“I told you not to touch it! You never listen, do you?” Amelia’s mother snapped, her eyes rolling in frustration as Amelia dropped a jar full of honey, spilling it all over the floor. As expected, Amelia, being the sensitive girl she was, began to cry while picking up the broken pieces of the jar. Her mother, exasperated by what she perceived as Amelia’s carelessness—or perhaps clumsiness—scolded her harshly, “Why can’t you do anything right? Why is it so hard for you to be just normal?” Feeling dejected, neglected, and deeply hurt, Amelia left the room, banging the door behind her.

Think back for a moment. Haven’t we all experienced moments like this? Whether we’ve been in Amelia’s shoes, questioning our self-worth and existence over a small accident, or we’ve been like her mother, losing our temper and overreacting to a situation that, in hindsight, wasn’t such a big deal. It’s a common human experience, and it often leaves us wondering: Why do these emotional outbursts happen?

To understand this, we need to take a closer look at the inner workings of our brains. It’s time to delve into the machinery that drives our emotions, so we can gain the upper hand the next time an “emotional drama” unfolds. Here’s a deeper look into why these episodes take place and how we can manage them better:

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Into The Brain

Lets break the brain into 3 parts to understand it better.

1. Involuntary Brain (parasympathetic nervous system)- deals with breathing, and heart rate- things we have no control over, our daily basic functioning.
2. The Rational Brain, which we call the Neo-cortex– deliberate, analytic reflection, thinking, and decision-making.
3. The Emotional Brain, which we call the limbic system– responsible for emotions and their storage.

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To understand emotions, we will be focusing on the rational brain and emotional brain.

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A Dive into the Emotional Brain (Limbic System)

Some points to remember

• The emotional brain is far quicker than the Rational brain.
• It is our radar for danger, reads an emotional situation in an instant, and makes the intuitive snap judgments.
• Particularly strong sense of certainty as it uses a simplified way of looking at things (no thoughts/possibilities/ facts or figures).
• mobilize us to respond to urgent events without wasting time.

Kinds of Emotions:

• Fast: “Immediate perception” OR “first impulse”
• Slow: simmers and brews first in our thoughts before it leads to feeling. We often recognize the thoughts that trigger our feelings. Cognition determines the emotions we experience. Once we assess a situation, an appropriate emotional response follows. Complex emotions, like embarrassment or anxiety before an exam, develop through this thoughtful process.

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Emotions arise naturally, but how we react is based on our Rational Brain which is modeled by our culture. For example, Anger is a natural emotion but how we express it, is shaped by how our parents express it or people in our proximity.

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Limbic System – Amygdala (aka Emotional Hijacker)

Recall the case of Amelia’s mother, where she just lost it, snapped. This type of emotional outburst is caused by a neural takeover originating in the amygdala, a key center in the limbic brain responsible for processing emotions.
Not all limbic hijackings are distressing. For instance, when a joke is so funny that it triggers explosive laughter, that’s also a limbic response.

The amygdala evaluates every situation with primitive questions like: “Is this something I hate? Do I fear it? Will it hurt me?” If the answer is “yes,” the amygdala reacts instantly, signaling a crisis to the entire brain.

Amygdala Pathways

There are essentially two pathways in our brain that determine how we react to situations.

1. The Thoughtful Pathway: This pathway involves the cortex, the part of the brain responsible for thinking and reasoning. When we use this pathway, our responses are filtered through thought and logic, leading to more reasonable and sensible reactions.
2. The Emotional Pathway: This shorter, faster pathway bypasses the cortex and goes directly through the limbic system, specifically the amygdala, which is responsible for our emotions. This pathway can produce immediate, instinctive reactions based solely on emotions, often resulting in responses that are impulsive or irrational—what we might later regret. This Pathway is what we call an Amygdala Hijack!

This emergency route from the eye or ear to the thalamus to the amygdala is crucial as it saves time in an emergency.

The amygdala, our emotional center, plays a crucial role in storing emotional memories. It adds an emotional flavor to our experiences, making them more vivid and memorable. When we feel strong emotions like fear or excitement, the amygdala boosts our memory retention, making those moments stick in our minds.

Unlike the hippocampus, which remembers dry facts, the amygdala retains the emotional significance of events. It compares current experiences with past ones and triggers responses based on even slight similarities, often without waiting for full confirmation.

In our early years, when we’re too young to articulate our experiences, strong emotional memories are formed. At this stage, our hippocampus (responsible for narrative memory) and neocortex (the center of rational thought) are not fully developed. In memory formation, the amygdala and hippocampus work together: the hippocampus retrieves information, while the amygdala assigns emotional significance to it. Although the amygdala matures quickly in infancy, the hippocampus and neocortex take longer to develop. This can lead to situations where we react emotionally without fully understanding why.

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Prefrontal lobes (The Off-Switch)

The left prefrontal lobe acts as an “off switch” for distressing emotions, helping regulate negative feelings by inhibiting the right prefrontal lobe, which is linked to fear and aggression. This neural mechanism dampens down surges of negative emotion, providing a circuit to control emotional reactions.

In a fascinating study, when individuals are disconnected from emotional memory stored in the amygdala, the neocortex no longer triggers associated emotional responses. As a result, these individuals perceive events neutrally, without the emotional charge typically attached to them. Essentially, they have “forgotten” the emotional lessons stored in the amygdala because they lack access to them. This highlights the critical role of the amygdala in linking emotional memory to perception and emotional responses.

