Key areas of the body and emotions associated with them. Types of human emotions and feelings
Man is a complex organism, consisting of many organs united in a single network, the work of which is precisely and flawlessly regulated. The main function of regulating the body's work is performed by the central nervous system (CNS). This is a complex system that includes several organs and peripheral nerve endings and receptors. The most important organ of this system is the brain - a complex computing center responsible for the correct functioning of the whole organism.
General information about the structure of the brain
They have been trying to study it for a long time, but for all the time, scientists have not been able to accurately and unambiguously answer the question of what it is and how this body works. Many functions have been studied, for some there are only guesses.
Visually, it can be divided into three main parts: the cerebellum and the large hemispheres. However, this division does not reflect the entire versatility of the functioning of this organ. In more detail, these parts are subdivided into departments responsible for certain functions of the body.
Oblong section
The human central nervous system is an inextricable mechanism. The oblong section is a smooth transitional element from the spinal segment of the central nervous system. Visually, it can be represented in the form of a truncated cone with a base at the top or a small onion head with thickenings diverging from it - connecting with the intermediate section.
There are three different functions of the department - sensory, reflex and conduction. Its tasks include control over the main protective (gag reflex, sneezing, coughing) and unconscious reflexes (heartbeat, breathing, blinking, salivation, secretion of gastric juice, swallowing, metabolism). In addition, the medulla oblongata is responsible for feelings such as balance and coordination of movements.
Midbrain
The next section responsible for communication with the spinal cord is the middle. But the main function of this department is to process nerve impulses and adjust the performance of the hearing aid and the human visual center. After processing the received information, this formation gives impulse signals for a response to stimuli: turning the head towards the sound, changing the position of the body in case of danger. Additional functions include regulation of body temperature, muscle tone, and arousal.
The human midbrain is responsible for such an important ability of the body as sleep.
The middle section has a complex structure. There are 4 clusters of nerve cells - tubercles, two of which are responsible for visual perception, the other two for hearing. Nerve clusters are connected with each other and with other parts of the brain and spinal cord with the same nerve-conducting tissue, visually similar to the legs. Overall size segment does not exceed 2 cm in an adult.
Diencephalon
The department is even more complex in structure and functions. Anatomically, the diencephalon is divided into several parts: The pituitary gland. It is a small appendage of the brain that is responsible for the secretion of essential hormones and regulation of the body's endocrine system.
It is conventionally divided into several parts, each of which performs its own function:
- The adenohypophysis is a regulator of peripheral endocrine glands.
- The neurohypophysis is connected with the hypothalamus and stores the hormones it produces.
Hypothalamus
A small area of the brain, the most important function of which is to control the heart rate and blood pressure in the vessels. In addition, the hypothalamus is responsible for some of the emotional manifestations by producing the necessary hormones to suppress stressful situations. Another important function is the control of hunger, satiety and thirst. To top it off, the hypothalamus is the center of sexual activity and pleasure.
Epithalamus
The main task of this department is to regulate the daily biological rhythm. With the help of the hormones produced, it affects the duration of sleep at night and normal wakefulness during the day. It is the epithalamus that adapts our body to the conditions of "daylight hours" and divides people into "owls" and "larks." Another task of the epithalamus is to regulate the body's metabolism.
Thalamus
This formation is very important for the correct awareness of the world around us. It is the thalamus that is responsible for processing and interpreting impulses from peripheral receptors. This center of information processing converges data from the optic nerve, hearing aid, body temperature receptors, olfactory receptors and pain points.
Back section
Like the previous sections, the hindbrain includes subsections. The main part is the cerebellum, the second is the pons varoli, which is a small roller of nerve tissue for the connection of the cerebellum with other parts and blood vessels that feed the brain.
Cerebellum
In its shape, the cerebellum resembles the large hemispheres, it consists of two parts, connected by a "worm" - a complex of conductive nerve tissue. The major hemispheres are composed of nerve cell nuclei, or "gray matter," assembled to increase surface and volume in folds. This part is located in the occipital part of the skull and completely occupies its entire posterior fossa.
The main function of this department is the coordination of motor functions. However, the cerebellum does not initiate movements of the arms or legs - it only controls accuracy and clarity, the order in which movements are performed, motor skills and posture.
The second important task is the regulation of cognitive functions. These include: attention, understanding, language awareness, regulation of fear, a sense of time, awareness of the nature of pleasure.
Large hemispheres of the brain
The bulk and volume of the brain falls precisely on the terminal section or large hemispheres. There are two hemispheres: the left one is mostly responsible for analytical thinking and speech functions of the body, and the right one is the main task of which is abstract thinking and all processes associated with creativity and interaction with the outside world.
The structure of the telencephalon
The cerebral hemispheres are the main "processing unit" of the central nervous system. Despite the different "specialization", these segments are complementary to each other.
The cerebral hemispheres are a complex system of interaction between the nuclei of nerve cells and nerve-conducting tissues that connect the main areas of the brain. The upper surface, called the cortex, is made up of a huge number of nerve cells. It is called gray matter. In the light of the general evolutionary development, the cortex is the youngest and most developed formation of the central nervous system and reached the highest development in humans. It is she who is responsible for the formation of higher neuropsychic functions and complex forms of human behavior. To increase the usable area, the surface of the hemispheres is collected in folds or convolutions. The inner surface of the cerebral hemispheres consists of white matter - the processes of nerve cells responsible for conducting nerve impulses and communication with the rest of the segments of the central nervous system.
In turn, each of the hemispheres is conventionally divided into 4 parts or lobes: occipital, parietal, temporal and frontal.
Occipital lobes
The main function of this conditional part is the processing of neural signals coming from the viewing centers. It is here that the familiar concepts of color, volume and other three-dimensional properties of a visible object are formed from light stimuli.
