How Our Brains Feel Emotion | Antonio Damasio | Big Think

Summary

Antonio Damasio explains the difference between emotions and feelings, stating that emotions are complex actions, including physical changes, designed to enhance survival. These actions, set in our genome, are universal but vary slightly by individual experience. Feelings, however, occur when the brain perceives and represents these emotional changes happening in the body. Damasio highlights the role of the brain stem and the insular cortex in this process, noting that while the insular is not the most crucial structure, it is significant in generating feelings, confirmed by research over the past 20 years.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Emotions are complex programs of actions that include both physical movements and internal changes.
• 🌟 Emotions serve the purpose of enhancing survival by addressing dangers or opportunities.
• 🧬 Emotions are genetically programmed but can be modified by individual experiences.
• 🤔 Feelings are distinct from emotions; they are the brain's perception of the body's response to an emotion.
• 🐶 Emotions are similar across individuals and even species, indicating a shared biological basis.
• 🔍 The insular cortex is a key brain structure involved in the perception of feelings, as suggested by Antonio Damasio.
• 🧬 The insular cortex was initially hypothesized to be important for feelings and subsequent studies confirmed this.
• 🧐 Feelings are perceived through a network of brain structures, not just the insular cortex.
• 🔎 Damasio's research has contributed significantly to our understanding of emotions and feelings.
• 🧠 The process of feeling an emotion involves representing the bodily changes in brain structures different from those initiating the emotion.

Q & A

What is the difference between an emotion and a feeling according to Antonio Damasio?

An emotion is a complex program of actions, including physical movements and internal responses like changes in heart rate or hormone releases, designed to handle threats or opportunities for survival. A feeling, on the other hand, is the perception of these bodily changes as they occur during an emotional response.

How do emotions contribute to survivability?

Emotions are designed to make life more survivable by addressing dangers or opportunities, and they are set in our genome with a programmed nature that can be modified by individual experiences.

Are emotions the same across different individuals and species?

The essence of emotions like joy is extremely similar across individuals and even species, although the physical expressions may vary slightly.

What role do the insular cortex and other brain structures play in feelings?

The insular cortex is active during emotional feelings, but it is not the only structure involved. It works in conjunction with other brain structures, including those in the brain stem, to perceive the bodily changes associated with emotions.

How does the brain represent the bodily changes during an emotion?

The brain represents these changes through a process that involves different structures from those that initiate the emotional response, allowing for the perception of what is happening in the body during an emotional state.

Why does Antonio Damasio emphasize the importance of the insular cortex in the context of feelings?

Damasio emphasizes the insular cortex because it was not well-known for its role in feelings, and his hypothesis that it would be an important platform for feelings has been confirmed by subsequent experiments and studies.

What is the significance of the body's internal movements in the context of emotions?

Internal movements, such as changes in heart rate or hormone releases, are part of the complex program of actions that constitute an emotion, contributing to the organism's response to environmental stimuli.

How do emotions and feelings relate to our survival and adaptation?

Emotions and feelings are related to survival and adaptation as they are mechanisms that help us respond to environmental threats and opportunities, with feelings providing the subjective experience of these responses.

Can you explain the role of the endocrine system in emotions as described by Antonio Damasio?

The endocrine system plays a role in emotions by releasing molecules into the bloodstream, which are part of the body's orchestrated response to stimuli, contributing to the overall emotional experience.

What does it mean for an emotion to be 'programmed' in our genome?

An emotion being 'programmed' in our genome means that there are innate, genetically determined patterns for emotional responses that are common to all individuals, although they can be influenced by personal experiences.

How do variations in emotional expression occur among individuals?

Variations in emotional expression occur due to individual differences in how the programmed emotional responses are modified by personal experiences, leading to unique physical manifestations of similar emotional states.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Emotional and Feeling Processes in the Brain

Antonio Damasio explains the distinction between having an emotion and feeling it. Emotions are complex programs of actions, including physical movements and internal responses like changes in the heart or gut, and the release of molecules in the endocrine system. These actions are designed to enhance survival by addressing dangers or opportunities and are encoded in our genome with individual variations influenced by experience. Emotions are universal and consistent across individuals and species, despite slight differences in expression. Feelings, on the other hand, are the brain's perception of the bodily changes occurring during an emotional state. They require a representation in the brain, particularly in the insular cortex and other structures, to perceive what is happening in the organs during an emotion. The insular cortex, though not the sole structure involved, plays a significant role in generating feelings, a hypothesis confirmed by experiments and subsequent studies.

Keywords

💡Emotion

Emotion, as described in the script, refers to a complex program of actions that are set in our genome and are designed to enhance survival by responding to dangers or opportunities. It involves both physical movements, such as changes in facial expressions, and internal responses like changes in heart rate or gut feelings. The script emphasizes that emotions are shared across individuals and species, albeit with slight variations due to individual experiences, and are a fundamental aspect of the video's exploration of how we experience feelings.

💡Feeling

Feeling, in the context of the video, is the perception of the emotional process occurring within the body. It is distinct from the emotion itself and involves the representation in the brain of what is happening in the organs during an emotional response. The script explains that to feel an emotion, the brain structures, including the insular cortex, must process the internal bodily changes, thus creating a subjective experience of the emotion.

💡Insular Cortex

The insular cortex is highlighted in the script as a significant brain structure involved in the feeling of emotions. It is part of the cerebral cortex and plays a crucial role in representing the bodily changes that occur during an emotional response. The script mentions that while the insular cortex is active during emotional feelings, it is not the sole structure responsible, and it is part of a network of brain regions that contribute to our emotional experiences.

