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Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit a signal from a neuron across the synapse to a target cell, which may be another neuron, a muscle cell, or a gland cell. Neurotransmitters are chemical substances made by the neuron specifically to transmit a message.
Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Its biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating mood, cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vasoconstriction.
Personality is defined as the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors. While there is no generally agreed upon definition of personality, most theories focus on motivation and psychological interactions with one's environment. Trait-based personality theories, such as those defined by Raymond Cattell, define personality as the traits that predict a person's behavior. On the other hand, more behaviorally-based approaches define personality through learning and habits. Nevertheless, most theories view personality as relatively stable.
The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis is a complex set of direct influences and feedback interactions among three components: the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands.
Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally, in addition or opposition to employing the scientific method, it also relies on symbolic interpretation and critical analysis, although these traditions have tended to be less pronounced than in other social sciences, such as sociology. Psychologists study phenomena such as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also study the unconscious mind.
Oxytocin is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. It plays a role in social bonding, reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Oxytocin is released into the bloodstream as a hormone in response to sexual activity and during labour. It is also available in pharmaceutical form. In either form, oxytocin stimulates uterine contractions to speed up the process of childbirth. in its natural form, it also plays a role in bonding with the baby and milk production. Production and secretion of oxytocin is controlled by a positive feedback mechanism, where its initial release stimulates production and release of further oxytocin. For example, when oxytocin is released during a contraction of the uterus at the start of childbirth, this stimulates production and release of more oxytocin and an increase in the intensity and frequency of contractions. This process compounds in intensity and frequency and continues until the triggering activity ceases. A similar process takes place during lactation and during sexual activity.
Physiological psychology is a subdivision of behavioral neuroscience that studies the neural mechanisms of perception and behavior through direct manipulation of the brains of nonhuman animal subjects in controlled experiments. This field of psychology takes an empirical and practical approach when studying the brain and human behavior. Most scientists in this field believe that the mind is a phenomenon that stems from the nervous system. By studying and gaining knowledge about the mechanisms of the nervous system, physiological psychologists can uncover many truths about human behavior. Unlike other subdivisions within biological psychology, the main focus of psychological research is the development of theories that describe brain-behavior relationships.
Moral psychology is a field of study in both philosophy and psychology. Historically, the term "moral psychology" was used relatively narrowly to refer to the study of moral development. Moral psychology eventually came to refer more broadly to various topics at the intersection of ethics, psychology, and philosophy of mind. Some of the main topics of the field are moral judgment, moral reasoning, moral sensitivity, moral responsibility, moral motivation, moral identity, moral action, moral development, moral diversity, moral character, altruism, psychological egoism, moral luck, moral forecasting, moral emotion, affective forecasting, and moral disagreement.
Caring in intimate relationships is the practice of providing care and support to an intimate relationship partner. Caregiving behaviours are aimed at reducing the partner's distress and supporting his or her coping efforts in situations of either threat or challenge. Caregiving may include emotional support and/or instrumental support. Effective caregiving behaviour enhances the care-recipient's psychological well-being, as well as the quality of the relationship between the caregiver and the care-recipient. However, certain suboptimal caregiving strategies may be either ineffective or even detrimental to coping.
Neuromodulation is the physiological process by which a given neuron uses one or more chemicals to regulate diverse populations of neurons. Neuromodulators typically bind to metabotropic, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) to initiate a second messenger signaling cascade that induces a broad, long-lasting signal. This modulation can last for hundreds of milliseconds to several minutes. Some of the effects of neuromodulators include: alter intrinsic firing activity, increase or decrease voltage-dependent currents, alter synaptic efficacy, increase bursting activity and reconfiguration of synaptic connectivity.
The islands of Calleja are a group of neural granule cells located within the ventral striatum in the brains of most animals. This region of the brain is part of the limbic system, where it aids in the reinforcing effects of reward-like activities. Within most species, the islands are specifically located within the olfactory tubercle; however, in primates, these islands are located within the nucleus accumbens, the reward center of the brain, since the olfactory tubercle has practically disappeared in the brains of primates. Both of these structures have been implicated in the processing of incentives as well as addictions to drugs. Projections to and from the islands supplement this knowledge with their involvement in the reward pathways for both cocaine and amphetamines.
