Chapter 12 Key Terms

Question 1

Limbic system

Answer 1

A series of subcortical structures – including the amygdala, hypothalamus, cingulate cortex, anterior thalamus, mammillary body, and hippocampus – that sit below the neocortex; contributes to emotional and other functions.

Question 2

Amygdala complex

Answer 2

The complex of nuclei comprising the amygdala, including the basolateral nuclei and corticomedial nuclei.

Question 3

Memory enhancement effect

Answer 3

The greater the emotional intensity associated with an event or experience, the better it is remembered.

Question 4

Nucleus accumbens

Answer 4

Part of the basal ganglia; a cluster of cells in the basal forebrain (also called the ventral striatum). One of the brain areas where electrical stimulation is most rewarding.

Question 5

Ventral striatum

Answer 5

See nucleus accumbens.

Question 6

Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)

Answer 6

Brain region most implicated in integrating emotion and decision making; includes regions that directly overlie the eye orbits and areas that extend into the medial wall of the frontal lobes (ventromedial prefrontal cortex).

Question 7

Reversal learning

Answer 7

Ability to change behavior when contingencies change; ability to reverse a previously learned correct response.

Question 8

Emotion regulation

Answer 8

General term for attempts to manage the emotions that one experiences, so that they are socially appropriate and do not spiral out of control.

Question 9

Prosody

Answer 9

The intonation pattern, or sound envelope, of an utterance; tone of voice in which a phrase is spoken.

Question 10

Propositional prosody

Answer 10

Communicates lexical or semantic information.

Question 11

Affective prosody

Answer 11

Communicates the emotional context or tone of an utterance.

Question 12

Aprosodia

Answer 12

Impairment or deficits in comprehension of prosody, resulting from brain damage.

Question 13

Approach-withdrawal model

Answer 13

Theory based on basic and rudimentary actions that organisms take in responding adaptively to the environment. Proposes that the left frontal region houses a system involved in approach behaviors and associated with (mostly positive) emotions that accompany approach behaviors; the right frontal region is posited to house a system involved in withdrawal behaviors and associated with (mostly negative) emotions that accompany withdrawal behaviors.