Today we discuss how watching cleaning or decluttering videos affects our mental state, the abilities of super-recognizers, and a recent discovery into how manipulating the neurons in paralysis patients might be able to improve their mobility.
Today we discuss how watching cleaning or decluttering videos affects our mental state, the abilities of super-recognizers, and a recent discovery into how manipulating the neurons in paralysis patients might be able to improve their mobility.
Decluttering the Mind
Never Forget Faces
Paralysis Neurons
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Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/decluttering-the-mind-never-forget-faces-paralysis-neurons
NATE: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. Time flies when you’re learnin’ super cool stuff. I’m Nate.
CALLI: And I’m Calli. If you’re dropping in for the first time, welcome to Curiosity, where we aim to blow your mind by helping you to grow your mind. If you’re a loyal listener, welcome back!
NATE: Today you’ll learn about how watching cleaning or de-cluttering videos affects our mental state, the abilities of super-recognizers, and a recent discovery into how manipulating the neurons in paralysis patients might be able to improve their mobility!
CALLI: Without further ado, let’s satisfy some curiosity!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: I have a confession to make: I’m kind of obsessed with cleaning and organizing videos. Those videos where someone folds a pile of shirts into perfect little stacks, or transfers snacks from their packaging to clear containers. I find it very calming.
CALLI: Totally. It’s pretty well known at this point that doomscrolling on your phone is bad for your mental health, and these videos kind of feel like the opposite of that.
NATE: Exactly. Our brains like things to be organized. Less active stimulation surrounding us is equal to relaxation. This is confirmed by a Minnesota-based psychologist named Kristi Phillips, who says that this is the reason why the countless de-clutter TikToks or shows like Tidying Up with Marie Kondo are so popular.
CALLI: Even talking about them kind of has me excited to go put one on later. My biggest problem with de-cluttering for myself is that there are always a few things I have a sentimental attachment to. But that’s a slippery slope - a few items becomes a few more items becomes hi my name is Calli, I’m a hoarder, how are you doing?
NATE: Haha, totally. And Kristi Phillips says that’s a complicated part of the de-cluttering equation: maybe it is sentimental, or maybe the items cost a lot of money, which make us feel guilty. It’s overwhelming - and a huge reason why these videos are so effective is because they can inspire us to say “okay… maybe I can clean this up too.”
CALLI: So you’re saying that watching these videos is actually good for our mental health?
NATE: Here’s some hard science for you, Cal. In our cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of the brain, there are systems responsible for higher functions like planning, attention, memory, and so on. Whenever we’re hit with uncertainty, this area will send a signal out to the rest of our bodies which activates a sense of anxiety. The reason these videos are effective? Order. Control. Stability. The things our brains CRAVE during times of uncertainty.
CALLI: That’s… surprisingly simple. But what if you turn off the videos and feel uncertain again? Is the solution to watch more videos? Because that starts to seem unhealthy.
NATE: The researchers agree with you, Calli. Which is why the recommendation is to practice moderation with these videos. Use the stability as a quick win to center yourself, and figure out the next step you need to STAY centered.
CALLI: Cool, okay. What are some examples of those next steps?
NATE: It’s the classic mental health stuff: don’t spend too much time on your phone before bed, get exercise and fresh air, et cetera. Research says that the videos should be used as more of a jumping off point for healthier habits. On the other hand: if you still feel tired, anxious, or unhappy after watching the videos, then there might be a deeper problem.
CALLI: What do you mean?
NATE: Well, it could mean a few things. The obvious answer is that the content just might not be for you, and therefore, you shouldn’t watch it just because it works for others. But some people binge the content and find themselves unhappy because they’re actually going through a form of avoidance. The researchers say these people have “pre-contemplative” minds: they want change, but aren’t ready for it yet.
CALLI: Oh Nate, that’s so sad. So it’s using the videos as a form of wish fulfillment, but for a topic that’s physically within reach - even if mentally, it’s not quite yet?
NATE: Exactly. And at that point, the problem becomes more of an emotional one where you have to ask yourself, “what is holding me back? Why can’t I let go of these things?”
CALLI: Do the researchers have any solutions that might work?
NATE: One of them suggested harnessing the concept of neuroplasticity. This is the brain’s ability to form new synapses and connections; so for instance, if something fills you with dread, it’s the ability to condition yourself to turn that dread into optimism. You can do this by watching other videos, reading other articles, or simply stopping and thinking about what’s holding you back. And in an unusual twist, this researcher actually tested it out for herself.
