Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials,

where we revisit past episodes

for the most potent and actionable science-based tools

for mental health, physical health, and performance.

I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor

of neurobiology and ophthalmology

at Stanford School of Medicine.

Today we are discussing aggression.

I'm going to explain to you that there are several

different types of aggression. For instance, reactive aggression versus proactive aggression, meaning

sometimes people will be aggressive because they feel threatened or they are protecting

those that they love who also feel threatened. There's also proactive aggression where people

go out of their way to deliberately try and harm others.

And there is indirect aggression,

which is aggression not involving physical violence.

For instance, shaming people and things of that sort.

It turns out that there are different biological mechanisms

underlying each of the different types of aggression.

And today I will define those for you. I'll talk about the neural circuits in the brain and body that mediate each of the different kinds of aggression. Talk about some of the hormones and peptides and neurotransmitters involved. I promise to make it all accessible to you, even if you do not have any biology or science background. I'm certain that by the end of the episode,

you will come away with a much more thorough understanding

of what this thing that we call aggression really is.

And when you see it in other people,

...