These are the brain systems the NIMH has identified. They are
grouped into five categories:
· Acute threat – also known as our fear circuitry.
Active when we sense danger
· Potential threat – active, not in presence of a threat, but when we know the
risk of danger is higher than normal. Associated with a sense of unease or
anxiety
· Sustained threat – negative emotional state caused by
prolonged exposure to unpleasant conditions. Can cause loss of enjoyment in
usually pleasurable activities
· Loss – circuits active during permanent or sustained loss
of a loved one, or emotionally significant objects or situation, such as
shelter or status.
· Frustration non-reward – reactions to lack of reward after sustained
efforts. Can involve aggressive behaviour
Positive systems
· Approach motivation – circuits that control our efforts to obtain a reward, such
as sex or food
· Initial responsiveness to reward – feelings of pleasure on obtaining a reward. Involves opioid and endocannabinoid receptors, those activated by morphine and cannabis
· Sustained responsiveness to reward – mechanisms that terminate
reward-seeking behaviour, such as satiety, the feeling that enough food has
been eaten
· Reward learning – processes by which we acquire information to predict
rewards and learn to repeat the positive experience
· Habit – repetitive behaviours that, once
started, can be done unconsciously. Habits can free up cognitive resources
Cognitive systems
· Attention – a range of processes that regulate
access to awareness and higher cognitive systems
· Perception – the processes that take sensory
data and transform it into representations of the environment
· Working memory –
the system that can hold and manipulate many items of information on a
temporary basis
· Declarative memory – the encoding, storage and
retrieval of representations of facts and events on a long-term basis
· Language behaviour – systems that allow production and comprehension of words, sentences, and coherent communication
· Cognitive control – systems that modulate the operation of other cognitive and emotional circuits. Can involve inhibition of behaviour or selection of best
response from competing alternatives
Social systems
· Attachment – systems for bonding with friends
and family. Involves hormones such as oxytocin and vasopressin
· Social communication – processes involved in exchange of socially relevant information, such as speech and body language
· Perception of self – circuits involved in understanding ownership of one's own body or actions
· Perception of others – processes involved in being aware of and reasoning about other animate entities, such as our "theory of mind" networks, which
allow us to understand that other people can have different beliefs to our own
Modulatory Systems
· Arousal – a spectrum of sensitivity to stimuli, from coma and
unconsciousness, through anesthesia and sleep to full consciousness
· Circadian rhythms – self-sustaining oscillations that organise the timing of
biological systems
· Sleep-wake cycle – recurring behavioural states that reflect coordinated
changes in the brain. Regulated by physiological and circadian processes
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