UNIT VI: NEUROBILOLOGY OF BEHAVIOUR

DRIVES, MOTIVATION, HUNGER, THIRST, SEX, EMOTIONS, LEARNING &

MEMORY

DRIVE
 Our thoughts and behaviours are strongly influenced by affective experiences known as
drive states. These drive states motivate us to fulfil goals that are beneficial to our
survival and reproduction.
 Different drive states have different triggers. Most drive states respond to both internal
and external cues, but the combinations of internal and external cues.
 Drives can be of two types: primary and secondary
 Primary drives are directly related to survival and include the need for food, water, and
oxygen.
 Secondary or acquired drives are those that are culturally determined or learned, such as
the drive to obtain money, intimacy, or social approval.

Drives Theory
 The most extensive theoretical model of drive was developed by Clark Hull in the 1940s.
 Hull argued that drive is general in nature and that various motives such as hunger, thirst,
or sex may add to the overall drive level of an individual.
 According to the theory, when a person’s drive emerges, they will be in an unpleasant
state of tension which causes them to behave in such a way that this tension is reduced.
To reduce the tension they feel, they will seek out ways to satisfy their biological
needs. For example, a hungry person might go to the refrigerator seeking food because
drive stimuli linked with hunger had been associated with responses of obtaining food
from the refrigerator in the past.
 Drive-reduction theory is based on the concept of homeostasis, which is the idea that the
body actively works to maintain a state of balance or equilibrium. According to the
theory, as soon as there is an unmet need within the body, a person starts behaving in a
manner that allows them to address this need, reduce the drive, and achieve a state of
balance.
 He suggested that learning itself depends upon adequate drive. Responses are
strengthened when followed by drive-stimulus reduction. If the drive were not reduced,
then learning would not occur.

MOTIVATION
 Motivation, defined as the energizing of behaviours in pursuit of a goal, is a
fundamental element of our interaction with the world and with each other.
 Therefore motivational drive must be modulated as a function of both internal states as
well as external environmental conditions.
 Hull’s drive theory, posited that behaviours occur to reduce biological needs, thereby
optimizing the organism’s potential for survival. Later, motivation was conceptualized
to consist of both a goal-directed, directional component and an arousal, activation
component.

Regions of the brain

 Hippocampus: “Memory Center”— lays down detailed memories of events and triggers
retrieval of these memories when presented with a relevant cue. This structure also is
involved in regulating the duration of stress responses to environmental stimuli.
 Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC): “Behaviour Tracker”— monitors the
environment as well as one’s own behaviour and others’ (such as social exclusion).
This region sounds the alarm when behaviour needs to be modified, mobilizing
regions in the prefrontal cortex involved in self-regulation and decision-making.

 Prefrontal Cortex: “Air Traffic Control”— manages executive functions, self-

regulation, behavioural control, planning, and complex decision-making.

 Substantia Nigra/Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA): “Dopamine Distributors”—

produce the brain chemical dopamine and deliver it to other regions of the brain that
are involved in motor function and in motivating and rewarding behaviours.

 Raphe Nuclei: “Serotonin Distributors”—produce the neurotransmitter serotonin

and deliver it to a wide network of circuits across the brain, including structures
related to motivation, reward, and threat detection.
 Serotonin Pathways: A key factor in “liking,” serotonin combines with other
neurochemicals to convey euphoria and has the widest distribution in the brain.
Serotonin modulates a wide array of behaviours, including as a major influence on
emotional states, sleep cycles, eating, and other rewarding behaviours.

Development of motivation systems:

 Experiences trigger neurons (brain cells) in certain regions of the brain, including
the Prefrontal Cortex, the Anterior Cingulate Cortex, and the Hippocampus, to send
chemicals such as Dopamine and Serotonin to other neurons in different regions.

