In a neuroscience-focused episode, we start with a new model of how having agency influences how much our brains are learning from moment to moment. Building classroom routines that emphasize student choice, from tiny procedural choices to major learning decisions, can boost the positive impacts of dopamine on their brain’s learning pathways.
Later, we read an experimental study of the impacts of emotional events on long-term memory. How can we leverage the benefits of positive emotional experiences in authentic, sustainable ways all year long?
- First Segment – 2:38 – Neuroscience of Dopamine Activity and Agency
- Second Segment – 29:58 – Emotional Arousal & Memory Consolidation
Primary Citations
- Ashby, F. G., Zetzer, H. A., Conoley, C. W., & Pickering, A. D. (2024). Just do it: A neuropsychological theory of agency, cognition, mood, and dopamine. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(6), 1582. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001587
- Wang, B. (2025). The longer, the better? How duration of emotional arousal shapes consolidation of recognition memory. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2025.2540447
Supplemental Citations
- The Molecule of More (Lieberman, 2019)
- A hardwired neural circuit for temporal difference learning (Campbell, Preprint 2025)
- 062 Cognitive Effort & Professional Learning (Two Pint PLC)
- 047 Epistemic Disobedience & Neuroscience Motivation (Two Pint PLC)
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- 095 Error Climate & Remembered Success (Two Pint PLC)
Featured Beverage
We drink 100 degrees, a farmhouse ale inspired by the classic summer shandy from the Jester King Brewery in Austin, TX.