biopsychology of emotion, stress and health

Question 1

In Darwin’s theory, why have we evolved to have emotions?

Answer 1

help us build social connections for reproduction, communication, survival > adaptive function when emotions are +

Question 2

how do emotions help communicate a message when speaking?

Answer 2

affect tone, delivery, interaction between people

Question 3

what did Darwin observe with emotions?

Answer 3

displayed in almost all species, emotions in different animal kingdoms are very similar, expression of emotion is a product of evolution

Question 4

what were Darwin’s 3 main ideas of emotion human evolution?

Answer 4

emotions expressed indicate what an animal is likely to do next (useful for survival), if signal they display benefits animals they will evolve in ways to enhance communication, opposite messages are often signalled by opposite movement/postures

Question 5

what are the 2 type of responses when emotions are experienced?

Answer 5

physiological and emotional response

Question 6

what are the 3 physiological theories of emotion?

Answer 6

James Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory, Two-factor theory

Question 7

physiological arousal from autonomic and somatic responses lead to feelings of fear in the brain = what theory?

Answer 7

James-lange theory

Question 8

emotional stimuli have 2 independent effects (excite feeling of emotion in the brain and expression of emotion in the ANS and SNS) as parallel processes that have no causal relation = what theory?

Answer 8

Cannon-Bard theory

Question 9

what don’t early theories of emotion take into account?

Answer 9

that emotion and physiological response have a knock on effect on each other

Question 10

complex interaction between factors so when we feel an emotion it affects our physiological response but also the physiological response affects our emotion = what theory?

Answer 10

Two-factor theory

Question 11

what are the 3 principle factors in an emotional response?

Answer 11

perception of the emotion-inducing stimulus, ANS and SNS responses, experience of the emotion

Question 12

does evidence indicate that all emotions are associated with the same pattern of ANS activity?

Answer 12

no

Question 13

is there any evidence that each emotion is characterised by a distinct pattern of ANS activity?

Answer 13

no

Question 14

describe the facial feedback hypothesis

Answer 14

evidence that facial expressions can influence how we feel, (studies shown that ppts told to make a smiley face felt happier and when told to make an angry face felt angrier)

Question 15

why is fear the most widely studied emotion?

Answer 15

easiest emotion to infer from behaviour in various species, has adaptive function to avoid threat, chronic fear is a common source of stress

Question 16

primary function to protect the organism from threat or harm =

Answer 16

defensive behaviours

Question 17

behaviours where primary function is to threaten or harm =

Answer 17

aggressive behaviours

Question 18

establishment of fear in response to previously neutral stimuli (CS) by presenting it several times before the delivery of an aversive stimulus (AS) =

Answer 18

fear conditioning

Question 19

what study was famous for fear conditioning?

Answer 19

little albert study (rat = NS, curiosity = NR, noise = US, crying = UR)

Question 20

what does fear conditioning explain?

Answer 20

phobia theories

Question 21

what brain structure is believed to have roles in emotion processing and fear?

Answer 21

amygdala

Question 22

lesions/damage to the amygdala leads to problems in?

Answer 22

processing fear

Question 23

from the amygdala what does the pathway to the periaqueductal grey (PAG) elicit?

Answer 23

appropriate defensive responses

Question 24

what does the pathway from the amygdala to the lateral hypothalamus elicit?

Answer 24

appropriate sympathetic responses (increased arousal)

Question 25

clusters of many nuclei =

Answer 25

amygdala complex

Question 26

involved in acquisition, storage and expression of conditioned fear =

Answer 26

lateral nucleus

Question 27

acts on the lateral nucleus of the amygdala to suppress conditioned fear =

Answer 27

pre frontal cortex

Question 28

outputs involved in controlling defensive behaviour =

Answer 28

central nuncleus

Question 29

how did the discovery of Kluver-Bucy syndrome lead us to know the amygdala is involved in fear processing?

Answer 29

syndrome in monkeys whose anterior temporal lobes had been removed and displayed behaviour of lack of fear. most of primates syndromes due to damage to the amygdala

Question 30

how has a human case study shown the amygdala is involved in fear processing?

Answer 30

'women with no fear' > female with bilateral amygdala destruction from rare genetic condition

Question 31

what brain region is key for emotional processing?

Answer 31

limbic system

Question 32

what are the structures of the limbic system that emotions are expressed through?

Answer 32

amygdala, mammillary body, hippocampus, fornix, cingulate cortex, septum, olfactory bulb, hypothalamus

Question 33

what are the brain sites for of emotion-cognition interaction?

Answer 33

medial prefrontal lobes

Question 34

what did functioning brain imaging studies find evidence for with the medial prefrontal lobes and emotional reactions?

Answer 34

activity of being cognitively suppressed or re-evaluated

Question 35

environmental and context where fear-inducing stimuli is encountered can come to elicit fear =

Answer 35

contextual fear conditioning (plays key role in memory for spatial locations)

Question 36

lesions to the hippocampus block..?