Parietal lobes
This segment is responsible for the onset of pain and the processing of signals from the body's heat receptors. This is where their common work ends.
The parietal lobe of the left hemisphere is responsible for structuring information packets, allowing you to operate with logical operators, count and read. Also, this area forms an awareness of the integral structure of the human body, the definition of the right and left parts, the coordination of individual movements into a single whole.
The right one deals with the generalization of information flows that are generated by the occipital lobes and the left parietal. In this area, a general volumetric picture of perception is formed environment, spatial position and orientation, miscalculation of perspective.
Temporal lobes
This segment can be compared with “ hard disk»Computer - a long-term storage of information. It is here that all remembering and knowledge of a person, collected over a lifetime, are stored. The right temporal lobe is responsible for visual memory - memory of images. Left - all concepts and descriptions of individual objects are stored here, interpretation and comparison of images, their names and characteristics takes place.
As for speech recognition, both temporal lobes are involved in this procedure. However, their functions are different. If the left lobe is designed to recognize the semantic load of the words heard, then the right one interprets the intonation coloration and compares it with the speaker's facial expressions. Another function of this part of the brain is the perception and decoding of neural impulses coming from the olfactory receptors in the nose.
Frontal lobes
This part is responsible for such properties of our consciousness as critical self-assessment, adequacy of behavior, awareness of the degree of meaninglessness of actions, mood. The general behavior of a person also depends on the correct functioning of the frontal lobes of the brain, violations lead to inadequacy and asocial behavior. The process of learning, mastering skills, acquiring conditioned reflexes depends on the correct functioning of this part of the brain. This also applies to the degree of activity and curiosity of a person, his initiative and awareness of decisions.
To systematize the functions of the GM, they are presented in the table:
| Department of the brain | Functions |
|---|---|
| Medulla | Control of basic defensive reflexes. Control of unconscious reflexes. Balance control and coordination of movements. |
| Midbrain | Processing of nerve impulses, visual and auditory centers, response to them. Regulation of body temperature, muscle tone, agitation, sleep. |
| Diencephalon Hypothalamus Epithalamus |
Secretion of hormones and regulation of the body's endocrine system. Awareness of the surrounding world, processing and interpretation of impulses coming from peripheral receptors. Processing information from peripheral receptors Heart rate and blood pressure monitoring. Production of hormones. Control of the state of hunger, thirst, satiety. Regulation of the daily biological rhythm, regulation of the body's metabolism. |
| Hind brain Cerebellum |
Coordination of motor functions. Regulation of cognitive functions: attention, understanding, language awareness, regulation of fear, sense of time, awareness of the nature of pleasure. |
| Large hemispheres of the brain Occipital lobes Parietal lobes Temporal lobes Frontal lobes. |
Processing neural signals from the eyes. Interpretation of pain and heat sensations, responsibility for the ability to read and write, logical and analytical thinking ability. Long-term storage of information. Interpretation and comparison of information, recognition of speech and facial expressions, decoding of neural impulses coming from olfactory receptors. Critical self-esteem, adequacy of behavior, mood. The process of learning, mastering skills, acquiring conditioned reflexes. |
Interaction of parts of the brain
In addition to the fact that each part of the brain has its own tasks, the integral structure determines consciousness, character, temperament and other psychological characteristics of behavior. The formation of certain types is determined by the varying degrees of influence and activity of one or another segment of the brain.
The first psychotype or choleric. The formation of this type of temperament occurs with the dominant influence of the frontal lobes of the cortex and one of the subdivisions of the diencephalon - the hypothalamus. The first generates determination and desire, the second area reinforces these emotions with the necessary hormones.
A characteristic interaction of the departments that determines the second type of temperament - sanguine, is the joint work of the hypothalamus and the hippocampus (the lower part of the temporal lobes). The main function of the hippocampus is to maintain short-term memory and convert the acquired knowledge into long-term. The result of such interaction is an open, inquisitive and interested type of human behavior.
Melancholic people are the third type of temperamental behavior. This option is formed with enhanced interaction between the hippocampus and another formation of the cerebral hemispheres - the amygdala. At the same time, the activity of the cortex and hypothalamus is reduced. The amygdala takes on the entire "blow" of stimulating signals. But since the perception of the main parts of the brain is inhibited, the response to arousal is low, which in turn affects behavior.
In turn, forming strong connections, the frontal lobe is able to set an active model of behavior. With the interaction of the cortex of this area and the tonsils, the central nervous system generates only highly significant impulses, while ignoring insignificant events. All this leads to the formation of a Phlegmatic model of behavior - a strong, purposeful person with an awareness of priority goals.
The feeling of fear, like any other strong emotion, causes a significant surge in the body's activity. This is manifested by the release of various hormones that cause an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and muscle tone, increased breathing rate, changes in perception, and other less noticeable effects. Along with this, there is a change in activity separate parts brain. The change in the hormonal background in a person experiencing fear was described in detail by me in the article. Now I would like to focus on which parts and parts of the brain the changes are most significant.
Which part of the brain is responsible for fear
Emotions in general, and fear in particular, are primarily responsible for the limbic system. This is a fairly ancient part of the brain; in the embryo, it forms immediately after the trunk. The limbic system got this name because of its shape - it bends around the top of the trunk in a ring-like manner, forming a kind of limb. Anatomically, it connects the spinal cord with the brain, being, as it were, an intermediary between the reflex part of the human being and the higher mental functions localized in the cerebral cortex.
In the process of evolution, the rudiments of the limbic system (neostriatum) already appear in reptiles, although it is difficult to name such formations as a limbic system. Therefore, in amphibians and reptiles, the emotional life is extremely scarce, if at all we can talk about it. But their education has reached perfection, which is sometimes called the "reptilian brain". These creatures are endowed with a perfect set of reactions to danger, food and sexual partner, which makes them good specialists in survival at a primitive level.
