Pleasure, happiness and play in the multisensory environment

Abstract

Neuroplasticity underpins both positive and negative changes that occur in the brain in response to stimulation. These anatomical and physiological changes continue throughout the life of the individual. Sensory deprivation, unpleasant or unvaried stimulation lead to a closing down of neurological processes, depression and diminished engagement. Positive changes are facilitated through multisensory stimulation that directly appeals to a person's dual pleasure systems: the appetitive (anticipatory) and the consummatory (participatory). Heightened levels of pleasure lower the person's pleasure threshold thereby making it possible for more of what the individual experiences in the Multisensory Environment to become pleasurable. The accumulation of pleasure translates into happiness, a feeling of contentment, which in turn promotes human flourishing. Once the individual enters into the realm of human flourishing play becomes possible and this in turn provides a feedback loop that helps to sculpt the brain.