How the Brain Gets Stuck and How to Help It Flex | Dr. Lucina Uddin #229

About this episode

Dr. Lucina Uddin discusses cognitive flexibility in autistic individuals and the impact of bilingualism on inhibitory skills.

What's actually happening in the brain when an autistic individual struggles to shift gears, adapt to change, or break out of a repetitive thought pattern? This week, host Jeffrey Skibitsky sits down with Dr. Lucina Uddin, neuroscientist and director of the Brain Connectivity and Cognition Laboratory at UCLA, to explore one of the most important and least-discussed topics in autism research: cognitive flexibility. Dr. Uddin breaks down how brain networks switch between internal thinking and external awareness, what happens when that switching system gets overloaded, and why some autistic individuals get stuck in a loop even when they have every skill needed to problem-solve in calmer moments. She also shares a surprising research finding: bilingual children with autism showed stronger inhibitory skills than their monolingual peers, suggesting that natural language exposure at home may support cognitive flexibility in ways families can start building today. Resources: Lucina Q. Uddin, Ph.D. (she/her) Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Professor, Department of Psychology Director, Brain Connectivity and Cognition Laboratory Director, Center for Cognitive…

People in this episode

Host: Jeffrey Skibitsky

Guest: Dr. Lucina Uddin

Topics covered

• cognitive flexibility
• autism research
• brain networks
• bilingualism
• inhibitory skills
• repetitive thought patterns

Keywords

• autism
• cognitive flexibility
• bilingualism
• neuroscience
• brain connectivity
• inhibitory skills
• repetitive thoughts
• UCLA
• Dr. Lucina Uddin

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UCLA, Brain Connectivity and Cognition Laboratory, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Department of Psychology

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