Love Actually Neuroscience of Love (Week 5) Flashcards
(38 cards)
Neuroscience
The interdisciplinary study of the nervous system
Neurobiology
Biology of the nervous system
Brain
Have 100 billion neurons
Prefrontal Cortex
-Located in the frontal lobe and the neocortex
-Higher thinking/cognitive functions
Triune Brain Model/Three Brain System
-reptilian/survival/primal brain
-mammalian/limbic/emotional brian
-neocortical/human/thinking brain
The Reptilian/Survival/Primal Brain
-Oldest brain
-The automatic control center of vital survival functions
-Displays of aggression, courtship, mating, and territorial defense
-Does not have much emotional depth but is challenged by recent findings
The Mammalian/Limbic/Emotional Brain
-Contains the limbic system
-Center for advanced emotions
-Responsible for enhanced emotion, motivation, learning, and memory
what are emotions
-Motivators
-Colors our sensory world and provides greater variety of behavior
-Establishes preferences for people and situations
-Some people are more emotional than others (emotionality)
-Sorts sensory stimulus and sends it to other brain areas
The Age of the Mammals
-We’re living in it for the last 65 million years
-Vocal communication and separation cry between mammals and offspring are universal
-Play, activities for pure fun, is unique to mammals
Dr Paul Broca
-Named the limbic system from the Latin word limbus, edge
-He named it because he can see the clear line separating the limbic system from the rest of the brain
-Found that it was universal in mammals
Limbic Resonance
-The capacity for empathy
-An exchange where two becomes attune to each other’s inner states
-Forms the basis of social connections and therapy
The Neocortical/Human/Thinking Brain
-Contains the neocortex; two symmetrical sheets
-Area of the brain responsible for higher order functions such as abstraction, language, use of symbols, etc
-Sensory experiences, awareness, conscious motor control, “free will” occur in the cortex
-Regulates feelings and integrates them with appropriate functions
-Largest and newest of three brains
Interactions between the three triune brain
-Can complicate the rules of emotional life and love
-Irrational acts against intuition
-Cannot command emotional life
Intuition
-A gut feeling
-Not as popular in the West
-Fundamental piece of relationships
Synapse
-Space between neurons where electro signals are being fired from neuron to neuron
-Over 100 trillion synapses, up to 1000 trillion by some estimates
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that transmit signals across synapses from neuron to neurons
Dopamine
-Reward
-Activation reinforces the behavior
-Increases when in love, drug usage, food intake, new and fun activities, etc
-Dopamine circuitry in love and in addiction is similar (love is like a drug)
Dopamine and Prairie Voles
-Increased dopamine is related to increased attachment
-A female’s dopamine levels increase for a male, forming a distinct preference for this mate
-When antagonists (blockers) are injected, she no longer has this preference
-When agonists (enhancers) are injected, she develops a preference for any male that’s near
Dopamine and fMRI
-fMRI scans the brain to register blood activities in specific areas
-Asked couples to look at pictures of faces
-Increase levels of dopamine when seeing lover’s face
Norepinephrine
-Regulates strong emotional responses and attention
-Stress hormone involved in the fight or flight response
-Related to a rush of excitement that we have when we see lover
-Effects are manifested in alertness and arousal and has complex influences on reward system
Serotonin
-Mood and emotion regulation
-Found throughout the body; primarily in located in the gut
-Lack of is associated with depression, OCD, and anxiety
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
-Increases and keeps serotonin in the synapse
-Prozac, zoloft, celexa and lexapro
-Used to treat depression
Helen fisher on Serotonin
-hypothesizes that serotonin decreases in love
-Which is why love can be thought of as an obsession; low levels of serotonin is related to obsessive-compulsive disorder
-Says SSRIs can inhibit falling in love (no scientific proof)
-Controversial since it can drive people away from getting the treatment they need
Endorphins
-Endogenous Opioids
-Regulate emotional and physical pain along with pleasure, attachment, and sexuality
-Resembles drugs like heroin and morphine
-Increases via physical touch
-Decreases in states of distress
-Activation of endorphins propels the attachment process
