Enhance Your Learning Speed & Health Using Neuroscience Based Protocols | Dr. Poppy Crum

To illustrate this dynamic, Crum described the homunculus, a distorted human figure used in neuroscience to map the brain's sensory and motor representations. Originating from Wilder Penfield's work in the 1940s, this model shows how certain body parts occupy disproportionately large areas in the brain, reflecting their sensory importance. However, this static map no longer suits our current realities; for example, modern humans consistently engage their thumbs while texting, which should, and likely does, increase the cortical resources dedicated to those digits. She underscored that expertise and experience reshape the brain's allocation of resources, fostering higher specificity and sensitivity in the involved neural circuits.

Sensory Experience

The discussion transitioned into sensory adaptation, particularly human hearing, shaped by the environments we inhabit. Crum pointed out that hearing thresholds—the minimum sound levels we can detect—vary depending on whether someone is raised in a noisy city like Chicago or a quieter suburb. This is due to the unique "sonic imprint" of each environment, encompassing the types of sounds, their frequencies, and intensities. Continuous exposure to specific auditory stimuli causes neural adaptation even at peripheral levels like the cochlea, as well as higher brain regions that determine which frequencies are behaviorally significant.

Crum recounted personal anecdotes of auditory memories, such as the distinct sound of roosters from her childhood, emphasizing how sensory input shapes individual perception. This adaptation is selective; the brain prioritizes sounds relevant to one's environment, reinforcing neural sensitivity to those inputs. These experiences demonstrate how ambient soundscapes contribute to neural plasticity, altering hearing sensitivity and, potentially, cognitive processing connected to auditory information.

Evolution of Communication with Smartphones

The conversation then explored how the explosion of smartphone technology over the last 15 years has fundamentally transformed human communication and brain processing. Unlike sequential writing or emailing, texting involves rapidly integrating multiple brain functions: motor control (typing with thumbs), auditory imagery (hearing one's own voice and imagining the other's tone), and emotional processing. Crum suggested that rather than creating entirely new brain regions, these novel activities reallocate and repurpose existing neural circuits to manage a faster and more intricate form of dialogue.

The inclusion of rapid feedback, like "dot dot dot" typing indicators or emoji shorthand, exemplifies a kind of "lossy" data compression where minimal characters convey rich, context-dependent meaning. This efficiency parallels perceptual compression algorithms in audio technology, where irrelevant sound data is removed without compromising perceived quality. The younger generation integrating smartphones from early development stages experiences these changes differently from older generations who assimilated the technology later, illustrating neuroplastic adaptations that vary with exposure. Such shifts blur traditional distinctions of depth and frequency in communication, reflecting a new paradigm of social interaction encoded within the brain.

The Role of Technology in Shaping Cognitive Function

Dr. Crum conveyed a balanced perspective on technology's impact, describing it neither as inherently good nor bad. She praised AI, wearables, and sensory devices for their potential to enrich cognition and performance when used as augmentation tools. For instance, video gaming can enhance low-level sensory capacities such as contrast sensitivity and high-order cognitive skills like rapid probabilistic decision-making. She cited research showing that video game players improve situational awareness and faster processing speeds, skills transferable to real-world environments.

At the same time, she cautioned about the risk of technology replacing rather than supplementing cognitive efforts, which can stunt deeper learning and long-term retention. Crum also described concerns regarding dependencies that develop when people outsource foundational skills—comparable to how reliance on GPS navigation has diminished innate spatial memory in London taxi drivers, leading to a reduction in hippocampal gray matter over time. This nuanced view embraces technological innovation but stresses conscious, intentional use to maintain and enhance human cognitive capacities.

AI-Assisted Learning

One of the most practical applications of technology discussed was AI-assisted learning through customized testing and feedback. Andrew Huberman shared his personal experience using AI tools to generate quizzes from dense scientific text, leveraging repeated self-testing—a method proven to enhance memory retention dramatically. Dr. Crum agreed that technology can be harnessed to accelerate learning by identifying individual weaknesses and dynamically adapting study protocols to focus on those gaps.

However, they also underscored the importance of "germane cognitive load"—the mental effort directed toward meaningful learning and schema development—which is often reduced when learners rely too heavily on AI-generated summaries or essay-writing tools. The key is to engage actively with the material, using AI as a scaffolding tool rather than a crutch. This approach ensures deeper neural encoding and better transfer of knowledge, helping retain flexibility to extrapolate and generalize across novel contexts.

Digital Twins

A significant portion of the dialogue revolved around digital twins—digital representations of physical systems designed to provide real-time insights and feedback. Crum defined digital twins not as exact replicas of ourselves, but as dynamic models that integrate various data streams (e.g., physiological, environmental) to optimize performance or health. She provided the accessible example of air traffic control systems as early digital twins, where controllers process digitized flight information to orchestrate complex systems with improved safety and efficiency.

Extending this concept to everyday life, Crum described practical applications such as smart homes and vehicles that adjust temperature, lighting, and sounds based on real-time biometric data, enabling personalized comfort and cognitive optimization. Using her own experience with a smart mattress that modulates temperature to improve REM and deep sleep, she illustrated how integrating multiple sensor inputs can generate actionable feedback, dramatically enhancing wellbeing. This vision points toward digital twins as personalized assistants facilitating continuous optimization across work, rest, and health domains.

