Piasecki: EMOTIONS Flashcards
What are emotions good for?
evolved to help us respond to important situations and to convey our intentions to others
T/F: Voluntary and involuntary emotions are generated by different parts of the brain.
True
Primary emotion experienced by all social animals; has a visceral and somatic motor response
fear
The brain has shortcuts for emotions. Give an example.
See a snake and flinch before you can interpret the situation as “Oh, that’s a snake.”
How are responses to fear adaptive?
pale skin: diversion of blood flow
dry mouth: no need to salivate
heart pounding: move more quickly
etc etc
Name 5 structures that mediate emotion.
hypothalamus limbic system brainstem nucleus accumbens prefrontal cortex
Functions of hypothalamus
light dark cycle
temp regulation
neuroendocrine (pituitary)
integral in emotions/sexual behaviors
What happens to cats when you remove their cerebral hemispheres? What happens when you remove hemispheres + hypothalamus?
rage; no rage
Link between higher cortical activity and the “lower” systems that control emotional behavior
limbic system
What comprises the limbic system?
limbic lobe amygdala hippocampus mammillary bodies orbital and medial prefrontal cortex nucleus of thalamus
What gryi are incorporated in the limbic lobe?
cingulate gyrus
parahippocampal gyrus
What do the Kluver and Bucy studies show about the limbic system (removal of anterior temporal lobe)?
raging monkey became docile, orally fixated, and just a weirdo *make love, not war
Things that occur w severe temporal lobe damage (Kluver Bucy Syndrome). What can cause it?
visual agnosia apathy disturbance in sexual function dementia, aphasia, amnesia **make love, not war - not aggressive, hypersexual; tumors, trauma, herpes, surgery
What is the amygdala and where is it?
nuclear mass in the white matter of temporal lobe in front of hippocampus
What does the amygdala connect to?
olfactory bulb
cerebral cortex
brainstem & hypothal
The amygdala allows for (blank) learning
emotional
What happens if you sever the connection bw amygdala and medial geniculate nucleus (auditory nucleus) before teaching a learned response to a tone?
there will not be an emotional response to the auditory stimulus; you need the auditory pathway to project to the amygdala
What is released around the nucleus accumbens during a drug high? What is elevated when you receive natural rewards like food or sex?
dopamine; dopamine
*DRUGS (amphetamine)>sex>food
T/F: The amygdala is also activated in memories and cravings
True
*Cocaine abusers who watch a commercial about white powder will have areas of their cortex illuminated that correspond to the areas that are illuminated during drug use
The amygdala also plays a role in what emotion?
empathy
*psychopaths w deformation of amygdala have less empathy
Rare genetic disease
Bilateral calcification and atrophy of anterior temporal lobes
Unable to identify fear from photos
Urbach-Wiethe
What is the right hemisphere more important for?
expressing/understanding emotional content
*causes the L ear to be better at picking up emotional nuances, L face better at emotional expression
What might a lesion to the right hemisphere cause?
deficits in ability to uncode emotional expression and speech *speech sounds like email - no emotion
What is the left hemisphere more important for?
comprehension of words
What would a left cerebral hemisphere lesion cause?
poor comprehension of words
*still understand emotional content
Left hemisphere is associated w (blank) emotions and L sided brain lesions lead to increased risk of (blank). The right hemisphere is associated w (blank) emotions and lesions lead to (blank) mood
positive; depression; negative; elevated
A stroke causing left anterior damage causes (blank), while a stroke causing right anterior damage leads to (blank)
depression; euphoria
How do you define depression?
5 or more of these symptoms for 2+ weeks: decreased mood, energy sleep & appetite changes thoughts of death & suicide guilt decreased interest tearfulness
People w more active LEFT prefrontal cortex are more like (blank); people w less active LEFT prefrontal cortex are more like (blank)
tigger :) :)
eyore :( :(
What can happen to the hippocampus in depression?
it shrinks!
**Atrophy of neurons with chronic exposure to stress and cortisol
Death of neurons with severe and prolonged stress
The orbitofrontal lobe (posterior frontal lobe) is important for what?
mediates aggressiveness and emotional responsiveness
In depressed pts, increased blood flow to the (blank) amygdala correlates w severity of depression
right
What structure in the brain moderates negative emotional output of the amygdala?
prefrontal cortex
If there is a “power failure” of the LEFT prefrontal cortex, what results?
depression
The ventral anterior cingulate gyrus (part of prefrontal cortex) is actually (blank) in volume in depressed patients and has less blood flow
smaller
What can happen to hippocampal cortisol receptors following significant adverse childhood events?
dysregulation of these cortisol receptors can lead to long term excess cortisol exposure
Stress decreases (blank) in the hippocampus, which could contribute to atrophy and decreased functioning of neurons
BDNF
