Mammalian Brain Chemistry Explains Everything

Our happy brain chemicals (dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphin) are inherited from earlier mammals. They did not evolve to make you happy all the time. They are meant to motivate you to go toward things that promote your genes, and warn you to avoid things that threaten your genes. No conscious interest in your genes is involved - these chemicals create such strong impulses that we search for information to make sense of them. That's the job of our big cortex. It's not easy being a mammal, but your ups and downs are easier to manage when you know the job they do in the state of nature.

1. Mammalian Brain
Chemistry
explains everything
Loretta G. Breuning PhD
Inner Mammal Institute

2. Your brain chemicals are inherited

from earlier animals

3. These chemicals
are not meant

to just flow

all the time


They’re meant

to promote
survival

4. The mammal brain releases

a happy chemical when it sees

a way to meet its needs
dopamineendorphinoxytocinserotonin

5. It releases a stress chemical
when it sees

a potential threat to its needs
cortisol

6. A happy chemical tells

a mammal to go toward
An unhappy chemical tells
a mammal to avoid

7. The mammal brain is always
scanning its world, and
responding with brain chemicals

8. We mammals
survive
because our
brain chemicals
steer us toward
rewards and
away from harm

9. The brain

structures

that manage 

these chemicals

are the same
in all mammals

10. Humans have a
big stock of
extra neurons
to feed this
operating
system with
more
information

11. When you know what turns on
our brain chemicals in animals,
the world makes sense
dopamine endorphin oxytocinserotonin

12. Dopamine
is the great feeling

that a reward is at hand

13. Dopamine
releases energy for the chase

14. Dopamine
droops
once you
get the
reward,
until

you set
your sights
on another
reward

15. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute
Oxytocin
is often called
the “love chemical”

16. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute
Oxytocin is stimulated by
touch,

trust,
birth,

and

sex

17. Oxytocin droops when you’re
separated from the herd
This causes
the feeling
that your
survival is
threatened

18. Serotonin
is the pleasure of
social dominance

19. Serotonin
is not
aggression
but a calm
sense that
“ I
will get the
banana ”

20. Serotonin

is soon
reabsorbed,

so we are
always looking
for ways to
stimulate more

21. Endorphin masks pain
so you can do what

it takes to survive

22. Endorphin is

“endogenous morphine”
it’s meant for
emergencies,
not partying

23. Endorphin is triggered
by vigorous exertion

24. Natural selection built a brain
that motivates survival
behaviors by
rewarding them
with a good
feeling

25. How does a mammal know
which rewards to approach
and which threats to avoid?

26. Our brain chemicals are
controlled by neural pathways
built from life experience

27. Brain chemicals are like paving on our
neural pathways. This is why
it’s easy to repeat
behaviors
that triggered
happy
chemicals
before

28. and to
avoid
behaviors
that
triggered
pain before

29. The electricity in our brain

flows like water in a storm,

finding the paths of least resistance

30. Electricity flows to your

happy chemicals when something
resembles a past reward

31. Electricity flows to your
cortisol when something
resembles past pain

32. Each mammal wires itself
from its unique life experience

33. Reptiles are
hardwired with
the knowledge of
their ancestors,
but mammals
add knowledge
during an early
period of
dependency

34. A reptile
leaves home
as soon as
it’s born
because

it already
knows it all

35. A mother reptile can make hundreds of
babies, and her genes will survive
even though most of them die

36. A mama
mammal can
only produce
a few babies
in her lifetime.

Her genes will
not survive
unless she
guards each
one constantly.

