Chapter 10 - Emotion

Question 1

Initially the Papez circuit involved what brain regions?

Answer 1

Hypothalamus, anterior thalamus, cingulate gyrus and hippocampus

Question 2

What regions were later added to the Papez circuit?

Answer 2

The ‘visceral brain’ - Broca’s limbic lobe, some subcortical nuclei and portions of the basal ganglia

Question 3

Maclean added what two areas and then called it the limbic system?

Answer 3

Amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex

Question 4

What is the Latin for limbus and why was this an appropriate name?

Answer 4

Limbus = rim; these structures roughly form a rim around the corpus collosum

Question 5

What did Paul Ekman find out about facial expressions?

Answer 5

Basic emotions can be represented by facial expressions

Question 6

Emotions can be categorised by valence and arousal. Find an example of this other than that in the textbook.

Answer 6

Anger - when you find your cat has been baked into in the car park (negative, low intensity) but then having the owner of the other car blame you (negative, high intensity)

Question 7

Davidson et al (1990) suggested an approach and withdrawal idea of emotion. What does this mean?

Answer 7

Different emotional states can motivate people to either approach or withdraw from the situation in which they are experiencing that emotion. Positive emotions motivate approach while negative emotions motivate withdrawal.

Question 8

What is the Kluver-Bucy syndrome?

Answer 8

When a lack of fear is induced by stimuli that would normally elicit a fear response. Also called ‘psychic blindness’.

Question 9

What is fear conditioning? Provide an example

Answer 9

A form of classical conditioning where the in conditioned stimulus is aversive. EG little Albert who was conditioned to fear white fluffy objects by pairing an unconditioned stimulus (white fluffy object) with an aversive stimulus (loud noise).

Question 10

What is a potential end startle reflex?

Answer 10

When a conditioned stimulus is enhanced in the presence of another stimulus. EG when a rat is conditioned to have a fear response to a light stimulus as well as a noise stimulus.

Question 11

Although SP knew that the blue square (which had been paired with the electric shock) meant that she was to be shocked, what happened to her skin conductance after the blue square was presented? Why?

Answer 11

SP showed no skin conduction response to the blue square (conditioned stimulus) which mean she failed to acquire a conditioned response. The amygdala is necessary for the implicit expression of emotional learning. SP had her amygdala removed to help with epilepsy.

Question 12

For someone with amygdala damage, what happens to their skin conductance once they experience an electric shock?

Answer 12

They don’t show any change in their skin conductance when presented with the conditioned stimulus.

Question 13

For someone without amygdala damage, what happens to their skin conductance once they experience an electric shock?

Answer 13

Their skin conductance changes when presented with the conditioned stimulus.

Question 14

What is the relationship between skin conductance and activation of the amygdala?

Answer 14

The amygdala is necessary to elicit a change in skin conduction when presented with a conditioned fear stimulus.

Question 15

The hippocampus is involved in what kind of memories?

Answer 15

Acquisition of explicit or declarative knowledge of the emotional properties of a stimulus.

Question 16

Due to damage in her amygdala, what emotion(s) could S.M not recognise?

Answer 16

Fear

Question 17

McGaugh et al (1992, 1996) found that arousing a rat did what to its ability to remember?

Answer 17

Enhanced its memory

Question 18

What happened in McGaugh’s experiments with rats if the amygdala had a lesion?

Answer 18

Arousal induced enhancement of memory is blocked

Question 19

When does the effect of modulation have to occur to have a positive effect on memory?

Answer 19

During the retention interval

Question 20

What areas of the brain are activated by the recognition of the emotion of anger?

Answer 20

Right orbitofrontal cotex and anterior cingulate

Question 21

Adolphs et al, after a decade of investigating found the SM could not recognize fearful expressions because?

Answer 21

She did not look at the eyes of the target

Question 22

What did Phelps and colleagues find when white participants observed white and black faces?

Answer 22

The amygdala was activated when white Americans viewed unfamiliar black faces

Question 23

What is the relationship between amygdala activation for brief and longer presentations of black and white faces?

Answer 23

Brief presentations of black faces activated the amygdala and is greater than for white faces, longer presentations activation is not significantly different between races

Question 24

What is the relationship between amygdala activation and deviation from the average face?

Answer 24

The amygdala is activated when a face deviates from a categorically average face