Emotions in Brain (3a) Flashcards
emotions: head or heart?
scientists suggest they work together
main structures of the limbic system
hypothalamus
mammillary body
amygdala
prefrontal cortex
hippocampus
insula
what is the mammillary body a part of?
hypothalamus
papez circuit (Papez, 1937)
- brain area linked to emotion processing
- system borders the thalamus
what was the papez circuit (PApez, 1937) late renamed to?
limbic system
which brain structures regulate the stress response? (HPA-axis)
amygdala
hippocampus
what does stress lead to the release of and where?
corticotropin-release hormone (CRH) in the hypothalamus
what does HPA (HPA-axis) stand for?
hypothalamus
pituitary gland
adrenal gland
what does the pituitary gland release
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
what does the adrenal gland release?
cortisol
what is cortisol
the stress hormone
what does the release of cortisol lead to?
increased sympathic activation
2 parts of autonomous nervous system
sympathic nervous system
parasympathetic nervous system
cortical/ subcortical pathways for processing threatening emotional stimuli (LeDoux, 1998)
emotional stimulus
thalamus / superior colliculus
sensory (visual) cortex
amygdala
emotional response
localisation theories of emotions
there are specific brain areas (physiological responses) for specific emotions
evidence for localisation theory (amygdala - fear)
- animal studies: amygdala has a pivotal role in fear and fear conditioning (Fendt & Fanselow, 1999)
- human lesion studies: SM did not experience of recognitise fear (Feinstein et al., 2011)
- neuroimaging studies: greater amygdala activation during the perception/ experience of fear or anxiety-related states compared to other emotions (Taylor & Whalen, 2015)
according to localisation theories, what emotion is the amygdala responsible for?
fear
according to localisation theories, what emotion is the insula responsible for?
disgust
evidence for localisation theory (insula - disgust)
- animal studies: electrical stimulation of monkeys elicit behaviour, facial expressions and physiological responses of disgust (Caruana et al., 2011)
- human lesion studies: left lesions of insula and putamen - reduced disgust recognition in faces and sounds (Boucher et al., 2015)
- human neuroimaging/ intracranial recording studies: insula more activated during perceptions and expression of disgust than for other emotions (Krolak-Salmon et al., 2003)
- human electrical stimuluation studies: accuracy of disgust recognition reducted (Papagno et al., 2016)
according to localisation theories, what emotion is the anterior cingulate cortex responsible for?
sadness
according to localisation theories, what emotion is the orbitofrontal cortex responsible for?
anger
according to localisation theories, what emotion is the supplementary motor area responsible for?
happiness
evidence against localisation theory (amygdala - fear)
- lesion studies: patients are impaired in recognising fearful faces - might be more related to the response to threatening stimuli (Sander et al., 2003)
- amygdala also responds to other negative emotions (Adolphs, 2013) and positive emotions (Lindquest et al., 2012)
evidence against localisation theory (insula -disgust)
increased insula activity for many types of stimuli and tasks (e.g., interoceptive awareness, pain, empathy, fairness, speech production) (Craig, 2009)
consistency problems with localisationist approach
when a variable significantly preicted increased activity in a brain area
specificity problems with localisationist approach
only one variable predicted an increase in a brain area
e.g., specific activation by one emotion
hemispheric theories
hemisphered are different in representing emotions
three key hypotheses on hemispheric specialisation
right hemisphere hypothesis
valence hypothesis
approach (avoidance hypothesis)
according to hemispheric specialisation (right hemisphere hypothesis), what is the LH responsible for
abstract and logical thinking
computation
language compensation
according to hemispheric specialisation (right hemisphere hypothesis), what is the RH responsible for
emotions
creativity
imagination
spatial abilities
what is the main idea of right hemisphere hypothesis
perception, experience, and expression of positive and negative emotions are predominantly carried out by the RH
hysterical hemianesthesia
psychological condition without clear organic origing
almost exclusively on left body side
Wada test
anesthesia of RH by injection into the internal carotid artery
evidence for right hemisphere hypothesis
- patients with left side body paralysis after brain damage to RH became emotionally volatile, manic, delusional (Luys, 19th C)
- hysterical hemianesthesia
- Wada test = perceived lower intensity in facial emotional expressions (Ahern et al., 1991)
- recognition of facial expression = superior in left visual field
- emotions more storngly expressed on left side of face (Borod et al., 1997)
valence hypothesis
LH = positive emotions
RH = negative emotions
approach-withdrawal hypothesis (Harmon-Jones et al., 2010) - LH
approach
- positive emotions are mainly processed in LH
- link to approach behaviour
approach-avoidance hypothesis (Harmon-Jones et al., 2010) - RH
avoidance
- negative emotions are mainly processed in the RH
- link to withdrawal behaviour
constructionist theories of emotions
emotions are constructed by the changing activation of several brain networks
constructionist theories: conceptual act theory (Barrett, 2014)
emotions emerge when people make meaning out of sensory input from the body and the world based on prior knowledge
according to the conceptual act model, emotions are….
situated conceptualisations
according to the conceptual act model, what does the brain make?
an initial prediction about the meaning of the sensory array in context
- the error between this initial top-down prediction and the sensory activity is quickly minimised to produce a unified conscious experience
key components of conceptual act theory
core affect
(situated) conceptualisation
executive functions
exteroceptive sensations
conceptual act theory: core affect
mental representations of bodily changes that can be experienced as feelings, pleasure/ displeasure with some degree of arousal
conceptual act theory: conceptualisations
link perceptions of sensory input from the world with input from the body to create a meaningful psychological moment
stored representations of prior experiences are used to make meaning out of the sensations in the moment
conceptual act theory: executive functions
exogenous and endogenous attentions / working memory - helps to determine which representations are utilised and which prior representations are supressed
conceptual act theory: exteroceptive sensations
can influence and be influenced by components of theory
conceptual act theory: functional clusters - core affect
- amygdala
- insula
- mOFC
- IOFC
- ACC
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
- basal forebrain
- PAG
conceptual act theory: functional clusters - conceptualisation
- vmPFC
- dmPFC
- mTL
- hippocampus
- entorhinal cortex
- PCC
conceptual act theory: functional clusters - executive attention
- dIPFC
conceptual act theory: functional clusters - language
- vIPFC
issues regarding neurochemistry of emotions
- the neurochemistry of emotions is not well researched
- emotions are different to mood changes and mood disorders
dopamine
wanting/ incentive
opiods/ endorphins
liking/ numbing pain
serotonin
mood regulation
axiety/ depression?
noradrenaline
mood - anxiety/ depression?
oxytocin/ vasopressin
bonding / attachment / love
testosterone
aggression link
