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BUTTON / SCIENCE + INFORMATION HUB

THE SCIENCE BENEATH THE SURFACE

THE SCIENCE BENEATH THE SURFACE

Human experience is shaped by interacting biological processes and the conditions around us. BUTTON explores how those relationships may help us understand our current state and consider what we could change.

RETURN TO BUTTON HOME

Person standing at the shoreline

BUTTON / SCIENCE + INFORMATION HUB

THE SCIENCE BENEATH THE SURFACE

Human experience is shaped by interacting biological processes and the conditions around us. BUTTON explores how those relationships may help us understand our current state and consider what we could change.

RETURN TO BUTTON HOME

THE EXTERNAL WORLD / 11 INPUTS

THE CONDITIONS AROUND YOU

THE CONDITIONS AROUND YOU

The external environment provides inputs that can influence human experience, depending on context and individual circumstances.

The external environment provides inputs that can influence human experience, depending on context and individual circumstances.

LIGHT

MOVEMENT

NUTRITION

SLEEP

BREATHING

TEMPERATURE

SOUND

PEOPLE

INFORMATION

SPACE

TIME

THE INVISIBLE WORLD

BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS BENEATH EXPERIENCE

BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS BENEATH EXPERIENCE

Human responses involve interacting biological systems, including neural signalling, hormonal processes and mechanisms of regulation and adaptation. Subjective experience cannot be reduced to one chemical, and feelings do not reveal chemical levels.

Human responses involve interacting biological systems, including neural signalling, hormonal processes and mechanisms of regulation and adaptation. Subjective experience cannot be reduced to one chemical, and feelings do not reveal chemical levels.

SIGNALS AND REGULATORS: A FEW EXAMPLES

Think of these as examples, not a checklist. Dopamine is involved in neural signalling; cortisol helps coordinate responses to demand and daily rhythms; insulin helps regulate blood glucose. Leptin and ghrelin also contribute to appetite and energy balance. The wider picture includes many neurotransmitters and hormones, circadian rhythms, and neuroplasticity, where BDNF is one molecule researchers study. No single molecule explains a whole experience.

Think of these as examples, not a checklist. Dopamine is involved in neural signalling; cortisol helps coordinate responses to demand and daily rhythms; insulin helps regulate blood glucose. Leptin and ghrelin also contribute to appetite and energy balance. The wider picture includes many neurotransmitters and hormones, circadian rhythms, and neuroplasticity, where BDNF is one molecule researchers study. No single molecule explains a whole experience.

DOPAMINE

INSULIN

LEPTIN

GHRELIN

OXYTOCIN

SEROTONIN

ADRENALINE

CORTISOL

ENDORPHINS

GABA

ACETYLCHOLINE

GLUTAMATE

NOREPINEPHRINE

MELATONIN

HOW BUTTON CONNECTS THE WORLDS

CHANGE THE CONDITIONS → CHANGE THE STATE → CHANGE WHAT IS POSSIBLE.

CHANGE THE CONDITIONS → CHANGE THE STATE → CHANGE WHAT IS POSSIBLE.

This is BUTTON’s navigation framework, not a claim that every action produces a predictable biological outcome.

This is BUTTON’s navigation framework, not a claim that every action produces a predictable biological outcome.

CONDITIONS

→

BIOLOGICAL RESPONSES

→

HUMAN EXPERIENCE

→

POSSIBLE ACTION

→

OBSERVE AND REASSESS

EVIDENCE AND UNCERTAINTY

WHAT WE KNOW — AND WHAT WE DON’T

WHAT WE KNOW — AND WHAT WE DON’T

Individual responses vary, and BUTTON is not a diagnostic tool.

Individual responses vary, and BUTTON is not a diagnostic tool.

ESTABLISHED RESEARCH

ESTABLISHED RESEARCH

Evidence supported by established research can help frame useful questions.

CONTEXTUAL EXPLANATIONS

CONTEXTUAL EXPLANATIONS

Plausible explanations may depend on context, timing and individual circumstances.

OPEN QUESTIONS

OPEN QUESTIONS

Some questions remain uncertain or require more research.

RESEARCH LIBRARY

Start with The Invisible World, Inputs and Changing Your State for BUTTON’s framework. The research library now includes Light, Movement and Sleep; Breathing and Stress; Nutrition, Glucose and Insulin; and Stress, Cortisol and Regulation. Each page distinguishes human findings from possible mechanisms and open questions, with source notes and practical observations. These are guides for curiosity, not diagnostic tools or promises of a predictable response. Explore one condition at a time; individual responses vary.

Coastal landscape at sunset

BUTTON / FREE NAVIGATOR

EXPLORE THE SYSTEM FOR YOURSELF

Try the free BUTTON Navigator to explore a small action, observe your response and choose what to do next.

TRY THE FREE NAVIGATOR

Coastal landscape at sunset

BUTTON / FREE NAVIGATOR

EXPLORE THE SYSTEM FOR YOURSELF

Try the free BUTTON Navigator to explore a small action, observe your response and choose what to do next.

TRY THE FREE NAVIGATOR

CONTINUE EXPLORING

KEEP EXPLORING

THE INVISIBLE WORLD

HOW BUTTON WORKS

CHANGING YOUR STATE

SCIENCE & EVIDENCE