On my way to work this morning I listened to an interesting interview about brain chemistry. Here are some points:
– The brain records more details about bad memories than about good memories. Very bad memories can be “grooved” into our brains very easily, along with the emotional responses that accompanied them. Doctors prescribe beta blockers to people after traumatic events so that they don’t become crippled emotionally by the memory of the event.
– We are all on drugs. Illicit drugs are so effective on us because they emulate the drugs that our brains produce naturally, like serotonin, oxytocin, adrenaline, testosterone, estrogen, etc.
– Oxytocin is especially important in the formation of parental and relationship bonds. It has the side effect of making a person more resistant to stress.
– Knowing about the chemical reactions in our brains will not allow us to control them, but will allow us to understand what’s happening in certain situations.
And then I got to work so I had to get out of the car and stop listening to the interview. But what I find most interesting is the oxytocin information. My friend, who was also my business partner at the time, said that I was a much easier person to work with when I was involved in a relationship. This was about 8 years ago, and now I think I have a better understanding and therefore better grip on my emotions. I hate the idea of being dependent on someone else for my own stability, and I think I’m able to cope well with things regardless of my relationship status. On the other hand, I know I’m happier and more effective after I’ve had a great night out with someone I really feel “connected” to.
every time i come to ur journal, i learn smth new and interesting:)
*licks*
damn, admit it, you cheated and checked the list of chemicals somewhere, right? no way you remembered it off the bat like that!
brain chemistry is superbly interesting. modularity of the brain is a cool topic as well (talking about how diff parts of the brain are responsible for different things)
😀 yes! i knew you were an expert on these things olya! 🙂 i have always been good at remembering medical-type stuff. maybe i’m in the wrong profession? there was talk about modularity this morning too, but i only caught half of it. he was talking about autism, and how it affects the part of your brain that lets you recognize emotions on people’s faces. autistic people can be quite intelligent, but because they lack the ability to recognize emotions in others, their social skills are impaired. :nod:
oxytocin is big in reproduction too… involved in parturition amongst other things. But reaky, I just think it’s fun to say! oxytocin, oxytocin..wwahahaha…
obviously oxytocin is big at christmas time too.
… and a parturation in a pear tree!!
….. i just got a highly amusing if not somewhat distubring mental image… wahahahah
edgy, insistently intertextual and finally heartbreaking cialis sequence about unlikely courtship, modern marriage, tramadol divorce and “primordial eros and strife.” The 29 fioricet short chapters Carson calls “Tangos” imagine and soma analyze, in jaggedly memorable verse, the ill-starred olimpositac romance between the narrator and her charismatic, carisoprodol needy and unfaithful husband, who writes her romantic ultram