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How Neurotransmitters impact on human behaviour
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Dopamine, It Does a Body Good
In class we have frequently discussed the I-function and how it relates to the body and the brain. Is the I-function a separate soul? Is it simply an extension of our DNA and genes? In addition, we have fretted over the I-function and its relationship to our behavior or personality. Where exactly the I-function is, we have also wondered. In this paper I will explore personality, the I-function and their relationship to genes and chemical changes that take place within the body. I will mainly look at how neurotransmitters affect overall happiness in an individual. How these chemicals are regulated by genes and by the environment, will also be questioned. Overall I will look at what makes us who we are. Are we simply programmed for life by our genes or do they even matter at all?
While searching the web I found many good articles which explained how neurotransmitters affect personality. In some cases norepinepherin can encourage quick emotional responses like anger and also discourage logical thinking, while serotonin can cause irritability and a lack of rational emotion. All of them can cause anger, anxiety, depression, insecure feelings, and fear. To find out what the characteristics of personality are, I found another site appropriate. It lists 16 types of personality that are controlled by various combinations of 4 dimensions: extrovert vs. introvert, sensor vs. intuitive, thinker vs. feeler, and judger vs. perceiver. You can see how some of these could be determined by neurotransmitters.
With happiness in particular, a group of psychologists describe it through the set-point idea. The set-point idea contends that there is a genetically determined mood level that can be nudged by life slightly upward or downward, but in the long run will stay about the same for each individual. Therefore, if you win the lottery or become a paraplegic, you will remain close to the same happiness level that you were always at. The 2 doctors say that about half of your sense of well being is determined by your set-point while the other by the sorrows and pleasures of life. By studying the activity in each prefrontal area, happiness and enthusiasm can be detected from worry and agitation. They tested 10 month old babies and then tracked them for several years and still found the measurements of their brain-wave patterns accurate. It was also discovered that an allele for part of the D4 receptor were related to the amount of
Physiologically, happiness is activity of the mind, predominantly in the left prefrontal cortex, anterior cortex, and the amygdale. Recent studies made possible by scanning systems such as MRIs and Positron Emission Tomography show that when an individual experiences feelings of happiness, the activity in these areas of the brain increase proportionally. This empirical evidence concurs with Aristotle’s definition, wi...
...ference in the human trafficking industry. Polaris Project creates long-term solutions that move our society closer to a world without slavery.
"Sex Trafficking in the U.S." Sex Trafficking in the U.S. | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Polaris Project, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Cofer uses the rhetoric appeal of ethos to establish her authority to make the argument that Latina stereotypes are just myths. Growing ...
For a first example of stereotypes, In “The Myth of the Latin Woman,” Judith Ortiz Cofer writes about the many stereotypes that she, as a Puerto Rican woman, has endured. She opens with a tale of how she had been publicly serenaded—on a London bus, of all places—by, as Cofer puts it, “a young man, obviously fresh from a pub” (187). Later on, she mentions a second random serenade of sorts, this time from a older man in a classy metropolitan hotel. The young man sang “Maria” from West Side Story, the older man first chose a song from Evita, then encored with a crudely-worded song to the tune of “La Bamba.” In both situations, whether it was their intention or not, their actions resulted in alienation of the author, singling her out and thrusting the stereotypes of her lineage in her face. The men may have meant well; they may have felt that what they were doing was good-hearted fun. They may have even been trying to...
The influence of both a person’s genes and the type of atmosphere that he or she was brought upon has an impact on his or her personality. For example, at a young age doctors diagnose Jimmy Mendez of having low activity in his amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the brain that is responsible for emotions like guilt. As Mendez grew up he would often commit wrongful acts and not feel guilty. He would steal, lie, and hurt feelings without feeling any sorrow or regret. When his parents realize his unpassionate like behavior they showed him the error of his ways. Even though Mendez still had little activity in his amygdala he was able to see the horrible outcome of his Hitler like behavior. With the nurturing of his parents, Mendez was able to overcome a gene abnormality and act the way a compassionate human being should. Evidently, a person’s genetics and environment can work together to create the conduct of an
A layman would define personality as an individual’s characteristics in terms of how they think and behave. Many theorists, however, interprets personality differently resulting in various personality theories. Personality is determined by traits which are behaviours displayed by a person in most given situations. How a person reacts to common circumstances may also be used to foresee future behaviours. Traits are then categorized into types that allow easier comparisons to be made between each individual’s attributes. The focus of this paper would be on the biological aspects of personality whereby traits are thought to be inheritable through genetics and associated with the central nervous system. Behavioural genetics are research that makes use of results from studies done on family, twins and adoptions. The findings of how both genes and environment influences personality from the studies will be discussed. Some researchers found possible issues with the representativeness of such studies. The outline of Eysenck’s biological model of personality and arousal, Gray’s BAS/BIS theory and Cloninger’s biological model of personality will further explain the biological effect on personality.
Seelke, Clare Ribando, and Alison Siskin. "Trafficking in persons: U.S. policy and issues for congress." Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs. Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs, 2008. General OneFile. Web. 3 Feb. 2010. .
However, happiness also takes into account a wide range of other aspects of our lives, including our thoughts and actions, and even genetics. Therefore, happiness should be defined as the amalgamation of how we think and act, and how we interpret our experiences as positive or negative. What this means is that in order to become happier, we must simply force ourselves to become more optimistic. This is easier said than done, however. In order to have a noticeable increase in happiness, people must be willing to make lifestyle changes in addition to changing their mindset. However, the difference between optimism and delusion is a fine line, so people must be cautious to not exaggerate the positive parts of an experience or become overly optimistic. If we practice seeking out the positive views of our circumstances, with time we will find ourselves happier than
“Sex Slavery/Trafficking: Frequently Asked Questions.” soroptimist.org. Soroptimist International of the Americans, n.d. Web. 9 April 2014.
Judith Ortiz Cofer, a professor of english and creative writing, tackles gender roles as well as cultural stereotypes in “ The Myth of the Latin Woman” and challenges them by attempting to replace the stereotypes with the realities. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman” Cofer discusses her life in America as a Puerto Rican woman. She also shares her stories of when she was stereotyped and how gender roles play a role in how Latinos are viewed. Stereotypes will follow you around because of your appearance and how the media portrays Latinas.
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
The basis of this approach is that psychological factors play a major role in determining behaviour and shaping personality. Freud argued that personality is composed of three major systems the id, the ego, and the superego. The id (biological part of personality) is present at birth and consists of inherited instincts and all psychological energies. The id operates according to the pleasure principle, seeking to reduce tension, avoid pain and obtain pleasure. The ego (executive part of personality) is conscious part of the mind, the “real” us.
Personality is the expression of a person’s traits according to ones feelings, mentality and behavior. It involves understanding individuals’ traits such as withdrawal and willpower and how various parts of an individual link together to form personality. Personality expresses itself from within an individual and is comparatively regular throughout in an individual’s life. Different people have different personalities dependent on factors such as environment and genetic composition. Our personality is dependent on the success or failure of our development in the eight stages of life. This is proposed by Erik Erikson. Success in the development stages lead to virtues while the failure leads to malignancies.
of joy or pleasant feelings. We can be happy at one moment, but not the next.