Chapter 11 book notes Flashcards
Does seeing something dangerous activate the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system?
It depends. If the danger is distant, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system, but if it is close, it activates the sympathetic nervous system.
Observations on pure autonomic failure support which theoretical statement about emotions?
The statement that the intensity of emotional feeling depends on autonomic responses.
What is the relevance of Botox to the facial-feedback hypothesis?
Botox to the frowning muscles makes it harder to frown, and decreases depression, as the facial-feedback hypothesis predicts.
What dimensions of emotions did researchers find in the temporoparietal junction of the right hemisphere?
Polarity (pleasant vs. unpleasant), intensity, and complexity.
Why does the usual way of testing recognition of emotions overestimate accuracy?
The usual procedure is to ask people to match six faces to six labels. After you identify one or more for sure, you improve your chances of guessing the other ones correctly.
What biological factor influences the ability to recognize people’s emotional expressions?
People with better connections between the frontal cortex and the anterior temporal cortex tend to be better at recognizing facial expressions.
What brain activity influences decisions on moral dilemmas?
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex compares utilitarian (cognitive) information and the expected emotional outcome. People with damage in this area tend to put less weight on the emotional aspects.
Keyword: pure autonomic failure
The nervous system completely or almost completely ceases activity. The heart and other organs continue to function, but the nervous system no longer regulates them.
Keyword: facial-feedback hypothesis
Facial expressions can modify mood. Smiling may make you feel happier, and frowning may make you feel unhappy.
Keyword: limbic system
The forebrain areas surrounding the thalamus
Keyword: behavioral activation system (BAS)
The activity of the left hemisphere, especially its frontal and temporal lobes
Keyword: behavioral inhibition system (BIS)
The activity of the right hemisphere, especially its front and temporal lobes
Who first identified the sympathetic nervous system with fight-or-flight activities?
Walter Canon
Pure autonomic failure impairs which aspect of emotions?
Intensity of feelings
The facial feedback hypothesis makes which of these predictions?
Increased frowning will decrease happiness.
Researchers found three gradients of response in the right temporoparietal junction as people watched an emotional movie. What were those dimensions?
Polarity, intensity, complexity
Which brain area is associated with the behavioral activation system and a tendency to approach?
The left hemisphere
Certain research studies overestimated people’s abilities to recognize facial expressions of emotion because they used which research method?
Matching questions
The ability to memorize emotional expressions correlates to what?
Connections between the frontal cortex and the anterior temporal cortex
Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex increases which tendency in making decisions?
More utilitarian decisions
What does MAOA do?
After the reuptake of serotonin or one of the catecholamines in the presynaptic cell, the enzyme MAOA breaks down some of the excess molecules into an inactive form.
What relationship did Caspi et al. (2002) report between enzyme MAO(v)A and antisocial behavior?
According to the report by Caspi and associates, a combination of serious maltreatment during childhood and lower levels of MAO(v)A increased antisocial behavior.
Why might the effects of testosterone injection be stronger for women than men?
Men already had enough testosterone that the amount administered might not significantly alter their behavior.
What does a measurement of 5-HIAA indicate?
Measurements of 5-HIAA, a metabolite of serotonin, indicate how much serotonin has been released and replaced.
How do testosterone and cortisol affect aggressive behavior?
Testosterone tends to increase aggressive, dominant behaviors. Cortisol tends to inhibit compulsive behaviors, including aggression. The research so far with humans finds only a weak effect of each.
What does amygdala research tell us about the concept of fear?
What we call fear is not a single thing, but a combination of individual reactions.
What aspect of fear depends on the bed nucleus of stria terminalis?
It is responsible for long-term changes in emotional arousal and anxiety.
Given that the amygdala becomes more active when an expression is harder to interpret, can you explain why it does not respond strongly to happy faces?
Smiling faces are easy to interpret!
Why do people with amygdala damage have trouble recognizing expressions of fear?
They fail to make eye contact.
What does the evidence suggest about biological bases for anxiety disorders?
Some people are predisposed to anxiety disorders either because of increased responsiveness of the amygdala and associated areas or because of less ability of the prefrontal cortex to suppress anxiety responses.
What transmitter abnormalities are common in people with panic disorder?
Low levels of GABA and increased release of orexin occur in people with panic disorder.
What conclusion emerges from studies of twins, one with PTSD and one without?
A smaller-than-average hippocampus is both a risk factor and a result of PTSD.
When benzodiazepines facilitate GABA, what happens at the postsynaptic neuron’s membrane?
Chloride ions enter more readily
Keyword: amygdala
Keyword: monoamine oxidase A (MAOA)
Keyword: 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA)
Seratonin’s main metabolite
Keyword: turnover
The amount that neurons released and replaced
Keyword: dual-hormone hypothesis
Aggressive behavior relates to facilitation by testosterone and inhibition by the hormone cortisol.