With the development of the limbic system in evolutionarily more perfect animals, emotions become richer and thinner, giving them new tools, including new fears. A more developed emotional sphere makes it possible to take care of the offspring, which significantly increases the chances of survival. At an even higher level, emotions allow for complex intraspecific communication, which makes a gregarious lifestyle possible. But with the development of emotions, new, unknown to reptiles, shades and varieties of fear appear. For example, concern about the cubs left for a while. Or the fear of sinking to a lower level in the hierarchy of the community.
If we talk about fear as such, then its center in the brain can be considered the amygdala (amygdala, amygdolar complex, amygdala). It is part of the limbic system and consists of two formations located inside the median temporal lobes. If we imagine the brain as transparent, we will see them as if hanging down the sides of the girdle formed by the limbic system. Reasoning quite simply and schematically, we can say that fear is deep in the temples.
Action of the center of fear in the brain
Because fear is a key element in survival, the amygdala is anatomically connected to all major regions of the brain. The amygdala continuously receives signals from the olfactory, tactile, visual and auditory analyzers, meticulously examining them for possible threats. And if one is noticed, the fright mechanism is triggered. For this, connections with the hypothalamus are used, which begins to produce corticoliberin, a hormone that causes anxiety and makes you distract from business and focus on danger. The signal transmitted from the amygdala to the blue spot in the brain stem leads to the secretion of the well-known norepinephrine. Signals also go to the striatum, central gray matter and other centers of the nervous system responsible for the motor sphere. Hence the effect on muscle tone, heart rate and even on the intestines, which, as you know, can give a very curious reaction to danger.
But it’s not that simple. One of the functions of the amygdala is the formation of emotional memory, especially for the complexes of signals that precede the occurrence of danger. But the danger can be not only immediate, in the form of an approaching predator. A student who cannot solve a problem on the exam seems to be in no danger - a cozy, quiet, bright and warm audience, everything is peaceful and benevolent. But, nevertheless, he may feel fear at this moment. And faceless information about changes in stock prices of some in general can lead to a heart attack. This means that not only signals from receptors are involved in the formation of emotional memory, but also connections with the youngest parts of the brain, which are responsible for the most complex mental processes.
Experiments on influencing the centers of fear in the brain
Let's start with a description of natural experiments that nature itself sometimes puts on people. There is Urbach-Wite disease, which completely removes fear from a person. This is a rather rare pathology; since its discovery in 1929, there are less than three hundred recorded cases in the world. This disease destroys the amygdala, and also often causes coarsening of the mucous membranes and skin, or thickens the tissues in the area of the amygdala itself, which can provoke epileptic seizures. Otherwise, Urbach-Wite disease is not dangerous and does not directly lead to premature death, although it can accelerate its onset due to loss of vigilance.
The most famous patient today is a woman living in the United States, in the state of Iowa. Her amygdala was completely destroyed in adolescence, which made it possible for her emotional sphere to form normally, with the exception of a feeling of fear, which she does not experience at all. On the one hand, this is, of course, pleasant, and to some, the absence of fear may even seem to be a very desirable effect, but in fact it is not. No disease can be better health... This woman has repeatedly found herself in situations where her fear was silent, and she remained alive only by pure chance.
Experiments on the formation of phobias are also noteworthy. A group of volunteers was shown a picture, after which they received an electric shock. After a certain number of impressions, the experience solidified, and the subjects began to feel fear at the sight of the picture. Using hardware methods, the role of the limbic system and the amygdala in the formation of phobia was established. But this is not the main thing. The resulting phobia in everyone was cured cleanly psychological means... And this clearly shows the possibility and even the need to treat phobias without the destructive use of drugs. That is, a phobia is not so much a disease as a result of learning. And it should be treated not by direct influence on the brain, but by retraining, that is, by cognitive-behavioral methods.
Military developments to suppress fear are also interesting. This is mainly pharmacology, and the developments are classified, but it is reliably known that drugs to suppress fear exist. Many readers of these lines who suffer from fear will certainly make attempts to find out something about such drugs. I warn you right away: this is a road to nowhere. Tooth decay is not treated with pain-relieving injections, nor is fear treated with military pills. They are given for the soldier to take risks, die and maim his brain for the sake of completing a combat mission. Do you need it?
Feelings of fear, along with anger and sexual feelings, are one of the first emotions experienced by a living being. This, without exaggeration, a wonderful feeling allows you to avoid danger before it manifests itself in full and turns into pain, leaving no chance of salvation. It was the feeling of fear that was one of the first results of the analytical work of the primitive brain, endowing the body with a new powerful tool for survival. Therefore, it is not surprising that the part of the brain that is responsible for fear is located in one of the oldest parts of the brain. Take care of your fear as it protects you. Rejoice and be proud that you have a magical fear mechanism that allows you to survive much more efficiently than those who have it weakened or broken. And if you have problems with fear, then you should not rely on pills. Instead, we must resort to reliable and harmless psychological methods correction.
Functions of emotions
The biological significance of emotions is that they allow a person to quickly assess their internal state, the emerging need, the possibility of its satisfaction. For example, the true nutritional requirement for the amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, salts, etc. we evaluate through the appropriate emotion. This is the experience of hunger or - the feeling of satiety.
There are several functions of emotions: reflective (evaluative), motivating, reinforcing, switching and communicative.
The reflective function of emotions is expressed in a generalized assessment of events. Emotions cover the entire body and thus produce an almost instantaneous integration, generalization of all types of activities that it performs, which allows, first of all, to determine the usefulness and harmfulness of factors affecting it and react before the localization of harmful effects is determined. An example is the behavior of a person with an injury to a limb. Focusing on pain, a person immediately finds a position that reduces pain.
