Karius DSA Stuff

Question 1

What does the limbic system control?

Answer 1

Emotional behavior and motivational drives

Question 2

What is the hypothalamus involved with?

Answer 2

Emotional experience and physiological responses (connection to ANS)

Question 3

What are the olfactory areas (para-olfactory) in the limbic system?

Answer 3

Parts of limbic system that deal with olfaction (in addition to emotion); olfaction and emotion are strongly linked

Question 4

What is the function of the thalamus in the limbic system?

Answer 4

Anterior nucleus is part of Papez circuit; other regions are involved in both input and output of limbic system

Question 5

What is the basal ganglia in the limbic system?

Answer 5

Nucleus accumbens and putamen

Question 6

What is the function of the hippocampus in the limbic system?

Answer 6

Another part of Papez circuit; memory and emotion are strongly linked; parahippocampal regions are linked to surprise

Question 7

What is the function of the amygdala?

Answer 7

Associated with fear and anger

Question 8

What is the cingulate cortex in the limbic system?

Answer 8

Mostly paleocortex (3 cell layers); some parts have full 6 layers; important feature is many of these neurons show after-discharge

Question 9

What emotions are considered “hardwired” in our brains?

Answer 9

Fear, anger, pleasure, avoidance, sadness, disgust, surprise

Question 10

What is important about the physiological basis of emotion?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

What is the mirror neuron system (mirror neurons)?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

What is innate (unconditioned) fear?

Answer 12

Fear that requires no experience in animals; associated with olfactory cues

Question 13

What role does the amygdala play in fear?

Answer 13

Processing and recognition of social cues related to fear; emotional conditioning in response to fear; memory

Question 14

What are the 2 pathways sensory inputs use to create fear at the amygdala?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

What is the function of the lateral nucleus of the amygdala?

Answer 15

Integrates inputs (such as pairing sound and electrical shock) and sends the now paired information to the basal and intercalated nuclei for additional processing

Question 16

Where is information from the lateral, basal, and intercalated nuclei sent after it is processed?

Answer 16

Central nucleus of amygdala

Question 17

What happens in an individual when the amygdala is damaged?

Answer 17

Fear is not perceived, therefore conditioning related to fear does not occur

Question 18

How is anger produced?

Answer 18

Mediated through the amygdala; requires dopamine acting at D2 receptors; rage was first emotion associated with a specific brain structure

Question 19

What structures play a role in inhibiting anger?

Answer 19

Neocortex, ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, septal nuclei

Question 20

What is avoidance designed to do?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What structures play a role in avoidance?

Answer 21

Lateral posterior hypothalamus, dorsal midbrain, entorhinal cortex

Question 22

What structures play a role in sadness?

Answer 22

Lower sector of the anterior cingulate cortex; strongly activated when recalling sad events

Question 23

What structures play a role in disgust?

Answer 23

Insular cortex/putamen; processing and recognition of social cues related to disgust; damage (including Huntington’s disease) abolishes

Question 24

What structures play a role in surprise?

Answer 24

Strongly associated with the parahippocampal gyrus, which is important in detecting novelty or unexpected events

Question 25

What structure is responsible for cortical control of emotions?

Answer 25

Anterior cingulate cortex; ventral (affective) and dorsal (cognitive)

Question 26

What role does the anterior cingulate cortex play in emotion?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

What does the anterior cingulate cortex relay information to?

Answer 27

Prefrontal cortex

Question 28

What does the dorsolateral division of the prefrontal cortex receive input from?

Answer 28

Motor areas, including basal ganglia, pre- and supplementary motor cortex; also cingulate cortex, especially parts related to performance monitoring

Question 29

What does the ventromedial division of the prefrontal cortex receive input from?

Answer 29

Amygdala, hippocampus, temporal visual association area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Question 30

What are the three roles of cortical control of emotion?

Answer 30

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