Chapter 12- Emotional Behaviors Flashcards
What are the three components of emotion?
Cognitions, Feelings and Actions
The autonomic nervous system is a branch of the…
peripheral nervous system
What does the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system control?
Fight or Flight responses and Vigorous Activity
What does the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system control?
Conserves energy and increases things like digestion
What is the James- Lange Theory of Emotional Behaviors?
That autonomic arousal and skeletal actions come first and then emotion.
Emotional feelings result from the body’s actions , it is the label that we give to the arousal of the organs and muscle
What two predictions exist because of James- Lange’s theory ?
1) People with weak autonomic or skeletal responses should feel less emotion
2) Causing or increasing someone’s responses should enhance emotion
What is wrong with James- Lange’s theory of emotion?
can’t test it
Can paralyzed people still feel emotions?
Yes, the same as before their injury
What is pure autonomic failure?
output from the autonomic nervous system to the body fails completely or almost completely
People with pure autonomic failure report their emotions…
the same as everyone else, but they feel their emotions much less intensely than previously
What does BOTOX do to our emotions?
Blocks transmissions at synapses and nerve-muscle junctions
- slower time in reading unhappy sentences
- weaker emotional responses
- points to body changes being important for emotion
What is a panic attack?
marked by extreme sympathetic nervous system arousal, occurs spontaneously
True or False. Inducing a frown leads to the rating of stimuli as slightly less pleasant?
true
What is mobius syndrome?
people are unable to move their facial muscles to make a smile
The limbic system is…
the forebrain area surrounding the thalamus, traditionally regarded as critical for emotion
much os the cerebral cortex also reacts to emotional situations
True or False. There are cels that respond only to a particular unpleasant emotion such as sadness or fear?
False
What is the only emotion for which brain evidence suggests brain localization is?
Disgust
What part of the brain is strongly activated if you see a disgusting picture or facial expression of someone else who is feeling disgusted?
Insular Cortex ( Insula) - the primary taste cortex
- also reacts to frightening and angry pictures
Activity of the left hemisphere relates to the…
Behavioral Activation System ( BAS)
- marked by low to moderate autonomic arousal and a tendency to approach
- can characterize either happiness or anger
Activity of the right hemisphere (frontal and temporal lobes) associated with the…
Behavioral Inhibition System ( BIS)
- marked by increased attention and arousal, inhibits action and stimulates emotions such as fear and disgust
People with greater activity in frontal cortex of left hemisphere are
happier, more outgoing and friendlier
People with greater activity in the right hemisphere are
socially withdrawn, less satisfied with life and prone to unpleasant emotions
Which hemisphere appears to be more responsive to emotional stimuli?
Right, also better at detecting other people’s emotions
People with damage to the right temporal cortex
have problems identifying emotions in others
People with damage to the left hemisphere are
better at detecting other’s emotions
What good do emotions do?
allow us to make quick decisions, help us make moral decisions ,
adaptive value
fear—escape
anger—-attack
Katkin et al., showed that people who are good at detecting their autonomic responses…
may have valid gut feelings about dangers they cannot identify consciously
Contemplating moral decisions activates what part of the brain?
prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and amygdala
Damage to parts of the prefrontal cortex
impairs decision making and leads to impulse decisions without considering consequences
- stems from failure to anticipate unpleasantness of an outcome
Damasio’s patient with prefrontal cortex damage to the ventromedial showed..
decreased guilt and was never upset
people with damage to either prefrontal cortex or amygdala cannot pick up on
feedback cues
Most of the vigorous emotional behaviors we observe in animals fall into categories of
attack and escape
What is the fight or flight system?
sympathetic nervous system
corresponding bx are anger and fear
Attack behaviors are associated with in the ——– of the brain?
corticomedial area of the amygdala
One likely environmental factor underlying violence is
exposure to lead
witness of violence in childhood
violent neighborhood
Violence is particularly enhanced in people with both
a genetic predisposition and troubled early environment
Who has the highest rate of aggressive behaviors and violent crime
young adult men
True or False. Men with hight testosterone commit more violent behaviors ?