Keyword: startle reflex
Keyword: bed nucleus of the stria terminalis
A set of axons that connect the bed nucleus to the amygdala
Keyword: panic disorder
Characterized by periods of anxiety and occasional attacks of rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweating, and trembling—in other words, extreme arousal of the sympathetic nervous system—without any apparent reason.
Keyword: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Marked by frequent distressing recollections (flashbacks) and nightmares about the traumatic event, avoidance of reminders of it, and vigorous reactions to sudden noises
Keyword: benzodiazepines
Anti-anxiety medications such as diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), and alprazolam (Xanax) which bind to the GABA(v)A receptor
What is known about the genetics of violent behavior in humans?
Many rare genetic variants can increase violent behavior.
How does the gene for the less active form of the enzyme MAOA affect the probability for aggressive behavior?
Increased probability for someone who was abused in childhood.
Aggressive behavior correlates with low turnover of which neurotransmitter?
Serotonin
What chemical in the cerebrospinal fluid indicates the amount of serotonin turnover in the brain?
5-HIAA
According to the dual-hormone hypothesis, aggressive behavior correlates with what?
Increased testosterone and decreased cortisol
Why do we know more about the brain mechanisms of anxiety than we do about other emotions?
Researchers can measure anxiety better than other emotions in laboratory animals
After damage to the amygdala, what happens to the startle reflex?
It becomes more consistent from one time or situation to another
The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is most important for which aspect of anxiety?
The general background level of anxiety
The amygdala responds most strongly to which type of emotional expressions?
Expressions that require some effort to understand
Three people with amygdala damage expressed no fear under most circumstances. What did, nevertheless, evoke fear?
Breathing concentrated carbon dioxide
What neurotransmitter abnormality is most common in people with panic disorder?
Decreased GABA and increased orexin
What do benzodiazepines do?
They facilitate GABA synapses
What function does cortisol play in the initial response to stress?
Cortisol increases blood levels of glucose and therefore makes energy available. It also increases alertness.
How does McEwen’s definition of stress differ from Selye’s?
Selye’s definition treated favorable and unfavorable changes as equally stressful. McEwen’s definition focuses on events that an individual considers threatening.
What kind of cell releases cytokines?
Leukocytes (white blood cells) release cytokines.
What changes do prostaglandins stimulate?
Prostaglandins stimulate the hypothalamus to produce fever, decrease hunger, decrease sex drive, and increase sleepiness.
Why do the effects of stress mimic the effects of illness?
Both release cytokines, which communicate with the hypothalamus via prostaglandins. The hypothalamus reacts with the same responses it uses to combat illness, such as inactivity and loss of appetite.
How does prolonged stress damage the hippocampus?
Stress increases the release of cortisol, which enhances metabolic activity throughout the body. When neurons in the hippocampus have high metabolic activity, they become more vulnerable to damage by toxins or overstimulation.
How might antibiotic drugs affect mood?
If someone has harmful bacteria in the digestive system, antibiotics might improve mood. On the other hand, most people’s intestinal bacteria are helpful, and killing them would be disadvantageous.
Keyword: Behavioral medicine
Keyword: stress
The nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it
Keyword: general adaptation syndrome
Marked by any type of threat activating a generalized response
Keyword: HPA axis
Consists of the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal cortex. Reacts more slowly than the sympathetic nervous system, but lasts as long as the stress occurs
Keyword: adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
Stimulates the adrenal cortex to secret glucocorticoid hormones, mainly cortisol in humans
Keyword: cortisol
Increases the blood glucose, providing the body with extra energy
Keyword: immune system
Consists of cells that protect the body against viruses, bacteria, and other intruders
Keyword: leukocytes
White blood cells
Keyword: antibodies
Y-shaped proteins that attach to antigens, like a key in a lock
Keyword: antigens
Antibody generator molecules
Keyword: cytokines
Combat infections and stimulate the vagus nerve, triggering the release of prostaglandins that cross the blood-brain barrier and stimulate the hypothalamus to produce fever, sleepiness, lack of energy, lack of appetite, and lack of sex drive
Keyword: psychoneuroimmunology
Deals with how experiences alter the immune system and how the immune system in turn influences the central nervous system
Keyword: enteric nervous system
A set of neurons that control digestion, stretching from the esophagus to the rectum
Would getting married count as a stressful event under McEwen’s or Selye’s definition?
Seyle’s definition
Which gland releases cortisol?
McEwen’s definition
What happens to memory when people are under intense stress?
They remember other stressful events clearly
How does prolonged stress cause fever?
Stress elevates cytokines that cause the hypothalamus to increase body temperature
How does stress affect the hippocampus?
Increased metabolic rate makes the hippocampus more vulnerable
What can increase resilience to stress?
Social support
