Dr. Lambert is an American neurologist currently working at the University of Richmond. She is a renowned speaker for various major programs, including TED Talks. Dr. Lambert’s award-winning research at the University of Richmond focuses on neuroplasticity. In her TED Talk video, Dr. Lambert discusses the topic “Improving the Resilience of Our Nervous System.”
Here is a summary of the video content:
Like most of you, we don’t have much time to relax, but when I do have free time, I really enjoy reading detective novels. This is interesting because our brains, the human brain with all its complex circuits, are specially designed to piece things together and solve mysteries.
However, one of the mysteries that has been troubling me lately is why, in an antidepressant industry worth billions of dollars, the rates of depression continue to rise. Currently, about 300 million people worldwide are experiencing depression. It makes us think that there may be other clues or insights we could discover to solve this mystery of depression.
Brain chemistry
One area where we spend a lot of time researching to find clues is brain chemistry. This makes sense because our brain is full of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, and glutamate. These substances greatly influence our behavior, emotions, and thoughts. So, we thought that perhaps we could use medication to alter brain chemistry, helping us feel better and enhancing our emotional resilience.
However, there are some challenges in doing this. Mimicking nature is very difficult. If there is an imbalance related to an issue like depression, how can we just take a pill and naturally alter the brain chemistry? This is not entirely accurate, and unfortunately, it doesn’t always help everyone who suffers from depression.
Exercise: An important factor
We often think of the brain as serving the purpose of thinking, but in reality, exercise is an extremely important behavior. Think about the cerebellum, which hangs at the back of our brain and contains about 80% of the neurons in the brain. What is the role of the cerebellum? It controls the coordination of the body’s movements, and areas around the brain’s central region called the “striatum” also participate in coordinating and facilitating our movements. People with Parkinson’s or Huntington’s disease may experience a decline in this system.
Next, going from the brain’s center down to the ears, we have the motor cortex, which helps control specific muscles to perform the actions we want. If we look at the proportion of the motor cortex’s area and the muscles it controls, the area that controls the hands is the largest, suggesting that nature is trying to tell us, “Movement is incredibly important.” Especially, hand movement is very important.
If this is the case, what would happen if we decided not to move much anymore, such as sitting for long periods in front of a screen? Would this have an impact on our brain? Probably. And it’s interesting to think back on how much our lifestyles have changed over the past century.
Prosperity: A new definition
When I think about my childhood, I vividly remember my grandmother’s busyness. After a day of work at the factory, her free time was spent on crafts like shelling beans, peeling corn, or picking peas on the porch, so she could later cook and preserve food for the winter. These tasks were not just about preparing meals for the family but were a source of pride for her when providing for her loved ones.
Perhaps today there are modern ideas of prosperity: we work hard to earn money and hire people to do the tasks our grandparents did so well. But this doesn’t really align with the brain’s concept of prosperity. This might be contributing to the mental health issues we see today.
In fact, our ancestors’ reliance on their hands to interact with the environment and provide just enough resources to survive might have been the “prehistoric antidepressant,” and we may need to recall it.
Behavior: The key to regulating emotions
Charles Darwin, the great naturalist, once wrote that he felt very anxious when facing the idea of natural selection and the controversies surrounding it. But he also realized that when walking around his property, on a path he called “the thinking path,” he felt relaxed. When walking, he often used a stick and dropped a stone to mark his efforts, and if the day was stressful, he would drop two or even three stones.
This shows that our behavior can help regulate our emotions and mental health. Simple behaviors, like knitting or baking, can improve our mood by creating changes in brain chemistry.
The key to mental health
I call this “Behaviorceuticals” – meaning we can change our brain chemistry not just through medication but also through intelligent, health-promoting behaviors. These behaviors might include knitting, cooking, gardening, or any kind of craft work that makes us feel proud of what we’re doing.
Therefore, engaging in these behaviors not only helps us reduce stress but can also improve our mental health by lowering cortisol, the stress hormone, and increasing oxytocin, the love hormone that fosters positive relationships.
We may not need antidepressants if we learn how to regulate our behavior. And like the mice in the experiment, proactive behaviors can improve brain health, create new neural connections, and enhance our ability to cope with life’s stress. Try incorporating these behaviors into your daily life and experience the change in your mental health.
Watch the full content of this video HERE.
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