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Lecture 5: Physiological Needs I

(9-14-22)

Physiological needs are often conceptualized as basic or biological needs, universal, what we need to survive, minimal requirement for survival

  • “simple basic needs such as nourishing food, clean water, shelter, and clean air”
  • “balanced nutritional diet, decent clothes to wear and sexual reproduction”
  • “need for water, food, shelter, air, warmth and coolness, elimination, and sex”
  • “curiosity and boredom”
  • “air, water, food, shelter, sanitation, sleep, touch, space”
  • Short term survival: air, food, water, temperature (clothing, shelter), elimination, sleep
  • It seems so clear: physiological needs (as opposed to psychological or social or other needs)
  • But what about: touch, space?
    • Possibly long term survival (effect upon immune system, stress, psychophysiological effects)
  • But what about: sex?
    • Survival of species, “selfish gene” concepts (perhaps a chicken is just an egg’s way of making another egg)
  • What about: stimulation?
  • What about: music?
  • What about: pain?
    • Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), also known as congenital analgesia. Mutations in the SCN9A gene cause congenital insensitivity to pain. Autosomal recessive inheritance. About one in a million people are thought to be born without a sense of pain, which results in severe self-inflicted injuries from an early age and can lead to premature death
  • Part of the difficulty (for me) is the whole idea of, “needs”, our author seems to use this word to refer to different orders of phenomenon (which he recognizes), some needs direct activity that is necessary of the organism’s immediate survival (air, water, food), other needs are necessary for the survival of the species (sex, procreation, parenting). It is not clear to me that “needs” for biological self-regulation are the same as “needs” for harm avoidance (avoidance/ escape from noxious stimuli; danger) or the “needs” of species survival (sex).
  • From another point of view: physiological needs are often the basis of what behavior therapists and learning theorists would refer to as “unconditioned reinforcers” and “unconditioned stimuli”
  • Physiological needs are “value free”, they are neither “good” nor “bad”, they simply are. How human deal with these needs brings up issues of morality and ethics. These stimuli/conditions have been/can be used for both beneficial and malicious procedures and circumstance: 
    • Respiration: has been used for therapeutic aversive conditioning
    • has been used for advanced interrogation techniques (i.e., torture)
    • Stimulation: facial screening, a treatment technique to suppress self-injurious behavior in children with severe autism
    • stimulus barren environments have been implicated in fostering self-injurious behavior in individuals with profound intellectual deficits
  • Finally, we might consider that some biological regulation “needs” are automatic (blood pressure, blood plasma electrolytes, heart rate, shivering/sweating) and can only indirectly be influenced by deliberate behavior (exercies, breathing techniques, turning up or down the temperature) while other “needs” are both automatic and accessable to deliberate choice (to a degree: breathing, drinking, eating, peeing/pooping)
  • Deckers (2018) wrote that the idea of internal demands of the body as the fountain of motivation begins with a French physiologist, Claude Bernard (1878), who hypothesized that a stable milieu interior (internal environment) of fluids bathed the body’s 60 to 100 trillion cells.  Walter Cannon (1939) developed this idea and coined the term:  homeostasis (staying the same), to describe the constant biological processed that respond to disruptions to maintain a stable internal bodily environment.
  • A similar concept is allostasis (variable, same): making changes to promote coping with anticipated environmental demands. If you Goggle these terms you come up with several similar definitions:
    • allostasis “the process by which the body responds to stressors in order to regain homeostasis.”
    • “Homeostasis refers to processes that maintain body systems (such as blood pH or body temperature) within narrow operating ranges. Allostasis refers to maintaining stability through altering physiologic parameters to counteract challenges.”

Basic concepts

  • Homeostasis
    • Both homeostasis and allostasis are endogenous systems responsible for maintaining the internal stability of an organism. Homeostasis, from the Greek homeo, means “similar,” while stasis means “stand;” thus, “standing at about the same level.” “Therefore, allostasis is the process that keeps the organism alive and functioning, i.e. maintaining homeostasis or “maintaining stability through change” and promoting adaptation and coping, at least in the short run”.— Bruce S. McEwen, Neurobiology of Aging, 2002
    • Homeostasis utilizes a negative feedback system: room temperature drops, the body responds with shivering, muscle movement generates heat, internal body temperature remains stable; room temperature rises, the body responds with sweating, internal body temperature remains stable. 
    • Humans are hypothesized to have set points for different physiological states such as body temperature, fluid levels, energy, salt concentration, blood glucose level, some nutrients.  A discrepancy between the set point and your actual bodily state creates a physiological need.
    • Stimulus sensations are judged pleasant by use if they decrease deviations from homeostasis (a drink of water when you are thirsty) and unpleasant if they increase the deviation from homeostasis. 
      • Research on thermoregulation showed that judgments of how pleasant bath water feels to persons varies with the body temperature:  cool bath are pleasant when we are hot, warm baths are pleasant when we are cold, neutral baths are pleasant with they vary little from our core body temperature (Mower, 1976). 
  • Negative Feedback Systems
  • Circadian Rhythm

