2 ms·

This is your limbic system calling. The hypothalamus and amygdala together produce judgements based on experience. The dopaminergic signal they send is what w

This is your limbic system calling. The hypothalamus and amygdala together produce judgements based on experience. The dopaminergic signal they send is what we call a gut feeling. They excel at managing/judging large amounts of information, especially in the absence of tools. You might also call them the seat of learning. Dopamine is very sensitive to errors in prediction, which is how learning is mediated. What they are not is the seat of reason. This is also (partly) why we are bad at distinguishing things we desire from positive judgements: they use the same signalling. That is when your neocortex is useful. Being able to override the limbic system is one of the defining characteristics of conscious behaviour. Feeling driven to do so is another dopamine-mediated reward structure: the satisfaction of solving a puzzle. Start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system p.s. my limbic system agrees with yours re.Twitter.

dualogy 10y ago
> You might also call them the seat of learning. Dopamine is very sensitive to errors in prediction, which is how learning is mediated. What they are not is the seat of reason. Dopamine in what way? Since so many things affect its levels, from sexual stimulus to most drugs to simple sugars, are we at risk/chance of helping or hurting the seat of learning through such factors materially in your opinion?
- inopinatus 10y ago
  I mean that an error in prediction will cause a rapid drop in dopamine levels, which motivates a desire to correct one's understanding. There's a limbic structure, the anterior cingulate cortex, that seems likely to be the origin of this. As for those well-known dopamine stimuli like alcohol, sugar &c, I believe the worst case scenario is that you reinforce an incipient dependency on those things, thus contributing to addiction. I'll hold back on having an opinion about whether the reward sensitization itself directly harms learning. When it comes to sugar overuse, I'd worry more about insulin resistance having an effect on glucose uptake throughout the brain rather than specifically harming the limbic structures.

dualogy 10y ago

> You might also call them the seat of learning. Dopamine is very sensitive to errors in prediction, which is how learning is mediated. What they are not is the seat of reason. Dopamine in what way? Since so many things affect its levels, from sexual stimulus to most drugs to simple sugars, are we at risk/chance of helping or hurting the seat of learning through such factors materially in your opinion?

inopinatus 10y ago
I mean that an error in prediction will cause a rapid drop in dopamine levels, which motivates a desire to correct one's understanding. There's a limbic structure, the anterior cingulate cortex, that seems likely to be the origin of this. As for those well-known dopamine stimuli like alcohol, sugar &c, I believe the worst case scenario is that you reinforce an incipient dependency on those things, thus contributing to addiction. I'll hold back on having an opinion about whether the reward sensitization itself directly harms learning. When it comes to sugar overuse, I'd worry more about insulin resistance having an effect on glucose uptake throughout the brain rather than specifically harming the limbic structures.