Karius DSA Stuff Flashcards
What does the limbic system control?
Emotional behavior and motivational drives
What is the hypothalamus involved with?
Emotional experience and physiological responses (connection to ANS)
What are the olfactory areas (para-olfactory) in the limbic system?
Parts of limbic system that deal with olfaction (in addition to emotion); olfaction and emotion are strongly linked
What is the function of the thalamus in the limbic system?
Anterior nucleus is part of Papez circuit; other regions are involved in both input and output of limbic system
What is the basal ganglia in the limbic system?
Nucleus accumbens and putamen
What is the function of the hippocampus in the limbic system?
Another part of Papez circuit; memory and emotion are strongly linked; parahippocampal regions are linked to surprise
What is the function of the amygdala?
Associated with fear and anger
What is the cingulate cortex in the limbic system?
Mostly paleocortex (3 cell layers); some parts have full 6 layers; important feature is many of these neurons show after-discharge
What emotions are considered “hardwired” in our brains?
Fear, anger, pleasure, avoidance, sadness, disgust, surprise
What is important about the physiological basis of emotion?
The circuits that allow us to experience an emotion are the same circuits that allow us to identify that emotion in others; therefore, a person who cannot experience an emotion cannot recognize it in someone else
What is the mirror neuron system (mirror neurons)?
Mirror neurons fire both when you do something (smile) and when you see someone else do that same action; role of mirror neurons in imitation and imitative learning are better described, but it is becoming clearer that they are important in emotional processing as well
What is innate (unconditioned) fear?
Fear that requires no experience in animals; associated with olfactory cues
What role does the amygdala play in fear?
Processing and recognition of social cues related to fear; emotional conditioning in response to fear; memory
What are the 2 pathways sensory inputs use to create fear at the amygdala?
1) Direct thalamo-amygdaloid pathway to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala; mediates rapid responses
2) Indirect thalamo-cortico-amygdaloid pathway to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala; mediates later responses
What is the function of the lateral nucleus of the amygdala?
Integrates inputs (such as pairing sound and electrical shock) and sends the now paired information to the basal and intercalated nuclei for additional processing
Where is information from the lateral, basal, and intercalated nuclei sent after it is processed?
Central nucleus of amygdala
What happens in an individual when the amygdala is damaged?
Fear is not perceived, therefore conditioning related to fear does not occur
How is anger produced?
Mediated through the amygdala; requires dopamine acting at D2 receptors; rage was first emotion associated with a specific brain structure
What structures play a role in inhibiting anger?
Neocortex, ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, septal nuclei
What is avoidance designed to do?
Designed to do the opposite of the pleasure/reward pathways - prevent the occurrence of a behavior that has short term rewards but long-term negative consequences
What structures play a role in avoidance?
Lateral posterior hypothalamus, dorsal midbrain, entorhinal cortex
What structures play a role in sadness?
Lower sector of the anterior cingulate cortex; strongly activated when recalling sad events
What structures play a role in disgust?
Insular cortex/putamen; processing and recognition of social cues related to disgust; damage (including Huntington’s disease) abolishes
What structures play a role in surprise?
Strongly associated with the parahippocampal gyrus, which is important in detecting novelty or unexpected events
What structure is responsible for cortical control of emotions?
Anterior cingulate cortex; ventral (affective) and dorsal (cognitive)
What role does the anterior cingulate cortex play in emotion?
Integration of visceral, attentional, and emotional input; regulation of affect (particularly top-down control/controlling our emotions); monitors or detects conflict between our “functional” state and new information that has potential or motivational consequences, but it doesn’t decide what to do
What does the anterior cingulate cortex relay information to?
Prefrontal cortex
What does the dorsolateral division of the prefrontal cortex receive input from?
Motor areas, including basal ganglia, pre- and supplementary motor cortex; also cingulate cortex, especially parts related to performance monitoring
What does the ventromedial division of the prefrontal cortex receive input from?
Amygdala, hippocampus, temporal visual association area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
What are the three roles of cortical control of emotion?
Reward processing (orbitofrontal): with the amygdala, we link new stimulus to a primary reward
Integration of bodily signals (ventromedial prefrontal cortex): “gut feeling” - decision when logical analysis is unable to help
Top down regulation: especially towards delayed gratification
