T3 L2 Psychobiology of emotion Flashcards
What are emotions?
Transient events produced in response to internal or external events of significance to the individual, characterised by attention to evoking stimulus & changes in physiological arousal, motor behaviour & fears
What is the emotion triad?
Physiological response
Readiness to act in specific way
Feelings
What are the 8 basic emotions according to Plutchik?
Joy-sadness
Trust-disgust
Fear-anger
Surprise-anticipation
Describe Paul Ekman’s work
Located at facial expression to see if he could identify basic emotions
Expressed facially in same way & recognised by diversity of cultures suggesting that they are innate
What is the FACS system?
Decoding & defining emotional expressions
43 facial muscles in human
Communicatory role for functioning in large & complex social groups
Describe Frijda’s work
Classification of emotions based on predisposition to specific actions
What is the James-Lange theory?
Bodily changes directly follow the perception of the exciting fact & that our feeling of the same changes as they occur is the emotion
If there is no physiological response you don’t experience the emotional response
What is the Cannon-Bard theory?
Believe we feel at the same time as we perceive the experience
Describe Schachter & Singer study
184 students were told they would be given injection of Suproxin when they were really given adrenaline or saline.
Given different information about side effects: informed, misinformed, ignorant
Then exposed to either a euphoria or anger situation
What was the results of the euphoric situation in S&S study?
Misinformed participants were the happiest as they had no explanation of why their bodies felt the way they did
Informed group were least happy as they understood why they felt why they did
What was the results of the anger situation in S&S study?
Ignorant group felt the angriest
Informed group was the least angry
Had no explanation of why their body felt the way it did
What is a panic disorder?
Bodily sensations are wrongly appraised as evidence of a catastrophic illness
What is the most powerful way to treat panic disorder?
CBT
If people can reappraise their physiological response it can reduce anxiety symptoms
What was the limbic system according to Broca?
Cortical structures surrounding diencephalon (thalamus)
What was the limbic system according to Papez?
Hippocampus Cingulate gyrus Hypothalamus Anterior thalamus Mammillary bodies
What was the original limbic system?
Ring of midline-ish structures Cingulate Hippocampus Amygdala Septal region
What was the updated limbic system?
Also includes
Prefrontal cortex - dense interconnections
Hypothalamus - peripheral interface, homeostasis
Paralimbic cortices e.g. insula
Ventral striatum / nucleus accumbent & mesa-limbic dopaminergic system - reward, addiction, motivation
What structures are part of the memory circuit?
Hippocampus
Anterior thalamus
Mammillary bodies
Fornix
What is the amygdala?
Complex collection of nuclei located in medial temporal lobe divided into corticomedial & basolateral.
Describe the corticomedial part of the amygdala
Evolutionary old
Nuclei project directly to hypothalamus
Describe the basolateral part of the amygdala
Evolutionary new
Nuclei have more extensive & diffuse sets of projections including frontal cortex
What is the function of the amygdala?
Emotional processing including recognition of emotions in others & emotional learning
Fear
Describe the dorsal anterior cingulate
Perception of pain
Lots of opiate receptors
Arousal
Describe the dorsal posterior cingulate
Rest
Relaxation
Implicated in depression
What happens to the subgenual when relaxing?
Overactive
It remains overactive all the time in those with depression
What are the consequences of damage to the orbits-frontal cortex area?
More impulsive. Generate acquired sociopathy
Impaired smell, taste, flavour, reward, satiety
Impairment of flexible learning
What are some common deficits with those with early PFC damage?
Severely impaired social behaviour
Insensitive to future consequences of actions
Impaired autonomic response to punishment
Normal basic cognitive functions
Describe the insula
Deep
Representation of internal bodily state & integration of bodily feedback into awareness
Involved in normal response to aversive stimuli, especially disgust
What areas are abundant with dopamine?
Nucleus accumbens
VTA
Prefrontal cortex
Striatum (caudate / putamen)
