In this episode my guest is Dr. David Linden, Ph.D., professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and author of many popular books about the brain. We discuss individual differences between people, focusing on how they sense the world around them and the roles that chance, heredity and life experiences (even in utero) play in determining physical and cognitive traits. We examine the bidirectional connection between the mind and body and how thoughts and mental practices (e.g., meditation and breathwork) impact health. We also explore the link between inflammation and depression. Dr. Linden shares his terminal illness diagnosis, his mindset during chemotherapy and what the diagnosis has taught him about the mind, gratitude, time perception and life. This episode also covers sensual touch, cerebellar function and epigenetic inheritance and will interest anyone in neuroscience, genetics, psychology and human development. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman Levels: https://levels.link/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Huberman Lab Social & Website Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Website: https://hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Dr. David Linden Academic Profile: https://bit.ly/3YP6yVm Publications: https://bit.ly/3YGzi2u Dr. Linden’s Books: https://amzn.to/44giqAH Website: http://davidlinden.org X (formerly Twitter): www.twitter.com/david_j_linden Articles Ben Barres (1954–2017): https://bit.ly/45E5oyb A Neuroscientist Prepares for Death: https://bit.ly/3seVsfT Can a Neuroscientist Fight Cancer With Mere Thought?: https://nyti.ms/45jHqs8 Books The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist: https://amzn.to/3slCpRl Other Resources Dr. Leslie Vosshall: https://bit.ly/3OHcF9l Dr. Catherine Dulac: https://bit.ly/3OB0w5W Dr. Rachel Herz: https://bit.ly/44izshH Dr. Karl Deisseroth: https://stan.md/3P3S3JX Dr. Gloria Choi: https://bit.ly/3soND7o Dr. Irving Zucker’s Publications: https://bit.ly/3OKi1k7 Dr. Rena Malik: Improving Sexual & Urological Health in Males and Females: https://hubermanlab.com/dr-rena-improving-sexual-and-urological-health-in-males-and-females Dr. Oded Rechavi: Genes & the Inheritance of Memories Across Generations: https://hubermanlab.com/dr-oded-rechavi-genes-and-the-inheritance-of-memories-across-generations/ Dr. Eddie Chang: The Science of Learning & Speaking Languages: https://hubermanlab.com/dr-eddie-chang-the-science-of-learning-and-speaking-languages/ Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris: The Science of Psychedelics for Mental Health: https://hubermanlab.com/dr-robin-carhart-harris-the-science-of-psychedelics-for-mental-health/ Dr. Matthew Johnson: Psychedelic Medicine: https://hubermanlab.com/dr-matthew-johnson-psychedelic-medicine Timestamps 00:00:00 David Linden 00:03:59 Sponsors: ROKA & Levels; Huberman Lab Survey 00:07:54 Sensory Touch & Genitals, Krause Corpuscles 00:16:46 Sexual Experiences & Sensation 00:19:14 Human Individuality & Variation; Senses & Odor Detection 00:30:25 Sponsor: AG1 00:31:22 Visual Individuality; Heat Tolerance; Early Life Experiences & Variation 00:40:28 Auditory Variability, Perfect Pitch 00:42:08 Heritability & Human Individuality: Cognitive & Physical Traits 00:49:36 Heritability, Environment, Personality; Twin Studies 01:00:12 Sponsor: InsideTracker 01:01:19 Development, Chance; Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance 01:07:37 Single Generation Epigenetic Inheritance & Stress; Autism 01:15:52 Sleep Paralysis; Cerebellum, Prediction 01:23:47 Nature vs. Nature, Experience; Linden Hypothesis 01:30:37 Mind-Body Interaction; Chemical Signals 01:39:10 Inflammation & Depression 01:43:35 Neuroplasticity, Inflammation & Mental Disorders; Microglial Cells, Exercise 01:52:15 Fads & Science 01:55:16 Mind-Body Communication; Cancer 02:03:28 Mind-Body, Mediation, Breathwork 02:07:30 Atrial Fibrillation, Synovial Sarcoma, Heart 02:14:22 Gratitude & Anger; Chemotherapy, Curiosity & Time Perception 02:19:58 Death, Brain & Future Prediction, Religion & Afterlife 02:24:15 Life Advice; Time Perception & Gratitude 02:34:35 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com Disclaimer: https://hubermanlab.com/disclaimer