"Seeking" brought back old memories!

I was extremely thrilled to read Melissa's essay/article called "Seeking" (really, no sarcasm here!) I took AP psychology last year (which I might add, was my favorite high school class thus far), so it's fair to call myself a huge psych nerd! It's strange how after studying psychology intensely, I notice that psychology is EVERYWHERE and applies to virtually EVERY aspect of life! This essay is no exception.

I am a victim of "seeking," just as many other classmates are as well. It's fascinating to see how we are fueled by receiving text messages and "notifications" on Facebook. I am guilty of intending to use the internet for a short period of time but end up spending a good 45 minutes to an hour simply doing "nothing." It's as if the screen has sucked me in and I become a Facebook Zombie. Once I awake from my trance, I immediately regret wasting so much time online when I could've been doing more productive and useful things.

Anyways, back to psychology. Last year, I learned all about the hypothalamus, which was frequently discussed in this article. There are two parts of the hypothalamus: the lateral and the ventromedial. The lateral hypothalamus was the star of this article, which claimed that if it was to be continually stimulated the labrats would feel so much pleasure that they'd eventually collapse. This is true! We made a little mneumonic device last year to remember the differences between the two parts of the hypothalamus. Lateral sounds like "lunch," so if it is stimulated it drives someone to eat/seek pleasure. If it is destroyed, however, the person will have no will to even eat or be motivated (this was also briefly mentioned in the essay.) Don't laugh, but the ventromedial hypothalamus sounds like "vomit," and thus, when stimulated it will produce feelings of satiety/no motivation. When it's destroyed, the person will become so hungry that they basically overeat themselves to death. (Thank Ali Carollo for coming up with these mneumonic devices! :) )

Neurotransmitters were also discussed in the essay. Dopamine was the main player in this "seeking" addiction. It is apparently released when we find all these bits of "useless" information. I wonder if those with depression (having a lack of dopamine) spend more time than usual "seeking" in order to get their neurotransmitters back in balance. This is all very interesting for me; hopefully we'll find a cure for this troubling seeking addiction!