We give little thought to how positive and negative emotions arise in us. For us, these are such unconditional reactions that we do not question their origins. But now scientists have been able to trace how the brain processes positive and negative signals, and why it thinks something is good and something is bad.
The new study has shown in unprecedented detail those areas of the brain that assign good and bad feelings to objects and different experiences. This study sheds light on processes in the brain that neuroscientists do not fully understand, and may provide clues to treating mental illnesses.
In 2016, researchers found that neurons exist in the amygdala - the center of emotions in the brain - that assign positive and negative emotions. These reactions are an integral part of human survival: it is vital for a person to remember which foods or experiences are good and which are bad. New research deepens this theory by focusing on one area of the amygdala - the basolateral.
Scientists have trained mice to associate tasty sucrose drops with a specific tone, and quinine drops with a different tone. They then recorded the reactions in the brain that occurred when the signals were reproduced and identified the neurons that play a key in the distribution of emotion. Then they edited these neurons to respond to light impulses. This made it possible to record the electronic activity of both the neurons themselves and the area around them.
Having carefully studied these relationships and systemic structures, the researchers found that within the basolateral amygdala there are various "zones" in which a qualitative reaction is determined through connections with other areas and interaction with the amygdala itself.
What does it mean? In fact, scientists have found zones where positive and negative emotions are formed associated with certain events and objects in the life of a mammal. What to do about it is not yet clear, but it is already clear that this discovery can shed light on certain issues of mental health and addiction. So, for example, you can potentially destroy the strong positive reinforcement that causes a particular addiction. Also, anxiety can be the result of an imbalance or incorrect assignment of positive or negative emotions to various stimuli.
Moreover, potentially such a discovery opens the way to the artificial manipulation of feelings and desires through the control of these neurons and networks. Of course, scientists did not say anything like this, but the possibility of such research cannot be completely dismissed.
Nikolay Kudryavtsev
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