Instead of a grand summary, Burnett seems bent on meandering through neuroscience, following unexpected tangents, pointing out incongruent findings, and taking us through some unusual territory.įor example, I hadn’t thought much about the influence of “home” on our brains. “Just embrace the important point: The things that influence our brain’s ability to make us happy extend far beyond just our experiences and personal preferences,” warns Burnett. Much of it may be out of our conscious control. And, as so much of our brain activity can be influenced by individual personalities or environmental circumstances, it’s hard to make any grand proclamations about what happiness looks like in the brain.Īdd to that some pretty weird anomalies-like the neurotransmitter serotonin, which modulates mood, being produced primarily by our gut bacteria-and it becomes clear that we don’t understand everything about our brains and happiness. He points to the expense of running fMRI studies, which limits the number of study participants and the certainty about results. Neuroscience is a fascinating field, but, as Burnett warns, it’s also a relatively new science, and many of its “findings” are exploratory in nature rather than conclusive. Burnett, a neuroscientist and standup comic, explores some of the inner workings of our brains to reveal how our neural networks support us in experiencing happiness so we can move forward in life and love. If so, you may want to pick up Dean Burnett’s book Happy Brain: Where Happiness Comes From, and Why. Ever wonder why we get a warm feeling when we come home? Or why laughter makes us feel so good? Or why, even though exercise is good for us, so many of us tend to avoid it?

Dean burnett neuroscientist