Our Emotions Part 1 - Where do Emotions Come From?
Lately I study such phenomena as emotions a lot and will be doing several posts on this topic which will correspond to my ongoing research process.
Feel free to join me on this journey, share your thoughts or other interesting posts on this topic. :)
Image source: Pixabay
Where emotions come from
In ancient Egypt it was believed that emotions are based in the heart. Heart was considered a place where thoughts, emotions, memory and the soul itself are located.
The ancient Egyptian concept and beliefs are living up to this day as a metaphor in modern songs, poetry, set expressions, and even everyday life conversations.
Interesting also is the shape of heart in ancient Egypt. It was more like a vase with short process on the sides. The shape of heart is very similar to actual heart of the sheep, and the processes are the
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As the heart was believed to perform the functions of the brain, and back then it was believed that the function of the brain was producing mucus in the nose. Due to this when performing mummification, they extracted brain from the body along with other organs in the process of preparing the body for the life after death. It is believed that brain was thrown away, but the other organs were usually put back into the body, or put near the body in some jars, but basically there’s no evidence what happened with the brains extracted. The most important organ that remained in the body was heart, as it was believed to be weighed by Gods against the feather of truth. If the heart turned out to be heavier than the feather, the soul was not allowed afterlife and the heart was eaten by deamon Ammit.
Due to this sort of belief by ancient Egyptians and Greek, today we have such expressions as:
a change of heart
to learn something by heart
to tear heart out
to win one’s heart
and many-many others
Today it is believed that emotion is produced by brain, specifically by a part of brain called the limbic system. The limbic system consists of several structures of the brain and is located in cerebral cortex.
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The brain chemicals in this system, or neurotransmitters, define and communicate various information throughout our body.
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There’re two ways in which a post-synaptic cell, the one which “receives” the neurotransmitters in it’s dendrite, could be affected in. It’s either inhibitory or excitatory impact. Each post-synaptic cell may be connected to many other pre-synaptic cells (the ones that “give” those neurotransmitters), and if in sum the impact of the neurotransmitters will be excitatory, then the neuron will create action potential, also described as the cell will “fire”, which basically means that it passes the electrical energy further into the system.
If the level of neurotransmitters is low, our mood is listless and we don't experience emotions highly. Accordingly, if the level of neurotransmitters is high, our mood is unstable and we may experience emotions to the extreme level.
There're various neurotransmitters, and there're according ways to affect the level of them to either way.
For example, neurotransmitter called dopamine affects our mood as well as other aspects including memory and sleep. If there's a lack of dopamine you may lose your memory or experience some sleep problems. So, to increase the level of dopamine in your organism you may simply eat more chocolate or drink coffee or green tea, or you can exercise, which will also increase the level of serotonin.
Stay tuned for continuation! :)
I just love psychology, so be sure to follow @aleksandraz and read my other articles on this topic.
Thanks! :)
Sources:
Egypt: The Ancient Egyptian Heart
A Brief History of the Brain: Ancient Egyptians
The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus The first use of "neuro" words in recorded history
Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul, Wikipedia
Had trouble falling asleep past two night....NEED more dopamine! ;-)
Yes, I've already developed a recipe for myself: eat chocolate, then exercise, repeat!
Even decided to start going to gym, as I have no trouble with eating chocolate! :D
LMAO....love me some chocolate as well. Gym, that's another story. Good thing I play hoops twice a week!
Yes, it's a good thing, and energy consuming as well! :)
I like this, we really could use more psychology discussion around here! Lots of fascinating topics pertaining to the mind!
Feel free to share your topics that come to your mind, and I'll take them into consideration when writing next posts! :) I have several ideas and am working on them, but two heads are better than one ;)