 Repeated experiences create different pathways, such as those for Dopamine and
Serotonin, in the brain that link those experiences to thoughts, memories (in the
Hippocampus), and behaviours

 These linked pathways create powerful associations between what we do and the
memories of how that made us feel physically and emotionally (processed by the
Amygdala, the emotion trigger), and that drives our behaviour (managed by the
Prefrontal Cortex and Anterior Cingulate Cortex).
 We are motivated to repeat those experiences that made us feel good, and to avoid
those that made us feel bad (as evaluated by the Nucleus Accumbens, the “reward
anticipator.”)

HUNGER
 Hunger is a classic example of a drive state, one that results in thoughts and behaviours
related to the consumption of food.
 Hunger is generally triggered by low glucose levels in the blood and behaviours resulting
from hunger aim to restore homeostasis regarding those glucose levels.
 Various internal and external cues can also cause hunger such as time of day, estimated
time until the next feeding (hunger increases immediately prior to food consumption), and
the sight, smell, taste, and even touch of food and food-related stimuli.

Physiological Mechanisms
There are a number of physiological mechanisms that serve as the basis for hunger. When our
stomachs are empty, they contract and our blood glucose levels drop, the pancreas and liver
generate a number of chemical signals that induce hunger and thus initiate feeding behaviour.

1. Hypothalamus (located in the lower, central part of the brain) plays a very important role
in eating behaviours. It is responsible for synthesizing and secreting various hormones.

 Lateral hypothalamus (LH)

- is concerned largely with hunger and lesions of the LH can eliminate the desire for
eating entirely—to the point that animals starve themselves to death unless kept alive
by force feeding.
- Artificially stimulating the LH, using electrical currents, can generate eating
behaviours if food is available.
- Activation of the LH can not only increase the desirability of food but can also reduce
the desirability of non-food-related items.

 Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)

- plays an important role in Satiety.
- Satiation refers to the decline of hunger and the eventual termination of eating
behaviours. Whereas the feeling of hunger gets you to start eating, the feeling of satiation
gets you to stop.
- As blood glucose levels increase, the pancreas and liver send signals to shut off hunger
and eating.
- The food’s passage through the gastrointestinal tract also provides important satiety
signals to the brain and fat cells release leptin, a satiety hormone. The function of leptin
is to suppress the release of neuropeptide Y (NPY), which in turn prevents the release of
appetite-enhancing orexins from the lateral hypothalamus.
- Lesions of the VMH can cause an animal to overeat to the point of obesity

2. Other brain areas:

 the sensory cortices (visual, olfactory, and taste) are important in identifying food items.
These areas provide informational value. That is, these areas help tell a person what is
good or safe to eat, but they don’t provide the pleasure (or hedonic) sensations
that actually eating the food produces.
 The orbitofrontal cortex, fire rapidly at the sight or taste of food when the organism is
hungry relative to if it is satiated. The hungrier you are, the greater the reward value of
the food - which affects the organism’s motivation to consume the food.

3. Nutrient Signals:
 Blood levels of glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids provide a constant flow of
information to the brain that may be linked to regulating hunger and energy intake.
 They inhibit hunger by raising blood glucose levels, elevating blood levels of amino
acids, and affecting blood concentrations of fatty acids.

4. Hormones
 Hormones can have a wide range of effects on hunger.
 The hormones insulin and cholecystokinin (CCK) are released from the GI tract during
food absorption and act to suppress feelings of hunger.
 However, during fasting, glucagon and epinephrin levels rise and stimulate hunger.
 The physical sensation of hunger comes from contractions of the stomach muscles and
these contractions are believed to be triggered by high concentrations of the hormone
 Ghrelin. It is released if blood sugar levels get low, a condition that can result from
going long periods without eating.
 Two other hormones, peptide YY and leptin, cause the physical sensations of being
full.

5. Metabolism and Body Weight

 If our caloric intake exceeds our caloric use, our bodies store excess energy in the form
of fat. If we consume fewer calories than we burn off, then stored fat will be converted
to energy.
 People with high rates of metabolism are able to burn off calories more easily than
those with lower rates of metabolism hence influencing hunger.