CALLI: Oh cool. What did she do?
NATE: After a burst of anxiety about downsizing a home she was moving out of, she opened TikTok and searched hashtag Empty Nest Life, hashtag downsizing, and hashtag beach living. She wanted to associate the idea of downsizing with pure contentment. According to her, within minutes, she went to her basement and started digging into her boxes to begin her downsizing journey.
CALLI: Wow. And all of this started with de-cluttering videos, huh?
NATE: All of it started with the videos. And the truth is: none of us NEED these videos to make changes in our lives. But the research is there: they’re an effective starting point for us to finally make the transformations we need!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
CALLI: If you’ve seen a mob movie before, maybe you’ve heard somebody say in a thick Brooklyn accent: “I nevuh fuhget a face.”
NATE: That’s a basic Brooklyn accent.
CALLI: Listen, it was better than my last one. And okay, you’ve thought to yourself, okay, whatever. But a recent study has revealed that there are people who can do this and they’re called super-recognizers. Not only can they recognize ANY face they’ve seen before, but they can do it FAST.
NATE: I always like to think I’m good at recognizing faces, but the truth is, I just pretend I recognize everybody who approaches me to be polite. But, I don’t think I know the term ”super-recognizer.” Aside from not forgetting a face, what else makes a “super-recognizer”?
CALLI: Think of a photographic memory, but only for faces. Maybe they catch a glimpse of their sixth-grade science teacher in a mirror and know it’s them in nanoseconds. Or maybe they saw a criminal run by them in the streets and are able to successfully identify them for the police. Until recently, it was believed that this was less a skill and more of an obsession. That super-recognizers, who make up just less than 2 percent of the population, study faces religiously until they memorize every detail.
NATE: Alright. So how does it actually work?
CALLI: The short version: they look at faces like we all do, but faster and more accurately. The longer version: when super-recognizers look at a new face even for a second, they divide it into parts and then store each part in the brain as composite images. So, nose goes over here, eye color over there, etc. What makes this even more impressive is that a super-recognizer can then recognize those parts individually. So if I showed one of them your eyebrow, they’d say “oh, that’s Nate the science podcast guy!”
NATE: How did they figure out that super-recognizers could do this?
CALLI: Eye-tracking technology. A device was set up that monitored how a set of super-recognizers’ eyes moved, and then analyzed that movement, and which pieces of visual information they absorbed. What they found was that super-recognizers didn’t really look most people in the eye: their eyes quickly fluttered over all other areas of the faces of others, ESPECIALLY if they were new faces.
NATE: It’s that simple? So you’re saying if I start scanning people’s faces like that, I can become a super-recognizer?
CALLI: No, okay, it's not that simple. It’s not clear if this is rooted in something psychological yet, but the best idea the researchers have is that this is related to a combination of empathy and… curiosity. Don’t make a show name joke, Nate. Don’t make a joke. Don’t make a joke.
NATE: Ugh, fine. But what do you mean by empathy and curiosity? Those seem like easy things to manufacture for yourself.
CALLI: They’re not. When these people were hooked up to monitor their brain activity, huge spikes occurred in brainwave activity every time they saw a new face. These spikes are so far unexplained, but what isn’t unexplained is that super-recognizers’ abilities go beyond simply recognizing a face days later. In many cases, they can recognize an adult by a photo of them as a child - INSTANTLY.
NATE: Okay, wow. That’s a bit odd. I bet there’s a huge practicality to being able to recognize people that quickly, too.
CALLI: Oh there really is. Police departments in parts of Europe have actually taken to hiring super-recognizers to help identify subjects through security footage. One officer in Britain is one of these people who has successfully identified over 2,000 subjects since he was recognized as a super-recognizer by the department in 2012.
NATE: That’s actually really impressive. But what about facial recognition software? I hate to take the side of the machines here, but wouldn’t they be more reliable than a super-recognizer?
CALLI: Ah you’d think so, but I’ll let another example speak for itself. In 2011, a number of protests turned into riots on the streets of London after the police death of a 29-year-old. The department hired 20 super-recognizers AND used facial recognition software to identify the protesters through CCTV footage. The twenty super-recognizers managed to identify nearly 600 suspects successfully; one man named Gary Collins is responsible for 200 of those identifications alone. They were able to recognize the faces because many of them were already known to police so they could remember the faces from the police archives and compare them to the security footage.
