Ch. 29: Emotional Regulation and Mood Flashcards
emotional regualtion
ability to manage emotional responses to environmental stimuli that are perceived as aversive (cause strong dislike) or negative
anxiety (define & s/s)
apprhension mixed with fear or worry that occurs in response to a real or perceived threat
(s/s): {apprehension intiates somatice response} palpitations, sweating, tachypnea or nausea
{fear response can be adaptive} alertness for potential danger
GAD (define)
(generalized anxiety disorder)
state of excessive worrying that interferes w/ daily function
SAD (define)
(social anxiety disorder)
conditon characterized by periods of significant fear resulting from a feeling of being judged that = impairment of daily function
Panic disorder (define)
condition characterized by sudden episodes of intense fear that often results in increased sympathetic function
general ages affected by anxiety
18-54
fear-centered anxiety disorders
panic disorder and social anxiety disorder (SAD)
may occur following a situation the mind associates with overwhelming negative consequences
worry-centered anxiety disorders
GAD
functional disruptions in neuronal circuitry; increased activity on the part of the cortical-striatal-thalamic pathway
risks for development of anxiety
genetic: 1st degree relative increases chance; variation on (5-HT) transporter gene (SLC6A4) related to hyperreactivity of amygdala
(5-HTTLPR = inadequte response to SSRI)
familial: parent who is anxious models anxious repsonses; possibly reinforce fearful behavior
environmental: negative and stressful life events, socio-economic status, and culture
anxiety’s comorbidity partner?
depression
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRI)
widely used for anxiety
consolidation (fear conditioning)
occurs largely in the amygdala, where memories of fearful stimuli are stored
long term potentiation: single fearful event stored as long term memory
reconsolidation
an older memory is activated once again and reinforced; the reactivated memory becomes a new experience
conditioned stimulus
external stimulus: picked up by sensory organs
internal stimulus: arise from thoughts or bodily sensations
{beginning of the fear conditioning pathway}
three roles of the amygdala in response to stimuli
1) grants significance on the stimuli that come from the thalamus or the hypothalamus
2) holds “emotional memories”
3) has extensive projections to motor areas and areas of the brainstem that control autonomic responses (e.g., heart rate, breathing)
conditioned response
child climbs over a fence into a neighbors yard and gets chased by a dog; if this occurs multiple times = fear learning
the now-grown child sees an empty yard, has a conditoned response of apprehension of “what if” there’s a dog about to chase me?
prefrontal cortex
- registers and assigns menaing to emotions from memories of the amygdala
- weighing action on the basis of potential reward and helps the individual to adjust to changing circumstances
- (ACC) balancing emotion and thought & controlling attention
caudate nucleus
unease is felt = do something about it; action-reward sequencing
common feature in SAD: negative information processing bias
a sense of apprehension that prompts to amygdala to fire = a conditioned response = …
increase in the flow of norepinephrine (NE) = anxiety w/ stress
GABA
(gamma aminobutyric acid)
primary inhibitory AA neurotransmitter of the CNS
balances the mind/body when in overstressed by CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) or sustained for too long
extinction
process in which a new association forms between a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response
key to cognitive treatments for anxiety
when the body enters into a stressful state, NE increases and causes…
increases in locus coeruleus, limbic system, cerebral cortex
locus coeruleus: site of NE synthesis
causing an overproduction of NE; making the GABA-BDZ effect too little = why Tx for panic disorders are fast acting BDZ (lorazepam)
serotonin and anxiety
neurotrans. 5-HT, drugs that increase 5HT (SSRIs) are effective against anxiety, specifically SAD
first line of treatment of anxiety disorder
SSRIs or SNRIs; safest and least side effects
paroxetine (Paxil), used for all anxiety disorders
sertraline (Zoloft), used for all except GAD
