Emotions and feelings are generally believed to be unique characteristics of living beings. Inanimate objects do not possess them. In fact, they are often regarded as one of the primary signs of life itself. So, what causes them?
A team of neuroscientists at University College London conducted several studies on this subject. To study the changes that occur in our brains when we experience emotions and feelings, they used highly advanced instruments such as functional MRI (f-MRI) scanners.
A team of neuroscientists at University College London conducted several studies on this subject. To study the changes that occur in our brains when we experience emotions and feelings, they used highly advanced instruments such as functional MRI (f-MRI) scanners.
They carried out some simple experiments. A group of female volunteers was shown photographs of children. Some of these photographs were of their own children, while others were of children they knew but to whom they were not biologically related.
Using f-MRI scanners, the researchers observed the women's brains. They identified two things. When these participants looked at pictures of their own children, certain regions of their brains became active while other regions became inactive, or were suppressed.
The activation appeared to represent the mother's feeling of love toward her child, while the deactivation seemed to indicate a sense of indifference toward the child's shortcomings. In other words, they loved their children despite their faults and imperfections.
However, when they were shown pictures of children who were familiar to them but were not their own, the picture was quite different.
The scientists hypothesized that this special maternal behavior might be caused by certain neuro-hormones released in the brain and by the way specific receptors in the brain's reward center respond to them.
They administered chemicals to laboratory animals that blocked the effects of these hormones. When they did so, mother mice completely lost their natural nurturing affection toward their offspring. This clearly indicated that those hormones were responsible for those feelings.
These scientists also studied romantic feelings between lovers in a similar way. They found that these feelings too appeared to operate largely through similar mechanisms.
So, is all of this merely a game played by a few chemicals in the brain and nothing more? Whether it is a mother's love or the romantic affection a lover feels toward a partner, are all such emotions merely the effects of a few chemicals?
As human beings, we attach immense importance to these sweet emotions. We consider them sacred. Therefore, the idea that they are nothing more than the result of chemical reactions occurring in the brain leaves many of us feeling disappointed or dissatisfied.
These scientists have certainly identified a possible cause behind some of the brain's most subtle experiences. But not completely. The reason is that the results obtained by injecting chemicals into the brains of laboratory animals cannot automatically be applied to humans.
Human beings are far more complex than these laboratory animals. Our emotions may not be driven solely by our bodily processes. It appears that we possess the ability to rise above the effects of these chemical reactions.
For example, a Buddhist monk who practices Vipassana meditation for a long period can reach a state in which he remains indifferent to events that would normally trigger emotions in ordinary people. In that case, are those chemicals not being released in his brain? Or, even if they are released, is he able to transcend their effects?
One need not become a Buddhist monk to achieve this. Most of us possess the ability to regulate our emotions according to circumstances. When our boss shouts at us in the office, we may still smile. Yet when our own spouse irritates us, we may not respond so calmly. Therefore, this is not merely a game played by a few chemicals. There is something more behind it.
In general, these processes are not caused solely by a few chemicals. Once these chemicals are released, certain changes occur in the brain. These changes establish relationships between the event, its consequences, and our expected response. Our past experiences and memories give definite shape to these relationships.
Together, these factors determine how we respond to a particular situation. In short, it is often the memory of a previous event that causes us to react. If that memory is pleasant, we respond positively. Otherwise, we respond harshly.
Early Buddhists had recognized this relationship between the mind and its emotions. They believed that these emotions arise primarily from mental states or from the contents of the mind.
They did not possess sophisticated instruments like those available to modern neuroscientists. They relied solely on their keen powers of observation. They referred to these contents of the mind as "Chetasikas," meaning "the contents within the Chitta or mind."
However, these Buddhists believed in an existence that extends beyond the present life. They had unwavering faith in rebirth. They proposed that the contents of a dying person's mind could be transferred to the mind of an unborn embryo. When such a transfer occurred, the being reborn through that embryo could carry traces of previous experiences into the new life.
Therefore, they believed that our likes, dislikes, feelings, and emotions continue across many lifetimes.
If that were true, it would become clear that these emotions cannot be produced solely by chemicals in the brain. After all, the brain that produces those chemicals is destroyed when the body dies, whereas the emotions continue.
Many of us may view these ideas of rebirth with skepticism. However, even modern researchers such as Ian Stevenson believed in such possibilities.
Stevenson conducted extensive research on memories of previous lives. Based on those studies, he concluded that our likes, dislikes, and even many unexplained fears, or phobias, may be rooted in memories from previous lives.
Therefore, the release of certain chemicals in the brain is only a contributing factor. It is merely one process that may occur when emotion-producing events take place. Unlike lower forms of life, in human beings these chemicals are neither absolutely necessary nor sufficient by themselves to generate emotions or feelings.
A highly accomplished yogi can be fully capable of extending the same love toward everyone, whether they are his own children or not. He is not merely a slave to chemicals.
