Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: ijaz on 09/12/2015 11:30:27
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Nostalgia, melancholia are they lethal??
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When the brain writes memory to the cerebral matter, aspects of the limbic system, in the core of the brain, will add an emotional tag. This is why our most engrained memories have the strongest attached feelings. The value of this memory writing schema is connected to our animal nature. If the animal see the same thing again, this will trigger the memory, which will trigger the attached feeling, so the animal knows how to react the stimulus. If the dog sees food, that triggers the feeling of good, he reacts to the feeling and eats. He does not have to think but move with the feelings he feels.
Since the number of feelings is limited, compared to the details of reality, more than one data point from reality will have the same attached feeling. For example, all the foods you like and will eat throughout the year; holidays and seasons, will have the same yummy feeling. An omnivore's brains attaches the yummy feeling to the most food items allowing them to see good in more things allowing survival.
The advantage of more memory things than feelings, is the brain will store our memory in layers, based on a given feeling. If the animal is hungry this hunger feeling will trigger a layer of memory connected to the needs of eating. This allows the animal to use the entire brain, but in a specialized way based on the layer. The analogy is picture a piece of paper with blue and red dots. If I wear red sunglasses I will only be able to see the blue dots. I will use only blue dot for my actions.
Melancholia represent feelings. These will trigger a certain layer of the memory written with these feelings. If a person was to consciously reinforce these feelings, they can get stuck in that one layer. The red sunglasses of melancholy will not be able to see the good things; red dots, since this is not seen with red glasses. If this is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, one may not be able to leave that layer, without some medicine that can alter the feeling tone.
Since memory is binary, thoughts can induce feelings and feelings can induce thoughts. If one needs to change the layer, you need to think in terms of a good thought with a good feeling to will help trigger a layer with good feelings. This is where nostalgia come in. There is good nostalgia stored where melancholia cannot go.