MRCPsych on the Go: Revision Essentials

18. What Drives Us: Motivation, Drives, Homeostasis and the Hypothalamus

Aalap Asurlekar Season 1 Episode 18

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0:00 | 12:27

Why do you reach for food when you are hungry, or feel restless when you have been sitting still too long? The answer lies deep inside your brain, in a region the size of a pea.

In this episode, we explore the biology of motivation, covering primary and secondary drives, Hull's drive reduction theory and the concept of homeostasis. We also examine the role of the hypothalamus in regulating hunger and satiety, including the hormones leptin and ghrelin and the lateral and ventromedial hypothalamic systems.

These ideas are clinically relevant to conditions involving disrupted appetite, addiction and behavioural change.

Ideal for MRCPsych Part A revision, medical students and anyone curious about the biological roots of human motivation. Aligned with the Royal College of Psychiatrists MRCPsych Part A syllabus, paragraph 1.1.7.

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