First, thank you for your podcast and your generous attitude of making science based understanding of the human experience accessible to us non-scientists. I’ve listened to dozens of episodes and the information has created a positive impact on my life. I’ve recently found listening and using comfort affirmations a helpful way to tune my mind and body for the day. I used to think affirmations were ridiculous. I grew up watching Saturday Night Live skits that mocked affirmations. My armchair scientist mind thinks that repeated affirmations may work because they strengthen and weakens neural pathways. Have there been science based studies that provide data relating repeated affirmations to changes in neural pathways?

While there isn't specific mention of affirmations in the retrieved data, Andrew Huberman discusses the broader concept of practices, such as gratitude, and their effects on neural pathways. A study showed that repeated gratitude practice can alter brain circuitry, specifically enhancing emotion and motivation-related pathways while reducing anxiety and fear circuits. This practice can strengthen functional connectivity in the brain, affecting both emotional and motivational responses positively 1.

This suggests that practices involving repetitive thought patterns, like gratitude or possibly affirmations, could influence neural pathways. Although this isn't an explicit validation for affirmations, the concept that repeated mental practices can reshape brain connections aligns with your understanding of how affirmations might work.