Task 7

Question 1

What functions is the amygdala involved in?

Answer 1

Emotion, reward, motivation, learning, memory, and attention

Question 2

What are the properties of rewards?

Answer 2

Sensory, affective, and motivational properties, each represented in the brain​

Question 3

How is emotion defined in the context of amygdala function?

Answer 3

Reactions to stimuli, including autonomic and skeletal motor responses

Question 4

What is the difference between valence and affect?

Answer 4

Valence refers to the direction of value assignment (positive or negative),

while affect collectively refers to neural representations and processes related to emotion​

Question 5

Where is the amygdala located?

Answer 5

In the anterior temporal lobe towards the medial side, appearing almond-shaped​

Question 6

What is a common misconception about the amygdala’s function?

Answer 6

That it is only involved in processing negative emotions; it also plays a major role in positive affect and reward processing​

Question 7

How does the amygdala contribute to positive affect?

Answer 7

By encoding and updating the value of rewards and contributing to conditioned responses like cardiovascular changes during anticipation​

Question 8

How do amygdala neurons encode valence?

Answer 8

They encode positive or negative value independent of the image, with distinct populations for positive and negative valence

Question 9

What role does the amygdala play in learning through stimulus-valence pairing?

Answer 9

Changes in associative encoding in amygdala neurons are responsible for learning, as shown by altered neuronal activity corresponding to changing stimulus-valence pairings​

Question 10

How do monkeys with lesioned amygdalas respond to high-incentive food?

Answer 10

They lack conditioned cardiovascular responses during the anticipatory period but continue to show skeletomotor and consummatory responses​

Question 11

What is the role of the amygdala in stimulus-reward association?

Answer 11

It is not required for linking stimuli with reward but is essential for linking stimuli with the current value of rewards​

Question 12

How do monkeys with amygdala lesions react to threats like fake snakes?

Answer 12

They show little or no emotional reaction to snakes, indicating the amygdala’s role in emotional reactions to threats

Question 13

How is the human amygdala sensitive to emotional descriptions?

Answer 13

The right amygdala is selectively sensitive to pictures associated with positive or negative emotional descriptions compared to neutral ones

Question 14

What does the framing effect demonstrate about human decision-making?

Answer 14

Human choices are influenced by how options are presented, showing systematic biases due to an affect heuristic underwritten by an emotional system

Question 15

How does the amygdala respond to framing effects in decision-making tasks?

Answer 15

Increased amygdala activity is associated with risk-averse behavior in gain frames and risk-seeking behavior in loss frames​

Question 16

How does the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) relate to framing susceptibility?

Answer 16

People with lower susceptibility to framing effects show higher OFC activity, integrating emotional and cognitive information for decision-making​

Question 17

What role does the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) play in decision-making?

Answer 17

It detects conflict between analytical response tendencies and emotional amygdala-based systems

Question 18

How do amygdala lesions affect reward expectancy and decision-making?

Answer 18

Lesions impair the generation of expected reward signals and behavioral choice signals based on expected reward
but do not affect the processing of reward outcomes​

Question 19

What task was used to study reward-related learning and decision-making involving the amygdala?

Answer 19

A probabilistic reversal task where subjects chose between two stimuli, with reward and punishment contingencies that reversed after correct choices

Question 20

How did patients with amygdala lesions perform in probabilistic reversal tasks compared to controls?

Answer 20

They showed a specific insensitivity to reward value in guiding choices, with more frequent switching behavior following rewards​

Question 21

What differences in brain activation were observed between control subjects and amygdala lesion patients during decision-making? (Study: H, determinisitic,probalistic)

Answer 21

Control subjects showed greater anterior insula and posterior lateral OFC activation in response to negative feedback compared to patients

Question 22

How does the amygdala influence expected reward signals in the vmPFC?

Answer 22

The amygdala plays a critical role in processing expected reward value signals in the vmPFC, which are abnormal in lesion patients

Question 23

What is the primary contribution of amygdala-vmPFC interactions in decision-making?

Answer 23

Computing expected reward values that guide behavioral decisions

Question 24

What is the proposed model of amygdala function regarding its interaction with the OFC?

Answer 24

The amygdala updates the value of expected rewards,

The OFC stores these values to guide future behavior based on current value assessments

Question 25

How does the amygdala enhance sensory processing in the rhinal cortex?

Answer 25

Amygdala neuron firing, particularly after unexpected rewards, facilitates impulse transmissions between perirhinal and entorhinal cortex neurons, enhancing sensory processing

Question 26

What role does the amygdala play in memory processing?

Answer 26

It facilitates hippocampal-dependent information storage, enhancing the processing and storage of emotional memories

Question 27

What is the significance of the reciprocal connections between the amygdala and neocortex (OFC) and sensory areas (IT/PRh)?

Answer 27

These connections enable the integration of affective and sensory information, essential for goal-directed behavior and decision-making​

Question 28

How does the amygdala respond to social cues?

Answer 28

It generates arousal signals and encodes stimulus-valence associations, affecting behavior even when the associations are not consciously perceived

Question 29

What role does the amygdala play in anticipatory autonomic and neuroendocrine responses?

Answer 29

It mediates these responses, contributing to the anticipation of high-incentive rewards​

Question 30

How do amygdala lesions affect performance on stimulus-reward association tasks?

Answer 30

Lesions do not significantly impair stimulus-reward association tasks

they affect the processing of the current value of rewards