Problem 5

Question 1

Emotions

Answer 1

Refer to cognitive + behavioral responses that are largely

a) automatic
b) unconscious

–> triggered when the brain detects a positively/negatively charged significant stimulus

Question 2

Regulatory mechanisms of emotions are mostly mediated by … ?

Answer 2

1. Amygdala
2. Striatum
3. Hypothalamus
4. Brain stem

Question 3

Feelings

Answer 3

Refer to the conscious perceptions of emotional states

Question 4

Emotionally competent stimuli

Answer 4

Refer to Stimuli that are naturally significant to trigger emotions

–> other objects/events acquire their significance through association with those

Question 5

In which way can be said that the responses of autonomic NS are specific ?

Answer 5

There are different patterns of ANS activity that correspond to different situations + their associated emotional states

Question 6

How is the neural activity relayed ?

Answer 6

1. Forebrain
2. Hypothalamus
3. ARAS

Question 7

James peripheral feedback theory

Answer 7

Suggests that feelings come about when the bodily expression of that emotional response enters consciousness

–> only involvement of the cortex, but later re-movement of it showed that you can still feel emotions

Question 8

Cannon + bards central theory of emotions

Answer 8

Suggests that sensory info is processed in the thalamus

2. Sent to
   a) hypothalamus
   - -> to produce emotional responses
   b) cerebral cortex
   - -> to produce conscious feelings

Question 9

Bard experiment

Answer 9

Involved cutting out cerebral hemispheres out of monkey, where a sham rage (rage with absence of aggressor) only occurred when the caudal hypothalamus was lesioned

1. Hypothalamus is critical for coordination of somatic + visceral motor components of emotional behavior
2. Subjective experience of emotion depends on the cortex, whereas the expression of coordinated behaviors doesn’t

=> Hypothalamus is responsible for the brains evaluation of the emotional significance of stimuli + reactions that depend on this appraisal

Question 10

Circuit of papez

Answer 10

1. Hypothalamus
   - -> mammilary bodies
2. Thalamus
   - -> anterior thalamic nuclei
3. Cingulate cortex
   - -> here the signals are converged to produce feelings
4. Hippocampus
   - -> parahippocampal Region
5. Hypothalamus

Question 11

McLean later fond the “visceral brain” that was later renamed the limbic system

Answer 11

Included amygdala to the circuit + the subcortical regions that are connected to it

–> thought the hippocampus was the point of convergence

Question 12

Why did McLean think that emotional responses involved relatively primitive circuits ?

Answer 12

Because, he saw emotional responses as essential for survival

–> then realized that emotional states + cognitive processes involve distinct circuits that can functionally be relatively independent

Question 13

Klüver-Bucy syndrome

Answer 13

Refers to abnormal/non-emotional behavior seen in monkey after the removal of most of limbic system, then later just amygdala

–> no fear in response to aversive stimuli

Question 14

How was the Klüver-Bucy syndrome explained ?

Answer 14

Previously:
Circuit of papez was interrupted

Now:
Removal of amygdala is enough to elicit this

Question 15

LeDoux conducted conditioned fear experiments.

What were his main findings ?

Answer 15

1. MGN in hypothalamus is necessary for the development of conditioned fear response
2. Response is still there when connectivity to the auditory cortex was cut, so there had to be a direct pathway
3. Amygdala establishes the association between neutral stimuli + stimuli with reinforcement value
   - -> LTP

Question 16

Neural circuit of fear conditioning

Answer 16

1. Sensory input reaches lateral nucleus indirectly + directly
2. Amygdala + cortex are activated simultaneously

–> so amygdala can process info before we can consciously feel it

Question 17

How are unconditioned (innate) fear responses processed in the brain ?

Answer 17

Are mediated by the olfactory system to the medial amygdala

–> relies on odors

Question 18

Name the input vs output source of the neural circuit of fear conditioning

Answer 18

1. Lateral nucleus (input source)
   - -> receives info about CS from thalamus
2. Central nucleus (output source)
   - -> project to hypothalamus

Question 19

Does simply telling about a CS or watching someone else, enough to elicit a subsequent fear response ?

Answer 19

Yes, as

1. Amygdala is involved in implicit learning
2. Hippocampus is involved in explicit learning

Question 20

Role of the orbital + medial frontal lobes

Answer 20

Associates info from the sensory modalities + integrates those

–> influence the content that was retrieved from memory to shape a mental response plan parallel to the amygdala

Question 21

The amygdala has additional varieties of connections to cortical areas to be able to modulate

a) attention
b) perception
c) memory
d) decision making

Name these connections.

