What? Why? Who? Wait, what are we doing again ?
We started of this week with turning in our 'Community discourse map' and our essay analyzing our discourse community. Now to begin with before last week I had no idea what a discourse community was let alone how to map out one out or analyze one. My initial reaction was panic, anxiety, and hesitation. The hesitation wore off ,but the panic and anxiety grew to a maximum level. Wether I analyzed a discourse community about love correctly I still don't know, but I did try. In writing the essay I did come across two articles that offered insight on love. One of them was "True love" written by Lauren Slater. It focused on the psychological effects of love and how love can be considered a mental illness. It was a very interesting read. I was familiar with some of the effects love has on the brain and how it can be considered a drug because we discussed it in my intro to Psychology class last semester. We watched a TED talk by Helen Fisher in which she talks about how cocaine and love have similar effects on the brain. In this article the author interviewed Helen Fisher and was able to go more in depth with information. Here are some interesting facts that I learned about love and the effects it has on the brain as a result of reading this article -
This information was very interesting to learn about. Not sure what the next couple of weeks have in store for me but I hope to keep finding articles that are engaging and informative. For reference I have posted a link to the article here. Also, below I have added Helen Fisher's TED talk entitled "The brain in love" I watched this video for my Intro to Psychology last semester with professor Davi here at LMC
Side note: In continuing the theme of week one of Incubation I am still clueless as to what a discourse community is. Furthermore, I have no idea how one becomes a member of a discourse community of Love. Stay tuned as I continue my journey to finding out what a discourse community is and ultimately become a member. Or die trying. We shall see which one comes first.
- When we are in love and see our significant other the parts in our brain linked to reward and pleasure are activated. (The Ventral tegmental area and the caudate nucleus. This nucleus is home to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine creates intense energy, exhilaration, focused attention and motivation to win a reward
- Love and OCD both share the same effects on the brain. Serotonin levels with people who are in love and those who suffer from OCD have 40% less levels of serotonin in their system than "normal" people.
- According to one study their may be a biological reason why romantic love fades. The reason may be found in the way our brain responds to a surge and pulse of dopamine that accompanies passion. We can look at cocaine users describe this as tolerance. The brain adapts to the excessive input of the drug.
- Anti-depressants can have a very negative effect on your ability to fall or stay in love with your spouse . Drugs like prozac and zoloft dull the keen effect edge of love and its association with the libido. Translation, relationships suffer from lack of interest in sex.
This information was very interesting to learn about. Not sure what the next couple of weeks have in store for me but I hope to keep finding articles that are engaging and informative. For reference I have posted a link to the article here. Also, below I have added Helen Fisher's TED talk entitled "The brain in love" I watched this video for my Intro to Psychology last semester with professor Davi here at LMC
Side note: In continuing the theme of week one of Incubation I am still clueless as to what a discourse community is. Furthermore, I have no idea how one becomes a member of a discourse community of Love. Stay tuned as I continue my journey to finding out what a discourse community is and ultimately become a member. Or die trying. We shall see which one comes first.