Why are you all infuriates

If there is one idea in neuroscience, the validity of which I would like to assure all the people on earth, then this idea, I believe the following: consciousness - the brain is a passenger who imagines himself a machinist

. Why is it important? Because if you do not understand, then behave like a moron with a high probability. Just imagine that you are talking on the phone with a friend, go to the elevator, the connection is interrupted, it is impossible to say. And then you instead wait a minute, start to get angry, swear and threaten other violence at the meeting because he over you so mocks. Stupidly? Stupidly. Friend's not my fault that you have to lift the phone does not catch. That's about the same as it is reasonable to 99% of any manifestations of irritation.




Minibus landed in a puddle and generally come in large numbers here Schumacher? Work for the third year is meaningless and ugly? The TV is still the same mordovorot? Bun stale, bitter coffee, vodka liquid, fat wife, rubbish weather, around the fascists? Each of these items you probably ever prepared to defend in court: result of immigration statistics weigh wife, measure hardness of bread and to prove that all your irritation completely objectively and reasonably

. And here is the time to go and open the textbook of neuroscience. We do not train drivers and passengers. We - the passengers of emotions, decisions, moral choices - all virtually all of their actions, including the selection of the objects to which we pay attention to and that we care about that and we are pleased that enrage

. We all think that we are the most intelligent, we know what we are doing, act rationally and reasonably, if we do not like something, then there is good reason for this, and if someone swear - something for the cause. Sometimes it is really so: the train controls the driver - but the passenger can and pull the emergency brake

. However, in most cases, a good reason for their irritation, we have come up after annoying that some compromises validity of these bases. We so want to be with drivers that train at every turn we find a completely logical explanation as to why the train turned that way.

Wait a minute, the engine, not besite wheels

Ever since the birth of psychology as a science, scientists invented the passenger and the operator to different names: "consciousness" and "subconscious", "ego" and "id", "control" and "Automatic", "analyst" and "intuition", "Reflection" and "impulsiveness". British psychologist Jonathan Evans only in literature published over the past 15 years, discovered a dozen different names of these two entities of our "I", and from a hopelessness offered all spit and call them simply "System 1" and "System 2". System 1 - subconscious system 2 - consciousness

. Immediately, I note that no one knows today what exactly are these two systems from the physical point of view, as they are connected and which one is responsible for what. But if we leave aside the bulky build of Freud and look at the situation from the standpoint of modern neuroscience, it is clear that the system 2 - is very tasty and nutritious cherry on a giant cake and evolutionarily ancient system 1.



Judge for yourself. Consciousness - System 2 - at each time operates only that fits into the working memory, - a common and generally obvious position. How many fit into the working memory? It depends on what to remember, but for the simple things such as numbers or words - usually 5 to 7 pieces. 1 The system operates to determine the rest.

This, of course, does not mean that the system 2 does not solve anything if very quickly to dig into their own thoughts, and 5 pieces at a time can be enough. But this enumeration takes a long time: the conscious, rational analysis of the brain's standards takes an eternity. And here we come to the second argument in favor of the primacy of the system 1 - the same as if for a moment to think, obvious: the system 1 operates elementary faster than System 2.

Imagine that a psychologist shows you a picture with the seals or dismemberment and asked to describe your feelings. How much time you'll think before you light upon the right words? At least a couple of seconds. But emotions react almost instantly: the difference in the perception of the brain cheerful and terrible images can detect within 120 milliseconds

. Emotions are not caused by deliberation - on the contrary, explains the thinking arising emotions. And it spends ten times longer. Studies clearly show that the "emotional brain" - the same system 1 - take decisions faster than "rational" - aka the system 2. The person feels at first, and then think

. "Apparently, the emotional component is present in every perception. We never see a "house". We see the "beautiful home", "ugly house" or "artsy home". We do not just read the article about the changing opinions, or of cognitive dissonance, or herbicides. We read "interesting" article on the changing attitudes, "important" article about cognitive dissonance or "trivial" article on herbicides. The same applies to the sunset, a lightning bolt, the flower, the hollow cheek, burrs, cockroach, taste of quinine, Saumur, the color of the soil in Umbria, the noise of cars on 42nd Street and to the same extent - the sound of the tone for 1000 Hz and external sight letters Q. »

Robert Zajonc,
"Feeling and thinking: Preferences need no inferences", 1980

The only objective that is in your irritation, the perpetrators of which were marshrutchiki wife, fascists or stale bun - is very irritated. Neurochemical reactions in the brain. The ebb and flow of neurotransmitters, the electric field turbulence in the frontal lobes and amygdala. Muffin, maybe stale, but the pudding is excellent. Marshrutchiki can not drive, but funny jokes told. Politics will not even remember: I think it is clear to any reasonable person that the political discourse - is simply the conditional set of replicas, which a group of people agrees with each other

. The question is not why you are all annoying - the question is, why you of all besites and what to do - you and not marshrutchiki

. Hack emotions

In the formation of mood - and along with it, and in the process of perception of the surrounding reality - involves several independent but closely woven brain systems. Lermontov's poetry and teachings of Don Juan in the end simply ways of describing these systems. From a practical point of view there is little difference whether the contents of the brain called "neurons", "chakras" or "rays of force" - but it seems that the neurons somehow easier

. The first, on what you besites - this decreased activity reward system. In nature, this system is needed in order to program behavior. A good mood is rewarded extracted food, skills, and the subjugation of the female t. D. Remuneration system is designed so that we were happy to correct things. But this is a very clever system. "Amount" awards - in terms of the degree of activity of the nerve cells that produce dopamine - are not given once and for all, but relative. The achievement is considered to be not only something useful and what better than usual.



