Huberman Lab

Essentials: Using Play to Rewire & Improve Your Brain

January 29, 2026

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  • Play is a powerful mechanism for enhancing neuroplasticity, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, by engaging specific brain circuits that release endogenous opioids. 
  • Effective play requires a neurochemical state characterized by low levels of adrenaline (epinephrine) and sufficient release of endogenous opioids, which facilitates the exploration of novel contingencies in a low-stakes environment. 
  • Engaging in play, especially activities involving dynamic movement or adopting multiple roles (like in chess), expands the brain's capacity to process different outcomes and roles, benefiting cognitive flexibility throughout the lifespan. 

Segments

Biology of Play and Opioids
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Play activates the periaqueductal gray (PAG), releasing endogenous opioids that enhance the prefrontal cortex’s ability to assess contingencies and explore different roles.
  • Summary: Play is generated through connectivity involving the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a brainstem area rich in neurons that produce endogenous opioids like encephalin. This opioid release allows the prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive function, to become more flexible and capable of exploring different contingencies. Play should be viewed as an exploration of contingencies: if A happens, what is the outcome if I do B or C?
Play as Contingency Testing
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(00:03:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Play allows individuals to test outcomes in low-stakes environments, expanding their catalog of potential responses without real-world risk.
  • Summary: Childhood play reveals fundamental rules for interacting with the world by testing contingencies under conditions where stakes are low enough to assume uncomfortable roles. This low-stakes testing, facilitated by opioid release, allows the prefrontal cortex to expand its operational capacity. Discovering how others behave in these scenarios, such as rigidity or rule-bending, provides valuable social information.
Playful Mindset Tool
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(00:06:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Adults benefit from deliberately engaging in low-stakes activities where they might not be proficient to expand prefrontal cortex plasticity.
  • Summary: A playful mindset involves expanding the range of outcomes one is willing to entertain, often by entering scenarios where one is not the top performer. Playing low-stakes games, even those involving mild risk like low-stakes gambling, allows learning about oneself and others’ reactions to rigidity or rule-breaking. This exploration opens up prefrontal cortex circuits, making the brain more plastic and able to change in response to experience across all scenarios.
Universal Play Postures
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(00:08:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Universal play postures, like the head tilt and soft eyes in humans, signal non-aggression and invite social interaction.
  • Summary: Play postures, seen in animals like the dog’s play bow, signal non-aggressive intent. In humans, this often manifests as a subtle head tilt with open eyes and raised eyebrows, accompanied by ‘soft eyes’ (wider eyelid opening) and slightly pursed lips. Partial postures, like shrinking body size during rough play, also signal that threatening enactments are occurring under non-threatening, playful rules.
Rule Testing in Group Play
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(00:12:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Group play inherently involves testing and breaking agreed-upon low-stakes rules, which informs social interaction skills.
  • Summary: Games, whether structured sports or spontaneous activities like dirt clod wars, rely on an agreed-upon set of low-stakes rules regarding boundaries and acceptable behavior. Inevitably, one member breaks these rules, testing the group’s tolerance and revealing how individuals react to perceived aggression or rule violation. This process is crucial for learning social dynamics beyond strictly defined sports rules.
Role Play and Brain Algorithms
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(00:14:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Role-playing distinct from natural roles forces the prefrontal cortex to run new algorithms, powerfully teaching the brain how to function in different contexts.
  • Summary: Role play, where individuals adopt leader/follower or solitary/group roles, expands the number of operations (algorithms) the prefrontal cortex must run to make predictions. Suddenly being cast into a new role requires processing environmental information from a different standpoint, which is very powerful for brain development. Play is fundamentally about testing, experimenting, and expanding the brain’s capacity, not just having fun.
Neurochemistry of Effective Play
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(00:16:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Genuine play requires focus (epinephrine/dopamine) combined with low stress (low adrenaline) to liberate opioids and trigger neuroplasticity.
  • Summary: Effective play, which expands the brain, requires a balance: focus and seriousness (relying on epinephrine and dopamine) must coexist with low levels of adrenaline/stress regarding the outcome. High adrenaline associated with high stakes inhibits the play circuitry. The playful state, characterized by high opioids and low epinephrine, allows access to novel behaviors and triggers growth factors like BDNF that rewire brain circuits.
Play as Portal to Plasticity
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(00:21:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Play is the most powerful portal to neuroplasticity because the high opioid/low epinephrine state opens circuits for growth factors to trigger rewiring.
  • Summary: If the goal is ongoing brain change, returning to practices that trigger neuroplasticity, like play, is essential at any age. The specific neurochemical state of play opens the brain to deploy growth factors like BDNF, which actively rewires circuits. The brain retains circuits for play throughout life, indicating their continued importance for development and adaptation.
Plasticity Through Dynamic Movement
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(00:26:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Novel, dynamic movements found in activities like dance or sports are highly conducive to plasticity because they engage the vestibular system.
  • Summary: Forms of play involving novel movement, especially dynamic actions like leaping and ducking (not just linear motion like running), best promote plasticity. These movements engage the vestibular system, which directly interfaces with the cerebellum (the mini-brain) and visual processing centers. This engagement mimics play-related circuitry, provided the activity is not taken so seriously as to induce high adrenaline.
Cognitive Play: Chess Roles
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(00:28:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Cognitive play, exemplified by chess, expands plasticity by requiring players to dynamically assume multiple, distinct roles within one activity.
  • Summary: Chess is a substrate for exploring multiple roles because each piece operates under different rules and identities within the game structure. This contrasts with video games where a player often remains in a single avatar role. Activities that require dynamically exploring different roles or thoughts are highly recommended for expanding the mind.
Childhood Play Identity
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(00:30:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Early childhood play preferences regarding competitiveness, cooperation, and leadership roles establish a ‘personal play identity’ that influences adult behavior.
  • Summary: Personal play identity is formed by how a child plays, influenced by personality and environment, encompassing factors like competitiveness and role flexibility (leader vs. follower). Examining reactions to role switching or team changes around ages 10-14 provides insight into how individuals approach hierarchies and activities as adults. Development is a continuous arc, meaning childhood play mechanisms remain relevant throughout the lifespan.