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Your Brain on Relationships: The Neuroscience of Human Connection

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Discover how relationships physically reshape your brain chemistry. Drawing from Harvard's 80-year happiness study, Matthew Lieberman's groundbreaking research, and Uri Hasson's work on neural synchronization, this episode reveals why connection isn't just emotional-it's biological necessity.

Your Brain on Relationships: The Neuroscience of Human Connection
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How This Personalized Podcast Was Made

This podcast was created using BeFreed’s AI, based on selected books, the creator’s learning goals, and their preferred tone.

The hidden influence of social networks
link
https://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks
Brain-to-Brain Synchrony during Naturalistic Social Interactions
link
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29213107/
The power of vulnerability
link
https://www.ted.com/speakers/brene_brown%20
Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7000470-hold-me-tight
Understand team effectiveness (Project Aristotle)
link
https://rework.withgoogle.com/intl/en/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness
Social regulation of gene expression in human leukocytes
link
https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/gb-2007-8-9-r189
The secret to desire in a long-term relationship
link
https://www.ted.com/talks/esther_perel_the_secret_to_desire_in_a_long_term_relationship
Prolonged institutional rearing is associated with atypically large amygdala volume
link
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00852.x
The Good Life
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/the-good-life-by-robert-waldinger
Science of Social Bonding in Family, Friendship & Romantic Love
link
https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/science-of-social-bonding-in-family-friendship-and-romantic-love
Social Baseline Theory: The Role of Social Proximity in Emotion and Economy of Action
link
https://colab.ws/articles/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00400.x
Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/social-why-our-brains-are-wired-to-connect-by-matthew-d-lieberman
Lending a hand: Social regulation of the neural response to threat
link
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17201784/
Ed Tronick and the “Still Face Experiment”
link
https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/thoughtful-animal/ed-tronick-and-the-8220-still-face-experiment-8221/
Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion
link
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1089134
Attached
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/attached-by-amir-levine
How Love Dies: The Psychology of Cheating & Attraction
link
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/modern-wisdom/986-esther-perel-how-love-HQIG2jkE8a3/
The Body Keeps the Score
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/the-body-keeps-the-score-by-bessel-van-der-kolk
Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships
link
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56883977-friends
Dr. Kay Tye: The Biology of Social Interactions and Emotions
link
https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-kay-tye-the-biology-of-social-interactions-and-emotions
Wired for Dating
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/wired-for-dating-by-stan-tatkin
Oxytocin increases trust in humans
link
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005Natur.435..673K/abstract
Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond
link
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/45894128
Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation
link
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/05/03/new-surgeon-general-advisory-raises-alarm-about-devastating-impact-epidemic-loneliness-isolation-united-states.html
The neurobiology of pair bonding
link
https://ouci.dntb.gov.ua/en/works/4KOLJX34/
Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7363404-loneliness
Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/together-by-vivek-h-murthy
What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness
link
https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness
The Science of Love, Desire and Attachment
link
https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/the-science-of-love-desire-and-attachment
A General Theory of Love
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/a-general-theory-of-love-by-thomas-lewis
Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review
link
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/7516/
The Anxious Generation
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/the-anxious-generation-by-jonathan-haidt
Physiological synchrony is associated with attraction in a blind date setting
link
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34725513/
The science of healthy relationships with John and Julie Gottman
link
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/56-rethinking-102050676/episode/the-science-of-healthy-relationships-with-105903302/
The Village Effect
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29485951-the-village-effect
Lessons From The World's Longest Happiness Study
link
https://dexa.ai/modernwisdom/d/af623eac-6995-11ee-9efb-ff326f3f63d5
Speaker–listener neural coupling underlies successful communication
link
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1008662107
Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review
link
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/7519/
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Input question

How does our brain chemistry actually change when we form relationships with others?

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"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
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likes17

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore
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"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful
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"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn
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"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu
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"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn
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"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA
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comments12
likes117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw
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"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum
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comments12
likes108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
platform
comments254
likes17

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore
platform
starstarstarstarstar

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful
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comments96
likes4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP
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@Jaded_Falcon
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comments201
thumbsUp16

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke
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starstarstarstarstar

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn
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comments37
likes483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu
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