Sem 2 L5 - Biopsychology of Emotion, Stress and Health Flashcards
Biopsychology of Emotion, Stress and Health
What is Darwin’s Theory towards the biopsychology of emotion?
Emotions serve a multitude of functions
-Help build social connections, helping with survival.
-Experiencing emotions is healthy, serving positive functions.
-Emotions give us the opportunity to connect with others and the world around us.
-Emotions help us avoid certain situations, helping us communicate
Experiencing emotions can cause what?
Physiological response (you feel something) which is a biological response/reaction leading to changes in your body as well as feeling something.
Also get an emotional response
What are physiological responses or changes associated with?
Autonomic nervous system
What happens to the body (increase in heart rate, breathing, sweating)
What are the 3 physiological theories of emotion?
James-Lange Theory > snake?? > Physiological arousal > Emotion (fear)
Cannon-Bard Theory > snake > Physiological Arousal or Emotion (fear)
Two-factor Theory > snake > Physiological Arousal caused by ?? Emotion (fear)
Many theories have been put forward in regards to which response comes first.
What is Fear Conditioning?
Establishment of fear in response to a previously neutral stimulus (the CS) by presenting it, usually several times, before the delivery of an aversive stimulus (US)
What is an example of humans being used in fear conditioning?
Little Albert Study -
A white rat before conditioning = Neutral stimulus (NS)
Causes neutral response (curiosity)
Unconditioned response (Loud Noise of hammer against metal pipe) causes Unconditioned response (instinctual reaction)
Instinctual reaction = an Instinctual survival response
During conditioning=
NS (White rat) becomes CS causing CR (conditioned response) fear??
So the white rat is now eliciting the response of fear without the bang
After conditioning -
Conditioned stimulus (CS = White rat) > causes Conditioned response (CR = crying/being upset)
So the white rat is now eliciting the response of fear without the bang
What brain mechanisms are involved in emotion processing?
Thalamus and medial geniculate nucleus, auditory cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, Periaqueductal grey, and sympathetic response and behavioural response.
What is the thalamus involved in?
In fear, thalamus relays sensory information, including auditory and visual stimuli which are then transmitted to the amygdala (from the auditory complex).
There is a rapid detection and response to potentially threatening stimuli (fast pathway) where thalamus directly transmits sensory information to the amygdala.
There is also a slow pathway, where the thalamus will transmit sensory info to the auditory cortex, then amygdala, allowing for a more detailed analysis of the stimulus before a fear response is initiated.
What does the medial geniculate nucleus do?
Transmits auditory information to the amygdala.
It acts as the relay station, receiving auditory information from the inferior colliculus and then transmitting it to the amygdala.
It is critical for the acquisition of fear responses to auditory stimuli, as the amygdala learns to associate the auditory cues with aversive stimuli.
What does the auditory cortex do in fear conditioning?
The auditory cortex, specifically the primary auditory cortex (A1) and other auditory areas, processes auditory information, including conditioned stimuli (CS) like tone, and potentially encodes threat predictions.
What does the periaqueductal grey do in far conditioning?
It plays a crucial role in fear conditioning by coordinating defensive behaviours and mediating both innate and learned fear responses, acting as a key integration centre for emotional processing and survival responses.
The PAG is a midbrain structure that integrates signals from various brain regions, including the amygdala and hypothalamus, to orchestrate defensive responses to aversive stimuli.
PAG is involved in both innate (unlearned) and learned fear responses, with different subregions of the PAG (dorsal and ventral) coordinating these responses.
PAG mediates freezing behaviour, a key defensive response to perceived threats, and also influences other defensive actions like fleeing or fighting.
The PAG receives inputs from the amygdala, a brain region crucial for processing emotional information, and in turn, the PAG sends signals back to the amygdala, forming a circuit involved in fear processing.
The dorsal PAG (dPAG) is involved in mediating active defence and aggression, while the ventral PAG (vPAG) is involved in mediating passive defence behaviours, like freezing.
PAG also plays a role in pain modulation, with its activity influencing the perception and experience of pain.