Disorders
 Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS): is a genetic disorder that results in persistent feelings
of intense hunger and reduced rates of metabolism. Typically, affected children have to
be supervised around the clock to ensure that they do not engage in excessive eating.
Currently, PWS is the leading genetic cause of morbid obesity in children, and it is
associated with a number of cognitive deficits and emotional problems. From birth to 2
years of age, lack of muscle tone and poor sucking behaviour may serve as early signs
of PWS. Developmental delays are seen between the ages of 6 and 12, and excessive
eating and cognitive deficits associated with PWS usually onset a little later.

 Bulimia nervosa - engage in binge eating behaviour that is followed by an attempt to

compensate for the large amount of food consumed. Purging the food by inducing
vomiting or through the use of laxatives are two common compensatory behaviours.
Some affected individuals engage in excessive amounts of exercise to compensate for
their binges. Bulimia is associated with many adverse health consequences that can
include kidney failure, heart failure, and tooth decay. In addition, these individuals often
suffer from anxiety and depression, and they are at an increased risk for substance
abuse.

 Binge eating disorder – DSM V. Unlike with bulimia, eating binges are not followed
by inappropriate behaviour, such as purging, but they are followed by distress, including
 feelings of guilt and embarrassment. The resulting psychological distress distinguishes
binge eating disorder from overeating.

 Anorexia nervosa - is an eating disorder characterized by the maintenance of a body

weight well below average through starvation and/or excessive exercise. Individuals
suffering from anorexia nervosa often have a distorted body image, referenced in
literature as a type of body dysmorphia, meaning that they view themselves as
overweight even though they are not. It is associated with a number of significant
negative health outcomes: bone loss, heart failure, kidney failure, amenorrhea (cessation
of the menstrual period), reduced function of the gonads, and in extreme cases, death.
Furthermore, there is an increased risk for a number of psychological problems, which
include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and substance abuse.

THIRST
Humans can go weeks without food but will not last more than a few days without water. The
human body has several intricate mechanisms to make sure we consume an appropriate
amount of water for maintaining the homeostasis, which is requisite to survival. One of these
is thirst.

What makes us thirsty?

When the body starts to run low on water, the volume of the blood decreases, causing a
change in blood pressure. Theis increases the relative concentration of salt and other minerals
in the body as they stays constant. This concentration of particles in bodily fluids relative to
the total amount of liquid is known as osmolality. It needs to be kept constant for the body to
function properly. To some extent, the body can compensate for water depletion by altering
heart rate and blood pressure and by tweaking kidney function to retain more water however
the indication of thirst is a sign that the body is running low on fluids.

Thirst Drive
The thirst drive and motivation to
seek/consume water are vital aspects
of the homeostatic regulation of total
body water volume and tonicity, in
response to intracellular dehydration,
increased plasma osmolality, decreased plasma volume, decreased blood pressure, and
extracellular hypovolemia.
Perception of thirst
Thirst is a sensation that is best described as the desire to drink. The reason for drinking may
not be directly involved with a physiological need for water intake, but it can be prompted by
habit, ritual, taste, nutrients, craving for alcohol, caffeine, or other drug in a beverage, or a
desire to consume a fluid that will give a warming or cooling sensation. Much of the
perception of thirst is a learned or conditioned process, with signals such as dryness of the
mouth or throat initiating drinking, whereas a feeling of fullness of the stomach can stop
ingestion before a fluid deficit has been restored.

Brain areas involved

There are three regions in the
mouse brain that are known to
process thirst
- the subfornical organ (SFO),
- the organum vasculosum
laminae terminalis (OVLT),
- the median preoptic nucleus
(MnPO).
Together, these regions form a
sheet-like structure in the
forebrain (near the front of the
brain) called the lamina
terminalis (LT).

