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The chemistry of emotions: chemical origin of emotions and compensatory mechanisms

By Cristiano Antonino On Dec 15, 2022

The primary emotions generated in our minds (fear, anger, disgust, contempt, sadness, joy, surprise), arise from a complex chemical mechanism of interaction between external stimuli and senses

This interaction, reprocessed by the brain, gives rise to the development of more articulated derived emotions, the secondary emotions that provide a more subjective, social and cultural valence to our experience (envy, shame, anxiety, jealousy, forgiveness, offense, nostalgia, cheerfulness, remorse, disappointment, hope, etc.).

The fixation of an emotion in memory by valence or persistence over time forms what we call emotional experience

The reworking of the latter allows the emotion to evolve into feeling, and in turn the set of feelings linked to a sufficiently stable experiential context over time forms the complex world of our affectivity.

Although this complex pyramid is inextricably linked to the brain’s ability to reprocess experiences, with its own characteristics differing from person to person, neuroscience has shown that the primary substrate of the whole structure is essentially chemical.

Chemical origin of emotions

The neurovegetative (pallor, flushing, trembling, sweating, tachycardia, alertness, etc.), motor (running, running, agitation, hyperactivity, stiffening etc.) and cognitive (alertness, numbness, ingenuity, concentration, etc.) reactions triggered in the face of emotions originate from two systems of the body:

the central nervous system, the brain then, which receives the sensory stimulus and processes it by releasing specific chemical mediators (neurotransmitters);
the endocrine system, which is stimulated by the specific chemical mediators to secrete specific hormones according to the context, which activate the various organs of the body to provide the behavioral response of the organism elected by natural selection as best suited to respond to the stimulus for the purpose of survival.

Some examples of chemical mediators produced by the central nervous system with inhibitory or excitatory function:

Endorphins: endogenous opioids that generate a feeling of well-being;

Serotonin: neurotransmitter that promotes the activation of neuronal connections at the synaptic level, on which the cerebral performance of the cortex depends (its deficiency is linked to depressive states).

Dopamine: a neurotransmitter with both excitatory (sense of self-gratification) and inhibitory (termination of a cognitive or motor activity) functions depending on the receptor involved. It is implicated in many important functions, including movement, attention, learning, and reinforcing effects in drug use (linked to the establishment of addiction).

Histamine: neurotransmitter released at the neuronal level as the attention threshold changes toward the state of alertness, triggering simultaneous activation of several different brain areas.

Adrenaline: a neurotransmitter and hormone that induces a state of alertness in the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, optimizing the individual’s physical and cognitive performance in the face of an emergency.

Melatonin: neurotransmitter and hormone that regulates the circadian rhythm i.e., sleep-wake alternation.

Examples instead of hormones related to primary emotions are:

Oxytocin: is the attachment hormone; it mitigates aggression in favor of a relational behavior of welcoming and caring for others

Cortisol: is the stress hormone, triggers basal reactions of both alert state, in relation to potential or actual danger, and energy-saving, to maximize bodily endurance i situations of prolonged exertion or food and water shortages.

Testosterone: is the hormone of activity and aggression, making one reactive and alert and enabling situational control behaviors

Neurotransmitters and hormones released in the body at the generation of emotions, involve specific neurovegetative reactions that more or less involve the internal organs.

Developmental function of emotions

The release of neurotransmitters and hormones in the body in reaction to external events occurs in a predetermined manner in the face of a long process of natural selection of species-specific emotions, written into the genetic makeup for their adaptive value for the survival of the species in nature or in the social environment.

Primary emotions are generated at the subcortical level and in particular by the limbic system; they trigger very intense reactions, with rapid onset and rapid exhaustion, as befits nature during an emergency.

Secondary emotions, on the other hand, are slower to form and longer-lasting than primary emotions and involve neurovegetative reactions of less intensity, since they are mediated by processing in the cerebral cortex and particularly the frontal cortex.

The evolutionary function of secondary emotions concerns the survival of the individual in the social environment, which sometimes contrasts with the primary impulses and reactions dictated by the same situation.

In fact, secondary emotions are subjected to the filter of cognitive judgment formed by the baggage of experience in personal history, the culture of the society to which one belongs, education, and thus the general patterns and conceptions of existence that constitute the individual’s worldview.

Compensatory mechanisms of emotions

Another adaptive significance of emotions is to achieve through behavior, the rebalancing of the organism from physical decompensation and of the individual from destabilization of social status, both of which have been compromised by an external event.

Rebalance is restored through the venting of neurovegetative reactions (crying, laughing, screaming, pouring, agitation or hyperactivity, running away, etc.) venting that also represents the extrinsic communicative expression of the individual’s emotional state.

For example:

anger is the aggressive response of the individual and his or her body to gather the maximum physical performance necessary to rebel against a situation, but also to conquer or enforce one’s social position.
fear is the state of alertness that predisposes anticipation of danger, preventing reckless exposure to it and inducing one to equip oneself properly to face it.
sadness is the body’s inhibitory response to the lack of something; it allows the body to block impulses developed by an experience that will not occur again soon, to avoid improper reactions and behaviors.
disgust is the anticipatory reaction of the organism to prevent exposure to an experience that is potentially harmful or that could or has already inflicted physical or emotional pain.
joy is the extrinsic expression of a state of euphoria in order to rebalance the accelerated cardiovascular rhythm derived from it.

With respect to the complex world of emotions, it is important for the individual to find strategies to restore balance to the physical neurovegetative imbalance caused by the reaction to the external stimulus.

If, in fact, primary emotions are short-lived and thus are less invasive to the physique as they subject the organs to intense strain for very limited and circumscribed periods of time, secondary emotions, on the other hand, have a much more prolonged life span and thus can in the long run negatively affect the body.

To this end, it is very helpful to engage in physical activities that involve relaxing or venting the body, as well as to engage in foods and behaviors that do not further strain the organs that are already being strained by the emotional state.