In the study of psychology, neuroticism has been considered a fundamental personality trait. For example, in the Big Five approach to personality trait theory, individuals with high scores for neuroticism are more likely than average to be moody and to experience such feelings as anxiety, worry, fear, anger, frustration, envy, jealousy, guilt, depressed mood, and loneliness. Such people are thought to respond worse to stressors and are more likely to interpret ordinary situations, such as minor frustrations, as appearing hopelessly difficult. They are described as often being self-conscious and shy, and tending to have trouble controlling urges and delaying gratification.
Social connection is the experience of feeling close and connected to others. It involves feeling loved, cared for, and valued, and forms the basis of interpersonal relationships.
"Connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard and valued; when they can give and receive without judgement; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship." —Brené Brown, Professor of social work at the University of Houston
The oxytocin receptor, also known as OXTR, is a protein which functions as receptor for the hormone and neurotransmitter oxytocin. In humans, the oxytocin receptor is encoded by the OXTR gene which has been localized to human chromosome 3p25.
Reward dependence is characterized as a tendency to respond markedly to signals of reward, particularly to verbal signals of social approval, social support, and sentiment. When reward dependence levels deviate from normal we see the rise of several personality and addictive disorders.
Colin G. DeYoung is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota. His research is in the field of personality psychology and personality neuroscience.
Dante Cicchetti is a scientist specializing in the fields of developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology, particularly the conduct of multilevel research with high-risk and disenfranchised populations, including maltreated children and offspring of depressed parents. He currently holds a joint appointment in the University of Minnesota Medical School's psychiatry department, and in the Institute of Child Development. He is the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair and the William Harris Endowed Chair.
Parental experience, as well as changing hormone levels during pregnancy and postpartum, cause changes in the parental brain. Displaying maternal sensitivity towards infant cues, processing those cues and being motivated to engage socially with her infant and attend to the infant's needs in any context could be described as mothering behavior and is regulated by many systems in the maternal brain. Research has shown that hormones such as oxytocin, prolactin, estradiol and progesterone are essential for the onset and the maintenance of maternal behavior in rats, and other mammals as well. Mothering behavior has also been classified within the basic drives. Less is known about the paternal brain, but changes in the father's brain occur alongside the mother once the offspring is born.
Darcia Narvaez is a Professor of Psychology Emerita at the University of Notre Dame who has written extensively on issues of character and moral development.
Functional Ensemble of Temperament (FET) is a neurochemical model suggesting specific functional roles of main neurotransmitter systems in the regulation of behaviour.
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- 1 2 3 Narvaez, Darcia (March 1, 2008). "Triune ethics: The neurobiological roots of our multiple moralities". New Ideas in Psychology. 26 (1): 95–119. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.152.4926 . doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2007.07.008. ISSN 0732-118X.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Narvaez, Darcia; Lapsley, Daniel K. (2009). "Triune Ethics Theory and Moral Personality". Personality, Identity, and Character: Explorations in Moral Psychology. Cambridge University Press. pp. 136–158. ISBN 978-0-521-89507-1.
- ↑ Kalin, N. H. (1999). "Primate models to understand human aggression". The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 60 Suppl 15: 29–32. ISSN 0160-6689. PMID 10418812.
- ↑ Prescott, James W. (April 1, 1996). "The Origins of Human Love and Violence". Pre- and Peri-Natal Psychology Journal. 10 (3): 143. ISSN 1097-8003.
- ↑ Prescott, J.W. (1996). "The origins of human love and violence". Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal.
- ↑ Caspi, Avshalom; Sugden, Karen; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Taylor, Alan; Craig, Ian W.; Harrington, HonaLee; McClay, Joseph; Mill, Jonathan; Martin, Judy; Braithwaite, Antony; Poulton, Richie (July 18, 2003). "Influence of life stress on depression: moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene" (PDF). Science. 301 (5631): 386–389. doi:10.1126/science.1083968. ISSN 1095-9203. PMID 12869766. S2CID 146500484.
- ↑ Cesario, Joseph; Johnson, David J.; Eisthen, Heather L. (8 May 2020). "Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 29 (3): 255–260. doi: 10.1177/0963721420917687 . S2CID 218960531.
