What Can Animals' Survival Instincts Tell Us About Understanding Human Emotion?

ScienceDaily (Feb. 22, 2012) — Can animals' survival instincts shed additional light on what we know about human emotion? New York University neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux poses this question in outlining a pioneering theory, drawn from two decades of research, that could lead to a more comprehensive understanding of emotions in both humans and animals.

In his essay, which appears in the journal Neuron, LeDoux proposes shifting scientific focus "from questions about whether emotions that humans consciously feel are also present in other animals and towards questions about the extent to which circuits and corresponding functions that are present in other animals are also present in humans."

The neurological common ground between humans and animals includes brain functions used for survival. It is here, LeDoux contends, that researchers may gain new insights into both humans' and animals' emotions.

"Survival circuit functions are not causally related to emotional feelings, but obviously contribute to these, at least indirectly," he writes. "The survival circuit concept integrates ideas about emotion, motivation, reinforcement, and arousal in the effort to understand how organisms survive and thrive by detecting and responding to challenges and opportunities in daily life. Included are circuits responsible for defense, energy and nutrition management, fluid balance, thermoregulation, and procreation, among others."

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222132116.htm