Well studied physiological needs

  • Thirst and drinking
    • The pleasure of replenishing fluids depends on the amount of fluid loss and the temperature of the water. 
      • Cool water is rated as more pleasurable, reduces thirst better, and is drunk in greater quantities during or after exercise (Deckers, 2018). 
      • The quenching of thirst from drinking occurs several minutes before water replenishes the cells, suggesting that different physiological mechanisms start and stop drinking.
      • Hyponatremia: (too little salt) Water Intoxication (water poisoning, hyperhydration, overhydration, or water toxemia)
  • Food & hunger
    • The body’s energy requirements can be thought of as three components: resting metabolism, thermic effects, and physical activity. 
      • Resting metabolic rate reflects the body’s heat production or oxygen consumption while you are inactive and have not eaten for at least 12 hours.
      • Thermic effect refers to the energy cost of digesting, storing, and absorbing food.
      • Physical activity involves voluntary movement as well as fidgeting and maintenance of body posture.  Energy must be available for any behavior to occur, food (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) provides this energy.
    • Energy intake (eating) and energy expenditure (behavior) vary over the course of a day and from day to day, but tend to remain stable over longer periods of time (weeks to months to years). 
    • Energy homeostasis refers to the long term balance between intake and expenditure. A set point for energy homeostasis regulates body weight through a negative feedback system. 
    • Energy levels are monitored by the hypothalamus, principally through two inhibitory hormones, Cholecystokinin (CCK) and leptin, and one excitatory hormone, ghrelin. 
      • CCK is released in the upper part of the small intestine after food intake and temporarily inhibits hunger and eating, higher levels of CCK in the bloodstream are associated with higher degrees of satiety.
      • Leptin is involved in long term energy homeostasis, it is released by adipose tissue and provides information about the amount of body fat energy.
      • Ghrelin is a fast-acting excitatory hormone that stimulates hunger, eating, and mental images of food.
    • Hunger sensations: eating tends to be based on the quantity or weight of food rather than the energy content. 
      • Satiation refers to the sense of filling full when your eating (or of having had “enough” with respect to other desires)
      • Satiety refers to how long you continue feeling satisfied (not hungry) after eating
        • both are influenced by receptors in the stomach and intestines.  The stomach is sensitive to the amount of food it contains and stomach distension inhibits eating.
    • Other stimulus factors influencing eating behavior
      • Cephalic responses:  food stimulates physiological responses that are preparatory to eating, digesting, metabolizing, and storing the food, the smell and taste of food elicit the secretion of saliva (mouth), gastric juices (stomach), and insulin (from pancreas). 
      • The sight and smell of food evoke hunger sensations and the desire to eat.
      • The palatability of food is its hedonic value, determined by variety, texture, temperature, aroma, and flavor.  Sugar and fat increase palatability (in moderation: sweet but not too sweet, fat but not too fat).
      • Visible portion size influences the amount eaten, as does plate size.  The Delbouef illusion may contribute to the later finding. 
      • Sensory-specific satiety occurs when the same dish or same food is eaten repeatedly.
      • Food preferences develop through exposure during youth and may change over the developmental span.  Innate food preferences are seen:  human infants readily eat sweet tasting foods (high in calories) and reject bitter or sour-tasting foods (which may be been associated with poison or being spoiled in our phylogenetic history).  There is some evidence of specific hungers in humans and other species: sensitivity and preference to food substances, like salt, necessary for normal growth and development. 
      • Mere exposure effect:  people increase the positive evaluations of a stimulus through repeated exposures.
      • Taste aversion can be easily developed through an association with nausea.  This is often sited as an example of “preparedness” in learning.  Conditioned aversions to food can last for extended periods of time (months, years).  Eating (exposure) the aversive food results in more rapid reduction of aversive qualities than waiting for time to pass. 
      • Food stimuli: the odor signature of food, the sight of food, and the degree to which it restores energy homeostasis all influence how much it is liked and how much is eaten.  The factors operate even when stimulus intensities are below conscious perception
    • Individual factors influencing eating
      • The Boundary Model of Eating: posits thata comfort zone exists around the set point of weight, dropping below the boundary leads to hunger and above leads to satiety, in between is the zone of biological indifference. This zone of biological indifference is different for normal eaters, dieters, binge eaters, and individuals with anorexia nervosa.
      • Eating disorders
        • Obesity
          Pica
          Anorexia Nervosa
          Bulimia Nervosa
          Binge-eating disorder
          Other Eating disorders
    • Culture factors influencing eating
      • Cultural standards of beauty

