Chapter 12 Motivation & Regulation of
Internal States
Dr. Kimberley Campbell
Motivation and Homeostasis
Motivation
Motivation: set of factors that initiate, sustain, and direct behaviors
Behavior unable to be explained solely in terms of outside stimuli
Instinct
Instinct: complex behavior that is automatic, unlearned, and unmodifiable,
occurring in all members of a species
Migration and parental behavior in animals
Drive Theory
Drive theory: body maintains a condition of homeostasis
Homeostasis: the state in which any particular system is in balance or equilibrium
Drive: an aroused condition
Incentive and Arousal Theory
Incentive theory: people motivated by external stimuli, not just internal
needs
Arousal theory: people behave in ways that keep them at preferred level of
stimulation
Simple Homeostatic Drives: Temp
Set point: point of homeostasis (or equilibrium) to which the system returns
Temperature regulation:
Ectothermic animals (snakes and lizards)
Endothermic animals (birds and mammals)
Preoptic area: brain area in mammalian hypothalamus that contains separate warmth-
sensitive and cold-sensitive cells
Simple Homeostatic Drives: Thirst
Thirst: dry mouth and throat influence when to drink, not how much to drink
Hypovolemic thirst: condition of thirst occurring when blood volume drops due to
loss of extracellular water
Osmotic thirst: condition of thirst occurring when fluid content decreases inside
body’s cells
Simple Homeostatic Drives: Thirst
Subfornical organ (SFO): brain structure adjacent to third ventricle that
senses and regulates internal water balance with OVLT
Organum vasculosum lamina terminalis (OVLT): brain structure adjacent to
third ventricle that senses and regulates internal water balance with SFO
Simple Homeostatic Drives: Thirst
Both SFO and OVLT are circumventricular organs
Circumventricular: outside blood-brain barrier with direct access to blood
circulation
Some SFO and OVLT neurons are osmoreceptors
Osmoreceptor: fires more as volume decreases due to fluid loss
Simple Homeostatic Drives: Thirst
Median preoptic nucleus (MnPO): brain structure adjacent to third ventricle
that integrates information from SFO and OVLT
Hypovolemic thirst often signaled by baroreceptors in arteries of heart
Simple Homeostatic Drives: Thirst
Angiotensin II: hormone that informs brain of drop in blood volume,
stimulating receptors in SFO and OVLT
Takes 10–20 minutes for body to realize deficit has been eliminated and stop
sending stimulatory signals
Satiety: the satisfaction of appetite
Hunger: A Complex Drive
Gustation: The Role of Taste
Food selection varies widely in animal kingdom:
Herbivores: plant-eating animals
Carnivores: meat-eating animals
Omnivores: animals that eat both meat and plants
Taste primaries: sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami
Sensory-Specific Satiety
Sensory-specific satiety: behavioral pattern that means the more an
individual eats a particular food item, the less appealing the food becomes
Learned taste aversion: avoidance of foods associated with illness or poor
nutrition
Learned taste preference: preference not for a nutrient itself but for the
flavor of food containing the nutrient
The Digestive Process
Area postrema: region in brain outside blood-brain barrier that induces
vomiting if activated by toxins
Duodenum: initial 25 cm of the small intestine where most digestion occurs
The Digestive Process
Glucose: a simple sugar which is a common metabolic product of
carbohydrate digestion
Amino acids: an end product of protein digestion
Fatty acids: an end product of fat digested in the intestine
Glycerol: an end product of fat digested in the liver
The Absorptive Phase
Absorption phase: the few hours after a meal when the body lives off the
nutrients arriving from the digestive system
Insulin: hormone that enables body cells to take up glucose for energy and
certain cells to store excess nutrients
Diabetes
Diabetes: condition that results when pancreas is unable to produce enough
insulin (Type 1) or the body’s tissues are relatively unresponsive to insulin
(Type 2)
Glycogen: converted form of glucose stored in short-term reservoirs around
body
The Fasting Phase
Fasting phase: period in which blood glucose drops and the body falls back on
its energy stores
Glucagon: hormone that causes liver and skeletal muscles to transform stored
glycogen back into glucose
Regulating Hunger
Arcuate nucleus (ARC): master hypothalamic center for food intake control
NPY/AgRP neurons
POMC neurons
Lateral hypothalamus: brain region that initiates eating and controls aspects
of feeding behavior and metabolic responses
Orexin: neuropeptide that increases eating and increases wakefulness in
response to food deprivation
Regulating Hunger
Paraventricular nucleus (PVN): brain region that regulates eating and
metabolic processes
Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH): brain region that produces satiety and
increases metabolism
Ghrelin: orexigenic peptide hormone synthesized in the stomach and released
into bloodstream during fasting
Regulating Hunger
Optimal satiation requires interaction of mouth, stomach, and intestinal
factors
Cholecystokinin (CCK): peptide hormone that is best known satiety signal,
released by stomach and small intestine as food passes into duodenum
Limits meal size and aids digestion
Long-Term Regulation of Hunger
Peptide YY3-36 (PYY): peptide hormone released in intestines in response to
food, suppressing appetite over longer period of time
Leptin: peptide hormone secreted by fat cells that inhibits eating
Reduces meal size and total daily intake
Obesity
Body mass index (BMI): quantifier of leanness or obesity calculated by
dividing person’s weight in kilograms by squared height in meters
Increased health risks
Cannot be characterized by lack of impulse control, inability to delay gratification,
or maladaptive eating style
Obesity
Obesity gene: gene on chromosome 6 linked to obesity in mice, signified as
ob
Diabetes gene: gene on chromosome 4 linked to obesity in mice, signified as
db
Epigenetic: modifications to DNA that turn genes “on” or “off” without
changing gene’s DNA sequence
Methylation
Obesity and Dieting
Basal metabolism: energy required to fuel brain and other organs and to
maintain body temperature
Metabolism will increase or decrease in order to defend a set point weight
Goal of 10% weight reduction can be more practical than return to normal
weight
10% reduction also associated with reduced risk for chronic disease
Obesity and Dieting
Some weight loss interventions are drastic, but standard treatment remains
dietary restriction
Serotonin could play a role in weight control
Psychological therapeutic approaches treat out-of-control eating as an
addictive behavior
Anorexia, Bulimia, & Binge Eating
Anorexia nervosa: eating disorder known as “starving disease” wherein the
individual restricts food intake to maintain weight at a level so low it
threatens health
Bulimia nervosa: eating disorder that also involves weight control, but the
behavior is linked to bingeing and purging
Anorexia, Bulimia, & Binge Eating
Binge-eating disorder: eating disorder where individuals frequently eat large
amounts of food during a short period of time, wherein they feel they cannot
control what or how much they eat
Other disorders: night eating disorder, pica, rumination, and
avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder
Anorexia, Bulimia, & Binge Eating
Anorexia and bulimia may have social environmental causes, but there seem
to be genetic links as well
Eating disorders typically comorbid with other psychological disorders
Serotonin may also play a role in understanding eating disorders as well