Podcast

How can the brain respond to something the conscious mind never perceived? And why does calming the amygdala not necessarily change the beliefs and behaviors connected to fear?

In this episode, neuroscientist, author, and musician Joseph LeDoux discusses the circuitous path that made him one of the most influential voices in cognitive neuroscience.

LeDoux reflects on his early research into the brain’s right and left hemispheres, including unexpected findings showing that people could receive and react to stimuli without consciously perceiving them. That work raised enduring questions about subliminal perception, consciousness, and the ways the brain shapes behavior outside our awareness.

He also describes entering emotion research when it was still framed as Pavlovian conditioning because emotion and behavioral therapy were not widely accepted as rigorous science. Neuroscience, psychology, and therapy largely operated as separate disciplines.

LeDoux explains that medication can help calm the amygdala and reduce automatic threat responses, but it does not necessarily change learned behavior or the conscious narratives surrounding an experience. Meaningful change may require first calming the brain’s defensive systems and then using consciousness to reinterpret—or “renarrate”—the experience.

The conversation also explores LeDoux’s life as a musician. His first song, “Mind-Body Problem,” eventually led to The Amygdaloids, a band of scientists that has performed internationally and was profiled by The New York Times in “A Band of Scientists Who Really Are a Band.”

LeDoux will bring these intersecting interests in neuroscience, consciousness, storytelling, and music to the 2026 FFI Global Conference, where he will speak and perform.