Answer 21

1. a) amygdala
   b) thalamus
   c) orbital + medial frontal lobes
2. a) amygdala
   b) Basal ganglia
   - -> which receives info from the PFC

=> amygdala influences the selection + initiation of behaviors and obtains rewards vs avoids punishment

Question 22

Volitional movement

Answer 22

Involve the classical motor areas of the voluntary somatic motor control

–> cortex –> brainstem

Question 23

Emotional expression

Answer 23

Involves the descending projections from medial + ventral forebrain

2. Termine on visceral motor centres in

a) reticular formation
b) somatic motor neuron pools
- -> also receive info from volitional centre

Question 24

Reticular formation

Answer 24

Receives info from + projects to

a) somatic
b) autonomic

effector systems in brainstem + spinal cord

Question 25

Forced smile

Answer 25

Involves the voluntary contraction of the facial muscles --> pyramidal smile, driven by motor cortex which communicates with brain stem + spinal cord via pyramidal tract

Question 26

Spontaneous emotional smile/ | Duchenne smile

Answer 26

Is motivated by the motor areas in the anterior cingulate gyrus --> facial muscles are accessed via multi synaptic extrapyramidal pathways through the reticular formation

Question 27

What does the activation of the hypothalamus generate ?

Answer 27

Motivational states + their associated affects --> eating, drinking

Question 28

Central patterns controllers

Answer 28

Are cell groups that generate motivational states --> connect to the midbrain + spinal cord to control the generation of actual movement (primitive actions)

Question 29

Non-limbic system arousal

Answer 29

Is evoked by stimulating the ARAS in the brainstem --> leads to arousal when we encounter novel/unexpected stimuli BUT: Habituation with repeated exposure

Question 30

Limbic system arousal

Answer 30

Is evoked by increased motivation + strong negative/positive affect, by receiving input by visceral sensory structures a) negative affect - -> central grey area b) positive affect - -> VTA BUT: resistant to habituation

Question 31

Name the structures of the limbic system.

Answer 31

1. Cortex 2. Limbic cortex 3. Olfactory system 4. Intermediate level - -> amygdala + hippocampus 5. Hypothalamus

Question 32

The more an animal depends on learning to develop its full potential of meaningful behaviors, the more it is affected by a removal of the hypothalamic + forebrain regions. Why is that ?

Answer 32

Forebrain is important in linking species typical action patterns --> learning instinctive movements

Question 33

Memory subsystems

Answer 33

1. EM division - -> circuit of papez 2. Spatial memory/orientation division - -> parahippocampal circuit

Question 34

Emotional subsystem

Answer 34

1. a) amygdala b) stia terminalis c) septal nuclei + pre-opic nucleus of hypothalamus 2. Main output channel 3. Nuclei are responsible for emotional expression

Question 35

Olfactory system

Answer 35

Includes the 1. Primary olfactory cortex 2. Amygdala 3. Hippocampus --> which are closely connected within the uncut BUT: input of odors occurs via amygdala to categories objects/events

Question 36

Limbic cortex

Answer 36

Is the high end side, involved with the cortex + voluntary behavior

Question 37

Cortex

Answer 37

Includes the default mode network --> affect related, has 2 subcortical networks a) hippocampal-diencephalic circuit b) Temporo-amygdala-orbitofrontal network => PCC + ACC are connected via the dorsal cingulum, are active during "resting state"

Question 38

Hippocampal-diencephalic circuit

Answer 38

Connects the memory subsystem via the cingulum with the PCC --> PCC is first major medial hub of default mode network

Question 39

Temporo-amygdala-orbitofrontal network

Answer 39

Connects the amygdala via the orbitoinsular cortex with ACC --> ACC is the second major hub of default mode network AND: Integrates the visceral + emotional states with cognition + behavior

Question 40

Anxiety disorder

Answer 40

Stress response occurs when the central nucleus of amygdala is active --> inappropriate response --> HPA-axis hyperactive --> degeneration of hippocampus VICIOUS CYCLE

Question 41

Monoamine hypothesis | Affective disorder

Answer 41

Mood is tied to levels of released monoamines in the brain --> depression results from a deficit on one of the diffuse modulatory systems

Question 42

Diathesis-stress hypothesis

Answer 42

Suggest that the HPA-axis is the main site of where genetic + environmental influences converge to cause mood disorders

Question 43

Diathesis

Answer 43

Having a predisposition for a certain disease

Question 44

What does the limbic lobe consist of ?

Answer 44

Parahippocampal region + cingulate gyrus --> cingulum connects it (white matter)

Question 45

Where does hebbian learning take place ?

Answer 45

Lateral nucleus --> US and CS converge on here

Question 46

What do lesions of the amygdala lead to ?

Answer 46

No implicit learning of US + CS, so no emotional learning and physiological learning --> BUT: declarative memory of it