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Homeostatic feeling (or homeostatic affect, or homeostatic emotion, or primordial emotion) is a class of feelings (e.g., thirst, pain, fatigue) evoked by an internal body state. Some homeostatic feelings drive specific behavior (drinking, withdrawing and resting in these examples) aimed at maintaining the body in its ideal state.
Derek Denton
Derek Ashworth Denton (27 May 1924 – 18 November 2022) was an Australian scientist who elucidated the regulation of electrolytes in extracellular fluid, the hormones controlling this regulation, particularly aldosterone, and the instinctive ...
uses the term "primordial emotion" and defines it as "the subjective element of the instincts, which are the genetically programmed behaviour patterns which contrive
homeostasis
In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis) Help:IPA/English, (/hɒmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/) is the state of steady internal, physics, physical, and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. Thi ...
. They include thirst, hunger for air, hunger for food, pain, hunger for specific minerals etc. There are two constituents of a primordial emotionthe specific sensation which when severe may be imperious, and the compelling intention for gratification by a consummatory act."
Denton includes sexual desire in this class and distinguishes two classes of feelings:
#these ''primordial'' emotions ("imperious states of arousal and compelling intentions to act" driven by activation of
interoceptors and involving ancient, lower brain regions such as the
medulla
Medulla or Medullary may refer to:
Science
* Medulla oblongata, a part of the brain stem
* Renal medulla, a part of the kidney
* Adrenal medulla, a part of the adrenal gland
* Medulla of ovary, a stroma in the center of the ovary
* Medulla of t ...
,
midbrain
The midbrain or mesencephalon is the forward-most portion of the brainstem and is associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep and wakefulness, arousal (alertness), and temperature regulation. The name comes from the Greek ''mesos'', " ...
and
hypothalamus
The hypothalamus () is a part of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. The hypothalamu ...
), and
#the ''classic'' emotions such as anger, fear and love, driven by distance receptors (vision, hearing, olfaction) and mediated by higher, more recently evolved brain regions.
Jaak Panksepp
Jaak Panksepp (June 5, 1943 – April 18, 2017) was an Estonian-American neuroscientist and psychobiologist who coined the term " affective neuroscience", the name for the field that studies the neural mechanisms of emotion. He was the Baily End ...
called this class of feelings "homeostatic affect." He recognised it as one of three primary classes of
affect: sensory affect (e.g., touch, warmth), homeostatic affect (e.g., thirst, fatigue) and emotional affect (e.g., anger, fear).
In his earlier work
Antonio Damasio
Antonio Damasio ( pt, António Damásio) is a Portuguese-American neuroscientist. He is currently the David Dornsife Chair in Neuroscience, as well as Professor of Psychology, Philosophy, and Neurology, at the University of Southern California, ...
used "primordial feeling" but he now prefers the term "homeostatic feeling" for this class. "The only other category of feelings I recognize is 'emotional'. Emotional feelings are experiences of emotional states. Homeostatic feelings are feelings such as hunger, thirst, pain, desire, wellbeing, as well as the continuous feelings of life itself."
Bud Craig uses "homeostatic emotion" for this class of feelings and has found that humans and anthropoid primates form an image of all of the body's unique homeostatic sensations in the brain's primary interoceptive cortex (located in the dorsal posterior
insula). This image is re-represented in the mid- and anterior insula, and the anterior insula's image (modulated by input from cognitive, affective and reward-related circuits) embodies conscious awareness of the whole body's homeostatic state. A sensation re-represented in the anterior insula and that sensation's related motivation hosted in the
anterior cingulate cortex
In the human brain, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is the frontal part of the cingulate cortex that resembles a "collar" surrounding the frontal part of the corpus callosum. It consists of Brodmann areas 24, 32, and 33.
It is involved ...
form a homeostatic emotion.
The endogenous
cannabinoid system (ECS) play an important role in the regulation of emotional homeostasis, and the primarily responsible for maintaining homeostasis itself.
References
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Emotion
Limbic system
Mental processes