Lectures 3/4: Pain and Pleasure Flashcards
Psychological Hedonism
Argues that people are motivated to act in ways that increase pleasure and decrease pain
Reward def.
Something an animal will work to achieve
Types of rewards
Primary and Secondary
Primary Reward is _____
Naturally rewarding and biologically essential
Primary reward examples
Food, water, pleasure, warmth
Secondary reward is ________
Learned through repeated associations with primary rewards
Secondary reward example
Cheeky cig after a couple of pints
Pleasure def.
Subjective hedonic value of rewards
Punishment def.
Something an animal will act to avoid
Main types of punishment
Primary, Secondary
Primary punishment is ______
Naturally aversive and may threaten survival
Primary punishment example
Tissue damage, physical injury
Secondary Punishment is ________
Learned through repeated association with primary punishment
Secondary punishment example
Financial loss
Pain def.
Subjective hedonic and motivational response to punishing stimuli
Do rewards always produce pleasure and punishment - pain, why?
No. Context matters
Subjective utility def.
Personal value or satisfaction an individual assigns to an outcome based on preferences and circumstances
Why do hedonic feelings exist?
To encourage behaviors that help optimize internal balance
Pleasure _______ that help ________ and Pain ______ from _________
Pleasure guides us towards stimuli that help maintain/restore homeostasis and Pain signals deviation from homeostasis
What is alliesthesia
Subjective hedonic value of stimuli tied to the extent to which a stim contributes to or disrupts homeostasis
Define nociception
Neural detection and transmission of information about tissue damage
_____ is not required for nociception
Conscious awareness
Define pain
Subjective and conscious experience of discomfort or distress
Are pain and nociception the same?
Nope
Is it possible to have pain without nociception?
Yes
Provide an example of pain experience without nociception
Phantom limb
Provide examples of nociception without pain
Withdrawal reflex, high adrenaline situations, anesthesia
____ , _____ , _____ , and ______ ascribed to pain can alter perception
Psychological state, context, expectations, and meaning ascribed to pain may alter perception
What are the two components of pain?
Sensory discriminative and affective-motivational
Sensory discriminative component of pain
Provides information about quality, location and intensity of pain
Where is sensory discriminative component processed in the brain?
Primary and secondary somatosensory cortices and posterior insula
Affective motivational component of pain
Relates to emotional experience of pain (how distressing it is) and drives motivation to escape or stop the painful experience
Where is affective-motivational component processed?
Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI)
Suppose dACC and Anterior insula are damaged, what would happen?
Pain would be registered, however distress would be lacking completely
Mark keeps injuring himself, gets infected from untreated wounds and the doctors say he won’t live long due to his recklessness. What could be the cause of such behavior?
Mark may have congenital insensitivity to pain
Why do we even feel pain? What is its purpose?
Pain is body’s way of telling us to pay attention to something that could cause tissue damage or death and take appropriate action
What is the adaptive value of belonging?
Belonging allows us to survive. Group living helped humans share food, fight enemies, hunt, etc. Monkey solo - weak, ape together - strong
Social pain hypothesis
Belonging to a group was a matter of life in death. Individuals in a group were more likely to survive and reproduce. Isolationists were at greater risk of harm and death
Physical pain mechanisms may have been _____ to promote affiliation
Evolved
Social pain may have evolved from _______ to promote _________
Social pain may have evolved from physical pain to promote group cohesion
Pain could signal _______ to __________ within the ________ to promote ______ and ________
Pain could signal the need to stay within the group to promote cooperation and survival
What is Cyberball?
Video game where you have to play ball with two other players. Initially they throw you the ball, but after a while you become completely neglected
What is cyberball used for?
Studying social exclusion
What is cyberball exclusion related to?
