User Profile

Arousal of the FEAR system eventually leads to excessive production of cortisol. Under optimal conditions, when an animal is afraid, the secretion of cortisol mobilizes glucose as an energy supply for the skeletal muscles in case the animal decides to flee. In this way, cortisol secretion is beneficial. However, excessive secretion can begin to damage the body if elevations are sustained for too long. Normally, when cortisol has circulated through the blood back up to the brain, the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus exerts an inhibitory effect that stops further release of cortisol. If, however, a person or animal is subjected to an excessive amount of stress — when they are chronically frightened or anxious — the PVN may not be able to stop the production of cortisol. (..). all visceral organs and many areas of the brain, as well as the immune system, can be adversely affected by a prolonged excess of cortisol.

— Archaeology of Mind by Jaak Panksepp, Lucy Biven (2%)

Even though work on kindred animals has been so crucial to the development of affective neuroscience, Jaak Panskepp started his work with an interest primarily in human emotions, especially their disturbances in clinical disorders. He soon realized that deep neuroscientific understanding could not be achieved without appropriate animal models. This position has changed somewhat with the emergence of modern brain imaging, but not much if one wants to really understand the evolved functional network of the brain. It is rather difficult to have intense emotions while lying still within brain scanners that make measurements that cannot tolerate movement. (..). The primary-process emotions are all connected to movements, and the evidence now indicates that raw emotional feelings arise from the same ancient brain networks that control our instinctual emotional life.

— Archaeology of Mind by Jaak Panksepp, Lucy Biven (2%)