2 Stress

Question 1

What is kluver-bucy syndrome?

Answer 1

Fearlessness and symptoms associated with the bilateral removal of the amygdala

Question 2

What are some symptoms associated with the kluver-bucy syndrome?

Answer 2

Fearlessness

Inappropriate approach to normally frightening stimuli

Inappropriate sexual behavior

Increased oral exploration

Social order – copulating with those who are higher than them…

Overly reactive to visual stimuli

Question 3

What is the “fear circuit?”

Answer 3

Low road – sensory input coming into the thalamus and projecting to the amygdala
>Allows for rapid processing of threatening stimuli

High road – sensory input goes into the thalamus, then into the cortex and projecting to amygdala

> Cortical inhibition

Question 4

“Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you”. True or false?

Answer 4

False - The Anterior cingulate cortex says that pain is pain, doesn’t matter if it’s physical or emotional pain

Question 5

Do you need a cortex to respond fearfully to a stimuli?

Answer 5

No – all you need is the connection from the thalamus to the amygdala (no cortex needed)

Question 6

What happens when you damage the prefrontal cortex later in life?

What about early in life?

Answer 6

Difference is in morality concept:

Later in life - You know the right AND wrong (concept of morality) – understanding the concept of morality but it doesn’t matter. You will still steal something KNOWING it’s wrong.

Earlier in life – those individuals don’t understand right and wrong of morality. You will steal something NOT knowing it’s wrong.

Question 7

What controls the autonomic NS (ANS)?

Answer 7

Hypothalamus

What feeds into the hypothalamus – (indirectly affects ANS) amygdala, neocortex, hippocampus

Question 8

Which hemisphere is most active when we are experiencing negative emotions?

Answer 8

The right hemisphere (right pre-frontal cortex)

Left pre-frontal cortex active when happy and joyful

Question 9

What would anasthesia of the LH result in?

How about damage?

Answer 9

Feelings of depression

Damage to the left hemisphere results in more anxiety and sadness in their situation than those who have had right hemisphere damage.

Question 10

Which hemisphere amd ear is better at recognizing emotional tone and prosody?

Answer 10

The Right hemisphere (or left ear)

Question 11

Which hemisphere amd ear is better at recognizing semantic meaning?

Answer 11

The Left hemisphere (or right ear)

Question 12

Which side of the face is more expressive?

Answer 12

Left side.

Question 13

Which hemisphere is faster in responding to negative stimuli and affect?

Answer 13

The right hemisphere is quicker in detecting negative shit (and even positive)

Question 14

What gave way to the creedance to the Somatic Marker of theory?

Answer 14

Widespread areas of the brain appear to be associated with each specific emotion - single brain area regions may participate in more than 1 emotional state.

Question 15

What is the Flight or Fight response controlled by?

Answer 15

The ANS is controlled by the hypothalamus and the NST, which also controls hunger and thirst.

Question 16

Which is true:

ANS produces different patterns of arousal during different emotional states

There is a strong relationship between different patterns of ANS activity and specific emotions.

And whose theory do we kill off?

Answer 16

It is true that there is no strong relationship between specific patterns of ANS and specific emotions - it’s not specific to anything. However, negative emotions do tend to be associated with stronger all-over ANS response.

This kills off James-Lange!

Question 17

What’s the best definition of stress?

What is the anatomical definition?

Answer 17

Stress is a demanding and overwhelming condition in the environment and the individual’s response to that situation.

Physiologically, it’s anything that activates the sympathetic NS.

Question 18

Why is stress more harmful to us now than it was before?

Answer 18

We deal with more abstract and long-term issues now than back in the days when our biggest challenges were things like running away from predators and finding food.

The activation of the sympathetic NS (oxygen, glucose, muscles) - all of that still gets prepped for “running” away, but it also affects cortisol levels…

Question 19

When we are stressed, what do we activate?

Answer 19

We activate the HPA or the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, which causes the adrenal glands to pump our cortisol.

Question 20

What are the benefits of cortisol?

Answer 20

Wakes us up, keeps us awake, good for insulin release and glucose, and memory.

Question 21

What is the function of the HPA?

Answer 21

It is a group of structures (hypothalamus and pituitary) that helps the body cope with stress.

Question 22

Describe the stress response system.

Answer 22

1. Sensory system: We detect the stimuli, then it gets sent to the Cortex and the Amygdala.
   “8 legs, fast, fuzzy, beady eyes”
2. Cortex - We now identify stimuli and access the memories that pertain to the stimuli;
   “That’s a nasty ass fuzzy ass big ass spider! Last time I looked at it and it hissed at me!!!”
3. Amygdala - Helps remember the emotional valence from before and attaches emotional valence (negative at this moment), then sends that information to the Hypothalamus and the Bed nucleus of the Stria Terminalis (BNST) to make us more aware.
   “big ass fuzzy ass spider = fear and stay away”