In article <3f99dp$3eb at strauss.udel.edu> greggt at strauss.udel.edu (Thomas R. Gregg) writes:
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>From: greggt at strauss.udel.edu (Thomas R. Gregg)
>Newsgroups: bionet.neuroscience
>Subject: Re: love and neurotransmitters
>Date: 14 Jan 1995 14:41:45 -0500
>Organization: University of Delaware
>Lines: 26
>Message-ID: <3f99dp$3eb at strauss.udel.edu>
>References: <009891F1.1E1D4400 at SHSU.edu> <Pine.3.89.9412181617.A25762-0100000 at world.std.com> <3eb0j1$4ju at ixnews3.ix.netcom.com>
>NNTP-Posting-Host: strauss.udel.edu
>>>> >Between mof2n at fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Milton Omar Faison)'s comment
>>that:
>>>> >
>>>> >>I was watching that BRAIN show on the Discovery channel and
>>>> >>heard some information that I find hard to swallow. They
>>>> >>attributed love to a release of dopamine, norepi, and epi
>>>> >>which, beyond the fluttery heart and sweaty palms, also leads
>>>> >>to a loss of logic or "love." I'm only in my first semester in
>>>> >>a neuroscience grad program, but i haven't heard anything that
>>>> >>justifies this, and I was wondering if anyone could provide
>>>> >>some kind of justification to this.
>How about Schacter's theory of emotion perception? One's body goes into a
>state of autonomic arousal (Norepi), and one *interprets* that state as
>love, anger, fear, etc., depending on the circumstances. This would
>correspond to a peripheral release of norepi, in the sympathetic nervous
>system, not central norepi activity.
Exactly. For example, if you are being chased, you will have the essentially
the same sympathetic reaction. But, it depends on whether you are being
chased by a track star of a dinosaur that causes us to feel motivation (and
many other emotions] in the former case or fear in the latter.
>>All of our thoughts and feelings, no matter how euphoric or bizzare are
>>due to interactions of neurochemicals, neurons, hormones, etc.>...
>>Ray
I have to disagree on that point. We just don't have enough evidence to come
to such a conclusion at this time. If all of our thoughts and feelings are
based on neurological interactions and changes, how can you explain the
multitude and vast range of emotions that we have? How can you explain the
combination of emotions?
>It's safer to say thoughts & feelings are *correlated with* neural activity.
>Tom
Perhaps neural activity is "correlated with" thoughts and feelings. Let me
propose a very radical idea [in terms of how the scientific community views
it]. Let's assume that we have a "mind" that is a separate identity from the
brain. The mind controls our thoughts and emotions [of course, with inputs
from the brain]. This, in turn, causes neurological changes.
Someone [I forget who, I'm sorry] in a follow-up post asked what else there
was besides these changes.
There is the mind. There is the unconscious.
Besides, what exactly is love? How do you know you are in love?
-=Prat=-
ps) I did not mean to offend anyone. If I did, I am truely sorry. I'm just
trying to express what I believe in.
