[iamnothere]

> (interestingly, it makes decision making hard -- for me, it now requires me to write a pro/con list when facing a decision because there are few emotions involved, even when buying something that should be slightly exciting, like a new car)

This is actually a known phenomenon! Emotions are key to the decision-making process, and when they are impaired for whatever reason then you are more likely to make suboptimal decisions. I recommend Antonio Damasio's book Descartes' Error for a good picture of how this works.

[copperx]

Thanks for the book suggestion. I'm now wondering whether an overactive emotion circuitry makes one an even better decision maker or does it impair it? Perhaps the book will provide some insight.