Motivation and Emotion Flashcards
Define motivation
Behaviour that seems purposeful and goal-directed
Define emotion
Cognitive interpretation of subjective feelings
What is the impact of sensory deprivation on behaviour?
Brain has an inherent need to stimulation. Most participants were content for about 4 hours but afterwards craved any kind of stimulation. Few lasted more than 24 hours. In absence of stimulation, brain will seek it out.
What are innate releasing mechanisms (IRM)?
Inborn, adaptive responses that improve an animal’s survival. They are present from birth and aid feeding, reproduction and escape.
What were the findings of Field et. al. (1982) of IRM in humans?
Adult performed exaggerated facial expressions, babies imitated them. Newborns are too young to imitate so it is more likely that they are matching the expressions to internal templates as they are important for communication.
What is learned taste aversion?
Taste of a certain food paired with illness, brain associates the two.
What is biological preparedness?
Brain is inherently inclined to form associations between certain stimuli and responses (fear response - adaptive)
What are regulatory behaviours?
Behaviours motivated by survival and controlled by homeostatic mechanisms.
What is the role of the hypothalamus in regulatory behaviours?
Maintains critical body functions
E.g. holds body temperature at 37 degrees
What are non-regulatory behaviours?
Behaviours not required to meet survival needs. Not necessary and are often controlled by forebrain structures
Describe neuroanatomy of emotion
The expression of emotion involves many physiological changes: heart rate, blood pressure, hormone secretion, motor responses, movement of facial muscles and tear production
Describe neuroanatomy of motivated behaviour
Critical structures involves are hypothalamus and pituitary gland, as well as limbic system and frontal lobes which both project to the hypothalamus.
Describe regulatory motivated behaviours.
Motivated to meet basic survival needs Controlled by homeostatic mechanisms Involves hypothalamus (e.g. eating, drinking, body temp.)
Describe non-regulatory motivated behaviours
Not motivated to meet basic survival needs
Not controlled by homeostatic mechanisms
Most involve frontal lobes more than hypothalamus (e.g. sex, food preference, curiosity)
What is the hypothalamus and its role?
Links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. Has functions such as: hormone release, fear processing, coordinating hormonal and behavioural circadian rhythms, control food intake, defensive behaviours, HR.
What are the three regions of the hypothalamus?
Lateral, medial and periventricular. Contain the nuclei. The lateral hypo contains nuclei and nerve tracts that connect the lower brainstem into the forebrain. Principle tract is the medial forebrain bundle (MFB).
What is the role of the medial forebrain bundle?
Connects brain stem and limbic system
Projects from brainstem to basal ganglia and frontal cortex
Contributes to motivated behaviours
What are the factors involved in controlling hypothalamic activity?
Feedback loops
Neural control
Experiential responses
Describe neural control
Regulation by other brain structures
e.g. breastfeeding - infant suckling is a stimulation that causes hypothalamic cells to release oxytocin.
Describe experiential responses
Brain responds to experience throughout our lives. Experience causes neurons to undergo structural and chemical changes. Changes in hypothalamic neurons affect the output of hormones.
What is the link between the hypothalamus and behaviour?
Electrical stimulation of hypothalamus leads to changes in, and production of, complex behaviours
Behaviours produced by stimulation of hypothalamus include: eating/drinking, digging, fear, violence, reproduction.
Describe eating as a regulatory behaviour.
The act of eating and digestion is regulated by a range of cortical areas. Reward of eating is initiated by dopaminergic systems.
What cognitive factors are apart of eating?
Pleasure (or absence of) is a contributory factor - thinking about food makes us hungry Learned associations (e.g. taste aversion) impact eating
What two brain structures are involved in eating behaviour?
Amygdala - food preferences and taste aversion
Orbital prefrontal cortex
What is the effect of sex hormones on the brain?
Gonadal hormones impact upon preoptic areas of medial hypothalamus and amygdala, prefrontal cortex and spinal cord.
What are the activating effects of sex hormones?
Ovarian hormones alter brain activity and behaviour in rats. Impact of ovarian hormones observed in hippocampus as changes in dendritic spines.
What brain structures are involves in sexual motivation?
Ventromedial hypothalamus - controls female sexual receptivity
Preoptic area of the medial hypothalamus - controls copulatory behaviour in males
Amygdala - controls sexual motivation
Frontal lobes - reasoning
What is the role of the mesolimbic system in reward?
Dopaminergic pathway linked by the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus to the limbic system. Associated with pleasure and reward.
What are the two independent processes of reward?
Wanting (incentive) and liking (evaluation of pleasure). Usually occur togethers, but can sometimes be separate.
What is the limbic system?
Complex collection of primitive brain structures that are important for generating motivated and emotional behaviours.
What connections are involved in the limbic system?
Hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex connect with hypothalamus. Mammillary nucleus of hypothalamus connects with anterior thalamus, which connects with cingulate cortex. Cortex completes the circuit.
Why is the hypothalamus referred to as a spout?
Behaviour is “funnelled” by the hypothalamus. The limbic system and frontal lobes filter into the hypothalamus in order to generate behaviour.
What are the three components of emotion?
- Autonomic response (e.g. increased HR) - hypothalamus
- Subjective feelings (e.g. fear) - amygdala & frontal lobes
- Cognitions (thoughts) - cerebral cortex
What are is James-Lange’s explanation for emotion?
brain interprets autonomic changes as emotions
What is the somatic marker hypothesis?
Damasio (1999) suggests that “marker” signals arising from emotions and feelings act to guide behaviour and decision making.
What are some physiological changes that impact emotion?
Spinal cord injury - decrease in perceived emotion
Severity of ‘emotion loss’ relies on point of severance in spinal cord. Loss is greatest when lesion is higher.
What would happen as a result of damage to the amygdala?
Klüver-Bucy syndrome
Hypersexuality
Hyperphagia - increased appetite
Hyperorality - compulsion to examine objects by mouth
Docility - reduced fear responses/low aggression