Task reward system - so you never relaxed. To do this, it calibrates the reward response to addictive. If the good suddenly became so much that the effort for the extraction is not necessary to apply, the remuneration system will cease to react to it and chase you looking for something even more good.

The fact is that in the nature of good is very small, so do not just get used to it. Problems normally arise because we live in a totally alien to their nature conditions: unlimited calories, plenty of entertainment and a warm bed. Therefore, monkey for joy enough bananas, and we need a plasma tv, techno parties, and every minute dopamine injections feysbuchnyh comments.

If your time runs monotone and boring, and after work every night you go with your friends in a noisy bar, then your reward system is accustomed to the noisy bar. And every morning starts whining, "What are you, stupid? Why did you sit down at the computer, when the bar is so much fun? "Objectively, at this moment you become silent dopamine neurons in the head. Subjectively, you are angry, do not find a place, can not concentrate and are looking for someone to break.

alcohol and drugs The danger is not so much that they are harmful in themselves, but in the fact that they distort the usual level of remuneration. With them so well, everything else starts to enrage. If you instead of a bar after work to read books and go to sleep, avoiding sharp drop compensation. As a result, the work in the morning does not seem so nasty and stuff: funny sitcom on TV, good weather, a cup of coffee - please start

. This does not mean that you can not drink, and be merry. Periodic bursts of dopamine activity are necessary to all. But it is worth bouts become a habit - they are no longer bursts and becomes the background for the rest of the assessment

. The good news is that the recalibration of the remuneration system rarely takes more than a couple of weeks. If you are all annoying, except for parties, try a month on them not to go: some time will be worse, but then you suddenly find that wake up in a good mood

. Treat yourself as to the character of the game Sims, and dopamine - as a scarce resource: distribute it wisely and try to extract from right things

. If you are not getting work, take a break and play a computer game. Conversely, if you have something good, admire their achievement of longer, show someone who you praise, put in a social network. Brain dopamine surge proassotsiiruet to work performed, remember: the work - it's good

. If you have a hard week, buy tickets for Saturday's concert and raise your dopamine background with anticipation.

Mind against feelings

Much worse is clear the work of other brain systems associated with another "mood molecule" - serotonin. This is partly explained by the fact that if dopamine in the brain performs more or less the same type of function, the serotonin in different parts of the brain and even in different cell types making different things. The fact that it elevates mood, we can conclude on the basis of the fact that lack of tryptophan (a serotonin precursor) causes depression. A majority of antidepressants, on the contrary, it blocks the reabsorption (worse than absorbed - the longer runs)

. It is believed that serotonin, as well as dopamine, programs our behavior, but not through reward and punishment through. A person with low serotonin levels better predict which of his actions will lead to something bad. Accordingly, increased serotonin impairs the prediction wrong. In everyday life such deterioration prediction wrong is called optimism.

The mood depends on the light in which you are presented their own perspectives on life - both short-term (as I now work), and long-term (which I generally do in life). So, it turns out that the assessment of these prospects may dramatically change depending on the level of a particular amino acid. If you suddenly nedoeli tryptophan, in a few hours you will drop the level of serotonin and life suddenly starts to look washed-work unbearable, friends shabby and meaningless entertainment. Is it necessary to explain that these estimates are not related to reality?

Serotonin - is too complicated thing, so it can be stupidly "lift" for mood improvement (more or less confidently recommend this method can only be clinical depression). But even the very understanding of that optimism and pessimism can be controlled independent of factors you, very helpful.



If you know that feeling of hopelessness - it is a bit of a sore throat, then deal with it much easier. This is probably the most important practical conclusion. To cope with the fact that you are all annoying, it is necessary, first of all, to know what exactly you are trying to cope. To deal with stimuli directly usually counterproductive: if the problem is in you, you will always find something from the mad, even if you choose the current problem

. Much promising work on yourself. The first step of this work - to listen to their own emotions. Learning to recognize optimism and pessimism, remuneration and irritation. This is harder than it might seem: most of us it is difficult to separate your "self" from their own emotions and in general on the functioning of the brain
. Personally, I help in this two things. First - oddly enough, the brain simulator Lumosity. On whether he makes you smarter is debatable, but one thing is certain: when you every day measure the status of various functions of the brain, then over time you begin to feel them as your grandmother feel high or low pressure (I, for instance, this ability I do not possess).

Second assistant in introspection - neuroscience. But in its place can be psychology, philosophy, even, God forgive me, religion. The main thing - to have an abstract, elusive emotions were specific names. The enemy - your emotions - it is necessary to know in person - or at least by name

. Author: Nikolay Kukushkin