Emotional evaluative abilities of a person are formed not only on the basis of the experience of his individual experiences, but also as a result of emotional empathy arising in communication with other people, in particular through the perception of works of art, the media.
The evaluative or reflective function of an emotion is directly related to its motivating function. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English language the word "emotion" comes from the French verb "mouvoir" meaning "to set in motion." It began to be used in the 17th century, speaking of feelings (joy, desire, pain, etc.) as opposed to thoughts. Emotion reveals the search area, where the solution to the problem will be found, the satisfaction of the need. Emotional experience contains an image of the object of satisfying a need and an attitude towards it, which prompts a person to action.
P.V. Simonov highlights the reinforcing function of emotions. It is known that emotions are most directly involved in the processes of learning and memory. Significant events that cause emotional reactions are quickly and permanently imprinted in the memory. Successful learning requires motivational excitement.
The real reinforcement for the development of a conditioned reflex (classical and instrumental) is a reward.
The reinforcing function of emotions was most successfully investigated on the experimental model of "emotional resonance" proposed by P.V. Simonov. It was found that the emotional reactions of some animals can arise under the influence of negative emotional states of other individuals exposed to electrocutaneous stimulation. This model reproduces the situation of the emergence of negative emotional states in the community, typical for social relationships, and makes it possible to study the functions of emotions in their purest form without the direct action of painful stimuli.
Under natural conditions, human activity and animal behavior are determined by many needs at different levels. Their interaction is expressed in the competition of motives, which manifest themselves in emotional experiences. Emotional assessments are motivating and can guide behavioral choices.
The switching function of emotions is especially clearly revealed in the competition of motives, as a result of which the dominant need is determined. So, in extreme conditions a struggle may arise between the natural instinct of self-preservation for a person and the social need to follow a certain ethical norm; it is experienced in the form of a struggle between fear and a sense of duty, fear and shame. The outcome depends on the strength of motives, on personal attitudes.
There are genetically defined universal complexes of behavioral reactions that express the emergence of basic fundamental emotions. The genetic determinism of expressive reactions is confirmed by the similarity of expressive facial movements in the blind and sighted (smile, laughter, tears). Differences in facial movements between blind and seeing young children are quite insignificant. However, with age, the mimicry of the sighted becomes more expressive and generalized, while in the blind it not only does not improve, but even regresses. Consequently, facial movements have not only a genetic determinant, but also strongly depend on training and education.
Physiologists have found that the expressive movements of animals are controlled by an independent neurophysiological mechanism. By stimulating electric shock different points of the hypothalamus in awake cats, the researchers were able to detect two types of aggressive behavior: "affective aggression" and "cold-blooded" attack. To do this, they put a cat in the same cage with a rat and studied the effect of stimulating the cat's hypothalamus on its behavior. When some points of the hypothalamus are stimulated in a cat, at the sight of a rat, affective aggression occurs. She pounces on the rat with her claws released, hissing, i.e. her behavior includes behavioral responses that exhibit aggression, which usually serve as intimidation in the struggle for primacy or territory. In a "cold-blooded" attack, which is observed when another group of hypothalamic points is stimulated, the cat catches a rat and grabs it with its teeth without any sounds or external emotional manifestations, i.e. her predatory behavior is not accompanied by a demonstration of aggression. Finally, by re-locating the electrode again, it is possible to induce rage behavior in the cat without attack. Thus, the demonstrative reactions of animals expressing an emotional state may or may not be included in the behavior of the animal. The centers or group of centers responsible for the expression of emotions are located in the hypothalamus.
2. Physiological expression of emotions
Emotions are expressed not only in motor reactions: facial expressions, gestures, but also in the level of tonic muscle tension. In the clinic, muscle tone is often used as a measure of affect. Many consider increased muscle tone as an indicator of a negative emotional state (discomfort), a state of anxiety. The tonic reaction is diffuse, generalized, captures all muscles and thus makes it difficult to perform movements. Ultimately, it leads to tremors and chaotic, uncontrollable movements.
Persons suffering from various conflicts, and especially with neurotic deviations, are characterized, as a rule, by greater stiffness of movements than others. R. Malmo and his colleagues showed that muscle tension in psychiatric patients is higher than in the control group. It is especially high in psychoneurotics with a predominance of pathological anxiety. Many psychotherapeutic techniques are associated with the release of this tension, for example, relaxation techniques and autogenous training. They are taught to relax, resulting in reduced irritability, anxiety and related disturbances.
One of the most sensitive indicators of a change in a person's emotional state is his voice. Developed by special methods, allowing to recognize the emergence of emotional experiences by voice, as well as to differentiate them by sign (into positive and negative). For this, a person's voice recorded on a magnetic tape is subjected to frequency analysis. With the help of a computer, the speech signal is decomposed into a frequency spectrum. It was found that as emotional stress increases, the width of the frequency spectrum of spoken words and sounds expands and shifts to the region of higher-frequency components. At the same time, for negative emotions, spectral energy is concentrated in the lower-frequency part of the shifted spectrum, and for positive emotions- in its high-frequency zone. These shifts in the spectrum of the speech signal can be caused by even very intense physical exertion. This method allows in 90% of cases to correctly determine the increase in emotional stress, which makes it especially promising for the study of human states.
An important component of emotion is changes in the activity of the autonomic nervous system. Vegetative manifestations of emotions are very diverse: changes in skin resistance (GSR), heart rate, blood pressure, vasodilation and narrowing, skin temperature, hormonal and chemical composition blood, etc. It is known that during a rage, the level of norepinephrine and adrenaline in the blood rises, the heart rate increases, the blood flow is redistributed in favor of the muscles and the brain, and the pupils dilate. These effects prepare the animal for the intense physical activity required to survive.
