(11) Neurobiology of emotions

Question 1

What is Physiological arousal?

Answer 1

Anatomical level, Hormonal level (changes in levels)

Question 2

What is Expressive behaviours?

Answer 2

Behavioural level (facial expression)

Question 3

What is Conscious experience?

Answer 3

Cognitive level

Question 4

Darwin believed emotions evolved from behaviours…

Answer 4

that indicated what an animal would do next in a given situation; that when these behaviours were advantageous to the animal

Question 5

How does our body respond in fight or flight?

Answer 5

Changes in breathing, higher consumption of oxygen, sweating, heart rate

Question 6

What is James-Lange’s theory?

Answer 6

Experience of emotion is awareness of physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

Question 7

What is Cannon-Bard’s theory?

Answer 7

Emotion-arousing stimuli simultaneously trigger:

-physiological responses, subjective experience of emotion

Question 8

emotions can be induced by stimuli that cannot elicit a peripheral, visceral response, for example…

Answer 8

(patients suffering from a spinal cord transection)

Question 9

visceral responses can often induce an emotional state in the absence of any obvious eliciting stimuli, for example…

Answer 9

(a racing heartbeat and respiration can produce a feeling of fear)

Question 10

Schachter-Singer’s theory

-To experience emotion one must:

Answer 10

• Be physically aroused

- Cognitively label the arousal

Question 11

Some emotional reactions may occur without…

Answer 11

conscious thinking

Question 12

Emotions involve bodily responses…

Answer 12

• Some of these responses are very noticeable (butterflies in our stomach when fear arises),
• but others are more difficult to discern (neurons activated in the brain)

Question 13

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) controls our

Answer 13

arousal

Question 14

What is the ANS?

Answer 14

part of the nervous system responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed: breathing, heartbeat, and digestive processes.

Question 15

What is Epinephrine?

Answer 15

a hormone that increases heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels in times of emergency.

Question 16

What similarities are there is physiological responses?

Answer 16

Physiological responses related to the emotions of fear, anger, love are very similar, excitement and fear involve a similar physiological arousal

Question 17

What differences are there is physiological responses?

Answer 17

Different brain responses to different emotions

Question 18

What is a Polygraph?

Answer 18

-Machine used in attempts to detect lies measures physiological responses

Question 19

What does a polygraph measure?

Answer 19

• perspiration
• cardiovascular changes
• breathing changes

Question 20

particular brain regions are involved in emotion, but often…

Answer 20

the same areas seem to be involved in many different emotions

Question 21

Emotional behaviours must be organized at…

Answer 21

SUBCORTICAL, with the cerebral cortex normally providing inhibition of emotional responsiveness

Question 22

What is a Papez circuit?

Answer 22

Emotional system on the medial wall of the brain linking cortex with hypothalamus

Question 23

What is Kluver-Bucy Syndrome?

Answer 23

No fear or aggression after surgery

Question 24

Why does Kluver-Bucy Syndrome occur?

Answer 24

Because lesions restricted to the cerebral cortex did not produce these results, deeper regions of the temporal lobe (including sites within the limbic system) were implicated

Question 25

The amygdala appears to be very involved in the perception of…

Answer 25

fear (as opposed to the expression)

Question 26

What is the left hemisphere involved in?

Answer 26

LH is less involved in perception of emotion

• LH lesion Depressive symptoms
• Presentation of emotional stimuli on the LEFT visual field Faster reaction times and accurate identification

Question 27

What is the right hemisphere involved in?

Answer 27

• RH is more involved in perception of emotion, specifically facial expression and prosody (melody of speech that conveys sincerity, sarcasm, etc.)
• RH lesion Euphoria symptoms