Human interaction/ scientific explanation

[ash.bekah]

I am trying to discover more about human interaction, and whether it can be scientifically related. Right now I have something that I have been working on, but would like to know if it makes sense. My formula is: sensory and mental input ---> chemical reactions ----> neurological responses ----> emotion.

What I am wanting to know is 1) is energy transferred in the process, when we are receiving input?

2) if so, what form is it in?

3) when we have resulting emotion, is it permanant or does it eventually go away after the neurons are fired.. ?

 

Thanks for any input!

Edited December 27, 2010 by ash.bekah

[Mr Skeptic]

All those steps involve inputs, and your formula is not a formula.

[ash.bekah]

Ok.. I used the word formula for lack of a better one. And apart from the fact that all of the steps involve inputs, do you have any additional thoughts on the idea?

I have an idea that with each interaction we have with another individual, we exchange a part of our energy with them. I don't know whether or not that would be feasible, scientifically?

[Mr Skeptic]

Well all of those cause all the other of those on your list. For example, fear increases your sensitivity to pain.

[ash.bekah]

So it is simply one repeating cycle, over and over again?

I know my questions probably seem stupid and the entire idea is more metaphysical than anything... sorry. It's just no one seems to have any idea so help or insight is scarce...

Edited December 27, 2010 by ash.bekah

[dttom]

May I not focus on emotion, I rather consider it a form of neurological result, but other neurological effects like sensation, memory,etc shall have equal ranking. Now you are talking about inputs, of many forms, but ultimately translated into nerve impulses, bringing about various neurological effects. I shall say in scientific sense, energy is used in the transfer process, nerve impulses are energy-demanding. But I am open to other intepretation that 'energy' may refer to other things in metaphysical or philosophical senses. Then, when you consider if emotion, or other neurological effects are permanant, probably you go into the issue that if that neurological effect contribute to memory, may it to be remembered, or be involved in memory, both are possible. And I believe it is also possible to have forms of effect which will be completely recover, so it does not leave trace.

[aimonger]

What you are looking for is relationship that explains how energy relates to emotions and their permanence.

 

I find the question interesting but malformed. Here is why :

 

1) If you look at the mind as a mapping mechanism (neural nets a fundamentally that) the inputs are energetically unrelated to the "representational" mirror they on the receiving end. Much like an amplifier, the internal state only reproduces the signal the energy is not carried through directly, it's both useful and necessary far most type of intefacing.

 

2) There is not actual "mental input" but mental representation. The brain receives the input and as in is assimilated into the neural structure the patterns are interconnected a bit like throwing a fly into a complex pattern of websit gets tangled in till it is fixed. The mind does not get any input per se the input changes the mind.

3) The chemical reactions just happen to be the way we are built same argument should count for a (sufficiently complex) AI software.

4) Neurological responses are basically of four kinds, associative, dissociative and reinforcing or atrophied.

5) There is not just one mind but there are many in one brain each with different capabilities and different representational patterns of functioning.

Emotions are not necessary for a brain, they are an effect of what used to be called the limbic system. We got that from the reptiles, they are not smart compared to mammals but sure as hell have strong emotions. The limbic system covers hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nuclei,septum, limbic cortex and fornix, which seemingly support a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, long term memory, and olfaction. ( thanks wikipedia). We get fear pleasure reward, sexdrive etc.. all through this subset of the mind. Nothing logic happens here.

 

How long emotions last has nothing to do with energy or conservation, like any active system the memories can be augmented amplified, reproduced, destroyed. It's a bit like asking if the energy from the photons that hit the CCD of a camera increase the energy of the computer when you upload. They are so unrelated and perversely out of proportion comapred to the power supply the question is much more that of did the probability distribution of the information in the image on the CCD affect the probability distribution of the computer... That definitely yes.

 

 

I think in effect your "formula" is flawed because it is limited in argumentative consequence, but none the less good food for thought.

Thanks

Edited December 27, 2010 by aimonger