A special group of emotional reactions is made up of changes in the biocurrents of the brain. Physiologists believe that in animals the EEG-correlate of emotional stress is the alertness rhythm (or hippocampal theta rhythm), the pacemaker of which is located in the septum. Its enhancement and synchronization are observed when an animal develops a defensive, orienting-exploratory behavior. The hippocampal theta rhythm also increases during paradoxical sleep, one of the features of which is a sharp increase in emotional tension. In humans, it is not possible to find such a bright EEG indicator of the emotional state, which is the hippocampal theta rhythm of an animal. A rhythm similar to the hippocampal theta rhythm is generally poorly expressed in humans. Only during the performance of certain verbal operations and writing in the human hippocampus is it possible to observe an increase in the regularity, frequency and amplitude of the theta rhythm.
Emotional states of a person are reflected in the EEG most likely in a change in the ratio of the main rhythms: delta, theta, alpha and beta. EEG changes characteristic of emotions occur most clearly in the frontal areas. According to some data, the alpha rhythm and slow components of the EEG are recorded in persons with a predominance of positive emotions, and in those with a predominance of anger, beta activity.
P.Ya. Balanov, V.L. Deglin and N.N. Nikolaenko, to regulate emotional states in patients, used electroconvulsive therapy by the method of unipolar seizures, which are caused by the imposition of electrical stimulation on one side of the head - right or left. They found that positive emotional states were associated with increased alpha activity in the left hemisphere, and negative emotional states were associated with increased alpha activity in the right hemisphere and increased delta activity in the left hemisphere.
In addition, the appearance of emotional states is accompanied by changes in the electrical activity of the amygdala. In patients with implanted electrodes in the amygdala, when discussing emotionally colored events, an increase in its electrical activity of high-frequency oscillations was found. In patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, who are characterized by pronounced emotional disturbances in the form of increased irritability, malice, rudeness, epileptic electrical activity was recorded in the dorsomedial part of the amygdala. The destruction of this section of the amygdala makes the patient non-aggressive.
Brain structures involved in emotions.
Before talking about how the individual structures of the brain interact and affect the emergence of emotions, it is necessary to separately consider each of them, their function and structure. Only in the XX century. information appeared about the structures of the brain responsible for the emergence of emotions, and the physiological processes that are the basis of emotional states became clear.
The decisive role in the formation of emotions belongs to the limbic system, reticular formation, frontal and temporal lobes.
1) Limbic system (HP).
HP includes several entities related to each other. It includes the cingulate gyrus, fornix, septum, some nuclei of the anterior thalamus, as well as a small but important part of the brain located below - the hypothalamus (Hpt), amygdala, hippocampus. The last three regions of the brain are the most important, and we will pay attention to them.
· Hpt. Hpt is the highest center for the regulation of the internal environment of the body. It contains neurons that are activated or, on the contrary, decrease activity when the level of glucose in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid changes, changes in osmotic pressure, hormone levels, etc. Another way of notifying Hpt about changes in the internal environment is represented by neural afferent pathways collecting impulses from the receptors of internal organs. Changes in the parameters of the internal environment reflect this or that need, and Hpt, in accordance with this, forms a motivational dominant. Neurons of the lateral Hpt interact with some structures of the limbic system, and through the anterior nuclei of the thalamus, they affect the associative parietal region of the cortex and the motor cortex, thereby initiating the concept of movements.
When certain areas of Hpt are surgically damaged, animals lose feelings of satiety and hunger, which are known to be closely related to the emotional state of pleasure and unpleasure. As a result of the loss of these feelings, a well-fed animal unrestrainedly absorbs food and can die from gluttony, and a hungry animal refuses to eat and also dies.
When the upper and front sections are irritated, Hpt evokes an aggressive reaction in rats and, once having experienced it, they subsequently avoided in every possible way to provoke it. Apparently, in this case, structures related to the formation of negative emotions are activated. The "zones of pleasure" coincided with the pathways of transmission of excitation from dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra and adrenergic neurons of the blue spot. This means that the synthesis and secretion of dopamine and norepinephrine plays an essential role in the development of feelings of pleasure. Hpt nuclei contain many different receptors. Hpt has the ability to perceive changes in the internal environment, as well as displacements of the blood constant, i.e. they have a central receptor function.
The body of evidence currently available suggests that Hpt is a key structure for the most ancient reinforcing function of emotion.
Tonsil (amygdala). It is a cell mass the size of a nut. Animal experiments show that the amygdala is responsible for aggressive behavior or fear responses. Tonsil involvement in monkeys affects emotional and social behavior and can lead to emotional disturbances similar to those accompanying diseases such as schizophrenia. Removal of the tonsils with the temporal cortex was called "Kluver-Bucy syndrome". The consequences of removal: the feeling of fear disappears, hyperphagia (eats everything), hypersexuality, the loss of the animal's ability to adequately assess the result of the performed action and internal emotional experience.
The amygdala, like Hpt, belongs to motivational structures, but, unlike Hpt, the amygdala is guided not so much by internal events as by external stimuli. The tonsils are more associated with emotions than with primary needs and they determine the pattern of behavior by "weighing" competing emotions. They "help" to choose the right solution. With bilateral removal of tonsils in monkeys, there is a loss of the ability to communicate normally within the herd, isolation, a tendency to solitude is found. The leader who underwent such an operation completely loses his rank, because he ceases to distinguish between "good" monkey behavior from "bad".
The amygdala plays a decisive role in the implementation of the behavior switching function of emotions, in the choice of motivation, which corresponds not only to a particular need, but also to the external conditions of its satisfaction in a given situation and at the moment.
