Sarah Harding's blog

What has a greater effect over our lives: genetics or environment?  Unfortunately, this is a question with no answer.  The nature versus nurture debate has been continuing since the time of Aristotle, and yet, we are no closer to determining the truth.  Each side has valid points that any sane person is unlikely to dismiss.  Therefore, the debate is unlikely to end soon.  For now we will have to accept that our personalities and tendencies are a combination of genetics and environmental influences. 

The wonders of emotions have baffled scientists since the time of Aristotle.  During the scientific revolution, Robert Burton tried to understand why emotions have such a momentous effect on the human life.  Still today, the mystery of emotions plagues Joseph LeDoux in his quest to understand how and why the brain processes emotions.  In his book, The Emotional Brain, LeDoux unearths evolutionary secrets that explain certain emotions, and he ponders the role of genetics in cognition.  As a scientific reader, this book tackles many serious issues and makes them easy to understand for the layman.

It’s unlikely that pheromones will ever be used in a pick-up line; however, scientific research has shown that pheromones could play a part in human sexual attraction.  Since the 1980s, when pheromones were discovered to exist in humans, numerous perfume companies have launched marketing ploys to sell people “magic” scents to improve their sex lives.  There is much debate about the potency of pheromones in human relationships, but pheromone research has lead scientists to question our independence in mate selection.  It has also spurred questions about the difference between consciousness and unconsciousness.  How much can we actually control?  That is the question.

Our ability as humans to understand the emotions of others allows us ease of socialization and empathizing.  With a mere glance at facial emotions, we are able to determine happiness, sadness, anger, distress, etc… In typically developing children, these abilities come naturally and easily; however, autistic children lack the capability to understand the emotional states of others. It has been determined that “mirror neurons” are responsible for the facility of emotional processing.  However, recent studies have revealed that persons with autism are missing “mirror neurons” and that explains why they have such difficulty with social interactions.  If autism is due to a biological imbalance rather than to a psychological deficit, then is it possible to “cure” autism?  Can the way that autistics view the world be altered?  And is that what they want?  After all, our emotional connections with others bring the burdens of stress, heartbreak, and depression.