Lecture 19 - Emotions Flashcards
Which part of the brain processes the abstract, cognitive aspects of emotions?
The neocortex processes the abstract, cognitive aspects of emotions.
What brain structure is typically required for processing the raw, reflexive feelings of fear?
The amygdala, which is part of the limbic system, is required for processing the raw, reflexive feelings of fear.
How are streams of thought and streams of feeling processed differently in the brain?
Streams of thought are processed in the cerebral cortex, while streams of feeling are processed in the limbic system.
Are facial expressions of emotion learned or innate? Provide evidence.
Facial expressions of emotion are innate and unlearned. Babies as young as 36 hours old display universal facial expressions.
What are the six universally recognized facial expressions of emotion?
Fear, anger, surprise, disgust, sadness, and happiness.
How does time affect the ability to recognize emotions from facial expressions?
Recognition is generally automatic, rapid, and accurate. Giving people more time to think about the emotion shown does not significantly improve their accuracy.
What is volitional facial paresis, and what causes it?
Volitional facial paresis is when people cannot voluntarily control their facial muscles due to damage in or around the primary motor cortex, but they can still express genuine emotions.
What is emotional facial paresis, and which condition often shows this symptom?
Emotional facial paresis is when people cannot show automatic emotional expressions but can voluntarily move facial muscles. It is often seen in Parkinson’s Disease.
How do researchers assess fear in monkeys?
Researchers measure variables like the time it takes for monkeys to retrieve food placed next to a snake, spider, or neutral object.
What are the three types of responses coupled with raw emotional feelings?
- Behavioral responses (e.g., facial expressions, body language)
- Autonomic responses (e.g., fight or flight via the peripheral nervous system)
- Hormonal responses (e.g., reinforcing autonomic responses via the bloodstream).
Why might inferring emotions from facial expressions be unreliable?
The same facial expression can convey different emotions, and different facial expressions can convey the same emotion. Emotional expressions are not universally consistent.
How many unique emotional blends are thought to exist beyond the six basic emotions?
There are about 25 unique emotional blends, which involve multimodal expressions like voice, touch, posture, and gaze.
What is the common-sense view of the sequence of emotional events?
The subjective feeling of emotion (e.g., fear) comes first and causes the associated physiological response (e.g., trembling, sweating, running away).
What did early research in the late 1800s suggest about spinal cord damage and emotions?
People with spinal cord damage reported feeling emotions less intensely, and the reduction in emotional experiences correlated with how much sensation and movement they had lost. Some of the subjects looked and acted angry at times, but reported that they did not feel very angry.
What does the James-Lange Theory of emotion propose about how emotions are experienced?
The James-Lange Theory suggests that an emotion-eliciting event triggers behavioral and physiological responses, and feedback from the peripheral nervous system to the brain causes the subjective feeling of emotion.
How does interfering with muscular movement associated with emotions affect emotional experience, according to the James-Lange Theory?
It slightly decreases the ability to experience the corresponding emotion, as seen in studies of people receiving Botox injections.
What are criticisms of the James-Lange Theory?
Internal organs are insensitive and too slow to account for emotions, cutting sensory nerves doesn’t stop emotional behavior in animals, and artificially activating the autonomic nervous system doesn’t reliably produce specific emotions.
What is the role of the hippocampus in the limbic system?
The hippocampus is critical for explicit memory formation.
What is the primary function of the amygdala in the limbic system?
The amygdala is critical for feeling and recognizing emotions, particularly fear.
How did damage to the amygdala affect patient S.P.’s ability to recognize emotions?
S.P. could not identify fear in facial expressions, including her own, and had reduced ability to recognize disgust, sadness, and happiness, though recognition of anger and surprise was unimpaired.
How does damage to the amygdala affect eye movements in recognizing emotions?
Patients with amygdala damage, like S.M., don’t naturally look at the eyes when viewing faces, impairing their ability to recognize emotions.
What is the central nucleus of the amygdala responsible for?
It regulates emotional responses, especially fear, and its stimulation can cause fear, anxiety, and stress-induced illnesses.
How can people without conscious awareness of seeing a face still show amygdala activity?
They may still respond to emotional faces, even mimicking the facial expression, due to the amygdala receiving visual inputs from several brain areas.
Which brain regions, beyond the amygdala, are involved in recognizing emotions?
The somatosensory cortex, insular cortex, premotor cortex, and cingulate cortex, particularly in the right cerebral hemisphere.