Chapter 11 - Emotion

Question 1

List 3 components of emotions. Which one of these components is more closely associated with emotions?

Answer 1

Cognitions, feelings, and actions

Feelings

Question 2

What is the “common sense” view of emotion?

Answer 2

Frightening situation → fear → running away, increased heart rate etc.

Question 3

What does the James-Lange Theory of Emotion propose?

Answer 3

What you experience as an emotion is the label you give to your responses

Frightening situation → running away, increased heart rate → interpret these signs as fear

Appraisal –> Action (Behavioural/physiological aspect) –> Emotional feeling

Question 4

What are some traits associated with the feeling aspect of the James-Lange theory?

Answer 4

1) Feelings associated with emotions may not be straightforward.
2) Attach a specific emotional label based on the specific cognitive context. Eg: You wouldn’t say that you feel jealous when you see the lions. Even though it’s a negative emotion, context is different, so you will interpret it differently.

Question 5

List 3 types of evidence in support of how physiological arousal is necessary for emotions.

Answer 5

1) People with a condition called pure autonomic failure, where the autonomic system fails, claim they can feel emotions, but they feel the emotions much less intensely.
2) People with brain damage that prevents voluntary facial movement have trouble recognizing other people’s emotional expressions.
3) People forced to smile think that jokes are funnier than if they are not smiling. When frowning, people rated photographs as more unpleasant.

Question 6

Scientists have found the visceral responses (ie sympathetic effect on organs) occur slower than the emotional reaction. Is this consistent with the James-Lange Theory of Emotion?

Answer 6

No. JL theory posits that physiological reactions come before one experiences emotions.

Question 7

What does the Two-Factor Theory propose on emotions?

Answer 7

Recognition of a salient/arousing stimulus is a distinct process that occurs before valence processing

Question 8

Explain how misattribution of arousal supports the Two-Factor theory/

Answer 8

Male experimenters considered female experimenters more attractive after walking across a high bridge (as compared to those in control bridge which is stable)

• Salient or arousing stimulus: can be the bridge or the female experimenter
• Shared pool of arousal for both? Possible.
• Misattribution of arousal. Thought they feel a certain way because of the attractive female experimenter when it’s because of the high suspension bridge

Question 9

List one advantage of the Two-Dimensional Theory of Emotion

Answer 9

Allows for a more graded version of emotion.

Question 10

What does the psychological construction of emotions posit about emotions?

Answer 10

Everyday, there will always be some degree of activation within a sphere of emotions.

With these things, once you feel a state, you try and assign some explanation on why you feel a certain way.

Something from evolution that helps decide whether we are doing okay or not. When something bad reaches a threshold, we will think of it. Otherwise, we will not think of it simply because it is not strong enough.

Question 11

A limbic system is a true system. True or false?

Answer 11

False. It is often misunderstood as any area involved in emotional regulation. It may not even be a real system (debatable).

Question 12

The amygdala is important only for emotional regulation. True or false?

Answer 12

False. It is indeed one of the most important areas of emotional regulation but it can also be important in other areas not related to emotional regulation.

Question 13

The ________ is important for all cognitive functions.

Answer 13

Frontal lobe

Question 14

List 3 functions of the parahippocampal gyrus.

Answer 14

1) Memory formation
2) Emotional regulation
3) Non-emotional memories

Question 15

The limbic system is a network of ________ areas, surrounding the _________, that is involved in emotional processing. It includes the amygdala, hippocampus and cingulate cortex, among others.

Answer 15

Forebrain; thalamus.

Question 16

What was found in experiments that attempted to localize emotions in the brain?

Answer 16

No consistent results were obtained for most emotions (except disgust). A meta-analysis was conducted to see where in the brain emotions are localized at. Unlike studies that aim to localize memory and attention, there is no consistent results on which areas correspond to which emotion.

Question 17

In which part of the brain is disgust most localized at?

Answer 17

Primary taste cortex.

Question 18

The ___________ is arguably important for emotional regulation and regulates autonomic responses.

Answer 18

Hypothalamus.

Question 19

The limbic system is only useful for emotional regulation. True or false?

Answer 19

False. Involved in autonomic process, learning and memory and motivation too.

Recall: Hypothalamus involved in autonomic responses

Question 20

The left hemisphere is associated with the __________________, while the right hemisphere is associated with the _______________.

