Emotions, Stress and Aggression Flashcards
Emotion
an increase or decrease in physiological activity accompanied by feelings characteristic of the emotion
Bell’s palsy
paralysis of the facial nerve, causing muscular weakness in one side of the face.
Moebius syndrome
facial paralysis, inability to move eyes side to side
Posed expressions
can produce the intended emotion, and the associated physiological arousal
reaction when making a sad face presented with stimulus
A stimulus is more painful
When do children show most emotions?
by two years
REM sleep and newborns
During REM sleep, newborn infants who are too young even to smile at their mothers make facial expressions that correspond to happiness, fear, disgust, and surprise
Brain areas involved in emotion
Orbitofrontal cortex
Limbic system
Brainstem
Brainstem
(maybe the power) locus coeruleus • norepinephrine – emotional arousal – depression/pleasure – stress VTA, substantia nigra • dopamine • pleasure, exhilaration
Orbitofrontal cortex
(maybe the controller)
Inhibits raw emotion from amygdala
Limbic system
(the integrator) hypothalamus • ANS reactions amygdala • aggression & fear • emotional memory hippocampus • memory cingulate gyrus • pain processing • empathy
Medial forebrain bundle
tract rises from the midbrain through the hypothalamus – contains many sites for self-stimulation
Amygdala
Participates in memory formation, especially emotional ones
People with amygdala damage are unusually trusting
Anxiety-reducing drugs act on receptors in the amygdala
(in the temporal lobe, is a key structure in fear)
Klüver–Bucy syndrome
removal of temporal lobes in monkeys has a taming effect; they are socially clueless
A syndrome resulting from bilateral lesions of the amygdala
Laughter (area of activation)
activates the orbitofrontal cortex
Disgust and Guilt (area of activation)
activates the insula
Anterior cingulate cortex
combines emotional, attentional, and body information in a conscious emotional experience
Panic disorder
Temporal lobe abnormalities
Small lesions in white matter and dilation of the lateral ventricles - in 40% of patients with panic disorder
Temporal lobes are smaller in these patients
show…
increased activity of the parahippocampal gyrus
decreased activity of the anterior temporal cortex and amygdala, especially on right
Septal stimulation
produces pleasure, accompanied by sexual fantasies and arousal
Left side of the face
controlled by right hemisphere, is more expressive than the right face
Right hemisphere
identifies emotional tone
Patients with right-hemisphere damage from stroke are more likely to be unbothered or euphoric, even if their arm or leg is paralyzed
Left hemisphere
interprets meaning of the message
People with damage to the left hemisphere express more anxiety and sadness
Prefrontal (orbitofrontal) Cortex
the final destination for much of the brain’s information about emotion before action is taken
Judges behavior and its consequences
People with damage here understand moral and social rules but can’t apply the rules in their own lives
People who sustain damage early in life never learn these rules and are motivated only to avoid punishment
Abnormalities in PFC
associated with aggression, depression, and schizophrenia