💡Genome

The genome is the complete set of genetic information in an organism, and the script suggests that emotions are programmed in our genome, indicating that they have a biological basis and are part of our evolutionary heritage. This genetic programming is what allows for the universality of certain emotions across individuals and even species, as mentioned in the script.

💡Survivability

Survivability, as used in the script, relates to the adaptive function of emotions. Emotions are described as having evolved to help organisms deal with threats and opportunities, thereby increasing their chances of survival. This concept is central to understanding why emotions are orchestrated in the body and how they serve a purpose beyond mere subjective experience.

💡Orchestrated Set

An 'orchestrated set' in the script refers to the coordinated and complex series of physiological changes that occur in the body during an emotional response. This term captures the idea that emotions are not isolated events but are part of a well-regulated system involving multiple bodily systems working in concert to produce a coherent response.

💡Endocrine System

The endocrine system is mentioned in the script as part of the internal movements that occur during an emotional response, particularly in relation to the release of molecules into the bloodstream. This system plays a key role in the body's hormonal responses, which are integral to the emotional process described.

💡Brain Stem

The brain stem is referenced as one of the structures involved in the feeling of emotions. It is an older part of the brain that is responsible for many basic life-sustaining functions and, according to the script, also contributes to the perception of emotional states by representing changes in the body.

💡Cerebral Cortex

The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain and is involved in higher cognitive functions. In the script, it is noted that parts of the cerebral cortex, such as the insular cortex, are involved in the feeling of emotions by representing the internal state of the body during emotional experiences.

💡Hypothesis

A hypothesis, as mentioned in the script, is a proposed explanation or assumption made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. The script discusses how the initial hypothesis about the insular cortex's role in feelings has been supported by subsequent research, illustrating the scientific process of forming and testing hypotheses.

💡Variations

Variations in the script refer to the individual differences in how emotions are expressed and experienced. Despite the shared genetic basis of emotions, personal experiences and other factors lead to variations in how each person feels and expresses emotions, which is an important aspect of the discussion on the universality and individuality of emotional experiences.

Highlights

Feeling of an emotion is distinct from having the emotion itself.

Emotion is a complex program of actions, including movements and molecular releases.

Emotions are designed to enhance survivability by addressing dangers or opportunities.

Emotion patterns are genetically programmed but can be modified by individual experiences.

Emotions like joy are similar across individuals, with slight physical expression variations.

Emotion expression can be consistent even across different species, indicating a shared program.

Feeling is a portrayal of the internal state during an emotional experience.

To feel an emotion, the brain represents the bodily changes in different neural structures.

The insular cortex is a key structure involved in the perception of emotions.

The insular cortex was hypothesized and later confirmed to play a role in feelings.

Research over the past 20 years has increasingly implicated the insular cortex in emotional feelings.

The insular cortex is active during emotional feelings, but it is not the sole structure involved.

Other brain structures also contribute significantly to the experience of feelings.

The brain stem and cerebral cortex work together to create the perception of emotional feelings.

Feelings are the result of perceiving the body's response to emotional stimuli.

Emotion and feeling are two separate but interconnected processes in the brain.

Transcripts

Question: What is happening in  our brain when we feel an emotion?

Antonio Damasio: Feeling of an emotion  is a process that is distinct from having  

the emotion in the first place. So it helps to  understand what is an emotion, what is a feeling,  

we need to understand what is an emotion.  And the emotion is the execution of a very  

complex program of actions. Some actions that are  actually movements, like movement that you can do,  

change your face for example, in fear, or  movements that are internal, that happen  

in your heart or in your gut, and movements that  are actually not muscular movements, but rather,  

releases of molecules. Say, for example, in  the endocrine system into the blood stream,  

but it’s movement and action  in the broad sense of the term.

And an emotion consists of a very well  orchestrated set of alterations in the body  

that has, as a general purpose, making life  more survivable by taking care of a danger,  

of taking care of an opportunity, either/or, or  something in between. And it’s something that  

is set in our genome and that we all have with  a certain programmed nature that is modified  

by our experience so individually we have  variations on the pattern. But in essence,  

your emotion of joy and mine are going to  be extremely similar. We may express them  

physically slightly differently, and it’s of  course graded depending on the circumstance,  

but the essence of the process is going to be  the same, unless one of us is not quite well  

put together and is missing something,  otherwise it’s going to be the same.

And it’s going to be the same across  even other species. You know, there’s a,  

you know, we may smile and the dog  may wag the tail, but in essence,  

we have a set program and those programs are  similar across individuals in the species.

Then the feeling is actually a portrayal  of what is going on in the organs when you  

are having an emotion. So it’s really the next  thing that happens. If you have just an emotion,  

you would not necessarily feel it. To feel  an emotion, you need to represent in the  

brain in structures that are actually different  from the structures that lead to the emotion,  

what is going on in the organs when you’re having  the emotion. So, you can define it very simply as  

the process of perceiving what is going on in the  organs when you are in the throws of an emotion,  

and that is achieved by a collection of  structures, some of which are in the brain stem,  

and some of which are in the cerebral  cortex, namely the insular cortex,  

which I like to mention not because I think it’s  the most important, it’s not. I actually don’t  

think it’s the number one structure controlling  our feelings, but I like to mention because it’s  

something that people didn’t really know about and  many years ago, which probably now are going close  

to 20 years ago, I thought that the insular  would be an important platform for feelings,  

that’s where I started. And it was a hypothesis  and it turns out that the hypothesis is perfectly  

correct. And 10 years ago, we had the first  experiments that showed that it was indeed so,  

and since then, countless studies have shown  that when you’re having feelings of an emotion  

or feelings of a variety of other things, the  insular is active, but it doesn’t mean that  

it’s the only thing that is active and there are  other structures that are very important as well.