Love&

Joy

LOVE Romantic love is linked to the “perpetuation of the

species and therefore have a closely linked biological function of crucial evolutionary importance.” (Parker, 2004)

“Early and intense romantic love may have more to do with motivation, reward, and drive…than with emotions or sex drive.”

Romantic love happens in the basal ganglia region of the brain and on the right side. Facial attraction happens on the left side though. (Parker, 2005)

Feelings of romantic love might change into feelings of attachment over time.

In people with longer romantic relationships, their fMRI images showed more activity in the ventral pallidum portion of the basal ganglia. In this region, receptors for vasopressin and oxytocin are critical for attachment. (Society for Neuroscience, 2003)

“Maternal and romantic love share a common and crucial evolutionary purpose…: the maintenance and perpetuation of the species. Both ensure the formation of firm bonds between individuals by making this behavior a rewarding experience. (Parker, 2005)

Parts of the prefrontal cortex seems to switch off when we are in love and when we love our children. (Parker, 2004)

“Human attachment…bonds individuals through the involvement of the reward circuitry explaining the power of love to motivate and exhilarate.” (Parker, 2005)

JOY Oxford Happiness Questionnaire

The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was developed by psychologists Michael Argyle and Peter Hills at Oxford University. This is a way to get a snapshot of your current level of happiness.

http://www.meaningandhappiness.com/oxford-happiness-questionnaire/214/

Happiness may be integral to mental and physical health. Happy individuals instead tend to be relatively more cooperative,

prosocial, charitable, and “other-centered.” (Lyubomirsky,112) Happiness also reduces the risk or limit the severity of cardiovascular

disease, pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypertension, colds, and upper-respiratory infections are well.

Happy people are more likely to evidence greater self-control and self-regulatory and coping abilities to have a bolstered immune system and even to live a longer life.

Some people are genetically predisposed to be happy by virtue of their busy prefrontal cortexes. Many neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, glutamate,

GABA, and more. Animal studies have shown that dopamine mediates the transfer of

signals associated with positive emotions between the left prefrontal area and the emotional centers in the limbic area of the brain, such as the nucleus accumbens, situated within the ventral striatum. In humans, people with a sensitive version of the receptor that accepts dopamine tend to have better moods. (Lemonick, 2005)

Laughing contributes to feelings of joy and happiness. Humor decreases stress, boosts immune defenses, relaxes

muscle tension, decreases blood pressure, and modulates pain. (Restak, 91)

“Laughter has many subtle effects on our social companions. It breaks the ice, achieves closeness, bonds us, generates goodwill, and dampens hostility and aggression. Observe how we laugh when we want to deflate tension between strangers or need to say no to someone. Laughter disarms people, creates a bridge between them, and facilitates amicable behavior.”

–Behavioral biologist Silvia H. Cardoso in the journal, Cerebrum. (Restak, 94)

Humor-processing circuit involves parts of the frontal lobe (especially the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the nucleus accumbens. (“pleasure pathway”) SMA processes both cognitive aspect of humor as well as the

motor part (facial movement and breathing from smiling and laughing.)

Circuitry for humor and laughter also includes a part of the hypothalamus called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the temporal lobe, and its connections to the amygdala, and the junction within the brainstem, pons, and medulla. (Restak, 92)

People with frontal lobe damage (especially in the right frontal lobe)… rarely laugh spontaneously, fail to appreciate humor, and laugh and smile less when hearing a joke. Don’t react humorously to cartoons, since frontal

lobe damage interferes with the ability to focus attention and visually explore the cartoon for the important details that render it humorous.

Similarly occurs in people with Alzheimer’s Disease. Results from damage to areas of that brain

important in the formation and maintenance of memory.

Damage to hippocampus (common in Alzheimer’s victims) interferes with encoding the details of a joke.

Frontal lobe damage impairs the working memory required to link material from the beginning of the joke to the humor at the end. (Restak, 93)

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WORKS CITED Lemonick, Michael D., and Dan Cray. “The Biology of Joy.” Time 17 Jan. 2005: n. pag.

Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/ detail?hid=112&sid=7b780ad1-7fe1-437c-a39b-c8d9949b8368%40sessionmgr112&vid=9&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGI2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=1559930> The article discusses how joy is produced in the brain through neurotransmitters in the prefrontal cortex. The information is proven through studies done by several different people in the psychology field.

Lyubomirsky, Sonja, Kennon M. Sheldon, and David Schkade. "Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change." Review of General Psychology 9.2 (2005): 111-131. University of Minnesota Department of Psychology. Web. 25 Feb. 2011. <http://www.psych.umn.edu/courses/fall06/macdonalda/psy4960/Readings/LyubomirskySustain_RGP05.pdf>. The authors propose that a person’s chronic happiness level is determined by three major factors: a genetically determined set point for happiness, happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and happiness-relevant activities and practices. They then consider adaptation and dynamic processes to show why the activity category offers the best opportunities for sustainably increasing happiness. Finally, existing research is discussed in support of the model, including 2 preliminary happiness-increasing interventions.

Parker, Randall. "Love Deactivates Brain Areas For Fear, Planning, Critical Social Assessment."FuturePundit. N.p., 17 June 2004 Web. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/002183.html>. Vasopressin and their involvement in both romantic and maternal love is shown through citing a study done by researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (Emory University) and Atlanta's Center for Behavioral Neuroscience. With additional vasopressin, normally promiscuous meadow voles became unnaturally monogamous.

Parker, Randall. "Romantic Love Seen As Motivation Or Drive Rather Than Emotional State." FuturePundit. N.p., 31 May 2005 Web. 24 Feb. 2011. fMRI brain scans of seventeen young men and women in the early stages of romantic love who consider themselves “newly and madly in love” indicate that romantic love is more about reward than emotions. The area of the brain that controls motivation is involved also.

Restak, Richard, M.D. The New Brain: How the Modern Age is Rewiring Your Mind. Illus. Molly Borman. 2003. Emmaus: Rodale Inc. , 2004. Print. The author shows how the human brain is being changed by the increasing popularity and use of technology in our lives. The ability to gain new insight into the mind due to this technology is described by showing how researchers can now learn so much more about the human brain.

Society For Neuroscience. "Scientists Uncover Neurobiological Basis For Romantic Love, Trust, And Self." ScienceDaily 11 November 2003. 24 February 2011 http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2003/11/031111064658.htm. This article explains the chemical and neurological processes that create a chain reaction that ends in the feelings of romantic love between new couples that fall in the age bracket between 20 and 25. How these feelings are connected to the “reward” factor in the brain is also demonstrated.

Wright, Steve, Dr. "Oxford Happiness Questionaire." Meaning and Happiness.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://www.meaningandhappiness.com/oxford-happiness-questionnaire/214/>. The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was developed by psychologists Michael Argyle and Peter Hills at Oxford University. This is a way to get a snapshot of your current level of happiness.