How the brain handles surprise, good and bad

Whether it’s a mugger or a friend who jumps out of the bushes, you’re still surprised. But your response—to flee or to hug—must be very different. Now, researchers have begun to distinguish the circuitry in the brain’s emotion center that processes surprise from the circuitry that processes the aversive or reward “valence” of a stimulus.

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<p><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news109423205.html">How the brain handles surprise, good and bad</a></p> <p>Whether it’s a mugger or a friend who jumps out of the bushes, you’re still surprised. But your response—to flee or to hug—must be very different. Now, researchers have begun to distinguish the circuitry in the brain’s emotion center that processes surprise from the circuitry that processes the aversive or reward “valence” of a stimulus.</p>