Introverts Different Brain Pathways and Neurotransmitters Published September 22, 2010 Introversion 9 Comments Tags: Introverts

Todays post comes from the book, The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney, PsD. I think Ive mentioned before (or at least intended to) the fact that according to Dr. Laney and others, introvert brains operate differently than extrovert brains. In brain function studies of introverts/extroverts, PET scans were used to determine the most active part of the brain based on blood flow. The results indicated that: introverts had more blood flow to their brains than extroverts. More blood flow indicates more internal stimulation Second, introverts and extroverts blood traveled along different pathways. Dr. Johnson found the introverts pathway is more complicated and focused internally. The introverts blood flowed to the parts of the brain involved with internal experiences like remembering, solving problems, and planning. This pathway is long and complext. The introverts were attending to their internal thoughts and feelings. Dr. Johnson tracked the fast-acting brain pathway of extroverts showing how they process input that influences their activity and motivation. The extroverts blood flowed to the areas of the brain where visual, auditory, touch and taste (excluding smell) sensory processing occurs. Their main pathway is short and less complicated. The extroverts attended externally to what was happening in the lab. These differing pathways for blood flow require different neurotransmitters. Extroverts rely on dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention, alert states and learning. Extroverts are not terribly sensitive to dopamine, though they require large amounts of it. Unfortunately, while the brain produces some, its not nearly enough. Thus, Extroverts need [dopamine's] sidekick, adrenaline, which is released from the action of the sympathetic nervous systems, to make more dopamine in the brain. So the more active the extrovert is, the more Hap[py] Hits are fired and dopamine is increased. Extroverts feel good when they have places to go and people to see. Introverts, on the other hand, are highly sensitive to dopamine. Too much dopamine and they feel overstimulated. Introverts use an entirely different neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, on their more dominant pathway Acetylcholineaffects attention and learning (especially perceptual learning), influences the ability to sustain a calm, alert feeling and to utilize long-term memory, and activates voluntary movement. It stimulates a good feeling when thinking and feeling. One of the results of all this, is that it takes introverts longer than extroverts to refill their energy well when its been emptied, because their nerve receptor sites are slow to re-uptake the neurotransmitter. So we need more time to recover and get tired more easily. Something Ive been experiencing a lot lately. Fortunately, Laney devotes an entire chapter to dealing with this, but thats a post for another day.

Quiz: are you an introvert?

Take our test to find out where you stand on the introvert-extrovert scale. Albert Einstein: he was an introvert. What about you? Photograph: Roger Viollet/Getty Images 1. 1. I prefer one-on-one conversations to group activities. 1. Yes

2. No 2. 2. I often prefer to express myself in writing. 1. Yes

2. No 3. 3. I enjoy solitude. 1. Yes

2. No 4. 4. I seem to care less than my peers about wealth, fame and status. 1. Yes

2. No 5. 5. I dislike small talk, but I enjoy talking in depth about topics that matter to me. 1. Yes

2. No 6. 6. People tell me that Im a good listener. 1. Yes

2. No 7. 7. Im not a big risk-taker. 1. Yes

2. No 8. 8. I enjoy work that allows me to dive in with few interruptions. 1. Yes

2. No 9. 9. I like to celebrate birthdays on a small scale, with only one or two close friends or family members. 1. Yes

2. No 10. 10. People describe me as soft-spoken or mellow. 1. Yes

2. No 11. 11. I prefer not to show or discuss my work with others until its finished. 1. Yes

2. No 12. 12. I dislike conflict. 1. Yes

2. No 13. 13. I do my best work on my own. 1. Yes

2. No 14. 14. I tend to think before I speak. 1. Yes

2. No 15. 15. I feel drained after being out and about, even if Ive enjoyed myself. 1. Yes

2. No 16. 16. I often let calls go through to voicemail. 1. Yes

2. No 17. 17. If I had to choose, Id prefer a weekend with absolutely nothing to do to one with too many things scheduled. 1. Yes

2. No 18. 18. I dont enjoy multitasking. 1. Yes

2. No 19. 19. I can concentrate easily. 1. Yes

2. No 20. 20. In classroom situations, I prefer lectures to seminars. 1. 2. Yes No

You have a tendency towards being introvert. The higher your score, the more introvert you probably are. The nearer to 10 your score is, the nearer to being an ambivert you are (yes, there really is such a word). But even if you answered every single question as an introvert or extrovert, that doesnt mean that your behaviour is predictable across all circumstances. We cant say that every introvert is a bookworm or every extrovert wears lampshades at parties any more than we can say that every woman is a natural consensus-builder and every man loves contact sports. As Jung felicitously put it, There is no such thing as a pure extrovert or a pure introvert. Such a man would be in the lunatic asylum.