NATE: WHOA. And how did the software do?
CALLI: The software identified a suspect.
NATE: …A suspect? As in - just one?
CALLI: Just one. And here’s the kicker - it was a suspect Gary Collins had already identified.
NATE: Okay well, consider me a true believer now in the super-recognizer. What’s next for the study of these guys?
CALLI: Finding a more mobile way to track their eye movements in public. We definitively know that super-recognizers exist; the goal now is to finally answer the age-old question of HOW their brains work.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Paralysis is one of the most tragic and debilitating things that can happen to the human body right? But there is new research that suggests that there might be a way to reverse a spinal cord injury through… get this… electrocution.
CALLI: That’s not where I was expecting you to go with this. I thought you were gonna hit me with a “groundbreaking surgery” or a “pill made from poop.” Why electricity?
NATE: While that does seem maybe more up our alley, no. It’s because it turns out that when you receive a spinal injury, the spine itself CAN be repaired… but the nerves connected to the spine couldn’t be repaired. And if there’s an injury like this, it cuts off communication between the brain and spinal neurons that control movement. Think of it like in a horror movie when the killer cuts the phone line. The spine needs help moving, but the call to the cops can’t be placed.
CALLI: Good analogy, but counterpoint: a phone line can be replaced. Neurons can’t be replaced, right?
NATE: That’s right. BUT… a new study has revealed that there are nerve cells in the spine that can spring back to life through electrical stimulation. They tested something called “epidural electrical stimulation” on nine mice with damaged spines who were unable to walk. Almost immediately, the mice were able to walk again while the stimulation was happening. Even more miraculously, some of the mice saw permanent improvement of their lost motor functions.
CALLI: Whoa. So they sent an electric shockwave into the spine of a mouse, and the spine came to life again?
NATE: That’s mostly right, but what’s interesting is that overall neural activity in the spine DECREASED during the stimulation. This means that the spine “reviving” is a correct description, just not in the way that we’d expect. You see, the response was actually driven by smaller neuron subgroups, rather than all of them at once.
CALLI: So there are certain neurons that affect how our brain and spine communicate and we didn’t know about them before.
NATE: Nope. And so, the scientists got to work mapping out which neurons were specifically making this happen. It didn’t take long for them to figure out that the mobility gene, which is called Vsx2, was actually located in the excitatory lumbar interneurons, which are a set of neurons that activate feelings in our feet.
CALLI: And a really impressive thing you managed to say all in one go. Okay, that is awesome. How do they even map these things out, anyway?
NATE: Advanced light-based stimulation techniques. The spines get electrical charges through light that show us how when Vsx2-expressing neurons are deactivated, mice with spinal cord injuries are no longer able to walk. A shot of light to see the process, followed by a shot of electricity targeted at that area, and ending with the mouse being able to walk again.
CALLI: Amazing. It would probably take a lot more to help humans walk though, right?
NATE: Yeah. The researchers made it a point to say that walking isn’t JUST reliant on these neurons. It’s controlled by numerous neural populations throughout the brain and spinal cord; unfortunately, we don’t know where those neurons’ locations and connectivity are at the moment. But, it’s still a huge first step. This could lead the way to create more targeted treatments for paralyzed patients. These neurons can flat out be manipulated to regenerate the spinal cords of not only mice, but everyone.
CALLI: Alright, well, one small step for mice…
NATE: …and one giant leap for science.
CALLI: That might be our worst ending yet.
NATE: Ah, there was barely any poop involved in this ending.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Let’s recap what we learned today to wrap up. Marie Kondo, eat your heart out: it turns out that watching de-cluttering videos can actually be good for our mental health. By watching these videos in moderation and using them as inspiration, we can actually decrease chaotic thinking and increase our internal feelings of control!
CALLI: The next time somebody tells you they never forget a face, you can rest assured knowing that they might be telling the truth - AND they might be able to save some lives in the process. Research suggests that super-recognizers who don’t forget human faces recognize people quicker AND more efficiently than facial recognition software.
NATE: A spinal injury is one of the most debilitating injuries a human can receive, but new research suggests that there might be a way to manipulate neurons in the spine to regain mobility again. The process has only been tested on mice so far, but a whopping 100% of the mice regained motor functions through electrical stimulation. Should the experiment proceed, we may see a permanent cure for paralysis in the future!