Stress and Emotion Flashcards
James- Lange Theories of Emotion
stimulus triggers autonomic/ skeletal response which triggers emotion
- fight or flight- autonomic response necessary for emotion
Cannon- Bard Theories of emotion
stimulus triggers autonomic/skeletal response and emotion
- response independent of emotion
More recent third theory of emotion
More recently, a third theory has been reached that suggests that each of the three
factors in an emotional response—the perception of the emotion-inducing stimulus, the autonomic and somatic responses to the stimulus, and the experience of emotion
The limbic system
(hypothalamus, amygdala, olfactory bulb, and hippocampus)
Emotions
Papez proposed an emotional
circuit (limbic system) that
includes the hypothalamus
Olfactory Bulb
connects smell/taste to memories
hypothalamus
bodily functions
amygdala
fear and aggression
hippocampus
memory (long term)
Medial Prefrontal lobe
portions of orbitofrontal cortex and cingulate cortex
Two theories of emotion
right-hemisphere: dominant for all aspects of emotion
valence model: specializes in negative emotions
Bilateral ECT
causes a seizure (electro-seizure therapy)
Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System
The evidence suggests the answer lies somewhere between total emotional
specificity and total emotional generality.
Polygraphy
control? technique: psychological response to a target? compared w/ response to control?
guilty knowledge technique: asking ?’s that only the culprit would know the answer to
Facial Expressions
- appears to be universal
- 6 primary emotions
- naturally occurring expressions are usually variations of basic ones
6 facial expressions
(1) anger, (2) fear, (3) happiness, (4)
surprise, (5) sadness, and (6) disgust.
facial feedback hypothesis
smiling makes you happier; facial muscles
influence emotional experience
Micro expressions
brief facial expressions reveal true feelings; may
break through false ones
Fear
emotional reaction to a threat
Defense mechanisms
designed to protect
Agression
intended to threaten or harm
Neural mechanisms of fear conditioning
- pair of neutral stimuli w/ am aversive stimulus
- present the tone later and the animal will show a conditioned fear response (defense mechanism)
Amygdala and fear
- lesions of the amygdala block fear conditioning
- receives input from all sensory systems
- protects to brain stem regions
- appears to be responsible for adding emotional significance to another stimulus
Contextual conditioning and hippocampus
- the hippocampus is linked to spatial memory
- effect of bilateral hippocampal lesions on contextual conditioning
Stress
- reaction to harm and threat
- stressors: stimuli that cause stress
- chronic psychological stress: most clearly linked to ill health
- is adaptive; in long term (maladaptive)
stress response
stress triggers stress hormone: anterior pituitary-adrenal cortex system and cytokines
- can cause fever and inflammation
Psychosomatic Disorders
Gastric-Ulcers: lesions of the stomach lining and duodenum
- common when stressed
- caused by bacteria
- 75% of us have this bacteria
immune system
The immune system puts up barriers to keep the body from being taken over by
invading microorganisms.
- chronic stress impairs immune system
stress influence
acute stressors: improve the immune system
chronic stressors: impair the immune system
- stress of mistreatment early in life may cause brain abnormalities
early experiences of stress
- Early experience of stress can adversely affect subsequent development
- Often increases the intensity of subsequent stress responses.
- Mediated by increased glucocorticoid receptors in the hippocampus.
