Reinforcement learning and habituation ties in with dopamine. Dopamine neurons increased their firing rate during the initial learning periods, but decreased progressively over time, switching to a more steady-state, habitual mode of firing.The reward has lost its juice.
The medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex form the backbone of a network called the defaulthi mode network (DMN).The exact functions of the DMN are still debated, yet because of its prominence in self-referential processing, we can think of it functioning as the “me” network—linking ourselves to our inner and outer worlds.
decreased PCC activity correlated with meditation.
mode of subjective experience that lined up with PCC ( posterior cingulate cortex)activity —not perception of an object, but how we relate to it. In a sense, if we try to control a situation (or our lives), we have to work hard at doing something to get the results we want. In contrast, we can relax into an attitude that is more like a dance with the object, simply being with it as the situation unfolds, no striving or struggling necessary, as we get out of our own way and rest in an awareness of what is happening moment to moment.
how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors relate to us.
How we relate to our thoughts and feelings makes all the difference.Meditators train themselves to notice these experiences and not get caught up in them—to simply see them for what they are and not take them personally.
love activated the same brain regions as drugs like alcohol, cocaine, and heroin, including what is called the ventral tegmental area, the source of dopamine in the reward circuit.
The ancient Greeks had at least four words for love: eros, intimate or passionate love; storge, the affection between parents and children; philia, friendship; and agape, selfless love that is extended to all people.
Importantly and perhaps paradoxically, dropping the action that causes stress comes about by simply being aware of what we are doing rather than by doing something to try to change or fix the situation. Instead of trying to get in there and untangle the snarled mess of our lives (and making it more tangled in the process), we step back and let it untangle itself. We move from doing into being.I was sitting in the meditation hall at a self-retreat center, watching different thoughts arise (cause), and noticing their effects in my body.The critical distinction between these types of rewards is that joy arises from being attentive and curious. That type of consciousness is possible virtually at any waking moment. It doesn’t take any work—since awareness is always available, we can simply rest in being aware. Excitement, on the other hand, requires something to happen to us or requires us to procure something that we want—we have to do something to get what we want. To start switching from excitement to joyful engagement, we can notice triggers (stress), perform a behavior (drop into an open, curious awareness), and notice the rewards (joy, tranquility, equanimity). And by using our own reward-based learning processes, the more we take these steps, the more we set up a habit pattern to concentrate more deeply and be happier (in a nonexcited w
