Limbic System and Physiology of Emotion Flashcards
Describe the anatomy of Broca’s “Great Limbic Lobe”
The limbic lobe is a combination of several grey matter structures that lie on the medial surface of the brain and are unified by having less than 6 cortical layers, unlike the rest of the cortex. It includes that cingulate pole, cingulate gyrus, precuneus, anterior par olfactory sulcus, lamina terminals, Uncus (with the amygdala), parahippocampal gyrus, and the isthmus of cingulate gyrus.
What structures emphasized by Papez are involved in emotion and motivation?
The cingulate gyrus, hypothalamus, and anterior-medial thalamic nuclei.
What structure has little or no role in emotions and motivation, but is involved in memory?
The hippocampus
What other structures, not emphasized by Papez, are also involved in emotion and motivation?
The ventral-medial frontal lobe (aka orbitofrontal cortex), tha amygdala, ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens), and several brainstem structures including the dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area
Define cognition
Cognition refers to the faculty for the processing of information, applying knowledge, and changing preferences. It includes such processes as memory, attention, language, problem solving, and planning.
Define emotion
Emotion is the complex psychophysiological experience of an individual’s state of mind interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, this involves physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience. An important feature of emotion is that its subjective experience occurs in conjunction with a disposition towards certain stereotypical behaviors/movements.
Define mood
A mood is an affective state like an emotion. However, emotions tend to have specific trigger, while moods tend to be more unfocused and diffuse. Unlike instant reactions that produce affect or emotion and which change with expectations of future pleasure or pain, moods, being diffuse and unfocused, can be harder to deal with and persist for days, weeks, months, or years.
Define motivation
The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a certain way. The general desire or willingness or some one to do something.
What is the role of the amygdala in theories of emotion and decision making?
The amygdalae perform primary roles in the formation and storage of memories associated with emotional events. Much of this understanding comes from the study of fear conditioning in which a neutral stimulus (an audible tone) is associated with an adverse stimulus (an electric shock). This results in the expression of fear responses to the originally neutral tone. Sensory signals from both stimuli reach the basolateral complexes of the amygdala, and the associations form there.
