We explain what pleasure is and the characteristics of each type. Also, how and through which hormones it acts in the brain.
What is pleasure?
Pleasure is a pleasant, positive feeling, which ranges from well-being (such as the satisfaction of a basic need: hunger, thirst) to sensations euphoric of individual fulfillment or joy, depending on its reason for being, its intensity and its duration in time.
From a biological point of view, the nature it rewards with sensations of pleasure the satisfaction of individual and species needs. Eating when hungry or resting when exhausted are examples of this, but also the sexual pleasure of orgasm, with which nature rewards us for propagating the genes of our species.
For its part, philosophy catalogs pleasure as one of the possible types of happiness, especially when it is given in the long term, which gives rise to speak of "well-being". Already in the Greek Antiquity they reflected on the convenience of living seeking immediate pleasure in life (hedonism), against the doctrine that postponed it to enjoy it in the long term (eudaimonia), defended among others by Aristotle in the fourth century BC. C.
Furthermore, traditionally pleasure has been opposed to pain, and they are understood as separate dimensions, hardly irreconcilable. However, it is known that there are sensory boundaries between the two (explored by those who practice, for example, sadomasochism) and also that there are people who derive pleasure from causing pain to others, although the latter is morally condemned in all ways. cultures of the planet.
Types of pleasure
The forms of pleasure can be classified according to their origin, that is, to what causes the feeling of well-being and in what environment it occurs. Thus, we can differentiate between:
- Physical pleasure, the result of bodily sensations, especially through the stimulation of the senses. For example, caresses and sexual pleasure are obtained through touch, while taste and smell are involved in gastronomic and drinking pleasure.
- Psychic pleasure, the result of the social or individual actions of the mind, specifically of memories, fantasies and personal experiences, such as humor, joy, serenity or peace. This pleasure can even be experienced in the absence of real and immediate pleasure motives.
- Intellectual pleasure, the fruit of understanding and understanding, is that experienced by understanding a idea complex, discover a reality on your own or solve a particularly difficult puzzle. It has to do with the feeling of the success.
- Playful pleasure, the fruit of play and leisure is the one we experience when we recreate ourselves, and it is one of the first of our conscious social life. Video game, sports and recreational social experiences bring us this kind of pleasure.
- Emotional pleasure, the fruit of an intimate connection with others, is born from the empathy and love, companionship and the feeling of being accompanied in life, of belonging to something greater than ourselves. Filial love, infatuation and eroticism provide us with this type of pleasure.
- Contemplative pleasure, the fruit of reflection and from the look esthetic of the world, it is that which we obtain simply by being and observing the surrounding reality, something very typical of a certain melancholic or contemplative personal disposition. This is precisely the kind of pleasure that most forms of art and spectacle: the pleasure of observing, of witnessing the world in its complexity.
How does pleasure work in the brain?
The hypothalamus secretes hormones that regulate pleasure.
The complexity biochemistry The human brain has not prevented us from finding out a few things about what happens in it when we experience pleasure. However, the answers are not exactly straightforward.
On the one hand, we know that the hypothalamus is the gland in charge of secreting hormones that regulate the senses of pleasure, sexual impulse, anger and fear, so that all these sensations are in principle linked to the most basic of our brain, located in the forebrain.
But at the same time we have been able to identify the four main hormones that give us pleasure:
- Dopamine From chemical formula C8H11NO2, this neurotransmitter produced in the hypothalamus is common in most animals, vertebrates and invertebrates. Its function is linked to five different neuroreceptors in the Central Nervous System, where it fulfills numerous functions, including being part of the brain's reward system, through which our body rewards learning through pleasant stimuli, motivating itself.
- Oxytocin With the chemical formula C43H66O12S2, it is a neuromodulator of the central nervous system produced in the hypothalamus, and that regulates behaviors social, sentimental and sexual, so it is involved with the pleasurable sensations of orgasm, as well as breastfeeding. It could also be involved in actions of generosity and trust, as a form of social reward for the protection of the species.
- Serotonin With the chemical formula C10H12N2O, this neurotransmitter is synthesized by the neurons cerebral and is usually found in its highest percentage in the gastrointestinal tract. It is in charge of regulating mood, sleep, anger, aggression, appetite, memory, attention and sexuality. Important aphrodisiac properties are attributed to it, as well as an important control of the individual's daytime behaviors.
- Endorphins. We are talking here about a set of neurotransmitters: endorphins, enkephalins and dynorphins, all opioid substances, that is, they share with opium and its derived drugs the ability to induce analgesia, that is, to suppress pain. Morphine, for example, is a similar opiate. Endorphins also regulate hunger, body temperature, and reproductive functions, synthesized both by the hypothalamus, the pituitary, and the adrenal medulla.