emotion pt1

Question 1

3 components of emotional response

Answer 1

behavioural- muscle movemnts for situation
autnomic- facilitate behavioural by providing quick mobilisation and energy for actions
hormonal- reinforce autonomic e.g hormones and converting glucose to energy

Question 2

what 3 things is amygdala made up of

Answer 2

lateral nucleus
central nucleus
basal nucleus

Question 3

what happens in terms of fear if central nucleus is damaged

Answer 3

reduces range of emotional and behavioural fear responses

Question 4

what happens if central nucleus is stimulated artifically (animals) and what does this mean

Answer 4

animals display physiological and behavioural fear responses
long term= stress induced illness

means, central nucleus and amygdala involved

Question 5

what is an autonomic fear response

Answer 5

automatic stimulation of CN of amygdala

no learning required to fear these

Question 6

what is a conditioned emotional (fear) response

Answer 6

learn some situations are dangerous

neutral stimulus is followed by another stimulus which causes response (fear)

Question 7

conditioned stimulus process

Answer 7

US = UR
NS and US = UR
NS becomes CS = CR

Question 8

how doe CN receive emotional info

Answer 8

from lateral nucleus

Question 9

what occurs if were exposed to conditioned stimulus without negative stimulus (loud noise)

Answer 9

learn conditioned stimulus is no longer followed by negative
conditioned response is inhibited
vmPFC plays role in inhibiting

Question 10

3 peices of evidence to support vmPFC plays part in inhibiting conditioned stimulus

Answer 10

stimulation of vmPFC inhibits conditioned stimulus
extinction training activates vmPFC neurons
lesions in vmPFC impair extinction

Question 11

which 2 ways are conditioned responses in humans likely to be aquired

Answer 11

socially- child may fear dogs observing anothers’ phobia

through instruction - if you’re told fire alarm means fire, you fear response at sound of alarm

Question 12

patient SM case study and what this means (amygdala damage)

Answer 12

bilateral amygdala damage
impaired fear conditioning, recognition of fear expressions and behaviour in relation to fear

in pet shop, verbally reports fear of spiders and snakes but picks them up
haunted house, doesn’t fear, talks to monsters

so, amygdala must play a part in fear responses

Question 13

3 ways of neural control of aggression

Answer 13

sensory system- perceive thread through this
hypothalmus and amygdala control activity and circuits of brain
neural circuits- control movement when attacking or defending (animal)

Question 14

how does serotonin impact aggression

Answer 14

higher serotonin= aggression inhibition and so lower aggression
lower serotonin= no aggression inhibition and so higher aggression

Question 15

how is serotonin levels measured

Answer 15

some serotonin 5HT escapes reuptake
its broken down to 5-HIAA and ends up in cerebrospinal fluid
increased levels of 5-HIAA means more serotongeric activity

Question 16

serotonic activity, aggression and rhesus moneky study

Answer 16

measured rates of 5-HIAA in monkeys, tracked for 4 years
monkeys with low, increased risk taking behaviour, most were killed
monkeys with high, more likley survived

Question 17

role of serotonin in humans

Answer 17

lower levels of 5-HIAA, associated with aggression, anti social behaviour

Question 18

MZ and DZ twins and antisocial concordance rates

Answer 18

MZ = higher concordance
supposedly same DNA so same 5-HIAA levels and same AB levels
serotonin plays part

Question 19

role of vmPFC in aggression

Answer 19

input to vmPFC- info about whats happening in environment
what plans are being made by rest of frontal lobes

output from vmPFC- affect behaviors and physiological responses, including emotional responses from amygdala

Question 20

phineas gage case study (vmPFC support)

Answer 20

damage to prefrontal region
= personality change

damage to prefrontal and vmPFC results in problems with planning, moral judgements and emotional control, which gage struggled with

Question 21

EVR case study (vmPFC support)

Answer 21

observed personality changes and visual disturbance
had large meningioma that squished prefrontal lobes including vmPFC

after surgery, things back to usual but, bankruptcy, couldn’t keep job, divorce, disorganized (vmPFC)

Question 22

role of vmPFC and moral desion making (train dilema)

Answer 22

impersonal moral dilema- train run over 1 or 5
perosnal moral dilema- train run over 5 or psuh 1 off bridge to save

personal dilema activates vmPFC, vmPFc patients made logical desicion even for personal dilema

Question 23

what is claimed the vmPFC acts as an interface between

Answer 23

interface between brain mechanisms involved in automatic emotion response
and mechanisms involved in control of complex behaviours

Question 24

what is the james-lange theory of emotion

Answer 24

an event in environment triggers behaviour, autonomic and endocrine responses
feedback from these responses produces feelings of emotion

Question 25

hohman 1966 study (support for james-lange theory)

Answer 25

aimed to describe any alterations in forms of emotional feeling that may have occured due to spinal cord injury

used a structured interview, recall and discuss emotional experiences before and after injury

Question 26

hohman study results for each emotion interviewed

Answer 26

overall- decreased feelings of anger, sexual excitemnt, fear and overall feelings
increase in sentimentality

concludes- supports view that disruption to autonomic nervous system causes changes in experienced emotional feelings
higher lesions experienced greater reduction in emotional feeling

Question 27

4 critiques of hohmans study

Answer 27

experimenter bias as he was parapeligic

lack validity and reliability as self report and some injuries were 17 years ago

unique sample so unrepresentative

no control group

Question 28

what is the cannon-bard theory of emotion

Answer 28

thalamus sends simultaneous signals to cortex (conscious experience) and autonomic nervous system (arousal)

severed nerves in ANS of cats
cats not able to experience somatic signals in ANS but could still display anger, fear and pleasure