As an introvert, you may love the excitement and energy of the extrovert showpieces. Nonetheless, it can also make the more quiet ones feel a bit misunderstood. These illustrations visualize what goes on in the brain of an introvert, so you might see where we’re coming from.1. According to experts, introverts have a longer neural pathway to process different kinds of stimuli. Information runs through a pathway that is associated with long-term memory and planning. In other words, it’s more complicated for introverts to process interactions and events.

2. Introverts need less stimuli to feel awake and alert. That’s why introverts get overwhelmed way more easily.

3. The flip side is that introverts need less dopamine to feel happy and content than extroverts do. It’s because extroverts’ brain runs on an energy-spending system, whereas introverts run on an energy conserving-system. That’s why introverts can be perfectly happy while reading a book or getting lost in their own daydreams.4. Extroverts get excited by surprise and risk way more than introverts. Introverts’ brains aren’t as strongly rewarded for gambling or taking risks as extroverts’ brains are. The brain’s reward and pleasure system are activated by dopamine neurotransmitters. Scientists found that extroverts’ brains responded with more pleasure to positive gambling results.5. The introverts’ brain focuses on everything during a conversation – not just their conversational partner. They treat interactions with people with the same intensity level that it treats encounters with inanimate objects. 6. When introverts think, they recollect old – and new experiences to make a decision. This slows the process down but also leads to carefully thought-out decisions.

The mind of an introvert

Quite cool right, how the mind of an introvert works? Especially as these illustrations show that there are pros and cons of being an introvert or an extrovert. The same goes for the higher association between being an introvert and being a highly sensitive person…