• Controlling Dopamine for Motivation, Energy, and Learning
    Mar 31 2026

    Get your emotional intelligence score: score.sankalpgarud.orgIf we haven't met, hello I'm Sankalp, and I'm a neuroscientist. I completed my PhD in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Oxford. In this video I talk about what dopamine is, what it actually does in the brain, and how to use it for motivation, energy and well-being.0:00 – Introduction1:56 – What is dopamine?3:49 – Where does dopamine come from? (tyrosine)5:32 – Where is dopamine made in the brain?7:53 – The three dopamine pathways10:23 – What each pathway does13:02 – What does dopamine do? (overview)13:56 – Dopamine is NOT about pleasure16:35 – Study 1: Mice without dopamine still seek pleasure20:23 – Study 2: Blocking dopamine in humans22:02 – Study 3: Dopamine is linked to pain too23:24 – Dopamine and learning24:10 – The Instagram notification analogy31:32 – Dopamine encodes surprise33:32 – The math behind dopamine39:03 – The connection to AI and ChatGPT40:38 – Dopamine and motivation42:46 – The dopamine ramp45:42 – Dopamine tracks your environment49:09 – Phasic vs tonic dopamine53:44 – Opportunity cost and dopamine55:52 – My own study on social rewards57:56 – How to use dopamine practically1:02:03 – Parkinson's disease1:04:48 – Addiction1:07:12 – Schizophrenia1:09:15 – ADHD1:10:37 – How to increase dopamine1:15:39 – Tip: Food and tyrosine1:20:01 – Tip: Caffeine1:23:23 – Tip: Social connection1:25:57 – Tip: Exercise1:27:40 – Dopamine detox: does it work?1:31:58 – Tip: Meditation and yoga nidra1:33:45 – Tip: Cold showers1:35:31 – Caution: UV radiation (why more dopamine isn't always better)1:37:28 – Summary

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    1 hr and 44 mins
  • 10 Most Asked Questions About EQ
    Mar 15 2026

    Hey all, in this episode I answer the 10 most frequently asked questions about emotional intelligence.


    Get your emotional intelligence scorecard

    score.sankalpgarud.org

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    48 mins
  • The One Resolution That Matters the Most
    Jan 22 2026

    We make many resolutions for the new year. But none matters more than this one, that most of us ignore.


    Join my Skool community:


    https://www.skool.com/pharos-community-8453/about

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    27 mins
  • Live Workshop Announcement + How to Handle Comparisons
    Dec 14 2025

    Signup for the workshop: https://academy.sankalpgarud.org/nov-workshop


    21 December 5pm UK | 12pm EST | 9am PST | 10:30pm IST

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    11 mins
  • How to Be Disciplined
    Oct 9 2025

    https://www.skool.com/emotional-intelligence-party

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    9 mins
  • How to Build Emotional Intelligence
    Sep 28 2025

    In this episode, I answer a question on how to build emotional intelligence .


    https://www.skool.com/pharos-community-8453/about?ref=54dfe84a09124ff9b3244e2d78135a0a

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    8 mins
  • Why I Did A PhD In Psychology/Neuroscience
    Sep 22 2025

    Emotional Intelligence Scorecard: score.sankalpgarud.org


    Emotional Intelligence Community: https://www.skool.com/emotional-intelligence-party/about?ref=54dfe84a09124ff9b3244e2d78135a0a


    In this video, I discuss why I did a PhD in psychology/neuroscience



    00:52 Reason 1

    02:43: Reason 2

    04:29: Reason 3


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    8 mins
  • What Doing an Oxford PhD Taught Me
    Aug 30 2025

    Emotional Intelligence Scorecard: https://score.sankalpgarud.org


    In this short episode, I talk about what doing an Oxford PhD taught me.

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    7 mins