Are you curious and want more extensive information?

I consume a lot of information about the brain and personal development to share through my content. However, I believe it is really important for everyone to form their own opinions and check important facts. So here I compile some of the books and articles I have used to guide the information I provide for the person interested in more background and deeper information.

I try to update this list as I go but it will inevitably not be a complete representation of my resources.

Books

The expectation effect by David Robson

This is a great overview of how our expectations shape our reality and abilities. It is based on the science of predictive coding which is an emerging topic gaining more and more evidence.

The whole-brain child: 12 revolutionary strategies to nurture your child’s developing mind by Daniel J Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

This is a very good book for anyone in the lives of children. Understanding the developmental stage of a child is key to being able to help them grow and learn.

The empathic brain: how the discovery of mirror neurons changes our understanding of human nature by Christian Keysers

Christian Keysers was there in the lab when they discovered mirror neurons, and is one of the top experts on empathy and the brain. This is a very interesting book on the topic, filled with scientific facts yet easy to read.

Scientific articles

Brain evolution

Lindhout, F. W., Krienen, F. M., Pollard, K. S. & Lancaster, M. A. A molecular and cellular perspective on human brain evolution and tempo. Nature 630, 596–608 (2024).
Steffen, P. R., Hedges, D. & Matheson, R. The Brain Is Adaptive Not Triune: How the Brain Responds to Threat, Challenge, and Change. Front. Psychiatry 13, 802606 (2022).
DeCasien, A. R., Barton, R. A. & Higham, J. P. Understanding the human brain: insights from comparative biology. Trends Cogn. Sci. 26, 432–445 (2022).

Brain physiology

Fernández, V. & Borrell, V. Developmental mechanisms of gyrification. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 80, 102711 (2023).
Akula, S. K., Exposito-Alonso, D. & Walsh, C. A. Shaping the brain: The emergence of cortical structure and folding. Dev. Cell 58, 2836–2849 (2023).
Hickmott, R. A. et al. The One-Stop Gyrification Station – Challenges and New Technologies. Prog. Neurobiol. 204, 102111 (2021).

Decision making

Cecchini, G. et al. Cognitive mechanisms of learning in sequential decision-making under uncertainty: an experimental and theoretical approach. Front. Behav. Neurosci. 18, 1399394 (2024).
Lu, C., Lu, Y. & Wang, J. Suppressing memory associations impacts decision-making preference: Evidence from the think/no-think paradigm. Conscious. Cogn. 118, 103643 (2024).
Krewski, D. et al. Principles of risk decision-making. J. Toxicol. Environ. Heal., Part B 25, 250–278 (2022).

Predictive coding

Bowman, H., Collins, D. J., Nayak, A. K. & Cruse, D. Is predictive coding falsifiable? Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 154, 105404 (2023).
Laukkonen, R. E. & Slagter, H. A. From many to (n)one:Meditation and the plasticity of the predictive mind. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 128, 199–217 (2021).
Aitchison, L. & Lengyel, M. With or without you: predictive coding and Bayesian inference in the brain. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 46, 219–227 (2017).
Kruglanski, A. W., Jasko, K. & Friston, K. All Thinking is ‘Wishful’ Thinking. Trends Cogn. Sci. 24, 413–424 (2020).

Psychological well-being

Trudel-Fitzgerald C, Millstein RA, von Hippel C, Howe CJ, Tomasso LP, Wagner GR, VanderWeele TJ. Psychological well-being as part of the public health debate? Insight into dimensions, interventions, and policy. BMC Public Health. 2019 Dec 19;19(1):1712. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-8029-x. PMID: 31856772; PMCID: PMC6923969.
The plasticity of well-being: A training-based framework for the cultivation of human flourishing Cortland J. Dahl, Christine D. Wilson-Mendenhall, Richard J. Davidson. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2020, 117 (51) 32197-32206; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014859117

Self esteem

Crocker J, Canevello A, Brown AA. Social Motivation: Costs and Benefits of Selfishness and Otherishness. Annu Rev Psychol. 2017 Jan 3;68:299-325. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010416-044145. Epub 2016 Jun 24. PMID: 27362501.
Crocker J, Wolfe CT. Contingencies of self-worth. Psychol Rev. 2001 Jul;108(3):593-623. doi: 10.1037/0033-295x.108.3.593. PMID: 11488379.