Answer 20

Behavioural Activation System (BAS)

Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS)

Question 21

What is the BAS marked by?

Answer 21

1) Low to moderate autonomic arousal
2) A tendency to approach

Eg: Happiness or anger

Question 22

What do people with stronger BAS exhibit?

Answer 22

They tend to be happier, more fun-loving and outgoing.

Question 23

What happens when a person suffers damage to the left hemisphere?

Answer 23

Trouble identifying other people’s emotional expressions.

Question 24

What is the BIS marked by?

Answer 24

1) High autonomic arousal
2) Inhibits action

Eg: Fear, disgust

Question 25

What do people with stronger BIS exhibit?

Answer 25

They tend to be socially withdrawn, less satisfied with life and prone to unpleasant emotions.

Question 26

What happens when a person suffers damage to the right hemisphere?

Answer 26

Better assessment of other people’s emotions.

Question 27

What is a caveat of the BAS and BIS categorization?

Answer 27

It’s actually quite vague and not very accurate.

Question 28

Neuroticism and negative affectivity is related to high value in the ____ scale.

Answer 28

BIS

Question 29

How are emotions adaptive?

Answer 29

They allow our bodies to react to stimuli without having to think much about it. –> Emotions occur quickly, so you don’t have to assess the situation too much. It just happens to you.

Eg: Fear alerts us to escape from danger. Anger directs us to attack an intruder. Disgust tells us to avoid something that might cause illness.

Question 30

From the moral decisions’ experiments, what can be said about the role of emotions in decision making (2)?

Answer 30

1. Emotions can influence our decisions in ways that we may not be conscious of.
2. But emotions alone do not determine these decisions. We impose certain rules on our decisions (Eg I cannot sacrifice an innocent person, and impose my decision on an innocent person.)

Question 31

Emotions are always involved in decision making. True or false?

Answer 31

True. Rational thought will also play a role, but one cannot deny that emotions do play a large role in the feelings we get for moral decisions.

Question 32

List one piece of evidence that suggests that emotions are indeed important for decision making.

Hint: Damage to which part?

Answer 32

Damage to prefrontal cortex - Antonio Damasio, expressed almost no emotions

• Nothing angered him
• He was never very sad, even about his own brain damage
• Nothing gave him much pleasure, not even music
• Far from being brilliantly rational, he frequently made bad decisions that cost him his job, his marriage and his savings.

Question 33

If we had no emotions we might have a hard time making moral decisions. True or false?

Answer 33

False. We can still make moral decisions even if we have no emotions. May be different from the decision we will make if our prefrontal cortex is normal, but at the end of the day you still can make decisions.

Question 34

If we had no emotions we might have a hard time understanding why certain situations are emotional. True or false?

Answer 34

False. We can still understand because at the end of the day we have no cognitive problems. However, we will have a hard time reacting and giving behavioural responses.

Question 35

If we had no emotions we might have a hard time reacting quickly to life-threatening stimuli. True or false?

Answer 35

True.

Impaired feelings of emotions mean that your bodies will take much longer to respond to stimuli.

No quick cue available now to help you assess the situation in a way that requires less time. So you cannot respond quickly.

Question 36

List 2-3 consequences of having no emotions/damage to prefrontal cortex.

Answer 36

1. Impaired emotions
2. Faulty decision making
3. Unable to react quickly to life-threatening stimuli

Question 37

Explain the process of sensitization (?) to emotional responses in the amygdala.

Answer 37

An initial threat builds up activity in the amygdala.

Subsequent threats will be met with faster aggressive behaviors. This is a form of sensitization to emotional responses.

Question 38

Give an example of how heredity and environment can interact to produce aggression.

Hint: Use an enzyme to explain.

Answer 38

MAO-A is an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, thus lowering their available amounts.

Recall that decreases in serotonin results in higher aggression. So higher MAO-A activity = higher amounts of aggression.

However, if a person with high MAO-A activity did not suffer maltreatment, no matter what enzymes are produced, there’s still low levels of anti-social behavior on their part. But if a person with low MAO-A activity suffered abuse, they are much more likely to show antisocial behavior.

Question 39

The Triple Imbalance Hypothesis states that aggressive behavior depends on the balance of 3 chemicals: ______, ______ and ________.

Answer 39

testosterone, cortisol, serotonin.