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Into the Brain Chemistry

Now that we’ve grasped the fundamentals of the brain, it’s essential to understand how messages are transmitted within this intricate organ. These messages travel through specialized brain cells called neurons, which utilize chemicals known as neurotransmitters to relay signals. Unlike physical connections, neurons communicate across small gaps called synapses, where neurotransmitters are released from one neuron’s end and received by another.

Our emotions, sensations, and behaviors are all outcomes of these neurotransmitters and hormones, whose secretion is controlled by the limbic system—a primal brain region often likened to a king issuing commands. While neurotransmitters relay messages within the brain, hormones extend their effects beyond, influencing various bodily functions. The limbic system orchestrates the release of these signals, determining when and where they take effect, and ensuring a coordinated response throughout the body.

Some Important Terminologies to Know:

• Synaptic Cleft
  • Definition: The synaptic cleft is the small gap between two neurons at a synapse.
  • How It Works: When an electrical signal reaches the end of a neuron (the presynaptic neuron), it triggers the release of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. These neurotransmitters then travel across the gap to the next neuron (the postsynaptic neuron).

• Synapse
  • Definition: A synapse is the junction between two neurons, consisting of the presynaptic ending that contains neurotransmitters, the synaptic cleft, and the postsynaptic ending that contains receptor sites.
  • How It Works: At the synapse, an electrical impulse (action potential) triggers the release of neurotransmitters from the presynaptic neuron. These neurotransmitters cross the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the postsynaptic neuron, generating a new electrical signal in the receiving neuron.

• Neurotransmitters
  • Definition: Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit signals across the synaptic cleft from one neuron to another.
  • How They Work: When an action potential reaches the end of a neuron, it causes vesicles containing neurotransmitters to merge with the neuron’s membrane, releasing the neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. The neurotransmitters then bind to receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron, which can initiate or inhibit a new electrical signal, depending on the type of neurotransmitter and receptor.

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Neuronal Communication

Neurons communicate by sending electrical signals called action potentials through their long extensions, known as axons. When the signal reaches the end of an axon, it causes the release of neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers, into the tiny gap between neurons called the synaptic cleft. These neurotransmitters then travel across the cleft and bind to receptors on the next neuron, starting or stopping a new electrical signal. This process of chemical signaling is vital for forming neural circuits, which are networks of neurons that work together to process and transmit information.

For example, when you touch a hot surface, sensory neurons in your skin send an action potential to your spinal cord and brain. Neurotransmitters like glutamate are released into synaptic clefts, passing the signal from neuron to neuron until it reaches the brain. The brain then processes this information and sends a signal back through motor neurons to your hand muscles, telling you to pull away. This quick reaction involves numerous neurons and neurotransmitters working in perfect harmony, demonstrating how essential neurotransmitters are in our body’s response to stimuli.

Neurotransmitters are key to these circuits because they control the type and strength of signals between neurons, affecting everything from our movements to our moods. This intricate communication system is essential for all our bodily functions and mental activities, showing just how important neurotransmitters are in keeping our brain and body connected and working smoothly.

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Disclaimer: Don’t be alarmed or confused when I use the terms hormone and neurotransmitter interchangeably, as there are instances where both act as one.

Here’s a table that outlines the differences and similarities between hormones and neurotransmitters, including examples where they act as both:

Feature	Hormones	Neurotransmitters	Both
Source	Endocrine glands (specialized organs that produce and release hormones directly into the bloodstream) upon a signal of limbic brain.	Neurons	Some chemicals are released by both
Release Mechanism	Into the bloodstream	Into the synaptic cleft (gap between two neurons)	Depends on the location of release
Speed of Action	Slower, longer-lasting	Rapid, short duration	Can vary based on context
Range of Action	Widespread throughout the body	Localized, typically within the nervous system	Can have both local and widespread effects
Types of Effects	Regulate growth, metabolism, reproduction, mood	Transmit signals affecting mood, sensation, movement, cognition	Depends on specific function
Examples	Insulin, cortisol, thyroid hormones	Dopamine, serotonin, GABA, acetylcholine	Epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin
Overlap in Function	Generally act on distant organs and tissues	Act on nearby neurons or muscle cells	Can act as both hormone and neurotransmitter

Examples of Chemicals Acting as Both

Chemical	As Neurotransmitter	As Hormone
Dopamine	Regulates reward, motivation, pleasure, motor control	Inhibits prolactin release from the pituitary gland
Serotonin	Regulates mood, anxiety, sleep, appetite, digestion	Regulates intestinal movements, cardiovascular function
Endorphins	Reduce pain perception, promote euphoria	Modulate pain and stress on a systemic level
Oxytocin	Promotes bonding, trust, social interactions	Stimulates uterine contractions, milk ejection, and affects heart function

These dual roles illustrate the complexity of these chemicals, highlighting how the body’s regulatory systems are interconnected, with certain molecules capable of functioning in multiple contexts to maintain homeostasis and overall well-being.

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With a heightened focus on the significance of these hormones, often referred to as our “happy hormones,” let’s take a pause in our exploration of the brain.

Stay tuned for the next installment, where we’ll delve deeper into these tiny agents responsible for orchestrating our emotions, from happiness to sadness, anger, and beyond. There’s much more to uncover about the intricate workings of our emotional landscape.

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