Serotonin is the primary neuromodulator associated with the neural circuits activated by gratitude and prosocial behaviors.

“The main neuromodulators associated with gratitude and prosocial behaviors tends to be serotonin. Serotonin is released from a very small collection of neurons in the brainstem called the "raphe," R-A-P-H-E, the "raphe nucleus," and a few other places in the brain.”

The cerebellum's core function is to predict the immediate future in the next second or two to guide behavior.

“if we're looking for a theme about what the cerebellum does is that it is there to predict the immediate future it's trying to determine what's going to happen in the next second or two to best guide behavior”

Learning to play a musical instrument at any age provides cognitive reserve and neuroprotection by fostering neuroplasticity.

“if you learn an instrument at an older age I write about this in successful aging which was the previous book but also reiterated it here it's never too late to learn an instrument NE if you're 70 80 not too late and I'll tell you a story about that in a second but it's neuroprotective”

The amygdala functions as a smoke alarm that detects potential danger rather than serving as the sole location where fear resides.

“The amydala is more like the smoke alarm. It detects something happening in the environment. It says danger danger something you know could be happening.”

The two brain hemispheres have distinct, complementary roles where the right hemisphere understands the broader context and the left focuses on fragmented, analytical tasks.

“each half of the brain produces a different version of the experiential world”

The right hemisphere is dominant for emotional processing and develops earlier than the left hemisphere, which matures later.

“the human brain growth spurt occurs from the last trimester of pregnancy through the second until the third year of Life all of that time is a period of right hemisphere dominance”

The pre-Bötzinger complex in the brain stem is the primary site responsible for generating the rhythmic activity of breathing.

“The region in the brain stem that's once again this region sort of above the spinal cord which was critical for generating this rhythm. It's called the pre-buttser complex.”

Hypnosis functions by reducing activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, increasing connectivity between the DLPFC and insula, and inducing a state of dissociation.

“The first is turning down activity in the dorsal anterior singulate cortex. So the DACC is in the central front middle part of the brain as you you well know and it's it's part of what we call the salance network.”