Experiments on laboratory animals may be unavoidable in many situations, but I believe their results cannot always be applied completely to human beings. Human beings function in far more complex ways.
Our emotions are largely influenced by the state of our minds. They manifest against the background of a particular mental condition. Without that background, they do not arise. They can even manifest beyond any chemical secretion. Events and chemicals may act as triggers, but they are not the ultimate determinants.
Using f-MRI scanners, the researchers observed the women's brains. They identified two things. When these participants looked at pictures of their own children, certain regions of their brains became active while other regions became inactive, or were suppressed.
The activation appeared to represent the mother's feeling of love toward her child, while the deactivation seemed to indicate a sense of indifference toward the child's shortcomings. In other words, they loved their children despite their faults and imperfections.
However, when they were shown pictures of children who were familiar to them but were not their own, the picture was quite different.
The scientists hypothesized that this special maternal behavior might be caused by certain neuro-hormones released in the brain and by the way specific receptors in the brain's reward center respond to them.
They administered chemicals to laboratory animals that blocked the effects of these hormones. When they did so, mother mice completely lost their natural nurturing affection toward their offspring. This clearly indicated that those hormones were responsible for those feelings.
These scientists also studied romantic feelings between lovers in a similar way. They found that these feelings too appeared to operate largely through similar mechanisms.
So, is all of this merely a game played by a few chemicals in the brain and nothing more? Whether it is a mother's love or the romantic affection a lover feels toward a partner, are all such emotions merely the effects of a few chemicals?
As human beings, we attach immense importance to these sweet emotions. We consider them sacred. Therefore, the idea that they are nothing more than the result of chemical reactions occurring in the brain leaves many of us feeling disappointed or dissatisfied.
These scientists have certainly identified a possible cause behind some of the brain's most subtle experiences. But not completely. The reason is that the results obtained by injecting chemicals into the brains of laboratory animals cannot automatically be applied to humans.
Human beings are far more complex than these laboratory animals. Our emotions may not be driven solely by our bodily processes. It appears that we possess the ability to rise above the effects of these chemical reactions.
For example, a Buddhist monk who practices Vipassana meditation for a long period can reach a state in which he remains indifferent to events that would normally trigger emotions in ordinary people. In that case, are those chemicals not being released in his brain? Or, even if they are released, is he able to transcend their effects?
One need not become a Buddhist monk to achieve this. Most of us possess the ability to regulate our emotions according to circumstances. When our boss shouts at us in the office, we may still smile. Yet when our own spouse irritates us, we may not respond so calmly. Therefore, this is not merely a game played by a few chemicals. There is something more behind it.
In general, these processes are not caused solely by a few chemicals. Once these chemicals are released, certain changes occur in the brain. These changes establish relationships between the event, its consequences, and our expected response. Our past experiences and memories give definite shape to these relationships.
Together, these factors determine how we respond to a particular situation. In short, it is often the memory of a previous event that causes us to react. If that memory is pleasant, we respond positively. Otherwise, we respond harshly.
Early Buddhists had recognized this relationship between the mind and its emotions. They believed that these emotions arise primarily from mental states or from the contents of the mind.
They did not possess sophisticated instruments like those available to modern neuroscientists. They relied solely on their keen powers of observation. They referred to these contents of the mind as "Chetasikas," meaning "the contents within the Chitta or mind."
However, these Buddhists believed in an existence that extends beyond the present life. They had unwavering faith in rebirth. They proposed that the contents of a dying person's mind could be transferred to the mind of an unborn embryo. When such a transfer occurred, the being reborn through that embryo could carry traces of previous experiences into the new life.
Therefore, they believed that our likes, dislikes, feelings, and emotions continue across many lifetimes.
If that were true, it would become clear that these emotions cannot be produced solely by chemicals in the brain. After all, the brain that produces those chemicals is destroyed when the body dies, whereas the emotions continue.
Many of us may view these ideas of rebirth with skepticism. However, even modern researchers such as Ian Stevenson believed in such possibilities.
Stevenson conducted extensive research on memories of previous lives. Based on those studies, he concluded that our likes, dislikes, and even many unexplained fears, or phobias, may be rooted in memories from previous lives.
Therefore, the release of certain chemicals in the brain is only a contributing factor. It is merely one process that may occur when emotion-producing events take place. Unlike lower forms of life, in human beings these chemicals are neither absolutely necessary nor sufficient by themselves to generate emotions or feelings.
A highly accomplished yogi can be fully capable of extending the same love toward everyone, whether they are his own children or not. He is not merely a slave to chemicals.
Experiments on laboratory animals may be unavoidable in many situations, but I believe their results cannot always be applied completely to human beings. Human beings function in far more complex ways.
Our emotions are largely influenced by the state of our minds. They manifest against the background of a particular mental condition. Without that background, they do not arise. They can even manifest beyond any chemical secretion. Events and chemicals may act as triggers, but they are not the ultimate determinants.
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