Arousal 

is the physiological and psychological state of being awoken or of sense organs stimulated

to a point of perception. It involves activation of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) in
the brain, which mediates wakefulness, the autonomic nervous system, and the endocrine system,
leading to increased heart rate and blood pressure and a condition of sensory alertness, desire,
mobility, and reactivity.
Arousal is mediated by several neural systems. Wakefulness is regulated by the ARAS, which is
composed of projections from five major neurotransmitter systems that originate in
the brainstem and form connections extending throughout the cortex; activity within the ARAS is
regulated by neurons that release
the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, histamine, and serotonin. Activation
of these neurons produces an increase in cortical activity and subsequently alertness.
Arousal is important in regulating consciousness, attention, alertness, and information processing. It
is crucial for motivating certain behaviours, such as mobility, the pursuit of nutrition, the fight-or-flight
response and sexual activity (the arousal phase of Masters and Johnson's human sexual response
cycle). It holds significance within emotion and has been included in theories such as the James–
Lange theory of emotion. According to Hans Eysenck, differences in baseline arousal level lead
people to be extraverts or introverts.
The Yerkes–Dodson law states that an optimal level of arousal for performance exists, and too little
or too much arousal can adversely affect task performance. One interpretation of the Yerkes–
Dodson Law is the Easterbrook cue-utilisation hypothesis. Easterbrook states that an increase of
arousal decreases the number.

Neurophysiology[edit]
Main article: Ascending reticular activating system

Structures of the brainstem, the origin of the arousal system, viewed along the sagittal plane
Wakefulness is regulated by the ascending reticular activating system, which is composed of five
major neurotransmitter systems – the acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, histamine,
and serotonin systems – that originate in the brainstem and form connections which extend
throughout the cerebral cortex.[1][2][3] When stimulated, these systems produce cortical activity and
alertness.[1][2]
The noradrenergic system is a bundle of axons that originate in the locus coeruleus and ascends up
into the neocortex, limbic system, and basal forebrain. Most of the neurons are projected to
the posterior cortex which is important with sensory information, and alertness. The activation of the
locus coeruleus and release of norepinephrine causes wakefulness and increases vigilance. The
neurons that project into the basal forebrain impact cholinergic neurons that results in a flood of
acetylcholine into the cerebral cortex.
The acetylcholinergic system has its neurons located in the pons and in the basal forebrain.
Stimulation of these neurons result in cortical activity, shown from EEG records, and alertness. All of
the other four neurotransmitters play a role in activating the acetylcholine neurons.
Another arousal system, the dopaminergic system, releases dopamine produced by the substantia
nigra. The neurons arise in the ventral tegmental area in the midbrain, and projects to the nucleus
accumbens, the striatum forebrain, limbic system, and prefrontal cortex. The limbic system is
important for control of mood, and the nucleus accumbens signal excitement and arousal. The path
terminating in the prefrontal cortex is important in regulating motor movements, especially reward
oriented movements.
The serotonergic system has almost all of its serotonergic neurons originating in the raphe nuclei.
This system projects to the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. Stimulation of these axons and
release of serotonin causes cortical arousal and impacts locomotion and mood.
The neurons of the histaminergic system are in the tuberomammillary nucleus of the hypothalamus.
These neurons send pathways to the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and the basal forebrain, where they
stimulate the release of acetylcholine into the cerebral cortex.
All of these systems are linked and show similar redundancy. The pathways described are
ascending pathways, but there also arousal pathways that descend. One example is the
ventrolateral preoptic area, which release GABA reuptake inhibitors, which interrupt wakefulness
and arousal. Neurotransmitters of the arousal system, such as acetylcholine and norepinephrine,
work to inhibit the ventrolateral preoptic area.

Importance[edit]
Mental state in terms of challenge level and skill level, according to Csikszentmihalyi's flow model.[4](Click on a
fragment of the image to go to the appropriate article)

Arousal is important in regulating consciousness, attention, and information processing. It is crucial

for motivating certain behaviors, such as mobility, the pursuit of nutrition, the fight-or-flight
response and sexual activity (see Masters and Johnson's human sexual response cycle, where it is
known as the arousal phase). Arousal is also an essential element in many influential theories
of emotion, such as the James–Lange theory of emotion or the Circumplex Model. According
to Hans Eysenck, differences in baseline arousal level lead people to be either extraverts or
introverts. Later research suggests that extroverts and introverts likely have different arousability.
Their baseline arousal level is the same, but the response to stimulation is different.[5]
The Yerkes–Dodson law states that there is a relationship between arousal and task performance,
essentially arguing that there is an optimal level of arousal for performance, and too little or too much
arousal can adversely affect task performance. One interpretation of the Yerkes–Dodson law is the
Easterbrook cue-utilisation theory. It predicted that high levels of arousal will lead
to attention narrowing, during which the range of cues from the stimulus and the environment
decreases.[6] According to this hypothesis, attention will be focused primarily on the arousing details
(cues) of the stimulus, so that information central to the source of the emotional arousal will be
encoded while peripheral details will not.[7]
In positive psychology, arousal is described as a response to a difficult challenge for which the
subject has moderate skills.[4]