Receptors in Emotions

Receptors are considered the first component of the molecules of emotion by Pert, and ligands are considered the second (Pert, 1997, 24). A receptor is a specialized area on a cell surface that a ligand binds to. A ligand is a natural or manmade substance which binds to its own specific receptor on the surface of a cell. The two fit together like a lock (receptor) and key (ligand). The ligands bind briefly to their receptors, initiating a change in the receptor which sets various events in motion within the cell, e.g. making a new protein, starting cell division, or opening ion channels. Ligands can be small molecules such as neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, dopamine, and epinephrine; steroids, such as cortisol, and testosterone; and peptides, strings of amino acids.

When Pert refers to emotions, she includes not only such human experiences as anger, fear, joy, and sadness, but also drive states such as hunger and thirst, and other subjective experiences such as spiritual inspiration, awe, and bliss (Pert, 1997, 132). For a long time, it has been held by neuroscientists that emotions are controlled by certain areas of the brain (133). Mapping of emotions to specific brain areas was carried out in the 1920s by Wilder Penfield at McGill University in Montreal. However, more recent research has shown the presence of almost every neuropeptide receptor in areas such as the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which is the first synapse within the nervous system where a

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nvironments of the body through the sensory organs, and is the center of all mental activity through its organs, the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and ganglia. The nervous system works with the endocrine system to maintain homeostasis in the body. While much of the communication in the nervous system is by electrical conduction, a major role is played by neurotransmitters. These are chemical mediators which transmit messages within the nervous system, and they do so by binding to specific receptors - binding sites - on receptor cells which interact sterically with the neurotransmitters. Neuropeptides (a class of neurotransmitters) and their receptors, together with the brain, glands, and components of the immune system form a network of communication between the brain and the body, probably representing the biochemical substrate of emotion (Pert, 1997, 179). White cells include neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes (Applegate, 2000, 228). Neutrophils are phagocytic, and engulf mainly bacteria; basophils release histamine, and the anticoagulant heparin; eosinophils counteract histamine in allergic reactions, and destroy parasitic worms; and monocytes engulf large particles, dead cells, etc. - they

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