Hippocampus. The hippocampus is adjacent to the amygdala. Its role in creating emotions is still not very clear, but its close connection with the amygdala suggests that the hippocampus is also involved in this process. Damage to the hippocampus leads to memory impairment - to the inability to remember new information.
The hippocampus belongs to information structures, its role is to extract traces of the memory of previous experience and assess the competition of motives. Motivational excitation of the hippocampus is carried out by Hpt, some of the signals come to it from the septum, and traces of memory are extracted due to the interaction of the hippocampus with the associative cortex.
The ability of the hippocampus to respond to signals of unlikely events allows us to consider it as a key structure for the implementation of the compensatory function of emotions that replaces the lack of information. The destruction of the hippocampus does not affect emotional behavior.
An analysis of the participation of the hippocampus in the formation of positive and negative emotional states was proposed by the experiments of L.A. Preobrazhenskaya. Experiments clearly show that the role of the hippocampus in the genesis of emotional stress is reduced to an assessment of the formal novelty of the stimuli acting on the animal.
Septum, vault and cingulate gyrus.
The cingulate gyrus surrounds the hippocampus and other structures of the limbic system. She acts as the supreme coordinator different systems, i.e. makes sure that these systems interact, work together. Near the cingulate gyrus there is a vault - a system of fibers running in both directions; it follows the curve of the cingulate gyrus and connects the hippocampus with various structures of the brain, including Hpt.
Another structure, the septum, receives input signals through the fornix from the hippocampus and sends output signals to Hpt. "... stimulation of the septum can provide information about the satisfaction of all (and not individual) internal needs of the body, which, apparently, it is necessary for the occurrence of the reaction of pleasure "(T.L. Leontovich).
The joint activity of the temporal cortex, cingulate gyrus, hippocampus and Hpt is directly related to the emotional sphere of higher animals and humans. Bilateral removal of the temporal region in monkeys leads to symptoms of emotional apathy.
Removal of the temporal lobes in monkeys, together with the hippocampus and amygdala, led to the disappearance of the feeling of fear, aggressiveness, difficulty in distinguishing between the quality of food and its suitability for eating. Thus, the integrity of the temporal structures of the brain is necessary to maintain the normal emotional status associated with aggressive-defensive behavior.
2) Reticular formation (RF).
R.f. plays an important role in emotions. - the structure inside the pons and brainstem. It is this formation that is most capable of being a "generalizer" of one or another "particular" need of the organism. It has a wide and varied influence on various departments The central nervous system up to the cerebral cortex, as well as the receptor apparatus (sense organs). She has a high sensitivity to adrenaline and adrenolytic substances, which once again indicates organic bond between R.F. and the sympathetic nervous system. It is able to activate various areas of the brain and conduct information that is new, unusual or biologically significant to its specific zones. acts as a kind of filter. Fibers from neurons of the reticular system go to various areas of the cerebral cortex, some through the thalamus. Most of these neurons are thought to be "nonspecific". This means that the neurons of R.f. can respond to many types of stimuli.
Some areas of the Russian Federation. have specific functions. Such structures include the bluespot and the substantia nigra. Blue spot is a dense accumulation of neurons that produce in the area of synaptic contacts (to the thalamus, Hpt, cerebral cortex, cerebellum, spinal cord) norepinephrine mediator (also produced by the adrenal medulla). Norepinephrine triggers an emotional response. It is possible that norepinephrine also plays a role in the occurrence of reactions that are subjectively perceived as pleasure. Another part of the RF - substantia nigra - is an accumulation of neurons secreting mediator-dopamine. Dopamine contributes to some pleasant sensations. He is involved in creating euphoria. R.F. plays important role in the regulation of the level of working capacity of the cerebral cortex, in the change of sleep and wakefulness, in the phenomena of hypnosis and neurotic states.
3) The cerebral cortex.
Emotions are one of the reflective sides, i.e. mental, activity. Consequently, they are associated with the cortex - the higher part of the brain, but to a large extent - with the subcortical formations of the brain, which are in charge of the regulation of the heart, respiration, metabolism, sleep and wakefulness.
Currently accumulated big number experimental and clinical data on the role of the cerebral hemispheres in the regulation of emotions. The areas of the cortex that play the greatest role in emotion are the frontal lobes, to which there are direct neural connections from the thalamus. The temporal lobes are also involved in the creation of emotions.
The frontal lobes are directly related to the assessment of the probabilistic characteristics of the environment. When emotions arise, the frontal cortex plays the role of identifying highly significant signals and filtering out minor ones. This allows you to direct behavior towards achieving realistic goals, where satisfaction of the need can be predicted with a high degree of probability.
Thanks to the anterior sections of the neocortex, behavior is guided by signals of highly probable events, while responses to signals with a low probability of their reinforcement are inhibited. Bilateral damage to the frontal (frontal) cortex in monkeys leads to impairment of prognosis, which does not recover for 2-3 years. A similar defect is observed in patients with pathology of the frontal lobes, which are characterized by a stereotypical repetition of the same actions that have lost their meaning. Focus on signals of highly probable case events
The frontal regions of the neocortex are directly related to the assessment of the probabilistic characteristics of the environment.
Evidence of the role of interhemispheric asymmetry in the formation of emotions is gradually accumulating. To date, the information theory of P.V. Simonov is the only integral system of ideas about the formation of emotions, only it allows you to combine the behavioral functions of emotions with the structures of the brain necessary for these functions.
The defeat of the frontal lobes leads to profound disturbances in the emotional sphere of a person. Mostly 2 syndromes develop: emotional dullness and disinhibition of lower emotions and drives. With injuries in the frontal lobes of the brain, changes in mood are observed - from euphoria to depression, loss of planning ability, apathy. This is due to the fact that the limbic system, as the main "reservoir" of emotions, is closely associated with different areas of the cerebral cortex, especially with the temporal (memory), parietal (orientation in space) and frontal lobes of the brain (forecasting, associative thinking, intelligence).
