2
Main Entry Parts 1
and 2
Part 1: Neurophysiology of Emotions
Think about times in your life when you have experienced incredible happiness (e.g., you received an award, your favorite team won the national championship, etc.) and were very fearful (e.g., speaking to a large group of strangers, performing on stage for the first time, etc.).
a. Describe how your arousal appeared physically.
b. Connect these changes in arousal to what you’ve learned about the neurobiology of emotions – what hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. are likely involved in these effects?
c. Describe some of the stimuli that helped you to determine what emotion you were experiencing.
Part 2: Neurophysiology of Social Connection and Motivation
This unit, you watched a TED talk by Johann Hari called
Everything You Know About Addiction is Wrong. This is a powerful look into how our species’ evolutionary drive to work and connect with each other and how disruptions to this cycle simultaneously cause and fuel cycles of addiction. After watching, answer the following questions:
a. Explain, using terms and concepts you learned this unit about the neurobiology of motivation, social behavior, and emotions, why the rats in rat park did not use the “drug water.”
b. You are a neurobiologist and you’ve been asked to explain to a panel of American lawmakers why Portugal is having success with its approach to addiction recovery. Explain this from your informed point of view, given what you know about reward pathways and the neurobiology of motivation and relationships. Be specific.
c. Discuss your reaction to and perspective on Hari’s point that to treat addiction we must not just focus on the individual, but focus on society at large, too. Does this make sense to you from a neurobiology standpoint? Explain why or why not. What suggestions would you make if asked how to go about instituting such a change?
Please cite and reference any source(s) you use to help write this response in APA format.
