Week of May 10, 2000
Emotions are an integral part
of being human. But what makes us happy, sad, or angry? What can
science tell us about what happens in the brain when we experience
emotion? In this program, we talk about the science of emotions.
Guests include: Dr. Antonio Damasio, head of the Department of
Neurology at the University of Iowa, and the author of The
Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion, and the Making of
Consciousness published by Harcourt Brace; Candace Pert,
research professor in the department of physiology at Georgetown
University Medical School, and the author of Molecules of
Emotion, published by Simon & Schuster; Jack Katz,
professor of sociology at UCLA, and the author of How Emotions
Work, published by the University of Chicago Press; and
Dempsey Rice, a producer for The Infinite Mind and
producer/director of the HBO documentary film Daughter of
Suicide. Plus, actors from the Classic Stage Company's recent
production of Naked.
We begin the program with a segment from the recent production
of the play Naked, by Luigi Pirandello, which was performed
at the Classic Stage Company in New York City. Actor Michael Gill plays an angry
scene, and talks about using his own emotions as an actor on
stage.
Then host Dr. Fred Goodwin interviews Dr. Antonio Damasio, the head of the
Department of Neurology at the University of Iowa, and Adjunct
Professor at The Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. He is
also the author of "The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion,
and the Making of Consciousness" published by Harcourt Brace.
Dr. Damasio says that emotions are a collection of responses
that the brain generates that are aimed at the brain and the body.
When we experience certain events in our mind or our environment,
a stimulus triggers a component of the brain that leads to changes
in our brains and bodies. For instance, a perceived threat might
lead to changes in facial expression and a raise in heart rate.
Dr. Damasio says that there are three main sets of emotions.
The primary emotions are sadness, happiness, fear, anger, surprise
and disgust. Those are universal, he says. The secondary, or
social, emotions are embarrassment, guilt, pride and jealousy. The
third set are what he calls background emotions, being full of
energy, being down, being enthusiastic.
Dr. Goodwin asks if there might be a sort of biology of
optimism or pessimism. Dr. Damasio says there may well be, and
that in the next few years, he thinks science will find a biology
for certain dominant emotions. Dr. Damasio says that emotions take
place in a number of areas in the brain. These include the
amygdala, the basal forebrain, and the ventral medial frontal
lobe, all of which trigger emotion. Other parts do the job of
putting together responses to an emotion, including the
hypothalamus and nuclei in the brain stem.
Dr. Goodwin asks if different emotions are generated in
different parts of the brain. Dr. Damasio says that they are, and
that different brain patterns correlate to different emotions.
To learn more about Dr. Damasio's work, check out the University of
Iowa's web site. Or you can contact Dr. Damasio at the
University of Iowa College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa
City, Iowa 52242. His book, "The Feeling of What Happens: Body,
Emotion, and the Making of Consciousness" is available through
BarnesandNoble.com.
We then hear another scene from the Classic Stage Company's
recent New York production of Naked. Actor Peter Reeney says that he must attach
himself to the circumstances of his character to get an emotional
response, and that's it's not enough to just remember an emotional
experience of his own.
Dr. Goodwin then interviews Dr.
Candace Pert, research professor in the department of
physiology at Georgetown University Medical School, and the author
of "Molecules of Emotion," published by Simon & Schuster. Dr.
Pert says that the mind is everywhere in the body, because there
are peptide receptors, or receptors for emotions, in every cell of
the body. She says that emotions are basic for survival, and
without them we never would have evolved. To learn more about Dr.
Pert's work, check
out her web site. Dr. Pert's book is available through
BarnesandNoble.com. To contact her, write to her at Georgetown
University Medical School, 3800 Reservoir Road, NW, Washington, DC
20007.
Dr. Goodwin then talks with Dr.
Jack Katz, professor of sociology at UCLA, and the
author of "How Emotions Work", published by the University of
Chicago Press.
Dr. Katz says that science fails to appreciate that emotions
have a surreal aspect. He uses the example of driving. He says
that when we're driving, we embody the car, so if someone cuts us
off, we feel it in our bodies, as though the car is an extension
of our body. He says that we need to re-think our basic
understanding of emotion, and not think of it as the opposite of
rationality. You can contact Dr. Katz
at the UCLA web site, or reach him at the Department of
Sociology, 610 Charles E. Young Drive, University of California,
Los Angeles, CA 90095. His book is available through
BarnesandNoble.com.
Commentator John Hockenberry then talks about the false
dichotomy of logic vs. emotion.
Finally, Dr. Goodwin talks to The Infinite Mind producer Dempsey Riceabout her film,
"Daughter of Suicide." Dempsey was 18 years old when her mother
died by suicide. She says she made this film because she felt she
had a story to tell about depression and suicide. She wanted to
say that everyday people do get depressed, and can die of
depression. She also wanted to learn more about her mother.
Dempsey is a member of Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network, or
SPAN, which works to get suicide recognized as a major public
health issue, and to get funding for proven prevention efforts.
"Daughter of Suicide" is airing this month on HBO Signature.
To learn more about suicide prevention, check out the website of the Suicide Prevention
Advocacy Network, or call 1-888-649-1366. To learn more about
Dempsey Rice and her film, you can visit her web site.
