Test 2: Biopsychology of Emotion, Stress & Health Flashcards

1
Q

Phineas Gage: why would an iron through the skull lead to dramatic personality changes?

A

Damage to medial prefrontal lobes

These deal with planning and emotion

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2
Q

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution of Emotion

A

Emotion expression evolves from the behaviors that indicate what an animal is likely to do next

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3
Q

According to Darwin how do emotions evolve?

What can happen throughout evolution

A

If they show to be beneficial they will evolve to communicate more effectively

May lose original meaning

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4
Q

Describe the Commonsense View theory of emotion

Give an example

A

First comes conscious awareness, then physiological activity

Ex: You become afraid…then your heart starts beating faster

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5
Q

James-Lange Theory of emotion

Examples

A

Emotion experiences are a result of perceiving physiological changes

Ex: Feel sad because we cry; afraid because we run

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6
Q

Stages of James-Lange theory of emotion

A
  1. Emotional situation
  2. Body’s reactions - motor and autonomic
  3. Perception of the emotion
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7
Q

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

Describe brain activity

A

The experience of emotion and physiological reactions occur at the same time

                                                                               Message splits after the thalamus to:                               Cerebral cortex (emotional experience)

Hypothalamus (controls ANS/physical reactions

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8
Q

Who is associated with cognitive theory of emotion

A

Stanley Schachter

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9
Q

Schachter’s cognitive theory of emotion

A

Emotional experiences are based on physiological arousal and cognitive evaluation

We you become aware of internal arousal you try to figure out what is causing it and unless you know specifically why it is happening you will attribute the arousal to something in the environment

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10
Q

How did Schachter and Singer study emotion

A

Subjects injected with epinephrine or placebo

Told, not told, or misinformed

Placed in room with a confederate who was either happy or angry

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11
Q

What were the results of the Schachter and Singer emotion study?

A

Informed participants weren’t very affected by confederates

Uninformed participants felt the confederate’s emotion; they didn’t understand their physical state so they relied on the environment

Misinformed subjects with a happy confederate experienced the arousal as happiness

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12
Q

Describe the Papez-McClean theory of emotion

What is hippocampus involved in?

What happens when amygdala is stimulated?

What happens when a certain part is lesioned? And which “part” from above is it paired with

A

The limbic system is the anatomical substrate for emotion

Learning memory and stress reactions

If its one part - rage; If another - fear

If you lesion the rage part you become docile

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13
Q

Fear conditioning

A

Present a NS with an aversive stimulus….eventually NS alone will cause conditioned fear response

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14
Q

How is a conditioned fear response usually expressed in animals?

A

defensive behavior

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15
Q

What can lesions on the amygdala block?

A

fear conditioning

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16
Q

Which sensory systems does the amygdala receive input from

A

All of them

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17
Q

What does the amygdala do physically in concerns of emotion?

A

Adds emotional significance to a stimulus

It projects to the brainstem regions that control emotional behavior output

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18
Q

What emotional situation is the lateral amygdala critical for?

How?

A

Conditioned fear

The prefrontal cortex suppresses conditioned fears by inhibiting the lateral amygdala

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19
Q

How is the hippocampus involved in fear conditioning?

A

It informs the lateral amygdala about the context of the fear-related event

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20
Q

What is Kluver-Bucy Syndrome?

What causes it and what are the symptoms?

A

Bilateral temporal lobe damage

They studied it in monkies…it is rare disorder in humans

hyperoral, memory loss and agnosia (inability to remember familiar objects), hypersexualized, placidity (docile), and visual distractibility

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21
Q

What happens when the septum is stimulated?

When lesioned?

A

decreased emotionality

rage or hyperemotionality

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22
Q

What happens when the septum is lesioned first before the amygdala?

And the reverse order?

A

Hyperemotionality (“wiped out”)

Hyperemotionality but less than when its only the septum

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23
Q

Stimulation of cingulate cortex

Lesion of cingulate cortex

A

Fear

Raised threshold and less emotionality

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24
Q

What is the current approach to studying human emotion

A

cognitive neuroscience

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25
Q

what is the nature of emotion in brain activity

A

it is not concentrated to a single area; its handled all over

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26
Q

What brain activity is correlated with emotion and empathy

A

in motor and sensory cortices

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27
Q

Describe the brains mirror-like system

A

we have similar brain activity as experienced emotion when we imagine emotion or see someone else with that emotion

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28
Q

Outside of fear describe the amygdala’s role in emotion

A

Has a general role

Has a role in evaluating emotional significance of situations

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29
Q

Are brain areas that are activated by emotion dedicated only to those emotions?

How does emotional brain activity differ between people?

A

No, that can also be activated by other psychological processes

The same emotional stimuli can activate different areas in different people

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30
Q

Who discovered the pleasure circuitry of brain

A

Olds and Milner

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31
Q

Name a pleasure system

A

Mesotelencephalic Dopamine system

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32
Q

Pathways of Mesotelencephalic Dopamine System

Which one is involved in reward

A
  1. Nigrostriatal pathway
    1. Substantia nigra to
    2. Dorsal striatum
  2. Mesocorticolimbic pathway
    1. Ventral tegmental area to
    2. Cortical and limbic sites
    3. Involved in reward
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33
Q

Describe the ANS profiles for each emotion

A

There isn’t a seperate one for each emotion…many overlapping processes

34
Q

Describe 2 polygraph question techniques

Success rate?