Wearable and Environmental Sensors

While numerous sensors exist to track physiological metrics, Crum expressed a strong preference for minimalistic wearable design. She argued that many body-worn devices can influence natural behaviors, such as gait, or create burdensome complexity. Instead, she highlighted advances in computer vision systems and environmental sensors capable of extracting rich biometrics without direct physical contact. For example, cameras can analyze posture in a car seat to infer stress levels, while sound sensors integrated into HVAC systems can monitor carbon dioxide and other gases indicative of emotional and cognitive states.

Integration and interoperability of varied sensors will be crucial for forming coherent digital twins that encompass body, local environment, and external context. Crum noted regulatory hurdles slow adoption in medical contexts, but consumer-level devices often surpass medical counterparts in data richness and real-time responsiveness. This sensor fusion promises more naturalistic monitoring, while AI interprets complex, multimodal data streams to offer timely interventions.

Optimizing Cognitive Load with AI

Dr. Crum and Huberman considered the concept of cognitive load theory in the context of AI and learning technologies. They distinguished intrinsic load (related to task complexity), extraneous load (arising from poor presentation or distractions), and germane load (mental effort invested in learning). Encouraging germane cognitive load is critical for deep learning and neuroplastic changes. AI tools can aid this by providing personalized feedback and adaptive challenges that keep learners engaged without overwhelming extraneous stimuli.

Gamification, framed as fun and engaging task design rather than mere competition, emerged as a powerful catalyst. Crum cited examples from her teaching, including VR games that integrate physiological data like heart rate and breathing to modulate gameplay, effectively training stress management and focus. Tracking progress through quantifiable metrics, such as sleep scores or focused work bouts, can motivate users by setting clear, attainable objectives. Such data-driven engagement aligns with neuroscience-based methods to enhance learning speed and cognitive resilience.

AI's Impact on Cognitive Skill Development

As AI becomes increasingly ubiquitous, Crum emphasized a dual-edged reality: AI can accelerate human capabilities when used as a cognitive amplifier but can also diminish essential cognitive skills if it substitutes thinking. She cited recent research illustrating that reliance on large language models (LLMs) to write essays reduces germane cognitive load and meaningful learning, leading to poorer knowledge retention and transfer. The challenge is to harness AI to highlight areas of weakness and complement human thinking rather than provide instant answers detached from understanding.

This necessitates intentional implementation in educational and professional settings, balancing short-term productivity with long-term competence development. Crum warned that excessive dependence might produce generational cognitive divides in understanding, even as knowledge access becomes democratized. Ethical use of AI requires thoughtful design of feedback loops and cognitive scaffolds that maintain agency and foster the growth of robust mental schemas over time.

Awake Brain States

One of the most profound themes discussed was the limited understanding of waking brain states compared to sleep. Although researchers have identified and optimized sleep stages like slow-wave and REM sleep, daytime brain activity remains poorly defined. Crum described the potential for AI, coupled with multimodal data integration (including pupilometry, breathing patterns, and environmental sensors), to map distinct wakeful states aligned with specific goals like creativity, focus, relaxation, or social engagement.

Personalized AI systems could monitor physiological and behavioral markers continuously to dynamically optimize environments—for example, adjusting lighting, sound, or temperature to support specific mental states. Drawing parallels to the success of sleep scoring systems, she envisioned quantitative metrics for cognitive performance that could create aspirational targets and actionable feedback for work productivity, emotional regulation, and rest. This approach underlines the next frontier in neuroscience and technology: refining the granularity of awake brain state classification to enhance everyday function and wellbeing.

Biological Insights

Dr. Crum shared unique insights from her background as a violinist with absolute pitch, a rare ability that allows her to perceive and categorize sound frequencies precisely—akin to how we see color. This skill informed her deep interest in auditory perception and neuroplasticity. She recounted a formative neuroscience study involving owls raised with prism glasses that shifted their visual field by 15 degrees. Despite the drastic alteration, the owls developed secondary cortical maps to compensate, a compelling demonstration of neuroplasticity under survival pressure. Crum connected this to her own experience navigating between Baroque and modern musical pitch standards, effectively maintaining dual auditory maps.

She also described fascinating animal adaptations such as orb-weaver spiders tuning their webs to resonate at specific frequencies that notify them of predators like echolocating bats. This intertwining of biology, sound, and behavior exemplifies the intricate sensory processing evolution she studies. Her journey exemplifies the fusion of art, science, and technology, driving innovation to harness neuroplasticity in daily human life.

The Promise of Technological Integration

Throughout the dialogue, Dr. Crum conveyed optimism tempered with caution about the accelerating integration of AI and sensory technologies into human life. She asserted that the future belongs to systems that understand the complexity of individual neural and environmental contexts. Personalized digital systems capable of situational intelligence can enhance human performance, empathy, and health if developed thoughtfully. However, she emphasized the imperative to remain mindful about which neural "maps" are shaped by emerging technologies and to ensure these changes promote agency and flourishing rather than dependency or uniformity.

Concluding their conversation, both Crum and Huberman illustrated that a deep understanding of neuroscience, combined with the right applications of technology and AI, can profoundly increase learning speed, health outcomes, and quality of life. The discussion bridged fundamental science with tangible protocols and futuristic visions that offer listeners a toolkit to consciously engage with technology as an empowering force in their lives.