Self regulation

Integrating Models of Self-Regulation
Michael Inzlicht, Kaitlyn M. Werner, Julia L. Briskin, Brent W. Roberts
Annual Review of Psychology 2021 72:1, 319-345

Meditation and stress

M.C. Pascoe, M. de Manincor, J. Tseberja, M. Hallgren, P.A. Baldwin, A.G.Parker, Psychobiological mechanisms underlying the mood benefits of meditation: A Narrative Review, Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100037

The maternal brain

Shimon-Raz, O. et al. Mother brain is wired for social moments. eLife 10, e59436 (2021).
Duarte-Guterman, P., Leuner, B. & Galea, L. A. M. The long and short term effects of motherhood on the brain. Front. Neuroendocr. 53, 100740 (2019).

Goal setting

Nowack, K. M. (2021). Hacks for Effectively Setting and Reaching Goals. Training and Development Magazine, May 2021, pp. 72-74.
Nowack, K. (2017). Facilitating Successful Behavior Change: Beyond Goal Setting to Goal Flourishing. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 70, 1-19
Nowack, K. M. (2015). The Limits of Deliberate Practice. Talent Management Magazine, 11, 22-25

Empathy

Keysers C, Knapska E, Moita MA, Gazzola V. Emotional contagion and prosocial behavior in rodents. Trends Cogn Sci. 2022 Auf;:26(8):688-706. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2022.05.005. Epub 2022 Jun3. PMID: 35667978
Puscian A, Bryksa A, Kondrakiewicz L, Kostecki M, Winiarski M, Knapska E. Ability to share emotions of others as a foundation of social learning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2022 Jan;132:23-36. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.022. Epub 2021 Nov 24. PMID: 34838526
Thioux M, Keysers C. Empathy: shared circuits and their dysfunctions. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2010;12(4):546-52. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2010.12.4/mthioux. PMID: 21319498; PMCID: PMC3181990.
Borja Jimenez KC, Abdelgabar AR, De Angelis L, McKay LS, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Changes in brain activity following the voluntary control of empathy. Neuroimage. 2020 Aug 1;216:116529. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116529. Epub 2020 Jan 10. PMID: 31931155.
Klimecki, O.M. (2015). The Plasticity of Social Emotions. Social Neuroscience. 10, 466-473. Singer, T., Klimecki, O.M. (2014). Empathy and Compassion. Current Biology, 24, R875-R878.

Emotion regulation

Goldin PR, Moodie CA, Gross JJ. Acceptance versus reappraisal: Behavioral, autonomic, and neural effects. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2019 Aug;19(4):927-944. doi: 10.3758/s13415-019-00690-7. PMID: 30656602.
Goldin PR, McRae K, Ramel W, Gross JJ. The neural bases of emotion regulation: reappraisal and suppression of negative emotion. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Mar 15;63(6):577-86. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.05.031. Epub 2007 Sep 21. PMID: 17888411; PMCID: PMC2483789.

Interoception

Price CJ, Weng HY. Facilitating Adaptive Emotion Processing and Somatic Reappraisal via Sustained Mindful Interoceptive Attention. Front Psychol. 2021 Sep 8;12:578827. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.578827. PMID: 34566738; PMCID: PMC8457046.

Telomeres

Conklin QA, Crosswell AD, Saron CD, Epel ES. Meditation, stress processes, and telomere biology. Curr Opin Psychol. 2019 Aug;28:92-101. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.11.009. Epub 2018 Nov 19. PMID: 30553080; PMCID: PMC6526075.
Conklin QA, King BG, Zanesco AP, Lin J, Hamidi AB, Pokorny JJ, Álvarez-López MJ, Cosín-Tomás M, Huang C, Kaliman P, Epel ES, Saron CD. Insight meditation and telomere biology: The effects of intensive retreat and the moderating role of personality. Brain Behav Immun. 2018 May;70:233-245. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2018.03.003. Epub 2018 Mar 5. Erratum in: Brain Behav Immun. 2018 Oct;73:736-737. PMID: 29518528.

Philosophy

Levy, Daniel. (2010). Neural Holism and Free Will. Philosophical Psychology. 16. 205-228. 10.1080/09515080307765.

Social connections

Holt-Lunstad J. Why Social Relationships Are Important for Physical Health: A Systems Approach to Understanding and Modifying Risk and Protection. Annu Rev Psychol. 2018 Jan 4;69:437-458. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011902. Epub 2017 Oct 16. PMID: 29035688.