Chapter 5: Drives Flashcards
Regulatory drive
Drives that help regulate homeostasis.
E.g: hunger, thirst
Nonregulatory drive
Drives that are not necessary for survival but serve other purposes.
E.g: sexual drive
Safety drive
The drive that keeps us away from danger. One of such drives is fear.
E.g. running from predator, avoiding danger
It is argued that sleep is also a safety drive as it keeps us quietly tucked in for some time.
Reproductive drive
Drive that motivates us to reproduce (sexual drive) and the drive to care for our newborn. This drive can be very powerful as some will risk their life to reproduce or keep newborns safe.
Social drive
Includes friendship drives and the drive for acceptance in society which is important because many mammals and especially humans require cooperation to survive. Can be ver poweful as people risk their lives for friends and social approval.
Educative drive
Primarily consists of the drives to play and explore in order to learn life-sustaining skills.
Nucleus accumbens
Cell bodies in nuclei in the midbrain and synaptic terminals in a large nucleus in the basal ganglia.
It is crucial for the behavioural effects of rewards as it has connections to large areas of the limbic system and cerebral cortex.
Medial forebrain bundle
A neural pathway containing fibres from the basal olfactory region, periamygdaloid region and the septal nuclei, as well as fibres from brainstem regions, including the ventral tegmental area.
Rats and other animals will work the hardest and longest to stimulate it.
Olfactory region
Vital for the processing and perception of odor. Located in the temporal lobe.
Periamygdaloid region
Plays a role in olfaction, and may be involved in many more processes including opiate addiction, assessment of negative emotions, and depression.
Dopamine
Neurotransmitter released by many neurons of the medial forebrain bundle that terminate in the nucleus accumbens.
It is essential for the “wanting” component of rewards.
The larger the expected reward, the more dopamine is released.
Dopamine experiment 1
In an experiment with animals which are trained to press a lever for food (reward) showed that the release of dopamine into the nucleus accumbens occurs only just before the pressing the lever.
Indicates that dopamine motivates the animal to obtain the food but isn’t essential for pleasure (liking).
Dopamine experiment 2
Rats treated with drugs that inhibit the effects of dopamine still consume foods, reproduce and explore novel stimuli, but only those that are immediately presented in front of them. They exhibit facial expressions for liking. This behaviour indicates that they continue to enjoy the rewards but are not concerned with rewards that are absent.
Endorphin
(Short for endogenous morphine-like substance)
Chemicals created in the body and have similar effects to morphine and other opiate drugs such as opium and heroin (known for inhibiting pain). They are also associated with pleasurable experiences, both natural (e.g. sex) and artificial (e.g. high).
When secreted into the nucleus accumbens, they increase the facial “liking” expression to sucrose and increase the amount of present food eaten.
Liking
Refers to the subjective feeling of pleasure, or satisfaction when receiving a reward.
Wanting
Refers to the desire to obtain a reward.
Reinforcement
Refers to the effects that rewards have in promoting learning.
Central drive system
The activity of a set of neurons that constitutes a certain drive.
Arcuate nucleus
Has the highest concentration of neurons that constitute appetite and weight regulation.
It is located in the centre of the lowest portion of the hypothalamus.
Contains two types of neurons:
1. Appetite-stimulating neurons
2. Appetite-suppressing neurons
Appetite-stimulation and -suppressing neurons
The arcuate neurons exert their effects on the brain areas through the release of slow-acting neurotransmitters, which have the capacity to alter neural activity for long periods of time.
Sensory-specific satiety
When people or animals eat one type of food until satiated experience renewed appetite for different kinds of food.
Emotion
A subjective feeling that is mentally directed toward some object.
Affect
This is referred to by psychologists as the feeling associated with emotion, independent of the object.
Mood
If an emotional feeling is experienced as free-floating (not directed at an object) and if it lasts for a sufficiently long period, it is referred to as mood.
Discrete emotion theory
The belief that basic emotions are innate and associated with distinctive bodily and facial reactions.
- This is an extension of Darwin’s functionalist view
Psychic blindness
A condition where the person still sees objects but they don’t seem indifferent to the psychological significance of objects.
The brain fails to process the visual information so that foods and nonfoods might not be distinguished.
Frontal lobe and emotion
Essential for the full conscious experience of emotions and the ability to act in deliberate, planned ways based on those feelings.
