Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (1:20 p.m.) Love Journal | Page 12

How Experience and Expression of Love is Affected by Physical and Behavioral Differences Between Extraverted and Introverted Personal-
ity Types
Physical Differences
To fully understand the behaviors of introverts and extraverts, it’s important that we analyze the physical differences between
the two so we may understand where the behavioral differences may be originating from.
It’s critical to understand the reward systems of the brain to understand the difference between extroverts and introverts. Many
objects and events throughout life, such as money, sex, food, and searching for a partner, are directly tied to a dopamine reward. Extra-
verted brains capitalize on this neurotransmitter by making it the main neurotransmitter they use to process incoming stimuli. When presented
with external sensory stimuli, the extraverted brain responds by sending the experience through the centers of the brain that process sight,
taste, sound, and touch. When these centers are activated, the brain releases dopamine (partnered with sidekick adrenaline), which encour-
ages them to perform such behaviors again.
However, the introverted brain relies on an entirely different neurotransmitter: acetylcholine. When an introverted brain is
presented with an experience, it is put through a gantlet of inward-directed analyzing centers that plan action, speech, make decisions, detect
errors, and activate empathy. This pathway is not activated by dopamine at all, but by acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is also a rewarding
neurotransmitter, but its effects are much less boom-kick (read: intense) than the dopamine + adrenaline combo experienced by extraverts.
Because dopamine is less important in an introvert’s brain, introverts are much more sensitive to the neurotransmitter, and thereby more
likely to feel overwhelmed by high levels of sensory input. (Coppes, The Introverted Brain Explained )
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