Survival Circuits In Animal Brains: What Can They Tell Us About Human Emotion?

New York University neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux, author of "The Emotional Brain", has come up with a new theory called "the survival circuit concept" that he outlines in Wednesday's issue of the journal Neuron. He suggests that instead of asking whether the feelings and emotions we humans experience are also present in other animals, we should ask to what extent the survival circuits present in other animals are also present in humans, and then consider how they contribute to emotions.

The basis for his reasoning, drawn from twenty years researching emotion and memory in the brain, is the neurological common ground that exists between humans and other animals: we both have brain functions used for survival, these include "circuits" responsible for defense, managing energy and nutrition, fluid balance, regulating heat, and reproduction.

LeDoux, a professor in New York University's Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, says in a press statement released earlier this week that while the functions of these "survival circuits" are not causally related to emotional feelings, they will contribute to them indirectly.

"The survival circuit concept integrates ideas about emotion, motivation, reinforcement, and arousal in the effort to understand how organisms survive and thrive by detecting and responding to challenges and opportunities in daily life," he explains.