Chapter 20: Emotion and the Social Brain Flashcards
What was case J.P
difficult birth, problem child, only showed anger emotion, hyperactive, constantly wandered, abused by father, increasing criminal record
absent right frontal lobe, 50% left frontal lobe, still had Broca’s area so could speak
How is J.P’s case different them someone who received a frontal lobotomy
J.Ps brain developed with no frontal lobe therefore is could adapt and have plasticity compared to it being removed later
How was the nature of emotion originally seen compared to how we view it now
originally seen as inconvenient remnant of our evolutionary past
now see emotion as unconscious cognitive process that contributes to logical thinking - is necessary
What are the 4 components of nature of emotion
- physiological response
- motor response
- subjective response
- automatic response
What are the 2 distinct dimensions to describe emotion
- unpleasant to pleasant
- not aroused to aroused
What was Darwin’s theory about emotion
saw emotion as a descent with modification
was short-lived
Are subjective feelings uniquely human?
suspect yes because they are verbal in our head
How did William and James view emotion in animals and humans compared to the modern view
william and james:
animals = emotional stimulus leads to behaviour and other responses
humans = added subjective feelings to above
modern:
animals = emotional stimulus then to central emotion state to behaviour
humans = emotional stimulus to central emotion state to BOTH behaviour and subjective feelings
What did Goltz attribute to the historical views of emotions
decorticated dogs still showed strong rage responses to situations that were calm
suggesting emotional responses might not exclusively be tied to cerebral cortex, emotion is subcortical
What did Bard attribute to the historical views of emotions
worked with cats
found if hypothalamus intact then showed strong emotional responses, unemotional if diencephalon was disconnected.
showed that emotion depended on diencephalon (thalamus and hypothalamus)
What did James Papez attribute to the historical views of emotions
first to identify limbic system
limbic structures act on the hypothalamus to produce emotional states
What is the Kluver-Bucy syndrome and symptoms
removal of the temporal lobe bilaterally and also the amygdala.
No fear, odd diet, oral, visual agnosia, hypersexuality
What did Carlyle Jacobsen attribute to the historical views of emotions
studied chimps after frontal lobe removal
one chimp was more relaxed after surgery, Egas Moniz then proposed similar lesions in people might relieve various behavioural problems
What has led to empathy in humans
reading novels
What is the main challenge when looking for neural correlations of emotion
not sure if the behaviour is being produced because that area is gone or because the rest of the brain performs that behaviour
Processing Emotional Stimuli?
What structures does the modern view of the limbic system focus on compared to Papez original system
Papez focused on hippocampus and connections with the hypothalamus
modern view also now includes the amygdala and PFC
Explain the circuit of the limbic system
receives input to PFC
sent to cingulate cortex
then to amygdala and hippocampus
then to mamillary bodies to anterior thalamus
BACK to cingulate cortex
produces behaviour
What are the key structures of the limbic circuit
PFC, cingulate cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus (mamillary bodies)
Although the entire limbic circuit is important to emotional behaviour, the ____ and _____ hold the key to _______ of emotional experiences
PFC
amygdala
understanding the nature
Why is the orbitofrontal cortex considered especially important in emotion
learns which previously neutral stimuli are associated with positive and negative rewards
what are the functions of middle anterior OFC and vmPFC with emotion
middle anterior OFC = codes/subjective rates pleasantness
vmPFC = concerned with predicting the reward value than the pleasantness of the experience
Why is dopamine not in the pleasure map
pleasure is actually related to opioids and cannabinoids
dopamine is actually related to anticipating and wanting
What are the 2 general types of theories of emotion
- neuropsychological theories
- social-cognitive studies of emotions
What did goldstein suggest about the asymmetry present in the effects of left and right hemisphere lesions on emotional behaviour
LH lesions produce catastrophic reactions characterized by fear and depression
RH produce indifference
What area is damaged if there is a reduction in facial expressions
frontal lesions
What area is damaged if there is a decrease/increase in spontaneous speech
decrease = left frontal lesions
increase = right frontal lobe lesions
What area is damaged if someone’s tone/prosody of speech is impaired
RH lesions
Define aprosodia
absence of tone in speech
Define motor aprosodia and what area is damaged to cause it
inability to produce affective components of language
ex. people asked to read sentence with a certain emotion
lesion to LH region analogous to Broca’s area
Define sensory aprosodia and what area is damaged to cause it
