“Neurons that fire together wire together”.

- Dr. Thomas Sudhof

“Interpersonal experience shapes the mind as it continues to develop throughout the lifespan... Interactions with the environment, especially relationships with other people, directly shape the development of the brain's structure and function”.

- Dr. Daniel Siegel

Interpersonal neurobiology is ...

Helpful in providing insight about brain functioning, including ways that behaviour influences emotions, biology, and mind-states of both ourselves and others.

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Thinking about interpersonal neurobiology is important because ...

Neurobiology helps us better understand the physiological underpinnings of negative thoughts, why they are difficult to alter, and effective interventions for changing the brain.


Neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to change) offers an opportunity to heal from  trauma - research has proven that new neuron formations and links continue throughout people's entire lives.

Our brain communicates through neuronal firing. When communicating frequently, brain cell connection strengthens, forming a strong pathway.  Messages travelling the same brain pathway continuously begin to transmit faster & faster. Through repetition, they become automatic. This is why practice of a skill can lead to autopilot, but also how ruminating leads to more entrenched negative thought patterns.

Negative and traumatic thoughts “loop”, playing over until something is done to consciously to stop them. Looped thoughts can initiate anxiety, depression, panic, compulsions and obsessions. Along with emotional & physiological reactions, thought loops can be difficult to combat alone.

Video: "Neuroplasticity" by Sentis