How to Expand Your Consciousness | Dr. Christof Koch

Andrew Huberman

15 sept 2025

Episode description

My guest is Dr. Christof Koch, PhD, a pioneering researcher on the topic of consciousness, an investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the chief scientist at the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation. We discuss the neuroscience of consciousness—how it arises in our brain, how it shapes our identity and how we can modify and expand it. Dr. Koch explains how we all experience life through a unique “perception box,” which holds our beliefs, our memories and thus our biases about reality. We discuss how human consciousness is changed by meditation, non-sleep deep rest, psychedelics, dreams and virtual reality. We also discuss neuroplasticity (rewiring the brain), flow states and the ever-changing but also persistent aspect of the “collective consciousness” of humanity.

Episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/DvSKMpB

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*Dr. Christof Koch*
Allen Institute: https://alleninstitute.org/person/christof-koch
Tiny Blue Dot Foundation: https://www.tinybluedotfoundation.org
Personal website: https://christofkoch.com
Stories by Christof Koch: https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/christof-koch
Then I Am Myself the World: What Consciousness Is and How to Expand It (Book): https://amzn.to/42tLC9a
Other books: https://amzn.to/46lTHxM
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=JYt9T_sAAAAJ

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Christof Koch
00:02:31 Consciousness; Self, Flow States
00:08:02 NSDR, Yoga Nidra, Liminal States; State of Being, Intelligence vs Consciousness
00:13:14 Sponsors: BetterHelp & Our Place
00:15:53 Self, Derealization, Psychedelics; Selflessness & Flow States
00:19:53 Transformative Experience, VR, Racism & Self; Perception Box, Bayesian Model
00:28:29 Oliver Sacks, Empathy & Animals
00:34:01 Changing Outlook on Life, Tool: Belief & Agency
00:37:48 Sponsors: AGZ by AG1 & Helix Sleep
00:40:23 Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) & Higher Power
00:42:09 Neurobiology of Consciousness; Accidents, Covert Consciousness
00:51:09 Non-Responsive State; Disability Bias, Will to Live, Resilience
00:55:34 Will to Live, Akinetic Mutism, Neural Correlates of Consciousness
00:57:43 Conflicting Perception Boxes, Meta Prior, Religion, AI
01:06:47 AI, Violence, Swapping Perception Boxes, Video
01:12:19 5-MeO-DMT, Psychedelics, Light, Consciousness & Awe; Loss of Self
01:20:54 Death, Mystical Experience, Ocean Analogy; Physicalism & Observer
01:27:57 Sponsor: LMNT
01:29:29 Meditation, Tool: Spacetime Bridging; Ball-bearing Analogy; Digital Twin
01:36:16 Mental Health Decline, Social Media, Pandemic, Family & Play, Tool: Body-Awareness Exercises
01:41:34 Dog Breeds; Movement, Cognitive Flexibility & Longevity
01:47:17 Cynicism, Ketamine, Tool: Belief Effect; Heroes & Finding Flaws
01:52:46 Cynicism vs Curiosity, Compassion; Deaths of Despair, Mental Health Crisis
01:57:26 Jennifer Aniston, Recognition & Neurons; Grandmother Hypothesis
02:03:20 Book Recommendation; Meaning of Life
02:09:10 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Episode description

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Discover 'Jennifer Aniston neurons' that respond to familiarity

Your brain dedicates specific neurons, famously dubbed 'Jennifer Aniston cells,' that fire uniquely in response to highly familiar concepts, people, or places.

#brain

#neurology

Utilize 0.31 threshold to assess consciousness in unresponsive patients

A brain complexity index above a sharp threshold of 0.31 indicates consciousness, which can be used to detect awareness in patients who appear unresponsive.

#consciousness

#diagnosis

Expand your perception box to reshape reality

We each live within a 'perception box,' a subjective view of reality shaped by our unique experiences and expectations that determines how we interpret the world.

#awareness

Experience 5-MeO-DMT to eliminate fear of death

An experience with 5-MeO-DMT can be so profound, involving a death of the self, that it can permanently remove the existential fear of dying.

#fear

#psychedelics

Eliminate cynicism to enhance brain plasticity

Cynicism is the worst sin because it closes your perception box and makes you disbelieve in the possibility of change, working directly against the brain's natural plasticity.

#mind

#neuroplasticity

Recognize consciousness as a state of being, not doing

Consciousness is fundamentally a state of being, not doing, which is why computers can perform complex behaviors but cannot be conscious like a human.

#consciousness

Achieve flow state to silence inner critic

You can be highly conscious while completely losing your sense of self, such as in a flow state, which provides a 'blessed silence' from your inner critic.

#consciousness

#mind

Understand anterior cingulate cortex's role in will to live

The anterior cingulate cortex is a physical substrate for the will to live, as lesions in this area can cause akinetic mutism, a complete loss of desire to do or say anything.

#cognition

#neurology

Improve sleep with AGZ's clinically supported ingredients

A new sleep supplement called AGZ combines clinically supported ingredients like magnesium threonate, theanine, chamomile extract, and glycine to improve sleep.