Emotion Emotions are autonomic impulses that induce either negative or positive mental states . Most sentient species have emotions . According to Vulcan philosophy , emotions cannot be explained by logic . Some common emotions include : Emotional expression . Two species that are well known for suppressing their emotions are the Borg , with an exception of the Queen , and the Vulcan s , with exception of the V ' tosh ka ' tur , and Sybok . ( ) Vulcans were by nature a barbaric and savage people who came near self - annihilation , until the Time of Awakening ; it was then when Surak preached the way of logic rather than emotion . ( , , and others ) Since Vulcans have the capability to exert a level of conscious control over virtually all of their body functions , they can actually manipulate the neural pathway s that regulate and receive the balances of neurochemicals involved in emotion . This enables them to inhibit their brain from forming the neural impulses that create conscious emotional mental states , thereby actually suppressing their innate emotions . The psycho - suppression system in the Vulcan brain that endows Vulcans with this ability is located in the mesiofrontal cortex . ( ) The Vulcan ritual , known as the " kolinahr " , is designed to purge all remaining emotions in a Vulcan . ( ) Despite their suppression of emotions Vulcans still have them , and sometimes their violent nature resurfaces . Spock was vulnerable to polywater intoxication , and when he was infected , he was sobbing , having regretted his inability to express his love for his mother . Spock was also subject to the euphoria - inducing spores of the Omicron Ceti III plant . ( , ) The Bendii Syndrome was an illness which makes elderly Vulcans lose their emotional control . ( ) After a mind meld with Lon Suder , Tuvok ' s emotional system was traumatized , resulting in him losing some of his own control , becoming dangerous and violent . ( ) In a later point , Tuvok laughed when his identity was erased to make him a laborer on the Quarren homeworld . ( ) In addition , surprise , combined with strong emotion , made Spock ( who was half - Human as well as half - Vulcan ) lose control for a brief moment . ( ) Contrarily , Odo has observed that the Bajoran s are even less successful than most humanoid s in hiding their emotions . ( ) Often , robot s like the Pralor Automated Personnel Unit or other advanced artificial lifeforms like android s or exocomp s can exhibit self - awareness but don ' t have emotions . An exception is Data , who obtained an emotion chip from his creator , Dr . Noonian Soong , which allowed him to experience Human emotions . ( ) After receiving the chip in 2371 , he was initially unprepared for the unpredictable nature of emotions . However , that after having experienced 261 distinct emotional states , he felt he had learned how to control his feelings . ( ) Although he was able to switch his emotions off he chose to remove the emotion chip in 2375 . ( ) Strong primitive emotions , like hate , can block a telepath ' s ability to read the mind of a person . As a prisoner of the Talosian s , Vina attempted to block the Talosians from reading her mind for years with primitive emotions . Eventually , through fatigue coupled with the determination of her captors , she stopped trying . In 2254 , Christopher Pike would , against the advice of Vina , attempt the same tactic against the Talosians . ( )