Chapter 12 - Emotional and Motivated Behavior

Question 1

innate releasing mechanisms (IRMs)

Answer 1

mechanisms that detect specific stimuli (e.g. seeing a prey) and direct an organism to take a particular action (e.g. stalking the prey)

Question 2

preparedness

Answer 2

the nervous system has a predisposition to respond to certain stimuli differently from other stimuli

Question 3

olfaction (smell)

Answer 3

used to discriminate between something safe/familiar and something unsafe/unfamiliar
- about 400 types of olfactory receptors embedded in the olfactory epithelium in the nasal cavity

Question 4

olfactory bulb

Answer 4

where olfactory receptors project to
- connected primarily to the pyriform cortex and the amygdala, and via the thalamus to the orbitofrontal cortex

Question 5

pheromones

Answer 5

biochemical fragrances released by an animal that acts as a chemical signal and influences the physiology or behavior of another animal

Question 6

gustation (taste)

Answer 6

important for emotional and motivated behavior
- five types of taste receptors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory)
- all receptors distributed over the tongue, soft-palate, roof of the mouth, sides of the mouth, and back of the mouth

Question 7

gustatory pathways to the brain

Answer 7

• the first goes through the thalamus and reaches S1 and the primary gustatory cortex
• the second goes directly to the hypothalamus and amygdala

Question 8

regulatory behavior

Answer 8

behavior motivated to meet the survival needs of the animal
- necessary for survival such as eating behavior, drinking behavior, and temperature management
- regulated by internal stimuli via the hypothalamus
- necessary for a single individual and is caused by the homeostatic mechanism

Question 9

non-regulatory behavior

Answer 9

not necessary for the survival of the individual but may be necessary for the survival of the species
- e.g. sexual behaivor, parental behavior, and curiosity
- strongly influenced by external stimuli via the hypothalamus, limbic system, and the prefrontal cortex

Question 10

most important neural structures in emotional and motivated behavior

Answer 10

hypothalamus, pituitary gland, limbic system, and frontal lobes

Question 11

homeostasis

Answer 11

keeping the internal state of the body constant within precisely defined limits, a so-called set point
- by regulating vital body functions
- hypothalamus is important for homeostatic mechanisms

Question 12

hypothalamus

Answer 12

involved in emotions, reproduction, the autonomic nervous system, and the hormonal (endocrine) system
- one primary function is to control the pituitary gland

Question 13

pituitary gland

Answer 13

is an endocrine gland on the underside of the hypothalamus
- located just behind the optic chiasm
- consists of 2 systems: posterior and anterior pituitary

Question 14

posterior pituitary

Answer 14

made of neural tissue
- receives hormones from the hypothalamus through axons, and releases hormones into the bloodstream through capillaries

Question 15

anterior pituitary

Answer 15

made of glandular tissue
- receives releasing hormones from the hypothalamus through capillaries
- releasing hormones can either stimulate or inhibit the release of anterior pituitary hormones into the bloodstream
- synthesizes its own horomones (growth hormone, prolactin, TSH)

Question 16

feedback loops

Answer 16

the release of hormones from the hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland to release hormones as well
- the pituitary hormones in turn stimulate the organs to release their hormones
- in the feedback loop, the hormones of the organs also influence the hypothalamus to lower the secretion of hormones

Question 17

neural regulation

Answer 17

through cognitive observations, certain processes, normally regulated by hormones, may be controlled by neurons

Question 18

experience-based responses

Answer 18

a third control on the hormonal activities of the hypothalamus is the brain’s response to experience
- neurons in the hypothalamus undergo a structural and biochemical change, just as cells in other brain regions do

Question 19

lateral hypothalamus (in rats)

Answer 19

linked to the feeling of hunger
- if it is lesioned, there is aphagia (failure to eat)

Question 20

ventromedial hypothalamus (in rats)

Answer 20

linked to the feeling of fullness
- if it is lesioned, there is hyperphagia (overeating)

Question 21

osmotic thirst

Answer 21

occurs when the balance between moisture inside and outside a cell is disturbed
- it is then necessary to drink something that ensures that the concentrations are again in the right proportions

Question 22

hypovolemic thirst

Answer 22

when there is too little fluid in your body
- we tend to want to drink something other than water, because water would dilute the solute concentration in the blood

Question 23

organizing effects

Answer 23

effect during prenatal development (e.g. the influence of androgens on the masculinization of the brain)

Question 24

activating effects

Answer 24

effects in the adult brain
- in females, oestrogen levels are linked to sexual behaivor
- in men, testosterone levels are linked to sexual behavior

Question 25

subjective feelings

Answer 25

like fear, anger, love
- the amygdala and prefrontal cortex are important here

Question 26

physiological responses

Answer 26

autonomic bodily reactions
- related to the hypothalamus

Question 27

cognition

Answer 27

under the influence of the cerebral cortex, such as the evaluation of stimuli and thoughts about the experience

Question 28

constructivist theory (James-Lange theory)

Answer 28

this theory states that the reaction precedes the emotion
- first there is the physiological change like an acceleration of the heart and then the brain interprets this change as an emotion
- empirically supported

Question 29

Cannon-Bard theory

Answer 29

maintains that humans first see a stimulus, then feel an emotion, and then behave accordingly
- proven false

Question 30

appraisal theory

Answer 30

views emotions as processes rather than states; emotional episodes are the coordinated/synchronized activities of multiple biological components
- an appraisal component
- somatic components
- a behavioral component
- a feeling component

Question 31

limbic system

Answer 31

a brain region just beneath the neocortex which is important for emotional behavior, containing the following structures:
- cingulate gyrus
- hippocampus
- amygdala
- mammillary nucleus of the hypothalamus

Question 32

cingulate gyrus

Answer 32

responsible for evaluating reward and punishment

Question 33

hippocampus

Answer 33

responsible for memory and spatial navigation, and is vulnerable to the effects of stress

Question 34

mammillary nucleus of the hypothalamus

Answer 34

involved in memory

Question 35

amygdala

Answer 35

evaluates sensory information for emotional and motivational meaning
- connected to the hypothalamus and brainstem
- influences neural activity associated with emotions and sepcies-typical behavior

Question 36

electrical stimulation to the amygdala

Answer 36

leads to autonomic responses and anxiety

Question 37

removal of both amygdalae

Answer 37

leads to Kluever-Bucy syndrome
- involves tameness and loss of fear, indiscriminate eating and sexual behaivor, overreacting to visual stimuli, examining objects with the mouth, and visual agnosia (inability to recognize objects)

Question 38

anatomy of the frontal lobe

Answer 38

consists of the prefrontal cortex, premotor, and the motor cortex

Question 39

prefrontal cortex

Answer 39

receives input from all sensory areas
- has many connections to the amygdala and hypothalamus
- damage has serious effects on social and emotional behavior
- damage can cause apathy and loss of initiative or drive, inability to plan and organize, resulting in bad decisions and radical personality changes

Question 40

nucleus accumbens

Answer 40

in the basal ganglia and is important for both wanting and liking
- highly addictive drugs increase dopamine in the nucleus accumbens