What exactly is happening in the brain to make activities we enjoy produce the warm glow of contentment? What makes some people more upbeat than others? What areas of the brain are important in controlling our desires to connect with one another?“We are just beginning to discern what parts of the brain are responsible for certain positive emotions,” Kalin explained. “For example, we are finding that some of the newer, more recently evolved neural structures, such as the limbic system, play vital roles in emotional expression. At the same time, we’ve found that these limbic structures are controlled or modulated by other areas of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex. Our work for the near future is to determine how these and other areas of the brain actually function in human emotional response.”
Davidson, who heads up the Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Research at the Institute, has been studying how differences in the structure of the brain are related to the diverse ways individuals express positive emotional states. Much of his research utilizes modern imaging methods such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the quest for better understanding of the relationship between the brain and emotions.
Davidson says such individuals are characterized by enthusiasm, alertness, energy, persistence in goal orientation and other positive behavioral characteristics. The research so far has shown that the brains of such individuals are also distinctive: They show what Davidson’s research describes as “a pattern of left prefrontal activation.”
“We’ve already discovered that there are differences in the amygdalas of people who appear to be these happy, positive individuals compared with those of individuals who show more vulnerability and more depressive emotion in response to the emotional events in life,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment