Emotional Behaviours

Question 1

Essay Question

Answer 1

Evaluate the attempts at localising emotion in the brain

Question 2

Essay Plan

Answer 2

Introduction; What is emotion; Communication Emotion; Emotional Problems; Theories of Emotion; Where is Emotion; Insular Cortex; Amygdala; Hemispheric Differences; Function of Emotion; Conclusion

Question 3

What is emotion

Answer 3

Evoked feelings when important things happen to us (biological?)
Facial expressions, recognised across cultures, anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, (Ekman at al., 1982)

Question 4

Communicating Emotion

Answer 4

Largely based on interprestation of emotions, owners of guilty dogs, (Horowitz, 2009)
Body language better with a partner, (Clark et al., 2005)

Question 5

Emotional Problems

Answer 5

Autism, socially impaired, no theory of mind, no eye contact, (Baron-Cohen & Jolliffe, 1997)

Question 6

Theories of Emotion

Answer 6

Cognition, Feeling, Readiness for action
Arouse sympathetic and parasympathetic (fight or flight) NS
James-Lange theory, situations elicit physiological response, leads to emotion
Weaker emotions reported after botox (Ochsner, 2010)
Locked in patients have difficulty understanding emotion (Pistola et al., 2010)
Paralyzed people report same emotion
Cannon Bard theory of emotion, simultaneous between emotion and arousal

Question 7

Where is emotion

Answer 7

Limbic system, forebrain areas surrounding thalamus

fMRI and PET show areas of cerebral cortex

Question 8

Insular Cortex

Answer 8

Insular shows strong activation with disgust, (Phillips, et al., 1997)
Brain injury to insular impairs disgust recognition (Calder et al, 2000)

Question 9

Amygdala

Answer 9

Lesions to amygdala in rats stop association of electric shock with noise
Patient S.M. has Amygdala damage and cannot draw fear (Adolphs et al, 2005)

Question 10

Hemispheric Differences

Answer 10

Left frontal and temporal lobe associated with Behavioural Activation System
Right frontal and temporal lobe associated with Behavioural Inhibition System
(left happier emotions and right more negative emotions)

Question 11

Function of Emotion

Answer 11

Evolutionary? Fear, Disgust, Love, Monkey love?

Question 12

Conclusion

Answer 12

Clear some places,
Easier to test some emotions
Are emotional categories correct
Animals useful