Sleep

  • brain mechanisms
    • Hypothalamus, suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) receives signals on light exposure from retina of eyes and regulates biological rhythms
    • Brain Stem, communicates with Hypothalamus, produces GABA: inhibits arousal centers in Hypothalamus, affects REM sleep, inhibits striated muscles (so we don’t act out dreams)
    • Thalamus, relay center, decreased activity during sleep (turn our sensory world) but increased activity during REM sleep (Amygdala also becomes increasingly active during REM sleep)
    • Pineal Gland, receives signals from SCN and increases production of hormone melatonin, which increases sleepiness with decreasing light
    • Basal Forebrain: also affects sleep/wakefulness, release adenosine which increases sleep drive (Caffeine blocks the action of adenosine
  • Stages of sleep (2, 4, or 5) depending on what you count/who you read)
    • non-REM sleep (non-Rapid Eye Movement) (transition, stage one, stage two, stage three)
    • REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep
  • Dreaming
    • Everyone dreams, about two hours a right, first REM period occurs about 90 minutes into sleep. REM sleep decreases with age in adults. Role/purpose of dreams continue to be investigated and debated.
  • A number of chemical influence sleep (GABA, Norepinephrine, Oresin (also called Hypocretin), Acetylcholine, Histamines, Adrenaline, Cortisol, Serotonin); a number of genes influence sleep (Per, Tim, Cry are “clock” genes that influence our circadian rhythms and the timing of sleep).
  • Sleep Disorders
    • Dyssomnias: DIMS (Disorder of initiation and maintenance of sleep) and DOES (disorders of excessive sleep): problems with the amount of sleep
      • insomnia, initial (onset) and terminal (early morning awakening)
      • nightmares (Incubus Nocturnus)
      • hypersomnia, narcolepsy
    • Epworth Sleepiness Scale
    • Parasomnias: problems with the nature of sleep
      • Sleepwalking (Somnambulism)
      • Sleep Terror (Pavor Nocturnus)
      • RIM Sleep Disorder

Sex: desire and love

  • Deckers (2018 ) views the motives for relationships and sex as universal in humans:  “Two universal motive has evolved that are important for the continuation of the human species: sexual desire and romantic love. These are separate and independent motives that induce different behaviors.” (p. 71).
    • Sexual desire and orgasm serve to motivate (reinforce) reproductive behavior. Sexual desire in humans (and some other species) can become divorced from reproductive motivations. Orgasm is (usually) a highly pleasurable experience that be sought for itself and can reinforce behavior leading to it.
    • Romantic love:  “a strong attachment that individuals have for one another and promotes long-term commitment” (p. 71).
    • Sexual selection
      • Gender differences in mating strategy
      • Attractiveness and the “good genes hypothesis”
      • “bad gene hypothesis”
      • Universality of standards of beauty
      • Sense of humor
    • Long-term mate selection: sex differences
      • Structural powerless hypothesis
      • Men rate good looks and facial attractiveness as more important
      • Women rate ambition as more important then men
      • Women show a strong preference for “niceness” (communication skills, dependability, kindness, humor, and honesty)
      • As gender equality increase, differences in preference decrease
        • Top nine traits were:  intelligence, humor, honesty, kindness, good looks, face attractiveness, values, communication skills, dependability (Lippa, 2007)
        • Mate poaching and jealousy
          • Emotional infidelity
          • Sexual infidelity
          • Consistent difference in types of jealousy between men and women are seen as support for evolutionary interpretations
    • Male and female brains? (Your instructor’s answer: yes, but the differences are so minor and the variability is so great that it really doesn’t make much difference in the world: up bringing and culture are the big drivers here. Remember the difference between statistical significance and importance effect?) You might want to consider Dr. Gina Rippon’s book (2019): Gender and Our Brains: How new neuroscience explodes the myths of the male and female minds, as well as my favorite, Sapolsky’s Behave.

Love

  • Eros and Agape
  • Who would you marry? (Not someone you grew up with during first six years of life)
  • Aspects of love
    • Passion
    • Caring
    • Commitment

Problems: 

  • Sexual disorders         
  • Sexual deviations
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