 Lamina terminalis is a series of interconnected brain structures that act as a central hub
to control fluid levels in the body. Some cells in the lamina terminalis are adjacent to
ventricles. When the body begins to run low on water, the composition of the body’s
fluids (including the fluid in the brain’s ventricles) starts to change. The lamina terminalis
neurons that border the ventricles can sense changes in the ventricular fluids, giving a
snapshot of whether the body has enough water. These neurons also receive messages
 from other parts of the brain to give an even more complete picture of the body’s water
needs.

 Hypothalamus: Early on, they discovered that the body’s primary “thirst center” in the
brain is the hypothalamus. Special sensors in the hypothalamus are constantly monitoring
the blood’s concentration of sodium and other substances. The hypothalamus also
receives inputs from sensors in the blood vessels that monitor blood volume and pressure.

 Vasopressin: When the body gets low on water, the hypothalamus increases the synthesis
of an antidiuretic hormone called vasopressin, which is secreted by the pituitary gland and
travels to the kidneys. There, it causes water to be reabsorbed from the urine, thus
reducing urine flow and conserving water in the body until more fluids are consumed.

SEX

Stages of human sexual response

 Sexual arousal is defined in both subjective (eg, feeling sexually excited) and
physiological terms (eg, genital vasocongestion).
 Physiological sexual arousal in males involves the regulation of penile hemodynamics
that is dependent on signal input from central and peripheral nervous systems, and a
interplay between neurotransmitters, vasoactive agents, and endocrine factors.
 Physiological sexual arousal in women begins with increased clitoral length and
diameter, and vasocongestion of the vagina, vulva, clitoris, uterus, and possibly the
urethra. Engorgement of the genital vascular network increases pressure inside the
vaginal capillaries and results in lubrication of the epithelial surface of the vaginal
wall.
 In males and females, orgasm is characterized by a peak in sexual pleasure that is
accompanied by rhythmic contractions of the genital and reproductive organs,
cardiovascular and respiratory changes, and a release of sexual tension.

Sexual Arousal in Men

 Sexual arousal and pleasure in males, is strongly related to the preoptic area, a region in
the anterior hypothalamus. If the preoptic area is damaged, male sexual behaviours is
severely impaired.
 Testosterone, contribute to a man’s interest in sex: the removal of these hormones is
associated with diminished libido, whereas their reinstatement increases nocturnal
erections, spontaneous sexual thoughts, and sexual desire. Deficiency of testosterone may
be capable of erectile response, suggesting some independence of sexual arousal from
testosterone-mediated interest in sex.
 Gradual decline in androgen production is common with aging, particularly beginning
around the fifth decade of life. The resulting hypogonadism is associated with diminished
sexual interest and, in some instances, decreased erectile function

Sexual Arousal in Women

 The ventromedial hypothalamus (the lower, central part) that plays a similar role for
females as the preoptic area does for males.
 Neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus determine the excretion of estradiol, an
estrogen hormone that regulates sexual receptivity (or the willingness to accept a sexual
partner).
 With aging and menopause, women may experience a number of sex-related problems
such as low sexual desire, vaginal dryness, discomfort that are directly or indirectly
associated with decreased estrogen and androgen production.

Common areas of Arousal

 the septal nucleus, plays an important role in sexual pleasure for both males and
females.
 This region shows considerable activity, in terms of rhythmic spiking, during sexual
orgasm. Placing a small amount of acetylcholine into this region, or stimulating it
electrically, has been reported to produce a feeling of imminent orgasm.