Activation in dACC and AI
Dan is looking at a very sad painting portraying him being forced to endure frat boys and sorority girls. If we were to run an fMRI of his brain at the time of him admiring the painting, what brain regions are likely to be firing?
dACC and AI
Greater baseline sensitivity to _____ predicts greater sensitivity to ______
Greater baseline sensitivity to physical pain predicts greater sensitivity to social pain
Genetic variant related to greater physical pain sensitivity related to: (3)
- Greater trait rejection sensitivity
- Greater self-reported subjective and neural reactivity to Cyberball exclusion
- More sensitivity to hurtful partner behavior (Being ignored, criticized, e.g.)
Factors decreasing _____ pain have parallel effects on ____ pain and vice-versa
Social, physical
Social support ______ physical pain
Decreases
Social exclusion has been linked to _________
Reductions in pain (hypoalgesia)
What hurts more, intentional or accidental pain infliction?
Intentional
X is taking Tylenol and report lower levels of feeling hurt in daily life, if we were to scan his brain during cyberball exclusion, what are we likely to see compared to controls?
Lower activation in dACC and AI
If we were to lesion dACC in a rat, what would we likely see?
Decreases in separation distress, deficits in social behavior (maternal behavior, social interest, proximity seeking)
You got tired of this bs and decided to lobotomize yourself. While trying to do so, you were drunk and missed (hard), messing up ACC instead of CC. What would be the consequence of such mishap?
Social disinhibition, reduced concern about opinions of others, decreased self-consciousness
You are in a higher state of social pain, what is the likely consequence when it comes to group tasks?
You are likely to put more effort on the group task
Let’s say Laura is experiencing social pain, what would be an important factor (within the target) in her engagement in affiliative behavior?
The target must be perceived as a valuable source of social connection
Justin is fearful of negative social valuation, he just got rejected, how likely is he to affiliate compared to an average person?
Less likely to affiliate after being rejected
Dan just got rejected and there were people who contributed to it. He is seeking to affiliate, who is more likely to be his target and who is less likely to be in his scope?
Novel partners are likely to be targeted, people who contributed to his rejection are likely to be excluded from his escapade
Alex is in a high state of social pain and there is an annoying individual next to them. The individual keeps nagging them, in their state, Alex is more likely to display _______
An aggressive response
What is the purpose of pleasure?
It motivates us to pursue rewarding experiences that promote well-being, survival and reproduction
When referring to the experience, reward may be subdivided into two parts:
- Something we want
- Something we like
Wanting is ______ whereas liking is______
Wanting is anticipating and actively seeking seeking something good whereas liking is actually enjoying something good
What is a good example of primary reward?
Facial beauty
What is wanting measured by?
Amount of effort an individual will exert to obtain the reward
Dopamine release is greatest when (3)
- Reward is unexpected
- Reward under-predicted
- During anticipation rather than reception of a reward
Dopamine-based reward circuit
Begins in Ventral Tegmental Area ->
Released in Nucleus Accumbens (brain’s pleasure center) ->
Extends to the PFC ->
Also extends to OFC (crucial for evaluating reward value of stimuli)
Why is facial beauty considered a primary reward?
The brain processes facial attractiveness similarly to how it processes other rewarding stimuli, such as food, money, or drugs
In what state would liking or pleasure be amplified?
In a state of deprivation
Dopamine is more about _________________ than signaling enjoyment
Anticipating and driving goal-directed behavior
What neurotransmitter plays a role in liking and pleasure?
Endogenous opioids
What are two main opioid antagonists?
Naltexone and naloxone
What is the importance of pain and pleasure?
They work together to maintain homeostasis
How do pain and pleasure interact?
Pain serves to avoid dangerous and unwanted situations whereas pleasure serves to drive pleasurable behaviors
What are the three factors influencing decision making?
- Internal state - Hunger, thirst, injury
- Sensory input - Whatever is happening in the environment
- Threats and rewards - Presence of dangers and opportunities nearby
What influences decisions when it comes to pain and pleasure?
Factors that are more important for survival in a given moment
Let’s say there is something more important than pain happening in the environment, what will the brain do?