True, but only slightly
Testosterone exerts its effects partly by
modifying the way people react to various stimuli
Testosterone affects different brain areas different…
increasing responses of emotion-related areas ( amygdala), while decreasing the ability of cerebral cortex to identify the emotion consciously
What is the Triple Imbalance Hypothesis?
Violence depends on other chemicals besides testosterone
Evidence links aggressive behavior to low
serotonin release
What is turnover?
the amount that neurons release and replace- estimated by measuring metabolites in body fluids
Valzelli found that isolating male mice for 4 weeks…
increased their aggressive behavior and decreased their serotonin turnover
2 year old male monkeys in lowest quartile for 5-HIAA ( lowest serotonin turnover) were the most
aggressive, had greatest probability of attacking larger monkeys and incurred the most injuries
Evolutionary implications of turnover?
select for an intermediate amount of anxiety and aggression
- might also select for high aggressive bx
- may die young but more likely to achieve a dominant position
How can you alter serotonin synthesis by changes in diet?
- tryptophan- amino acid found in small amounts of proteins
- diet high in other amino acids impairs brain’s ability to synthesize serotonin
- people with aggressive or suicidal tendencies should reduce consumption of :
Aspartame ( contains phenylalanine) and Maize ) increases phenylalanine and decreases tryptophan which results in low serotonin
Does serotonin decrease violence?
no
Clinical depression is linked to low
serotonin
high levels of serotonin______ and low levels ____
inhibit a variety of impulses, remove inhibitions
Startle Reflex
response to an unexpected loud noise, extremely fast, occurs within 2/10 of a second
if you are already tense then the startle reflex is more vigorous
axons extend to areas of the midbrain that relay info from the nucleus in the pons
Auditory info stimulates…
an area of the pons that commands tensing of the neck and other muscles, reaches pons within 3-8 milliseconds
Which part of the brain is most important for enhancing startle response?
amygdala
output from the amygdala to hypothalamus controls autonomic fear responses ( increase blood pressure)
also has axons to areas of prefrontal cortex that control approach and avoidance behaviors
Does amygdala damage destroy fear?
- damages learning of fear responses
- no retention of previously learned fears
- damages understanding things that have emotional consequences
Toxoplasma gondi
protozoan that infects many mammals but only reproduces in cats ( damages amygdala)
Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis
regulates long-term, generalized emotional responses
Kluver Bucy Syndrome?
effect of amygdala damage in monkeys, are tame and placid, display less than normal fear of snakes and larger dominant monkeys.
- alters social bx in that they have decreases ability to interpret threat gestures
Human amygdala reacts ____ when people look at photos that arouse fear of photos of faces showing fear
strongly
When is the amygdala most responsive?
When meaning is unclear and requires some processing, when reacting to emotional stimuli
also responds to stimuli not consciously perceived
People’s tendency toward anxiety generally..
remains fairly consistent over time
Soldiers with initial increased amygdala response showed…
more combat stress
True or False. People with amygdala damage do not lose their emotions?
True. But it does impair processing of emotional stimuli
they continue to experience cognitive aspect of unpleasant emotions but not the feeling part
Urbach-Wiethe disease
rare genetic disorder that causes calcium to build up in the amygdala until it wastes away
Patient SM. exhibited what kind of response to fear?
none. robberies at gunpoint, physical assaults, not scared of strangers
Are people with amygdala damage tend to focus on what aspects of the face?
nose and mouth instead of eyes. they are not incapable of recognizing fear, its just more difficult for them
Alternative interpretation of the function of the amygdala?
