Neurophysiology of Emotion

Question 1

Hypothalamus role in emotion

Answer 1

Key player in emotion, it regulates emotional experiences connected to physiological responses (due to ANS)

Question 2

Olfactory cortex role in emotion

Answer 2

Olfaction and emotion strongly linked Parts of the limbic system deal with olfaction in addition to memory

Question 3

Basal ganglia role in emotioni

Answer 3

Nucleus Accumbens Putamen play different roles *Tied to pleasure and disgust

Question 4

Thalamus role in emotion

Answer 4

Anterior nucleus part of papez circuit *Relays sensory infor into system Other regions involved in both input and output of limbic system

Question 5

Hippocampus role in emotion

Answer 5

Connect memory with emotion, another part of the papez circuit. *Links emotion to memory creation

Question 6

Amygdala role in emotion

Answer 6

Association with emotion recognized early particularly fear and anger

Question 7

Anterior cingulate cortex role in emotion

Answer 7

Mostly made of paleocortex (3 layers) Many of these neurons show after discharge meaning that even thought the event is over the neurons keep firing due to the emotion still occurring. *Higher level control and sadness

Question 8

What does the limbic system control?

Answer 8

Emotional behavior Motivational drivers

Question 9

Parahippocampal region is linked to __

Answer 9

surprise

Question 10

What is interesting about the paths that allow us to feel emotion and interpret emotion o others?

Answer 10

They are the same

Question 11

What are the two kinds of fear?

Answer 11

• Innate unconditioned fear: doesn’t need experience
• Learned conditioned fear: learned from experience indirect or direct

Question 12

Amygdala role in fear?

Answer 12

• Processing an d recognition of social cues related to fear
• Emotional conditioning in response to fear
  
  • Memory of the fear

Question 13

What are the pathways used for learned fear?

Answer 13

• Direct thalamo-amygdaloid path to lateral nuc of amygdala to mediate a rapid response
• Indirect thalamo-cortico-amygdaloid path to lateral nucleus of amygdala to mediate later responses
  *

Question 14

In learned fear, where do both pathways (thalamo-amygdalar and thalamo-cortico-amygdaloid) end up?

Answer 14

Lateral nucleus of amygdala

Question 15

What is the role of the lateral nucleus of the amygdala in learned fear? Where does info go after this point?

Answer 15

• Integrates inputs for example pairing of a particular sound with an electric shock
• Paired info is sent to basal and intercalated nuclei for more processing

Question 16

In learned fear where is information sent after it goes from lateral basal and intercalated nucleu?

Answer 16

Central nucleus of amygdala

Question 17

If the amygdala is damaged what happens in relation to fear?

Answer 17

Fear responses don’t occur, they can’t percieve it or be conditioned for it

Question 18

Describe each destination in the fear pathway.

Answer 18

• Direct thalamo-amygdaloid path & indirect thalamo-cortico-amygdaloid path
• Both end up in the lateral nucleus of amygdala for pairing of events
• Intercalated and basal nuclei for more processing
• Central nucleus of amygdala to decide response
• Limbic system and hypothalamus

Question 19

What hormone and receptors are necessary for anger?

Answer 19

Dopamine acting at D2 receptors

Question 20

What is necessary to inhibit anger?

Answer 20

• Neocortex
• Ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei
• Septal nuclei

Question 21

what is avoidance?

Answer 21

Prevention of behavior that has short term rewards but long term negative consequences

Question 22

What are the anatomical structures for avoidance?

Answer 22

• Lateral posterior hypothalamus
• Dorsal midbrain
• Entorhinal cottex

Question 23

What anatomical structures are needed for sadness?

Answer 23

Lower sector of anterior cingulate cortex which are strongly activated when recalling sad thins

Question 24

What anatomical structures are needed for disgust?

Answer 24

• Insular cortex and Putamen
• Processing and recognition of social cues related to disgust
• Damage abolishes these abilities
  
  • seen in huntintons

Question 25

What are the two regions of the Anterior cingulate cortex?

Answer 25

• Ventral-affective emotion
• Dorsal- cognitive emotion

Question 26

What is the Anterior cingulate cortex’s role in emotion?

Answer 26

• Intergrates viseral attentional and emptional input for understanding what we feel
• Regulate affect specifically top down control
• Monitors or detects conflilcts btw functional state and new info that has potential or motivational consequences, relays info to the prefrontal cortex

Question 27

Two divisions of the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 27

1. Dorsolateral which recieves input from motor areas such as basal ganaglia pre and supplementary motor cortices. Also Cingulate cortex and several association areas
2. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex recieves info from amygdala hippocampus temporal visual assoc. area and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Question 28

What are the three roles the cortical control over emotion has?

Answer 28

1. Reward processing(orbitofrontal): with amygdala we can link new stimulus to a primary reward
2. Integration of bodily signals (ventromedial prefrontal): “gut feeling” decision when logical analysis can’t help
3. Top down regulation: especially towards delayed gratification