Conclusion
Emotions are a necessary foundation for the everyday and creative life of people. They are caused by the action on the body, on the receptors and, consequently, on the brain ends of the analyzers of certain environmental stimuli associated with the conditions of existence. The characteristic physiological processes occurring during emotions are reflexes of the brain. They are caused by the frontal lobes of the cerebral hemispheres through the autonomic centers, the limbic system, and the reticular formation. Excitation from these centers spreads along the autonomic nerves, which directly change the functions of internal organs, cause hormones, mediators and metabolites to enter the bloodstream, affecting the autonomic innervation of organs.
Excitation of the anterior group of nuclei of the sub-tuberous region immediately behind the intersection of the optic nerves causes parasympathetic reactions characteristic of emotions, and the posterior and lateral groups of nuclei - sympathetic. Excitation of the sub-tuberous region causes not only autonomic, but also motor reactions. Due to the predominance of the tone of the sympathetic nuclei in it, it increases the excitability of the cerebral hemispheres and thereby affects thinking.
When the sympathetic nervous system is excited physical activity increases, and when excited by the parasympathetic, decreases.
Emotions are one of the manifestations of a person's subjective attitude to the surrounding reality and to himself. Joy, grief, fear, anger, compassion, bliss, pity, jealousy, indifference, love - there is no end to the words that define different kinds and shades of emotion. From a physiological point of view, they represent the body's reactions to the effects of external and internal stimuli, which have a pronounced subjective color and cover all types of sensitivity. However, they manifest themselves not only in subjective experiences, the nature of which we can only learn from humans, and, based on them, build analogies for higher animals, but also in objectively observed external manifestations, characteristic actions, facial expressions, and autonomic reactions. These external manifestations are quite expressive.
Have you ever wondered how emotions can be associated with the work of the internal organs of our body?
According to traditional Chinese medicine, our body responds to every stimulus, internal or external. And this is a whole storm of reactions!
After all, the human body is a complex mechanism and its function of metabolic processes (converting food into energy) is far from the only one. This is not enough for us as a species to survive.
Our body processes all stimuli. It generates a positive or negative response that affects the work of all its organs.
In addition to the physical stimuli received through the senses, there is also emotions. And even if at first glance it seems to you that they cannot cause such a reaction, some of them strongly stimulate certain organs of our body or, conversely, interfere with their work.
And despite the fact that this is a completely natural process, strong negative emotions(or too long) can cause damage to internal organs and make them more vulnerable to various diseases.
Various emotions are associated with the work of certain internal organs.
The deterioration of the work of any organ has a direct connection with those emotions and that we experience.
Na breakdown in the work of one organ affects the whole body as a whole. That is why it is very important to know the true emotional cause in order to eliminate it.
This involves working hard on yourself in order to ultimately be able to transform negative feelings into positive ones.
1. Heart and small intestine: joy
According to traditional Chinese medicine, "joy" is an emotion that binds two organs: the heart and the small intestine.
The heart regulates and controls the blood vessels. The small intestine is responsible for absorption nutrients and minerals from food.
And despite the fact that joy is a "healthy" emotion that stimulates the work of these two organs, its excess can generate:
- Nervousness
- Insomnia
- Loss of concentration
Usually, those who experience certain problems with these organs - people are very sensitive, talkative. They are extroverts who are captured by their own emotions. That is, they emotionally overload their body.
Beware of euphoria, hyperexcitability, and over-emotionalism. Control yourself, and then these important organs will correctly perform their functions.
2. Liver and gallbladder: rage and anger
3. Spleen and stomach: obsession
Yes, no matter how amazing it may sound, the work of these organs is directly related to the obsession with some idea, nostalgia and reflection (reflection).
While the stomach processes incoming food, the spleen is part of the lymphatic system. It fights infections and maintains fluid balance in the body.
Usually, people who have problems with these organs are calm and quiet, but they often have difficulty making decisions.
Emotions such as compassion and empathy will contribute to the balanced functioning of the above organs.
4. Lungs and colon: sadness
These two organs suffer from our melancholy, sadness and grief.
The lungs regulate breathing, and the intestines perform a digestive function, is responsible for the absorption of nutrients and strengthening the body's immunity.
If you have problems with these organs, then most likely you are a very rational and independent person. However, you tend to lock yourself away from others in your inner world.
This can also have physical consequences: poor appetite, tightness in the chest, aversion to everything.
5. Kidneys and bladder: fear
Kidney function is connected with ours and our fears. The kidneys are responsible for the elimination of all waste products in the blood. The bladder produces urine, stores it for a certain time, and then removes it from the body.
Those who complain of back pain, weakness, and other symptoms may experience situations of uncertainty.
But maintaining energy balance can give people confidence in their own abilities.
Now that you know that emotions are really connected with the work of internal organs, you will surely pay more attention to them and work on yourself.
Try to transform all negativity into positive thoughts. You will see how it will have a beneficial effect on the functioning of your body. Take your step towards health!
Guilt and Shame: Temporal Lobes
It is easy for us to understand how memory or counting can be processes in the brain. Feelings are not so smooth, however, in part because we use phrases like “break your heart” to describe sadness or “blush” to describe shame in speech. And yet, feelings are a phenomenon from the field of neurophysiology: a process that takes place in the tissues of the main organ of our nervous system. Today we can appreciate it in part thanks to neuroimaging technology.
As part of their research, Petra Michl and several of her colleagues at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich recently took a series of MRI scans. They sought to find areas of the brain that are responsible for our ability to feel guilty or ashamed. Scientists have found that shame and guilt seem to be neighbors in the “block”, although each of these feelings has its own anatomical area.
