When making decisions under high arousal, we often misjudge information, mistaking noise for signal and correlating unrelated factors, which can lead to poor choices.

In decision-making, increasing arousal can lead to a higher likelihood of false positives, where you mistakenly believe something is present when it is not, as well as false negatives, where you think something is absent when it is actually there.

The stronger the emotion tied to a stressor, the more attention we give to it, which can trap us in a cycle of stress and anxiety.

Understanding how our neural circuits operate can help us develop better strategies for decision-making and attention management.

Simple strategies like breathing techniques can help reduce arousal and improve decision-making by allowing you to rely more on evidence rather than noise in your environment.

The brain's valuation system is influenced by social information, such as the status and attractiveness of individuals, which can affect our decision-making processes.

Attention is a prioritization of what we focus on, and it is influenced by both what we are looking for and the characteristics of our environment.

Flexibility in how we deploy our attention is crucial for managing emotional experiences effectively.

We can adopt different states of mind that powerfully influence our emotions, thoughts, and actions, depending on specific brain circuitries.