Mechanisms of Motivation and emotion Flashcards
Motivation
Factors, from inside or outside, that cause an individual to behave a particular way.
Drives are controlled by?
incentives, rewards, goals. The stronger the drive, the more attractive the goal
Regulatory drive
Like hunger, helps preserve homeostasis
Nonregulatory
Like sex, serves some other purpose
Types of drives
regulatory, safety, reproductive, social, educative
Drives are what kind of processes?
Physical processes. Every drive correspond to neural activity in different sets of neurons in the brain.
Central drive system
A set of neurons in which activity constitutes a drive. Drives must have partially different circuits, or we’d be horny everytime we are hungry. The hypothalamus is a good source for drives
Motivation
The pursuit of rewards
The three components to reward
Liking, wanting, reinforcement
Liking
Refers to feeling pleasure when you receive a reward
Wanting
refers to the desire to obtain the reward
Reinforcement
refers to the effects that rewards have in promoting learning
Rat that liked receiving pleasure would stimulate this
Medial forebrain bundle
Medial forebrain bundle stimulates the
nucleus accumbens
Nucleus accumbens releases
Dopamine
Dopamine
Essential for wanting something, for motivation to get something, as it is released before they go out and get something. Dopamine is very important for learning!!!!!
What happens when you block dopamine release from the nucleus accumbens?
The animal does not seek out rewards that are not immediately present.
Endorphins
Responsible for liking. Similar effect as morphine and other opiates. They increase the liking reaction
Dopamine fluctuations
When we get an unexpected reward, dopamine is released immediately after the reward helps to reinforce an association between the reward and any stimulus or response that preceded it.
Drugs that promote dopamine do what?
Strongly activate the dopamine receiving neurons in the nucleus accumbens that are responsible for promoting reward based learning
Why do people get addicted to gambling?
Because the game is unpredictable, every time they win, the nucleus accumbens releases dopamine
Hunger is caused by what neurotransmitter?
Neuropeptide Y
Neurotransmitter that represses hunger
PPY | Comes in after 15 minutes and peaks around sixty.
Leptin
Secreted by fat cells and reduce appetite | If they lack the gene to produce this then the animal will get very very fat. However, it only works up until a certain level. Past the threshold does nothing.