A

Control question technique: compare the physio response of a target question to a control question

Guilty knowledge: ask a question only culprit would know

80%

35
Q

Meanings of facial expressions appear to be:

A

universal

36
Q

What are the 6 primary emotions proposed by Paul Eckman

Explain other emotions

A
  1. Surprise
  2. Anger
  3. Disgust
  4. Fear
  5. Sadness
  6. Happiness

All other emotions are a mixture of these

37
Q

facial feedback hypothesis

A

facial expressions influence our emotional experience

ex: smiling makes you happier - facial muscles may feedback and influence emotional experience

38
Q

microexpressions

A

brief facial expressions that reveal true feelings often break through false ones

39
Q

fake vs. real smiles

A

different facial muscles involved

40
Q

fear

A

an emotional reaction to threat

41
Q

what is the purpose of defensive behaviors and what are they motivated by

A

to protect from threat or harm

motivated by fear

42
Q

primary function of aggression

A

to threaten or harm

43
Q

8 types of aggression

A

predatory

competitive

defensive

territorial

maternal protective

female social

sex-related

instrumental

44
Q

predatory aggression

A

hungry animal stalks and kills prey

45
Q

competitive aggression

A

males of a species threaten each other for dominance

46
Q

defensive aggression

A

inescapable threat: respond with fear-motivated threat or attack

47
Q

territorial aggression

A

response to intruder into living area

48
Q

maternal protective aggression

A

female protects young

49
Q

sex-related aggression

A

male attacks female who rebuffs his sexual advances

50
Q

instrumental aggression

A

repeats a threat or attack behavior which worked in a similar situation before

51
Q

female social aggression

A

female attacks strange female or juvenile animal

52
Q

Hess electrode studies

A

stimulated area of hypothalamus that led to aggressive response in cats

53
Q

Delgado electrode studies

A

implanted electrode in bull’s hypothalamus

stimulation stopped aggression and the bull stopped in its tracks

54
Q

What two brain areas have studies found to be very involved in aggression

A

amygdala and hypothalamus

55
Q

relationship of testosterone and aggression in nonprimates

A

strong relationship

56
Q

how does testosterone affect aggression in human males

A

social aggression does not increase with higher testosterone at puberty

not eliminated by castration

not increased by testosterone injection

57
Q

what relationship *has *been found between testosterone and aggression in human males

A

violent male criminals and aggressive athletes have shown slightly elevated levels

aggressive encounters may increase testosterone rather than the other way around (correlation does not mean causation)

58
Q

stress

A

reaction to harm or threat

59
Q

stressors

A

stimuli that cause stress

60
Q

chronic psychological stress is most clearly linked with _______

A

ill health

61
Q
A
62
Q

short term vs. long term stress

A

short: adaptive
long: maladaptive

63
Q

where is the adrenal gland located

2 parts

A

on top of kidney

adrenal cortex and adrenal medulla

64
Q

adrenal cortex
what hormones are associated

A

outer part of gland

glucocorticoids

65
Q

adrenal medulla

A

inner part of gland

secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine (hormones in this case)

66
Q

Hans Selye

A

stress is body’s response to any demand whether its physical or psychological

not necessarily good or bad

general adaptation syndrome

67
Q

FOR THIS CLASS ONLY: coritchosteroids =

A

glucocorticoids

68
Q

3 steps of General adaptation syndrom

A
  1. Alarm
  2. Resistance
  3. Exhaustion
69
Q

General adaptation system: Alarm

4 things that happen

A

Somatic nervous system arousal causes the release of NE and E from adrenal medulla

Hypothalamus is stimulated and releases corticotropic releasing hormone (CRH)

That causes the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from anterior pituitary

That causes the release of chorticosteroids (cortisol) from the adrenal cortex

70
Q

General Adaptation Syndrome: Resistance

A

body mobilizes to put stressors to an end with antibodies

fight/flight

71
Q

General Adaptation Syndrome: Exhaustion

A

Stress is not relieved

If physical stress: may die

If psychological stress: may get mental illness and or physical disease

72
Q

General adaptation syndrome in short

What happens when a second stressor comes in during its “arc”

A

mobilization of bodily resources

Exhaustion occurs much faster

73
Q

What may occur as a result of stress (biologically)

A

a disruption of biological equillibrium

74
Q

Robert Sapolsky

What did he study and what did he conclude

Rats?

A

Observed baboons in Serengeti; studied their social behaviors and body chemicals

Stress may be caused by lifestyle and people with chronic stress may be at greater risk for disease

Choritcosteroids like cortisol can kill brain cells in rats

75
Q

What may cause a lower resistance to disease (from stress)

Sapolsky rat evidence

A

Poor coping mechanisms

Rats who could not predict or control the shocks had more ulcers

76
Q

Martin Seligman

What did he study

What was experiment

What were the results

A

Learned helplessness

  • Shocks to two groups of dogs
    • Control: able to learn how to escape
    • Experimental: first given inescapable shocks, then opportunity to learn how to escape
  • Results: second group could not learn and did not even try
77
Q

One example of learned helplessness in humans

A

Stockholm syndrome

78
Q

What is Stockholm Syndrome

Where does name come from

A

Behavior of kidnap victims who over time become sympathetic to captor

1973 hostage in Stockholm - after 6 days in the bank several captives resisted rescue and refused to testify

79
Q

What conditions does learned helplessness usually occur in?

A

severe emotional and often physical duress

80
Q

What populations is learned helplessness often found in

A

Survivors of interpersonal abuse

battered spouses, abused children, POWs, concentration camp survivors

81
Q

psychoneuroimmunology

A

study of the interaction of psychological factors, the nervous system, and the immune system

82
Q

How can the type of stress affect the immune system differently

A

acute stressors improve immune functions

chronic stressors impair immune function