CH 2 Bio of Desire Flashcards
What is the reward centre
A conglomerate of distinct cell assemblies
What are examples of rewards
Peaches, money, power, drugs
What does the irrationality of addiction show about the brain
That it is human, not diseased. Irrationality is an essential feature of being human
What distinguishes mammalian brains
They live in complex environments and lean to adapt to the complexities
What structures are included in the limbic system
Amygdala, hippocampus, striatum
What role does the limbic system serve
emotion, memory, goal pursuit
Permanence
The way brain patterns settle into place so that the past can shape the present
How does an increase of feeling intensity affect the brains response to that situation
brain change takes on extra momentum, reinforcing learning connections more strongly
What drives the brain momentum with intensity
Emotions that recur over and over creates a feedback loop
What shapes the brain more acutely than other feelings
Desire
What do brain changes eventually settle and become
Habits
What happens to the brain when new changes come about
It restabilizes
How is addiction different from other habits
- It is a mental habit
- The feeling of addiction always includes the feeling of desire
- It’s a habit that becomes compulsive
By what process do brain grow
Self-organization
How do we define the patterns we find in brains
Self-perpetuating - they form habits through reinforcement
What causes self perpetuation
Feedback loops between strong emotions (desire) and ongoing changes in brain structure
Besides attraction and desire, what else forms via feedback loops
Depression and anxiety
What can happen in neural patterns formed by desire
They can complement and merge with the neural patterns formed through depression or anxiety
Where does the long term change in the brain occur
Synapses
How do the synapses in the brain change
They change shape, form new synapses, decay old synapses
How do the synapse changes affect the brain
They affect the degree of connection between neurons
What is the “switch” that gets learning going
Emotional significance
What strengthens and perpetuates learning
Repetition
Motivated repetition
Repetition of something special
Ventral Striatum (Accumbens)
Impulsive actions leading to goals
Feelings of attraction, desire, anticipation, craving and reward
Fuelled by dopamine
Dorsal Striatum
Activated when goad directed behaviours shift from impulsive to compulsive
Central to stimulus-response learning
Triggers actions that are automatic and hard to turn off
Fuelled by dopamine
Midbrain
Contains cells that send dopamine to diverse parts of the limbic system and cortex; striatum, amygdala, prefrontal cortex
Amygdala
Acquires and maintains emotional associations
Triggers the same emotion on subsequent occasions
Focuses attention on the likely source of the emotion
Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
Closely connected to the amygdala and accumbent
Uses signals from these regions to create specific interpretations of highly motivating situations
Generates expectancies and helps initiate an appropriate respone
mPFC
Self-awareness
Identity development
Interpreting others’ thoughts and feelings
dPFC
Bringing memories to mind
Sorting and comparing memories
Using insight, judgement and logic to create new perspective, make decisions and adjust previous decisions
*The bridge of the ship