Brain areas involved in human sexual behaviour

 Reward system – triggers sexual motivation, mate choice

 Thalamus – relays erotic stimuli from the spinal cord
 Hypothalamus – coordinates autonomic events in sexual behaviour, mate choice
 Amygdala - Gives emotional significance to incoming erotic stimuli, mate choice
 Septal region - modulates sexual drive
 Prefrontal cortex – blunts the initiation of sexual behaviour
 Cingulate cortex - Processing sexual stimuli in conflictuary contexts
 Insula - Awareness of tumescence of erectile organs

Masters and Johnson’s Research divided the sexual response cycle into four phases that are
fairly similar in men and women: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

 Excitement phase is the arousal phase of the sexual response cycle, and it is marked by
erection of the penis or clitoris and lubrication and expansion of the vaginal canal.
 During plateau, women experience further swelling of the vagina and increased blood
flow to the labia minora, and men experience full erection and often exhibit pre-
ejaculatory fluid. Both men and women experience increases in muscle tone during this
time.
 Orgasm is marked in women by rhythmic contractions of the pelvis and uterus along
with increased muscle tension. In men, pelvic contractions are accompanied by a
buildup of seminal fluid near the urethra that is ultimately forced out by contractions of
genital muscles, (i.e., ejaculation).
 Resolution is the relatively rapid return to an unaroused state accompanied by a
decrease in blood pressure and muscular relaxation. While many women can quickly
repeat the sexual response cycle, men must pass through a longer refractory period as
part of resolution.
 The refractory period is a period of time that follows an orgasm during which an
individual is incapable of experiencing another orgasm. In men, the duration of the
refractory period can vary dramatically from individual to individual with some
refractory periods as short as several minutes and others as long as a day. As men age,
their refractory periods tend to span longer periods of time.

Disorders
Abnormal hypothalamic function are often associated with hypogonadism (reduced function
of the gonads) and reduced sexual function (e.g., Prader-Willi syndrome). See ICD 10
EMOTIONS

 Emotions are complex programs of actions triggered by the presence of certain stimuli,
external to the body or from within the body, when such stimuli activate
certain neural systems. Feelings of emotion, on the other hand, are perceptions of the
emotional action programs.
 “emotions” and “feelings of emotion” are distinct aspects of a functional sequence that
begins when an object or situation triggers a specific behaviour — the emotion — which
is followed rapidly by the perception of the changes related to the behaviour — the
feeling of emotion

Structures related to emotions

Papez circuit of the brain is one of the major pathways of the limbic system and is chiefly
involved on the cortical control of emotions. Structures of the Papez Circuit are as follows:

 Cingulate gyrus: is related to depression, anxiety, and aggression; in humans, mental

retardation is observed in cases of injury to this structure. It assists in determining the
contents of memory, with a significant increase in their activity when people lie.

 Hypothalamus: stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus induces thirst, hunger and

increases the general level of activity, sometimes leading to fury and/or fighting. he
stimulation of the ventromedial nucleus causes a contrary situation, that is, a sensation of
satiety, reduction of food intake and tranquillity. The stimulation of periventricular nuclei
usually causes fear and punishment reactions.

 Thalamus: The functions are mainly related to sensitivity, motor, emotional behavior and
activation of the cerebral cortex. Lesion can lead to spontaneous laughing and crying
 Hippocampus: behavioural expression of emotion

Structures related to the emotions and that are not included, originally, to the circuit of Papez

 Amygdala: related to such as aggressive or sexual meeting, emotional learning and the
storage of affective memories.

 Septum: The septum is related to anger, pleasure and neurovegetative control. It has been
shown in animals that bilateral involvement of the septal area causes “septal anger”,
characterized by emotional hyperactivity, ferocity and anger in situations that do not
usually change animal behaviour.

 Prefrontal cortex: its seems to be related to the capacity to follow ordered sequences of
thoughts and the modalities of control of the emotional behaviour such as happiness and
sadness.

 Cerebellum: earliest cerebellar regions, such as the nodule-lobe, the worm, the fastigial
nucleus and the globose nucleus considered being responsible for sexuality and, possibly,
emotional memory.

The two hemispheres of the brain are related differently to emotional processes. The right
hemisphere may be more adept than the left at discriminating between emotional expressions.
Moreover, it has been argued that the right hemisphere may be more involved in processing
negative emotions and the left hemisphere more involved in processing positive emotions.

