Yearning

The brain area primarily involved in yearning for attention is the ventral striatum, which includes the nucleus accumbens. Here’s how it plays a role:

### Key Brain Area: Ventral Striatum

#### 1. Role in Reward Processing

1. Function: The ventral striatum is part of the brain's reward system, crucial for processing rewards and reinforcing behaviors that elicit positive feelings, including social interactions.
2. Yearning for Attention: When individuals seek attention or social connection, the ventral striatum is activated, as it associates social engagement with positive emotional experiences, similar to other rewarding stimuli.

#### 2. Connection with Other Regions

1. Prefrontal Cortex: This area interacts with the ventral striatum to help determine the value of social rewards and guide attention-seeking behaviors.
2. Amygdala: It processes emotional significance and is involved in the motivation behind yearnings, including the desire for social validation.

### Conclusion The ventral striatum is crucial in the yearning for attention due to its role in reward processing and motivation. Its interaction with other brain areas helps facilitate social behaviors and emotional experiences related to seeking connection.

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Dop high

When dopamine levels are excessively high, various brain functions can become dysfunctional. Here are some key areas affected:

## 1. Mood Regulation Elevated dopamine can lead to symptoms of euphoria, but it can also result in mood swings, agitation, or anxiety.

Yes

## 2. Impulse Control High dopamine levels may impair the ability to control impulses, leading to increased risk-taking behaviors or compulsive actions.

## 3. Cognitive Function Excessive dopamine can negatively impact attention, memory, and decision-making processes, potentially causing issues with focus and concentration.

## 4. Hallucinations and Delusions Increased dopamine activity in certain brain pathways is associated with psychotic symptoms like hallucinations or delusions, often observed in conditions such as schizophrenia.

Yes

## 5. Reward Sensitivity While dopamine is crucial for the reward system, too much can lead to decreased sensitivity to rewards, causing individuals to seek higher-risk or more stimulating experiences.

## 6. Motor Function Elevated dopamine can contribute to hyperactive motor activity, which may present as restlessness or involuntary movements.

## 7. Sleep Regulation High dopamine levels can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to insomnia or poor sleep quality.

Yes

These dysfunctions highlight the delicate balance required for optimal dopamine levels in the brain.

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Yes, overactivity of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) can contribute to the sensation of an “idea of presence.”

## Mechanism of STS in Perception

The STS plays a crucial role in processing social and sensory information, including the perception of biological motion, facial expressions, and social cues.

### 1. Increased Sensitivity to Social Cues When the STS is overactive, individuals may become hypersensitive to social stimuli, leading to feelings of being watched or sensed by others—even in the absence of actual social agents.

### 2. Contextual Misinterpretation An overactive STS may misinterpret ambiguous sensory information, which can create an illusion of presence where none exists. This can occur, for example, in conditions like schizophrenia, where patients may feel the presence of others based on distorted sensory input.

### 3. Hallucinations Extreme cases of STS overactivity have been linked to auditory and visual hallucinations, reinforcing the sensation of an external presence. This is often noted in various psychiatric conditions.

Overall, while not everyone with STS overactivity will experience this sensation, it can contribute to the phenomenon under certain conditions.