37. Attachment
enables
mammals
to survive

38. Oxytocin circuits tell a
mammal who to trust
and who not to trust

39. By puberty, attachment
transfers from mother to group,
thanks to oxytocin circuits

40. The bigger

a mammal’s
brain, the
longer its
childhood

41. Big brains actually make it harder
to survive because neurons use
so much energy

42. It takes
time to wire
neurons in
ways that
promotes
survival

43. Mirror neurons also help a
young mammal learn from
the experience of its elders

44. Each mammal meets its needs with
circuits built from individual experience and
circuits inherited from its ancestors

45. The bigger a mammal’s brain,
the more it builds circuits

from life experience

46. The smaller a mammal’s brain, the more
it relies on circuits established long ago

47. New pathways build more easily
in puberty. This supports transfer,
which helps prevent inbreeding.

48. After puberty, myelin drops and
a mammal relies on the core
neural network it has established

49. This
network
makes
it easy
to seek
the
rewards
we
know

50. And avoid the harm that we know

51. Humans have
a very long
dependency
which gives us
time to build
more circuits
from experience
instead of relying
on pre-wired
impulses

52. It’s not
easy
being
mammal !

53. Living with a group
brings competition

54. The mammal brain evolved

to weigh alternatives

55. It asserts when that’s safe and
it inhibits impulses when that’s
the better survival strategy

56. It must compare itself
to others to do that

57. The impulse to compare
is more urgent than the
impulse to eat or mate

58. Serotonin makes it feel
good when you
compare favorably

59. The mammal brain
constantly weighs
opportunities and threats

60. Most of the time,
a mammal sticks with the
group despite the conflict

61. to enjoy protection
from common enemies

62. Oxytocin makes it

feel good

63. But the mammal brain is very
careful about who it trusts

64. Greener pastures feel good
but the increased
predator threat feels bad

65. When a
mammal
goes for it,
dopamine
makes it
feel good

66. The mammal
brain scans for
social rewards
as well as
material
rewards

67. It scans for
social
threats as
well as
material
threats

68. Primates have enough neurons to
build individualized trust bonds

69. and update
those
circuits in
response
to new
rewards
and threats

70. A social
threat feels
like a
survival
threat to
the mammal
brain

71. Disappointment feels like a survival
threat to the mammal brain

72. But it finds another way to stimulate 

dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin

73. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute © 2015
It’s not
easy
being
mammal !

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75. Dopamine
Dopamine makes you jump for joy
when you reach a goal or get a toy.
In nature, it helps find food when you need it.
“Eureka, I got it!” A memory gets created.
Dopamine causes expectations.
Correct predictions bring good sensations.
Dopamine feels great so you try to get more.
It rewarded our ancestors trudging through gore.
Cocaine triggers dopamine. Caution to all:
Joy without goal-seeking leads to a fall.
Dopamine !ows when you feel like “I’ve done it.”
When others do it for you, your dopamine will shun it.

76. Endorphin
Endorphin helps you mask the pain
Of injuries that you sustain.
Your ancestors escaped from predator attack
‘Cause endorphin felt good while they ran back.
Endorphin feels great when it eases your pains.
But only real pain makes it !ow in your veins.
Exercise triggers it, experts alert you.
But "rst you must do it ‘til body parts hurt you.
Endorphin receptors let opium in.
So you feel like you’re safe without li#ing a shin.
Laughing and crying can trigger it too.
But just for a moment– then the job’s through.

77. Oxytocin
Oxytocin makes you trust your mates.
We love the bonds that it creates.
Oxytocin flows when you stick with the herd.
“Not me!” you may say, “I’m no bovine or bird.”
But without social bonds, your brain feels alarm.
$is protected our ancestors from all kinds of harm.
Though the herd will annoy you, the pack hurt you so.
When you run with a pack, oxytocin will !ow.
“My pack is great and the other is nuts.”
$is thinking prevailed since the "rst mammal struts.
You’re above all this foolishness, obviously.
But it feels good when I trust you and you trust me.

78. Serotonin swells your chest with pride
When you get respect and needn’t hide.
Your brain feels good when you boost yourself higher.
But when others do this, it provokes your ire.
“I don’t care about status. It’s other who do.”
But you spurt serotonin when the limelight’s on you.
You are quite modest and don’t like to boast.
But no serotonin !ows when you coast.
Status doesn’t depend on money.
You can be clever or helpful or funny.
But when others one-up you, your mind agitates.
‘Cause serotonin droops ‘til you lift your own weights.
Serotonin