The Introvert Diaries #1
In which we set the stage and clear up a misunderstanding
To infinity, and brains ðŸ§
The title of this newsletter has the number one because it could become a series. There are a lot of misunderstandings about introversion. Let’s clear those up. I don’t know how often I’ll write other introvert diary entries, or how many I’ve got hidden in my brain.
Hah, brain. That’s as good a place to start as any.
I’ve written about personality before, where I ended up with the suggestion that your personality is a constellation of traits. And just like a constellation of stars, it seems fixed, but you have some wiggle room because each of the many traits that form your personality is context-dependent and can (somewhat) slide across a spectrum. But you probably can’t slide back and forth between extremes. In terms of intro-/extroversion, roughly half to two-thirds of people are ambiverts, in between the extremes. The remaining half/third is divided roughly equally between people on the introvert and extrovert ends of the sliding scale.
Someone who is very introverted (*waves*) is unlikely to ever become an extreme extrovert, even if they can move toward the extroverted end a little bit (if they so choose). Personality traits, like most traits, arise from a combination of nature and nurture. The nurture is upbringing, culture, social pressure, and so on. The nature part of personality includes genes, hormones, and the brain.
So what’s going on in an introvert’s brain? When comparing people who are more on the introvert side of the spectrum compared to those in the extrovert lands, we find that introverts show different brain network activation, have ‘bigger’ brains, and different blood flow patterns in the brain. Okay, but what does this mean?
People have theorized that this tells us something about motivation and reward systems. Let me call it the dopamine-acetylcholine switch. (Important note: for the dopamine side of the equation, we’ve got more scientific backup than for the acetylcholine side.)
I feel you (in my own way) 😌
Extroverts, so the idea goes, have a more active dopamine reward network with more dopamine receptors. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that does a lot of things, but what matters here is that it makes us feel good when seeking/anticipating a reward. In the case of dopamine, that reward often comes in an external form: for extroverts, the (anticipation of) going to a party, meeting new people, getting someone’s number, and so on, gives them a buzz. Here is a quote from a Cornell press release on extrovert reward systems:
Rewards like food, sex and social interactions as well as more abstract goals such as money or getting a degree trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, producing positive emotions and feelings of desire that motivate us to work toward obtaining those goals. In extroverts, this dopamine response to rewards is more robust so they experience more frequent activation of strong positive emotions.
Introverts, on the other hand, seem to have a lower dopamine receptor availability. Let’s translate that into ‘easier overwhelmed by those things extroverts crave’. Instead, if we look at those blood flow patterns I mentioned earlier, those seem to run more along brain pathways affected by another neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in more introverted brains. (Again, the science becomes pretty thin at this point.)
Acetylcholine is involved in a lot of things, but also in learning and memory, as well as being the major messenger molecule in the parasympathetic nervous system (the ‘slow down and breathe’ side of our Janus nervous system, in contrast to the ‘let’s go’ sympathetic side). Introverts then, seem to derive more reward from internal activities than extroverts, and they are more rapidly overstimulated by external ones. In support of this, the bigger brain areas in introverts are mostly involved in things like planning, abstract thought, and other in-your-head stuff.
I’d like to see more scientific confirmation of the acetylcholine plotline but, anecdotally, I can confirm all of the above. This different balance in the way we derive that rewarding feeling we all want is, I think, the source of confusion between introverts and extroverts.
Extroverts, ever wondered why your introvert friends look uncomfortable at that amazing party (good job getting them there, by the way)? They are overwhelmed and that great feeling you have at the party is what they feel when reading a good book, or drawing, or writing, or making music…
Exuberance does not need to be loud.
- Introvert saying (that I made up)
Introverts, can’t wrap your head around the fact that your extrovert friends are always out and about, drowning in social events with that silly grin on their faces? Well, those are the moments they feel the way you do when you are in a flow state doing your favorite solo activity (or small group activity, we’ll get to that in another diary entry).
We all crave that feeling; we just get there in our own way.