• Drugs have a clear impact on neurotransmitters, whether prescribed or not. If you’re like me, coffee is a prerequisite to start my day. Caffeine makes me alert and focused, and without it I feel sluggish and drowsy. Have you had a recent experience with ‘drugs’? Caffeine? Nicotine? Painkillers? Insulin? (While insulin is a hormone, too much or too little of it affects physical and psychological functioning for diabetics like me). What happened? How did it make you feel?
• Disney Pixar’s 2015 movie, Inside Out, illustrates how emotions such as Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness guide a young girl through her experiences after moving to a new city. I want you to play your version of the movie, by detailing a few hours (or half a day, or an entire day) of your life as played out by the neurotransmitters, hormones, nervous system, and/or brain. For example, your response could look something like this:

I woke up late for class this morning, so my Sympathetic Nervous System kicked my body into flight-or-fight mode, by increasing my heart rate and breathing. Fear was definitely taking place. I immediately rushed out the door to catch my train, and this burst of energy could be linked back to the adrenaline hormone. As I sat in the train, I felt my body go back to normal, which was my Parasympathetic Nervous System calming me down. Not only did I arrive to class on time, but the professor was absent! I felt so happy and relieved, which was probably my Serotonin level increasing for the moment.