You Are Not Your Brain | Dr. Caroline Leaf on Who's Actually Driving
About this episode
Dr. Caroline Leaf discusses the distinction between the mind and brain, exploring neuroplasticity and addiction.
What if everything you've been told about "my brain made me do it" is backwards? Dave and Luke sit down with Dr. Caroline Leaf, cognitive neuroscientist, bestselling author, and one of the earliest researchers to study neuroplasticity back in the 1980s. Together, they unpack the claim that you are not your brain. You have a mind, and that mind is the one doing the driving. Dr. Leaf walks through her decades of clinical work with traumatic brain injury patients and trauma survivors. She discusses everything on addiction, healing, and why labels like "disease" or "addict" don't tell the whole story. She breaks down her "neurocycle" framework and explains why quick fixes tend to fall apart. If you've ever felt stuck with your own mind, this conversation makes the case that you're far more in control than you think, and gives you an actual roadmap for what to do about it. Chapters [Start] Introducing Dr. Caroline Leaf: Dave and Luke introduce Dr. Leaf and her central idea that the mind and brain are not the same thing and why that distinction matters. 05:44 From TBI Patients to Neuroplasticity Pioneer: Dr. Leaf shares her origin story working with brain-injury patients in the 1980s…
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