The experts asked the participants in the experiment to imagine that they felt guilt or shame, and in both cases, this activated the temporal lobes of the brain. At the same time, shame has involved in them the anterior cingulate cortex, which monitors external environment and informs the person about errors, and the parahippocampal gyrus, which is responsible for remembering scenes from the past. The guilt, in turn, "included" the lateral occipitotemporal gyrus and the middle temporal gyrus - the center of the vestibular analyzer. In addition, the anterior and middle frontal gyri began to work in ashamed people, and in those who felt guilty, the amygdala (tonsils) and the insular lobe became more active. The last two areas of the brain are part of the limbic system, which regulates our basic fight-or-flight emotions, internal organs, blood pressure and other parameters.
Comparing MRI scans of the brains of people of different genders, scientists found that in women, guilt affected only the temporal lobes, and in men, the frontal lobes, occipital lobes and tonsils began to work in parallel - some of the most ancient elements of the brain that are responsible for the feeling of fear, anger, panic and pleasure.
Fear and Anger: The Amygdala
During intrauterine development of the embryo, the limbic system forms immediately after the trunk, which organizes reflexes and connects the brain to the spinal cord. Her job is the feelings and actions that are necessary for the survival of the species. Tonsils - important element limbic system. These areas are located near the hypothalamus, inside the temporal lobes, and are activated when we see food, sexual partners, rivals, crying children, and so on. The various reactions of the body to fear are also their job: if at night in the park it seems to you that a stranger is following you, and your heart starts pounding, this is due to the activity of the tonsils. In the course of several independent studies carried out in various centers and universities, specialists managed to find out that even artificial stimulation of these areas causes a person to feel the approach of imminent danger.
Anger is in many ways also a function of the amygdala. However, it is strikingly different from fear, sadness, and other negative emotions. Human anger is amazing in that it is similar to happiness: as joy and pleasure, it makes us move forward, while fear or grief forces us to distance ourselves. Like other emotions, anger, anger and rage cover a wide variety of areas of the brain: after all, in order to realize their impulse, this organ needs to assess the situation, refer to memory and experience, regulate the production of hormones in the body, and do much more.
Tenderness and comfort: the somatosensory cortex
In many cultures, sadness and shock are usually hidden: for example, in British English there is even an idiomatic expression "keep a stiff upper lip", which means "not to betray your feelings." Nevertheless, neuroscientists argue that from the point of view of the physiology of the brain, a person simply needs the participation of other people. "Clinical experiments show that loneliness provokes stress more than any other factor," says German scientist and author of the book "Science of Happiness" Stefan Klein. “Loneliness is a burden on the brain and body. It results in anxiety, confusion in thoughts and feelings (a consequence of stress hormones) and a weakened immune system. In isolation, people become sad and sick. "
Study after study shows that companionship is beneficial for a person physically and spiritually. It prolongs life and improves its quality. “One touch of someone who is close to you and deserves your trust relieves sadness,” says Stefan. "This is a consequence of the neurotransmitters - oxytocin and opioids - that are released in moments of tenderness."
Recently, British researchers were able to confirm the theory of the usefulness of weasel using computed tomography. They found that touching other people causes strong bursts of activity in the somatosensory cortex, which already works constantly, tracking all our tactile sensations. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the impulses that arise if someone gently touches our body in difficult times are associated with the process of isolating critical stimuli from the general stream that can change everything for us. Experts also noticed that the participants in the experiment experienced grief more easily when a stranger was holding their hand, and much easier when a loved one touched their palm.
Joy and laughter: the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus
When we experience joy, experience happiness, laugh or smile, many different areas are “ignited” in our brain. The amygdala, the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the anterior insular lobe of the large brain are involved in the creation and processing of positive emotions, so that feelings of joy, like anger, sadness, or fear, spread throughout the brain.
In joyful moments, the right amygdala becomes much more active than the left. Today it is widely believed that the left hemisphere of our brain is responsible for logic, and the right for creativity. Recently, however, we know that this is not the case. For most functions, the brain requires both parts, although hemispheric asymmetry exists: for example, the largest speech centers are located on the left, while the processing of intonation and accents is more localized on the right.
The prefrontal cortex is the several areas of the frontal lobes of the brain that are located in the front of the hemispheres, just behind the frontal bone. They are linked to the limbic system and are responsible for our ability to set goals, make plans, achieve results, change course, and improvise. Research shows that in women’s happy moments, the left hemisphere’s prefrontal cortex is more active than the right hemisphere’s prefrontal cortex.
The hippocampus, which are located deep in the temporal lobes, together with the tonsils, help us separate important emotional events from insignificant ones, so that the former can be stored in long-term memory, and the latter can be thrown out. In other words, the hippocampus rate happy events in terms of their relevance to the archive. The cortex of the anterior insular lobe of the large brain helps them do this. She, too, is associated with the limbic system and is most active when a person recalls pleasant or sad events.
Lust and love: not emotions
Today, the human brain is being studied by thousands of neuroscientists around the world. Nevertheless, science has not yet succeeded in determining exactly what emotion and feeling are. We know that many feelings are born in the limbic system, one of the most ancient elements of the brain. However, perhaps not everything that we have traditionally recognized as emotions is really emotion. For example, lust is not, in terms of brain physiology, like fear or joy. Its impulses are formed not in the tonsils, but in the ventral striatum, which is also called the "reward center". This area is also activated during orgasm or when eating delicious food. Some scholars even doubt that lust is a feeling.
In this case, lust is different from love, which activates the dorsal striatum. It is curious that the brain uses the same zone if a person uses drugs and becomes addicted to them. However, we definitely experience happiness, fear, anger, and sadness more often during periods of falling in love than during quiet periods, which means that love may be considered the sum of emotions, desires, and impulses.
Icons: Pham Thi Dieu Linh
