The low arousal theory is a

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

explaining that people with

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

(ADHD) and

antisocial personality disorder Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD or infrequently APD) is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard of, or violation of, the rights of others as well as a difficulty sustaining long-term relationships. Lack ...

seek self-stimulation by excessive activity in order to transcend their state of abnormally low

arousal Arousal is the physiological and psychological state of being awoken or of sense organs stimulated to a point of perception. It involves activation of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) in the brain, which mediates wakefulness, th ...

. This low arousal results in the inability or difficulty to sustain attention on any task of waning stimulation or novelty, as well as explaining compulsive

hyperactive Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...

behavior. A person with low arousal reacts less to stimuli than one without. This individual, according to Hare (1970) is "in a chronic state of 'stimulus-hunger'". To further explain, Mawson and Mawson (1977) claim that the individual needs more " sensory inputs" to feel normal.

Causes

Researchers are unsure what causes low emotional arousal. Researchers have proposed three theories that could account for the low emotional arousal. The first theory stresses that emotional arousal is highly genetic. Secondly, some with low emotional arousal show underarousal of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis is responsible for the body's stress response. Because there is thought to be underarousal of the HPA axis, studies have shown that this causes reduced secretion of epinephrine and cortisol. These two hormones are responsible for the physiological response to a threat. Third, low emotion arousal often elicits hypoactivity of the

amygdala The amygdala (; plural: amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex verteb ...

. The amygdala in the brain is part of the limbic system, and is responsible for processing and regulating emotions. This could possibly explain as to why those with low arousal often lack empathy as well as emotional reactivity to other people.

Antisocial personality disorder

Antisocial personality disorder Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD or infrequently APD) is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard of, or violation of, the rights of others as well as a difficulty sustaining long-term relationships. Lack ...

(ASPD) is characterized by repeated deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, and aggressiveness since 15 years old. Persons diagnosed with this disorder often score low on fear conditioning. The lack of the empathy associated with ASPD is thought to be linked to the low arousal theory. A study conducted showed that people diagnosed with ASPD showed less physiological arousal to pictures of people crying than people who were not. ADHD is often a precursor for ASPD. ADHD often co-occurs with conduct disorders 30–50% of the time; this can lead to the development of aggressive behavior which projects a higher likelihood of a person developing ASPD.

Noise and performance

ADHD is related to an incorrectly functioning

dopamine system A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, any main body part or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neur ...

. In a study, the best performance was exhibited when stimuli caused a certain amount of psychological arousal. When using sound to help brain function, also known as

stochastic resonance Stochastic resonance (SR) is a phenomenon in which a signal that is normally too weak to be detected by a sensor, can be boosted by adding white noise to the signal, which contains a wide spectrum of frequencies. The frequencies in the white no ...

, it was found that significantly more noise is required to improve the performance of those with ADHD, since they have less

dopamine Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic compound, organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine const ...

(hypodopaminergia).

References

{{adhd Neuropsychology Neuropsychological assessment Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Psychological theories

Causes

Antisocial personality disorder

Noise and performance

See also

References