Question 40

Describe briefly the relationship between testosterone levels and aggression.

Answer 40

Violent crimes are associated with higher levels of testosterone.

Question 41

Describe briefly the relationship between cortisol and aggression.

Answer 41

Decreases in cortisol are associated with loss of inhibitions. So low cortisol is associated with high aggression.

Question 42

Describe the mechanism on how serotonin levels can affect aggression.

Keywords: Tryptophan, 5-HIAA, rate of turnover

Answer 42

Serotonin is created out of tryptophan, an amino acid from our diet.
Tryptophan → serotonin
Our enzymes can synthesise most amino acids in our body but we cannot synthesise tryptophan, so it is beneficial to have a diet rich in tryptophan!
Tryptophan is converted to serotonin via an enzyme, this produces some leftover chemicals (5-HIAA)
Serotonin is stored in the vesicles, ready to be released into the synapses when action potentials arrive.
When action potentials arrive, vesicle then releases serotonin, some of the serotonin released will bind to receptors in the postsynaptic cell, some are reabsorbed by presynaptic cell and goes back into synaptic vesicles, some just diffuse and floats away.
Cell needs to replenish serotonin by converting more tryptophan to serotonin.
Rate of turnover: concentration of by-product (5-HIAA) in the blood relates to how much serotonin is being used the last few minutes
Summary – we can measure in our blood how much serotonin we are using by measuring levels of (5-HIAA), the byproduct of serotonin creation
Found that decreases in serotonin is associated with higher aggression

Question 43

Describe briefly the relationship between the amount of 5-HIAA measured in the bloodstream and aggression.

Answer 43

Low amount of 5-HIAA produced from the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin meant that there are low levels of serotonin produced. This means higher aggression.

Question 44

List 3 pieces of evidence that supports the relationship between serotonin and aggression.

Answer 44

1) Mice become aggressive when put in stressful situations. Under these conditions, more aggressive mice have lower turnover rate of serotonin (only for males, suggesting an interaction with testosterone)
2) Juvenile monkeys with lower serotonin turnover are more aggressive. Tend to die young. But also, if they survive, tend to become alpha males.
3) Violent criminals show lower levels of serotonin turnover.

Question 45

How to manipulate levels of serotonin in our own bodies?

Answer 45

Drink a protein shake with all amino acids except tryptophan… leads to a temporary decrease in serotonin production. Internal regulation of amino acids in body. Body depletes all serotonin, can’t produce anymore. Serotonergic synapses are temporarily quiet. Some may become depressed, others become aggressive or impulsive. Those previously addicted to drugs may have their cravings coming back.

Question 46

What is the relationship between amygdala activity and aggressive behaviour?

Answer 46

Amygdala activity underlies the increase in aggressive behavior following a threat.

Question 47

Why is it that we produce less serotonin than the amount that we use?

Answer 47

Most of the serotonin gets reabsorbed by the presynaptic cell. Don’t need to produce so many.

Question 48

What is a possible function of serotonin?

Answer 48

Inhibit any predominant impulse.

Question 49

List 3 ways the amygdala can receive input from.

Answer 49

1) Pain fibers
2) Vision
3) Hearing

Question 50

List 3-4 outputs locations from the amygdala.

Answer 50

1) Hypothalamus: Control of autonomic fear responses, like increase in heart rate
2) Prefrontal cortex: Approach and avoidance responses
3) Midbrain –> Pons: Control of startle reflex

Question 51

List 3 case studies on the relationship between the amygdala and fear.

Answer 51

1) Toxoplasma gondii –> An infection that damages the amygdala.
- A protozoan that selectively destroys the amygdala in rats, so rats with this condition do not become afraid of cats
- This becomes useful for the protozoan’s life cycle, which requires infected rats to be eaten by cats.

2) Kluver-Bucy Syndrome (Monkeys)
- Some monkeys with damage to the amygdala develop the syndrome, characterized by tame and placid behaviour.
- But not all monkeys with amygdala damage develop this syndrome. This depends on age, social situation, and the exact location of the damage.

3) Patient S.M
Amygdala damage. Fearless to external stimuli.
She was not emotionless – has curiosity and excitement.
Researcher claims that S.M has no other emotional problems apart from fear. But be cautious of such statements, they haven’t tested other cognitive dimension in this patient’s tells us that the full story is still unclear.
But does not have a normal anticipatory fear response.

