安德鲁·休伯曼博士在他的 Huberman Lab 播客中，首先深入探讨了神经系统，并强调它远不止大脑本身。 这是一个连接大脑、脊髓和身体的整合回路，负责从思想、感觉、到行动的一切。 他强调发现神经系统由数万亿个独立的神经细胞组成，这些神经细胞被称为神经元，神经元之间由突触分隔，在那里通过神经递质进行化学通讯。 神经系统通过这些神经元之间的电活动运作，塑造着我们的感知和体验。 他提到了推动神经科学发展的历史事件，特别是对战争伤亡造成的离散性脑损伤的研究。 这些损伤使神经学家能够将特定的大脑区域与特定功能联系起来，例如面部识别和言语。 他提到了现代的发现，例如单个神经元与识别特定面孔相关联，这说明我们的大脑本质上是我们经历的地图。 休伯曼解释说，神经系统有五个主要功能：感觉、感知、感觉/情绪、思想和行动。 感觉涉及感觉感受器，而感知涉及将注意力集中在特定感觉上。 他强调理解注意力和感知的重要性，尤其是在使用工具优化神经系统功能时。 有两个注意力的聚光灯，允许进行多任务处理。 感觉和情绪是复杂的状态，受到多巴胺、血清素、乙酰胆碱和肾上腺素等神经调节剂的影响。 这些化学物质调节神经回路，影响情绪、动机和行为。 20世纪中期抗抑郁药的发现源于对这些神经调节剂对情绪和行为影响的理解。 思想，如同感知一样，可以是反射性的或深思熟虑的，并且会借鉴过去的记忆和对未来的期望。 他强调认识到思维模式可以被有意识地控制的重要性。 行动是神经系统最重要的表现，留下了我们存在的“化石记录”。 运动，就像思想一样，可以是反射性的或深思熟虑的，由涉及脑干和前脑的通路控制。 休伯曼强调了“持续时间、路径和结果”(DPO) 思考对于有意识的行动和学习的重要性。 从事有意识的、以目标为导向的行为，尤其是当它需要努力和抑制冲动反应时，会由于去甲肾上腺素（肾上腺素）的释放而产生一种激动的感觉。 这种激动实际上是神经可塑性的入口。 神经可塑性，即神经系统根据经验改变的能力，使我们能够从具有挑战性的、深思熟虑的行动转变为反射性的行动。 虽然神经可塑性在青少年时期更为明显，但在成年后通过集中的努力仍然可以发生。 然而，它受到神经调节剂的控制或限制，特别是乙酰胆碱。 当某些事情通过标记在这种高度警觉状态下变得特别活跃的神经元，触发一种高度的注意力集中状态时，就会释放这种化学物质。 神经可塑性的一个阴暗面是创伤等负面事件的发生方式。 它们可以快速创建大脑习惯性使用的神经通路。 神经可塑性有好处，但也存在一个问题。 突触的实际重塑和加强发生在睡眠和非睡眠深度休息 (NSDR) 期间，而不是在学习或体验阶段。 研究表明，学习后立即进行 NSDR 以及睡眠期间的听觉提示可以加速神经可塑性。 自主神经系统控制着警觉（交感神经）和冷静（副交感神经）之间的平衡，管理着清醒和睡眠之间的转换，以及全天90分钟的超昼夜节律周期。 他强调需要掌握自主神经系统，并利用这些周期来优化注意力、学习和神经可塑性。

Dr. Andrew Huberman begins his Huberman Lab podcast with a deep dive into the nervous system, emphasizing that it encompasses far more than just the brain. It's an integrated loop connecting the brain, spinal cord, and body, responsible for everything from thoughts and feelings to actions. He highlights the discovery that the nervous system is composed of trillions of individual nerve cells called neurons, separated by synapses where chemical communication occurs via neurotransmitters. The nervous system operates through electrical activity between these neurons, shaping our perceptions and experiences. He references historical events that advanced neuroscience, particularly the study of discrete brain lesions caused by warfare injuries. These injuries allowed neurologists to correlate specific brain regions with particular functions, such as face recognition and speech. He mentions modern discoveries, such as individual neurons being associated with recognizing specific faces, illustrating that our brain is essentially a map of our experiences. Huberman explains that the nervous system has five primary functions: sensation, perception, feelings/emotions, thoughts, and actions. Sensation involves sensory receptors, while perception involves focusing attention on specific sensations. He emphasizes the importance of understanding attention and perception, especially when using tools to optimize nervous system function. There are two attentional spotlights allowing for multitasking. Feelings and emotions are complex states influenced by neuromodulators like dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, and epinephrine. These chemicals modulate neural circuits, affecting mood, motivation, and behavior. The discovery of antidepressants in the mid-20th century stemmed from understanding the effects of these neuromodulators on mood and behavior. Thoughts, like perceptions, can be reflexive or deliberate and draw on past memories and future anticipations. He stresses the importance of recognizing that thought patterns can be controlled deliberately. Actions are the most important manifestation of the nervous system, leaving a "fossil record" of our existence. Movement, like thoughts, can be reflexive or deliberate, controlled by pathways involving the brainstem and forebrain. Huberman highlights the importance of "duration, path, and outcome" (DPO) thinking for deliberate actions and learning. Engaging in deliberate, goal-oriented behavior, especially when it requires effort and suppression of impulsive responses, leads to a feeling of agitation due to the release of norepinephrine (adrenaline). This agitation is actually the entry point to neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity, the ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience, allows us to shift from challenging, deliberate actions to reflexive ones. While neuroplasticity is more pronounced in youth, it can still occur in adulthood with focused effort. However, it is gated or controlled by neuromodulators, particularly acetycholine. This chemical is releases when something triggers a heightened state of focus by marking the neurons that become particularly active during this heightened state of alertness. A dark side of neuroplasticity is how negative events such as traumas happen. They can quickly create neural paths that the brain uses habitually. While there are benefits of neuroplasticity, there is a catch. The actual rewiring and strengthening of synapses occurs during sleep and non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) rather than during the learning or experiencing phase. Studies have shown that NSDR immediately after learning and auditory cues during sleep can accelerate neuroplasticity. The autonomic nervous system, controlling the balance between alertness (sympathetic) and calmness (parasympathetic), governs the transition between wakefulness and sleep, as well as 90-minute ultradian cycles throughout the day. He underscores the need to master the autonomic nervous system and leverage these cycles to optimize focus, learning, and neuroplasticity.