Dwelving into the Emotional Mind-Body

While I do believe that many people, especially as we mature, are on a self-actualizing track, Abraham Maslow - mind you Motivation and Personality were written in 1954 - estimated that only 2% of the population have actually reached that self-actualization level or above.

Since I think that understanding human behavior, including our own, is a necessity for effective marketing, I'm continuing with last week's discussion on neuroscience and marketing.

The referenced neuromarketing article also makes mention of the work of evolutionary neurologist Paul MacLean whom divides the brain into three parts: the neocortex or neo-mammalian brain, the limbic or paleo-mammalian system, and the reptilian brain, the brainstem and cerebellum. MacLean argues that the neo-cortex is not always in charge and that the less-evolved 'emotional' limbic system can hijack the higher mental functions.

It seems as if we'll have to measure every fiber of our being to get at the unconscious - which I still claim bypasses some of our highest needs - if we look at Candice Pert's work in which she establishes a biomolecular basis for emotions. Her book is entitled Molecules of Emotion; snippets below via NewsGateway. Pert was one of the scientists interviewed for the hybrid documentary, What the Bleep Do We Know, and the neuropeptides and receptor cells are computer animated in the film's narrative to visually demonstrate how people can become biochemically addicted to certain behavioral patterns.

Neuroscience had long been focused on the concept of the nervous system as an electrical network with neurotransmitters at the synapses allowing electrical impulses to pass from neuron to neuron. Dr. [Candice] Pert now says the only about 2% of communication within the brain occurs via synapses and 98% by information molecules such as hormones and neuropeptides, which act over longer distances.

Dr. Pert has called the neuropeptides and their receptors “molecules of emotion”. The information-carrying peptide molecules circulate freely about the body in the cerebrospinal fluid, blood and other extracellular fluids, and their action at specific receptor sites on cells connects not only various organs and biological processes but also mental and physical states. When our emotions cause us to go red in the face or to sweat, these effects are not responses to messages from the brain.

Rather, they are produced directly at the cellular level when neuropeptides bind to their receptors. This is what makes both neuropeptides and their receptors “molecules of emotion”. Different cells and tissues in the body produce greater or lesser amounts of particular peptides. A classic example of tissues that produce peptides that cause certain strong gelling and emotions would be the ovaries and testes.

The natural substances that bind to the opiate receptors are enkephalins or endorphins (depending on whether you are British or American). These are natural opiates and are shot out into the circulation after severe trauma, such as burns, to deaden that pain immediately. There are produced in smaller amounts in athletes, e.g. the so-called “runner’s high” experienced by marathon runners. Opiates are also circulating freely when we are in a state of well-being, or in a rare state of sheer bliss!

This constant, changing flow of molecular information throughout the body occurs mainly outside our conscious awareness. We become aware of something happening only when we feel moods and emotions, but this is only a fraction of the activity going on - which helps explain why the source of psychosomatic ailments such as irritable colon are attributed to the subconscious mind

The research of Dr. Candace Pert and her colleagues shows that neuropeptide interactions take place in both directions. Every change in the physiological state is accompanied by a change in the mental emotional state, conscious or unconscious; and conversely, every change in the emotional state is accompanied by a change in the physiological state. The regulator of this process - the place where the mind and body meet - is known by some as the limbic system.

The limbic system or “emotional brain” is that part of the brain concerned with emotions and memory response. Although there is not complete agreement on the definitions and structure of the limic system, it is generally considered that its main parts are paired structures located medially in the forebrain. It encircles the upper part of the brain stem, and lies strategically between the lower (brain stem) and the higher (cognitive) regions of the brain. It is the area through which all sensory information coming up through the spinal cord enters the brain, and through which all motor commands flow back downward. It is also the centre through which information from all the special sense organs of the cranium enters the brain.

The limbic system or emotional brain has the densest collection of neuropeptide bonding sites in the brain. Neurons in these areas can manufacture, send and receive every one of the neuropeptides now known.

Our deepest convictions - those that unconsciously structure all of our individual experience and behaviour- are products of the limbic system.

Comments

[selwyn super]

I like what has been written, but I am not wedded to the anatomical explanations, that do of course play some part. I am more inclined to believe in the wider distribution and effects of the chemistry and how it affects the whole body and its emotional and intellectual decision making and actions. For example there is a significant increase in energy and effort to carry out a task , via endorphin catecholamine release)when one is motivated, and there is a significant decrease in energy (depletions in serotonin,norepinepherine, dopamine) when one is depressed and unmotivated.

[bill mccauley]

Horray for Candice Pert--A true scientific genius--Would appreciate how to find her lecture schedule--Thanks Bill (Yoga Therapist and avid scientific reader)

[Jimy]

What are the reasons for which other 98% people don't actually realize what they are to which you call self-actualization?

I'm extremely very curious to know about it.

[Peter]

Well i'm studying neurology and i must say your article is very well written and hopefully its gonna help me with my research work which i'm doing these days.Thanks

[arvind pattni]

I would like to know if we use only 2 % of our synapses than what is the use of the rest of the synapses?