Essentials: How Your Brain Functions & Interprets the World | Dr. David Berson
Huberman Lab
Oct 16
Essentials: How Your Brain Functions & Interprets the World | Dr. David Berson
Essentials: How Your Brain Functions & Interprets the World | Dr. David Berson

Huberman Lab
Oct 16
In this episode, Andrew Huberman sits down with neuroscientist Dr. David Berson to explore the intricate mechanisms by which the brain interprets sensory information and orchestrates behavior. The conversation spans multiple systems that underlie vision, balance, movement, and decision-making, revealing how distinct brain regions work in concert to shape our experience of the world.
The discussion begins with how visual perception is constructed in the brain, starting from photons hitting the retina to conscious sight in the visual cortex. They explain color vision through cone and rod photoreceptors and introduce melanopsin in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, which regulate circadian rhythms independently of image formation. These cells signal to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the brain’s master clock, influencing melatonin release and sleep-wake cycles. The vestibular system's role in detecting motion and maintaining balance is examined, along with the vestibulo-ocular reflex that stabilizes vision during head movements. Conflict between visual and vestibular inputs can lead to motion sickness. The cerebellum is highlighted for its role in motor coordination, learning, and integrating sensory signals, particularly through the flocculus. The midbrain, especially the superior colliculus, integrates multisensory inputs for spatial orientation and reflexive responses. The basal ganglia are discussed in the context of 'Go/No-Go' decisions and impulse control, exemplified by the Marshmallow Test. Finally, the profound plasticity of the visual cortex is illustrated by its ability to adapt to tactile processing in blind individuals, as seen in Braille reading and stroke recovery, demonstrating the brain’s remarkable capacity for reorganization.
02:12
02:12
Three proteins in the retina absorb light at preferred frequencies, enabling color interpretation.
07:24
07:24
There are three cone types in human color vision, not five.
08:31
08:31
Some blind patients have insomnia due to disrupted circadian signaling from ipRGCs
13:01
13:01
Light can rapidly lower melatonin levels through the SCN-pineal pathway.
14:42
14:42
The vestibular system detects motion through fluid movement in three semicircular canals, analogous to three-dimensional axis encoding.
16:44
16:44
The vestibular system compensates for head movement by rotating the eyes in the opposite direction to stabilize the image on the retina.
20:46
20:46
Visual-vestibular conflict is the root cause of motion sickness.
22:25
22:25
The cerebellum integrates sensory input to fine-tune motor commands in real time
23:20
23:20
Damage to the cerebellum causes unsteady movements and tremors.
24:56
24:56
The cerebellum compensates for vestibular damage by increasing output through visual feedback
25:56
25:56
The superior colliculus in the midbrain organizes visual reflexes and directs attention automatically.
28:28
28:28
Rattlesnakes integrate infrared and visual input in the tectal region to locate prey
30:14
30:14
Conflicting sensory inputs can lead to motion sickness
32:45
32:45
The basal ganglia are central to choosing actions and inhibiting impulses.
33:56
33:56
The prefrontal cortex plays a key role in regulating impulses during decision-making.
34:51
34:51
We don't choose our brains but can develop new skills and change behavior.
36:26
36:26
The visual cortex in early-blind people processes tactile information like Braille