Love Actually Neuroscience of Love (Week 5) Flashcards
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
