[share_ebook] Caffeine and activation theory: Effects on Health and Behavior

Description

Arousal theories have long sought to explain how cortical arousal and its downstream effects on a wide range of body systems function to affect personality, behavior, and health. In that effort, we must first distinguish between trait arousal and state arousal. The former refers to the individual’s typical or average level of arousal, and the latter indicates current arousal at a given moment. Both are influenced by a complex set of genetic factors that affect, among other things, structure of the reticular activating system and the limbic system, together with their neurotransmitter substrates. The phenotype for trait arousal then results when these genetic predispositions interact with specific aspects of early life experience.