responsible detecting emotional information and directing other brain areas to pay attention to it in proper ways
Panic Disorder
characterized by frequent periods of anxiety and occasional attacks of rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweating and trembling
15% of people have joint laxity
linked to abnormalities in the hypothalamus
increased Orexin and decreases GABA
Anxiety is increased by transmitters…
orexin and CCK in amygdala or hippocampus. no drugs based on these have been approved
The main inhibitory transmitter is
GABA- decreases anxiety
Benzodiazepines
are the most commonly used anti-anxiety drugs
- Valium
- Librium
- Xanx
They bind to the GABA receptor and facilitate the effects of GABA to exert effects in the amygdala, hypothalamus and midbrain
Ethyl Alcohol
has bx effects similar to those of benzodiazepines, due to its effects on GABA ( enhances them)
Classical conditioning can
extinguish fear response, but they may return in times of stress. often effective to relieve phobias
When is it easier to extinguish a learned fear response?
immediately after original learning, before it becomes consolidated
Propanolol
drug that interferes with protein synthesis at certain synapses in the amygdala, causing decrease in fear intensity
Selye defined stress as…
the nonspecific response if the body to any demand made upon it
Generalized Adaptation Syndrome
sympathetic nervous system.
Alarm- increased activity of SNS, readying body for brief emergency activity
Resistance- as sympathetic response declines, adrenal cortex secretes cortisol and other hormones that enable body to maintain prolonged alertness, fight infections and heal wounds
Exhaustion- third stage in which individual is tired, inactive and vulnerable because nervous system and immune systems no longer have the energy to sustain their heightened responses
Stress related illnesses and psychiatric problems in industrialized societies
Sapolosky argued that the nature of todays’s crises are more prolonged and accounts for widespread stress-related illnesses and psychiatric problems in industrial societies
Stress Activates two body systems
Sympathetic Nervous System and the HPA axis ( hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal cortex) HPA becomes dominant response to prolonged stressors
the HPA axis
reacts more slowly than autonomic nervous system,
Anterior pituitary gland secretes
cortisol, which enhances metabolic activity and elevates blood levels of sugar and other nutrients
Leukocytes
white blood cells, the most important element of the immune system
Autoimmune disease
when immune system attacks normal cells
B cells
mature mostly in bone marrow and secrete antibodies
Antibodies
Y-shaped proteins that attach to particular kinds of antigens
Antigens
Surface proteins that are antibody generator molecules ( unique like fingerprints)
B cells recognize “ self” antigens but attack cells when they find an unfamiliar antigen
T cells
mature in the thymus gland and attack intruders directly and some help other T cells or B cells multiply
Natural Killer cells
attack tumor cells and cells that infected with viruses
Cytokines
small proteins produced by leukocytes and other cells in response to infection
they combat infection and also communicate with the brain to elicit appropriate bx
they trigger hypothalamus to produce fever, sleepiness,etc because sleep and inactivity are the bodies way of conserving energy to fight illness
Prostaglandins
additional chemicals produced by immune system that promote sleepiness
Psychoneuroimmunology
study of relationship between nervous system and the immune system
How stress affects the immune system
- nervous system activates immune system to increase production of natural killer cells and cytokines ( even fear or anger enhances immune system response temporarily)
- elevated cytokine levels help combat infections, but also trigger brain to produce symptoms of illness
Prolonged Stress Response
prolonged increase of cortisol directs energy toward increasing metabolism and therefore detracts energy from synthesizing proteins
- stress longer than a mont significantly increases the likelihood of illness
True or False. Prolonged stress can also harm the hippocampus?
True.
Stress releases cortisol, which enhances metabolic activity throughout body, when metabolic level is high in hippocampus, its cells become more vulnerable, toxins or overstimulation are then more likely to damage or kill hippocampal neurons
high levels of cortisol may be responsible for deterioration of the hippocampus and decline of memory…
in older people.
Older people with highest cortisol levels tend to be those with smallest hippocampi and greatest memory problems
Stress can shrink the hippocampus
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD)
disorder that occurs in some people after terrifying experiences. Last at least a month, includes flashbacks and nightmares, avoidance of reminders, exaggerated arousal in response to noise and other stimuli
Most PTSD have
a smaller than average hippocampus
victims show lower than average cortisol levels both immediately after traumatic events and weeks later, ill equipped to combat stress
What part of the brain is essential for extreme emotional impact that produces PTSD?
Amygdala