Reduce pain signals to help the agent focus on bigger priority
After being in a state of pain for a prolonged period of time, Dan eats a very delicious protein bar, what will we see in his brain?
Increased release of endogenous opioids
What neurotransmitters play a crucial role in suppression of pain?
Endogenous opioids
Let’s say Dan ate a very delicious protein bar and was then subjected to pain, will his perception change?
Yes, the tolerance will increase due to higher opioid levels
Dan is going through a very intense workout expecting a real nice and juicy meal after (reward) will this reward expectation affect his perception of pain during the workout and how?
It will, the perception of pain will be reduced
Let’s say Dan was given a placebo before his workout, stating that the pill will decrease his muscle pain during the workout, what will we observe in his brain?
Higher secretion of opioids as opposed to him not taking any placebo
Does dopamine play a role in pain suppression? How?
Yes, there is an increased secretion of dopamine in the brain in anticipation of reward, which leads to higher pain tolerance (analgesia)
Dan got cut (bad) and is running away from a maniac from Mr Nightmare stories, will he think of engaging in rewarding experiences such as eating? Why?
No, pain suppresses pleasantness of rewarding actions, ensuring that necessary action is taken to protect an individual
There is a high co-morbidity between chronic pain and _____________ which is characterized by instability in __________ everyday ________
Depression, enjoying, pleasures
ACC (Anterior Cingulate Cortex) represents ______ and ______ of ______, as well as _________ required to obtain them
ACC represents size and probability of rewards, as well as effort required to obtain them
Insula encodes ______ and _______ cravings linked to ______ ______
Insula encodes taste and food cravings linked to felt satisfaction
Amygdala is involved in both ______/______ processing as well as ______
Amygdala is involved in both pain/threat processing, as well as reward
Relief of pain may in itself be considered as a ______ _______
Pleasurable experience
Even negative stimuli may be perceived as rewarding in a context of ________ ______ stims
More negative
The more intense the pain, the more intense the ________
Relief
What does Opponent-Process Model state?
Emotional reactions are regulated by the brain to maintain homeostasis
Strong emotional reactions (both ______ and _____) are encountered by an _______ _______
Strong emotional reactions (both pleasure and pain) are encountered by an opposite reaction
What are the properties of initial reaction (State A)? (3)
- Develops quickly
- Closely associated with intensity of stimulus that produces it
- Ceases when the trigger is removed
What is an adaptation phase and what happens during this phase?
Adaptation phase is a decline of state A.
After the peak, the intensity of fear/anxiety gradually declines and levels off
Why do we see a gradual decline of state A?
The brain begins to counteract the fear with an opposite emotional response
Steady level of State A = …..
State A - State B
What is state B and when does it peak?
State B is a relief and excitement, it peaks after aversive stimulus ceases
What are the properties of State B? (4)
- Develops slowly
- Produced as a reaction to the state A
- Slow to decrease
- Continues for some time after state A is
removed
- Continues for some time after state A is
- Becomes more intense with repeated experience
Does state B persist forever? If not, when does it fade?
It fades slowly until emotions return to the baseline
What are some examples of opponent process model?
Drug addiction, thrill-seeking
What are the implications of the strength of State B increasing after repeated exposure?
Repeated presentation of stim that triggered state A will lead to a reduction in its hedonic intensity since steady State A = A -B
Define Peak-end Rule
The most intense positive or negative moments (the peaks) as well as the final moments (the end) of the experience are most heavily weighted in recollections of the experience
Cold water trial and peak-end rule application
Short trial -> 14 Celsius water for 60 seconds
Long trial -> 14 Celsius water for 60 seconds and then 15 Celsius for 30 seconds
When asked what they would rather repeat, most choose the second trial
Positive after-effects following the experience of pain may re-shape our memory of the experience
Pain ______ sensory experience and _______
Heightens, awareness
After acute pain, individuals sometimes report ______ enjoyment of _______ stimuli
Greater, pleasant
