The Cognitive Performer

The Illusion of Competence: Why Rereading Isn't Working

Picture the Apple logo. Now tell me which side the bite is on. Most people can't, and that's not a memory problem. It's a learning problem, and the difference between th

The Tenacity Structure: How Doing Hard Things Builds a Harder Brain

Admiral McRaven told 8,000 graduates to make their beds. Most people heard a productivity tip. This episode is about what he was actually describing without knowing it.

You Didn't Lose Your Creativity. You Trained Yourself Away From It.

Most adults believe their creativity faded somewhere between childhood and now. The neuroscience says something different. You didn't lose it. You trained yourself away f

Rewiring for the AI Age

This is the final episode of our AI and the Brain series. We've covered what AI does to your brain. This episode is about what YOU do. How do you actually thrive in this

The Verification Tax & Attention Hijacking

Your brain evolved to trust what it sees. For millions of years, that worked. Now? Deepfakes, synthetic media, AI-generated everything. That instinct gets you fooled. Th

Cognitive Offloading - The Tradeoffs

Last month we explored agency - how AI doesn't take anything from you, you give it away. This episode goes deeper into the mechanism: what actually happens in your brain

AI Isn't Coming For Anything - It's Your Responsibility

AI is about to become invisible - like electricity. And when that happens, we'll stop examining what it's doing to how we think, work, and develop skills. This is the fi

Planning For Friction: How to Set Up Your Year When You Know It Won't Be Smooth

You know your year won't be smooth. So why plan like it will be? In this episode, I break down my 2026 planning strategy - not rigid annual goals, but quarterly focus th

The Comfort of the Known - Why We Stay Stuck

Why do we stay in patterns that hurt us? Why do we return to familiar anger, destructive relationships, or self-defeating habits even when we logically know better? In th

Nutrition and gut health effects on the brain

Your gut is talking — and your brain is listening. Discover how diet, microbiota, and even fasting reshape your brain chemistry, mood, and cognition in this deep dive int

Fear Extinction: How to Rewire Your Brain for Resilience

Think you're stuck with an anxious, stressed brain? Think again. In this episode of The Cognitive Performer, Marco explores the neuroscience of fear extinction - your bra

Dopamine: The Misunderstood Molecule

We’ve all heard it: dopamine is the “pleasure molecule.” Catchy, sure. But wrong. In this episode of The Cognitive Performer, Marco Rigazio unpacks the myths around dopam

The Hidden Cost of Creative Decision Fatigue

Ever record take after take and still feel unsure which one was right? It might not be a creative block. It could be decision fatigue. In this episode of The Cognitive

Exploring the Intricacies of Cognitive Processing: Your Questions Answered

In this special Q&A episode, Marco answers fascinating questions from fellow voice actors about the brain and performance. Discover why people think so differently (it's

Navigating Imposter Syndrome: Evidence-Based Strategies for Voice Actors

Imposter syndrome, a pervasive psychological phenomenon, is the focal point of our discourse today. We delve into the intricate interplay between the mind and body as we

The Science of Performance Anxiety

In this episode of The Cognitive Performer, I dive into the fascinating neuroscience behind performance anxiety and discuss how it specifically affects voice actors. Lear

Neuroplasticity for Voice Actors

In this debut episode of The Cognitive Performer, we dive into the fascinating world of neuroplasticity and how voice actors can leverage this brain science to enhance th