Answer 36

development of fear responses to the context

Question 37

what is the dominant approach to studying emotion brain mechanisms?

Answer 37

cognitive neuroscience of emotion

Question 38

sensory cortex = | motor cortex =

Answer 38

input, | output

Question 39

model that proposes that the right hemisphere is specialised for all aspects of emotional processing =

Answer 39

right-hemisphere model (theory too general and no evidence)

Question 40

model that proposes that the right hemisphere is specialised for processing negative emotions and the left is specialised for processing positive emotion =

Answer 40

valence model (theory too general and no evidence)

Question 41

what does the asymmetry of facial expressions mean?

Answer 41

facial expressions are more pronounced on the LEFT side of face

Question 42

emotions situations produce widespread increases in ______ activity

Answer 42

cerebral

Question 43

why do emotions matter?

Answer 43

major part of mental life, motivate actions, mental health disorders are linked to defective emotions, they are biologically valuable

Question 44

mental, physical, emotional and behavioural reactions to any perceived demands or threats =

Answer 44

stress

Question 45

what are the 5 major sources of stress?

Answer 45

work, change/transition, loss, relationships, total response of the organism

Question 46

explain individual experience of stress

Answer 46

different people respond to the same stressor in different ways and not everyone will be stressed by the same thing

Question 47

is it the stressor or the response to the stressor that makes someone stressed?

Answer 47

response to the stressor

Question 48

what are the 2 systems that are activated in the short term response to a stressor?

Answer 48

anterior-pituitary adrenal cortex system, sympathetic nervous system

Question 49

body is exposed to harm/threat > cluster of physiological changes with the same core pattern occur =

Answer 49

stress response

Question 50

in the short term, the stress response produces ______ changes

Answer 50

adaptive

Question 51

describe the activation of the anterior-pituitary adrenal-cortex system

Answer 51

stressor > anterior-pituitary releases ACTH > triggers release of glucocorticoids from adrenal-cortex > release glucose (energy)

Question 52

describe the activation of the SNS

Answer 52

adrenal medulla releases increased levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline hormones > increases HR, breathing, sweating, dilating pupils

Question 53

why is the hippocampus particularly susceptible to stress?

Answer 53

due to the dense population of glucocorticoid receptors

Question 54

what effects does stress have on the hippocampus?

Answer 54

reduce dendritic branches, reduce neurogenesis, modify structure of some hippocampal synapses, disrupt hippocampus dependent task performance (effects mediated by elevated levels of glucocorticoids)

Question 55

brief increases in HR, mild elevations in stress hormone = _____ stress

Answer 55

positive

Question 56

serious, temporary stress responses, gives immune system a boost = ______ stress

Answer 56

tolerable

Question 57

prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships = ______ stress

Answer 57

toxic

Question 58

what buffers tolerable stress from being toxic?

Answer 58

supportive relationships

Question 59

long term stress produces changes that are _________

Answer 59

maladaptive

Question 60

another form of + beneficial stress that provides energy and motivation to achieve our goals =

Answer 60

eustress

Question 61

continuous experience of feeling overwhelmed, oppressed, no light at end of tunnel =

Answer 61

distress

Question 62

what are features of the adaptive immune response?

Answer 62

slower reaction, specific to antigen, specialised cells used to identify/destroy/remember antigens

Question 63

what are features of the innate immune response?

Answer 63

reacts quickly at point of entry, phagocytes (macrophages/neutrophils) engulf pathogens, triggers inflammation

Question 64

what produce physiological reactions that participate in the body's inflammatory response?

Answer 64

stressors

Question 65

what type of stressors lead to improvements in immune function mainly in the innate response?

Answer 65

acute

Question 66

what type of stressors negative affect the adaptive response?

Answer 66

chronic

Question 67

what type of inflammatory responses help the body combat infections?

Answer 67

short term cytokine induced

Question 68

what being released long term is associated with a variety of adverse health consequences?

Answer 68

cytokines

Question 69

stressors produce an increase in blood levels of ______

Answer 69

cytokines

Question 70

what are cytokines?

Answer 70

peptide hormones

Question 71

sympathetic = | parasympathetic =

Answer 71

arousal, calming

Question 72

physiological and psychological response to demands = emotional response to perceived/actual threat = anticipatory response to unknown threat =

Answer 72

stress, fear, anxiety

Question 73

what are stress, fear and anxiety?

Answer 73

related emotional responses that prepare the body to react in response to a threat

Question 74

what are the main features of anxiety?

Answer 74

anticipatory, based on unknown threat

Question 75

when does stress become anxiety?

Answer 75

when stress is prolonged, the thoughts lead to the response not the actual stressor, feelings of worry to the stressor