deficit in interpreting emotional components of language
ex. choose photo to match the tone of a recorded voice
lesions to RH region analogous to Wernicke’s area
Why is there a decline in accuracy of prosody processing related to aging (2 reasons)
- hearing gets worse
- in general, have variety of deficits appearing that relate to RH function (ex. getting lost)
What hemisphere is responsible for humour
study found, right frontal lesions most affected
Are all facial expressions analyzed in the same region
use the amygdala as an example
NO, different areas understand different expressions
amygdala lesions impair understanding negative emotions, don’t impact happy emotions
What are some examples of behaviours attributed to temporal-lobe epilepsy patients
altered sexual interest, anger, hypergraphia (extensive writing), religiosity
What do social-cognitive theories of emotion focus on
noninvasive imaging
Most theories agree that emotion is an…
that emotion is an interface between an organism and its environment that varies with context and experience
What is the multicomponent emotion process model concluded by Scherer and Moores
event leads to multilevel appraisal leading to action, physiological response AND motor expression
all of this gets integrated which results in categorization and labelling
What is Barrett’s theory of constructed emotion
brain’s primary purpose is to integrate all of the body’s resources to meet the organisms immediate needs in short term and for growth, survival, and reproduction in the long term
Define allostasis
predictive process where the brain anticipates the bodies needs
How do homeostasis and allostasis differ
homeostasis = process where the body resists changes to variables such as pH
allostasis = maintains internal stability amid constantly changing conditions
Explain case S.M
bilateral amygdala lesions, genetic disorder affecting chromosome I, resulted in bilateral calcification of the amygdala, other brain regions related to emotion (vmPFC, insula, hypothalamus, brainstem) remain intact
showed no fear EVER basically, showed other emotions
Why was patient S.M able to display fear and panic when inhaling CO2
the amygdala must normally inhibit panic but CO2 likely engages structures outside the amygdala to induce fear and panic instead
What is Domasio’s somatic marker hypothesis
when a person is confronted with a stimulus important to their survival, the brain and body changes as a result
“physiological changes” = somatic marks (in this case)
What is the Iowa Gambling Task
measures decision making
4 decks of cards - controls soon learn that 2 decks offer high immediate reward but larger losses later and the other 2 offer smaller rewards but fewer loses
vmPFC patients will choose first 2 decks
What is the SCR and how does it relate to the Iowa Gambling Task
skin conductance response = measures minutes of sweat released
only controls showed changes in SCR when picking a deck. SCRs acted as an internal signal to avoid those decks because would increase when picking disadvantageous decks
What is LeDoux’s theory of emotional consciousness
focuses on fear, sees emotions as a mix between automatic/nonconscious mechanisms for survival and the conscious experiences of fear
distinguish between nonconscious and conscious mechanisms and the fear cognitive circuit
nonconscious = defensive survival circuit = initiate response that indirectly contribute to conscious fear
conscious = perceiving a scene
fear cognitive circuit is a combination
what are the 3 crucial structures for displaying fear/conditioning to fear
amygdala, hippocampus, and PFC
Why is the amygdala crucial to LeDoux
- has unconscious response neural circuits
- has circuits that can also be learned
influence cortex and behaviour
Why is the hippocampus important to LeDoux
involved in context which plays a key role in mapping contexts in emotions
Why is the PFC important to LeDoux
PFC-amygdala circuits play a key role in the formation of thoughts about fearful stimuli
What is the difference between Barret’s and LeDoux’s theories
Barret = emotions are a construction of the world
LeDoux = emotions are a reactions to the world
What are the 6 effects of frontal lobe lesions in monkeys
- reduced social interaction
- loss of social status
- inappropriate social interaction
- altered social preference
- reduced affect
- reduced vocalization
What are the 4 social-related brain networks (and explain each)
- amygdala network (triggering emotional responses and detecting relevant stimuli)
- mentalizing network (internal states of others)
- empathy network (intentions to others)
- mirror/stimulation/action-perception network (development of concept of self)
Define self-face
what brain region(s) does this take place
unique ability to humans and apes
ability to recognize oneself
in RH, rely on medial frontal regions
Define social working memory
ability to navigate the social world that requires the ability to maintain and manipulate information about other people’s beliefs, traits, and mental states
Why don’t mental disorders result from cortical injury
they do show changes in behaviour, but a bad brain is worse than no brain. dysfunction brain produces mental disorders not a damaged brain
