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they’re constricted, so the brain is less

stimulated. Eysenck thought that the

ARAS functioned differently in introverts

and extroverts: introverts have

wide-open information channels, causing

them to be flooded with stimulation

and over-aroused, while extroverts

have tighter channels, making them

prone to under-arousal. Over-arousal

doesn’t produce anxiety so much as the

sense that you can’t think

straight—that you’ve had enough and

would like to go home now. Underarousal

is something like cabin fever.

Not enough is happening: you feel

itchy, restless, and sluggish, like you

need to get out of the house already.

Today we know that the reality is far

more complex. For one thing, the ARAS

doesn’t turn stimulation on and off like

a fire truck’s hose, flooding the entire

brain at once; different parts of the

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