Question 52

Damage to the amygdala leads to a ________ fear response in rats and humans

Answer 52

decreased.

Question 53

What was found when measuring amygdala functioning using fMRI, especially in response to face perception?

Recall: What are the 2IVs in this experiment?

Answer 53

IV1: Angry vs Fearful faces
IV2: Direct vs Averted gaze

Strength of amygdala responses:

• Angry + averted > Angry + direct
• Fear + direct > Fear + averted

Question 54

The amygdala is involved in fear processing, fear sensitization and other processing not related to fear. True or false?

Answer 54

True. Amygdala responds to emotional stimuli, such as fearful or angry faces.

However, the amygdala has also been thought to be involved in any other things completely unrelated to fear or other emotions, so it’s not essential to the understanding of fearful emotions. Patient can understand that some things are fearful but does not express the emotions.

Question 55

Define what anxiety is.

Answer 55

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.

Question 56

Anxiety is a major symptom of many psychological disorders. True or false?

Answer 56

False. Only a major symptom of anxiety disorders even though most psychological disorders include increased anxiety as one of the symptoms.

Question 57

What is panic disorder characterized?

Answer 57

Panic disorder is characterized by frequent periods of anxiety and occasional attacks of rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweating and trembling (ie extreme arousal of the sympathetic nervous system).

Question 58

The presence of panic disorder in a person can point to dysfunctions in ____________.

Answer 58

Sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamus.

Hypothalamus: Possible. Recall that hypothalamus controls the functioning of the sympathetic nervous system directly or indirectly.

Question 59

Anxiety, a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about something with an uncertain outcome, is related to activity in the ______ and importantly, in the __________.

Answer 59

Limbic system, hypothalamus

Question 60

What is the most common anxiolytic drug?

Answer 60

Benzodiazepines - Valim, Librium, Xanax

Question 61

How do anti-anxiety drugs/anxiolytic drugs work?

Answer 61

They bind to GABAa receptor, increasing its sensitivity to GABA.

• Receptor is now more likely to bind to the GABA produced.
• GABA is often an inhibitory neurotransmitter
• Basically increases overall inhibition

Exert effect by increasing inhibition in the limbic system through GABAa receptors.

Question 62

Describe the pharmacological relief obtained from benzodiazepines.

Answer 62

1) GABA binds to the GABAa receptor to open a Cl- channel, thus hyperpolarizing and inhibiting the cell.
2) GABA is inhibitory because when it binds to the GABAa receptor, Cl- will enter the cell given its high concentration outside of the cell. Negative charge enters, interior of the cell becomes more negative and hyperpolarized. Thus harder to reach threshold because neuron is now less likely to fire an action potential.
3) Benzodiazepines bind to GABA receptor to facilitate GABA binding (ie make it more likely for GABA to bind to the receptors/increase affinity for GABA). More Cl- enters and thus more inhibition. GABA twists receptor to open Cl- channel.
4) Benzodiazepines exert anti-anxiety effects through their actions in the limbic system. But GABA exerts effects throughout the brain, including the cortex and thalamus. This leads to side effects such as induced sleepiness and impaired memory.

Question 63

What is systemic desensitization?

Answer 63

A type of behavioural therapy based on principles of classical conditioning

Aims to remove fear response of a phobia and substitute with a relaxation response to the conditional stimulus gradually using counter conditioning.

Question 64

Anxiety is a complex state that involves multiple brain regions, but most importantly it involves primarily the ________________.

Answer 64

Hypothalamus

Question 65

Anxiolytic drugs exert their effects by binding to GABA receptors, thus opening Cl- channels. True or false?

Answer 65

FALSE.

The drugs do bind to GABA receptors, but they do not open the channels. They just make it more likely for GABA to bind to the receptors, which in turn open Cl- channels.

Are like neuromodulators. They don’t activate or inhibiti, they just allow other neurotransmitters to be more or less effective.

Question 66

Alcohol binds to GABAA receptors. When alcohol is bound to the receptor, its affinity for GABA increases. This leads to __________.

Answer 66

Decrease in anxiety.

More GABA will bind to the receptor and Cl- channels open as a result.

One of the things that alcohol does. Binds to GABA receptors and acts as an anxiolytic drug.