Neurotransmitters related to emotions

 Serotonin: increased can lead to aggression, downregulation depressed mood

 Norepinephrine: patients with panic disorder and PTSD have increased level of NE, It is
responsible for fear and anger emotions that trigger “fight or flight” response; fear and
anger are classified as one core emotion—the stressful emotion—like two sides of the
same coin.

 Dopamine: increase can lead to feelings of pleasure and dismisses pain

 Oxytocin: is believed to be related with love and attachment

LEARNING AND MEMORY

 "Learning refers to a more or less permanent change in behaviour which occurs as a result
of practice," is a little better.
 It appears that learning is the strengthening of existing responses or formation of new
responses to existing stimuli that occurs because of practice or repetition.
 Memory, the ability to retain information and recall it at a later time, is a biologically
fundamental function essential for survival.
 It is a complex cognitive process that involves encoding, storage and retrieval of the
information
 On the basis of their duration, memories can be classified into short- and long-term.
 Memories can also be classified according to their behavioural manifestation:
explicit (e.g. declarative) and implicit (e.g. procedural)
 Learning and memory formation go hand in hand. For e.g. Implicit memory is often
further parcelled as associative and non-associative and is learnt via non-associative
forms of learning such as learning: habituation and sensitization.
 Associative forms of learning include classical and operant conditioning. In associative
learning, we “learn” that two stimuli are associated with each other or that a response is
associated with a given event or has a given consequence.

Explicit memory
 explicit memory is first acquired through one or more of the three polymodal association
areas of the cerebral cortex, namely prefrontal, limbic and parieto-occipital temporal.
 The regions that make up the explicit-memory circuit receive input from the neocortex
and from the ascending systems in the brainstem, including the acetylcholine, serotonin,
and noradrenaline activating systems.
 Retrieval relies frontal lobes (working memory) and hippocampus (consolidation of
memories).
 Damage to the parieto-occipital region produces greater deficits in memory storage for
object recognition.
 Cortical injuries in the parietal, posterior temporal, and occipital cortices sometimes
produce specific long-term memory difficulties. Examples include colour amnesia,
prosopagnosia, object anomia (inability to recall the names of objects), and topographic
amnesia (inability to recall the location of an object in the environment).
 Right hippocampal damage produces greater deficits in memory for spatial
representation, left hippocampal damage produces greater deficits in memory for words,
objects or people.
 Damage to right-temporal-lobe causes impairment on face-recognition and spatial-
position.
 Left-temporal-lobe lesions result in functional impairments in recalling word lists,
consonant trigrams, and nonspatial associations. Patients do not display the typical
learning-acquisition curve.

Implicit memory
 Implicit memory of learned skills, conditioned reactions, and short-term events, is
nonconscious and unintentional.
 Implicit memories are stored differently depending upon how they are acquired.
 Brain circuit for implicit memory that includes the entire neocortex and basal ganglia
structures (the caudate nucleus and putamen).
 The basal ganglia receive projections from all regions of the neocortex as well as from
dopamine cells in the substantia nigra and send projections through the globus pallidus
and ventral thalamus to the premotor cortex. The motor cortex shares connections with
the cerebellum, which also contributes to implicit memory

 Fear conditioning and emotional memory involves the amygdala.

 Operant conditioning, procedural memory involves the striatum
 Conditioned response are stored in cerebellum.
 Basal ganglia forms and stores procedural and motor skills memory

Short term memory

 Short-term memory, also called working memory or temporal memory, is a neural

record of recent events and their order. We use the short-term system to hold sensory
events, movements, and cognitive information, such as digits, words, names, or other
items, for a brief period.
 Sensory regions of the neocortex mediate short-term (working, temporal, or recency)
memory for items held in mind for seconds to minutes. The dorsal stream traversing the
parietal and frontal cortex participates in short-term memory for locations, whereas the
ventral stream from the sensory regions forward into the inferior temporal–dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex mediates short-term memory for objects

Neurological disease
 Amnesia – Anterograde, Retrograde
 Alzheimer’s
 Korsakoff’s Syndrome