physical exercise from long, slow cardio to brief high intensity cardio and different forms of resistance training each open the window for distinct types of neuroplasticity and learning.
So this goes way beyond the general discussion about exercise improving your brain. We get really granular about exactly what types of things to do to improve your brain in specific ways. As a career neuroscientist who has worked on and taught neuroplasticity for decades now, it's rare that I encounter someone with as deep knowledge about the real science and application of learning and plasticity as Tommy has. He's also extremely unique because he has a ton of knowledge about new science-based protocols for plasticity. And he's also an athlete. We discussed that a little bit at the end as well. So today you will hear a lot of information that I am confident you have not heard on this podcast or anywhere else, frankly, about exercise, mental training, nutrition and supplementation, and much more, and how you can leverage each alone and in combination to learn new skills with accelerated speed, precision, and durability over time.
I should also mention that Tommy recently released a new book that he wrote entitled The Stimulated Mind, Future Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age. It's an excellent book if you're interested in following up on today's discussion and learning more about how you can make your brain better at any age.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How does high-intensity interval training affect hippocampal function in older adults?
0:00–1:11
2
What is neuroplasticity and how does pruning versus new connections shape learning?
1:11–5:19
3
Should older adults repeat familiar tasks or learn novel skills to preserve cognition?
5:19–15:10
4
What practical tools (exercise, diet, training structure) best drive plasticity and learning?
15:10–1:24:18
5
Why are peptides and GLP-1s driving widespread interest despite limited human evidence?
1:24:18–1:28:52
6
How should you weigh safety, efficacy, and feeling versus performance for stimulants and supplements?
1:28:52–1:33:15
7
What types and durations of exercise best boost learning, neuroplasticity, and long‑term brain structure?
1:33:15–1:48:09
8
Which interventions reduce dementia and aid concussion recovery — vaccines, exercise, supplements, and rehab?
1:48:09–2:41:17
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Huberman Lab
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