Unit 3 Part 1 Flashcards
Describe Primary appraisal
- Judgment that an encounter is irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful
- Irrelevant or benign-positive events can be ignored
- Stressful appraisals must be addressed.
3 forms of stressful primary appriasal
- harm/loss (am I okay), threat (threat value, will I be okay in a few mins/sec), and challenge (can I do anything about this)
- Harm/loss: assessment of damage already sustained
- Threat: anticipation of future harm/loss
- Challenge: refers to events that hold the possibility for mastery and gain.
Describe secondary appraisal
- A judgment concerning what might or can be done
- Includes an assessment of:
- The potential success of a given coping option
- The effective application of a given strategy – the “how to”
- Evaluation of the consequences of a given strategy
Describe reapprasial
A revised appraisal based on new information from the environment and/or the person.
Whar are commitments
an expression of what is important to a person and they underlay the choices that are made
What is important to you?
- Commitments have a distinct motivational quality
- They guide people into or away from situations that threaten, harm, or benefit them
- They can shape cue sensitivity (our sensitivity to incoming info - required for apprasials
Positives and negatives of commitments
- Negative: The deeper a person’s commitment, the greater the potential for threat and challenge
- Positive: Depth of commitment can also push a person toward improving the situation and can help to maintain hope.
what is problem focused coping
: strategies that attack the problem itself, with behaviours designed to gain information, alter the event, or alter beliefs and commitments. Gain as much info as possible to what your exposed to (eg, physician says you have cancer, strategy would be okay, in this moment ask questions. Then go home and process)
What is emotion based strargies
Emotion-focused strategies call for psychological changes designed to limit the degree of emotional disruption caused by the event with minimal effort to alter the event itself
What is a psychological stressor
- Any event that we perceive as “a significant physical threat” will automatically act as a psychological stressor
- Therefore, there are two levels of stress response to serious threats (psychological and physical).
What does hippocampus connect
- Hippocampus connects to mammillary bodies via fornix.
Where does all info pass through
Primary sensory cortex
Describe Dorsolateral prefrontal and ventromedial cortex:
executive functioning, complex cognition, problem solving, working memory
Describe Orbitofrontal cortex (more emotion centred)
visceral and motivational processing
What is importance of frontal lobe
- The importance of frontal lobe and its limbic connections is the ability to invest information with meaning and emotional content.
- Amygdala connections with prefrontal cortex and basal nuclei are at the beginning of a chain of events where normal emotional responses can lead to a physiologic stress response.
Describe connection between amygdala and stria terminalis
- The connection between amygdala and 1) stria terminalis and 2) nucleus accumbens is a divergent pathway to higher and lower centres that provides motivational significance to incoming information
- These structures link to limbic system via basal nuclei connections and thalamus.
T or F: Frontal-limbic interactions are likely to be critical for both primary and secondary appraisals
T
What 3 areas converge on hypothalamus
Three areas converge on hypothalamus: 1) orbitofrontal cortex, 2) bed n. of the stria terminalis, and 3) amygdala
what is central feedback subsystem
- provides feedback to the central nervous system about activities in brainstem
- CFS = reticular formation and aminergic nuclei
- This subsystem determines the global behavioural state of the person.
What neurotransmitter des the central feeback system (CFS) rely on
- Norepinephrine – locus coeruleus (90% of all NE fibres come from here – dorsorostral pons) one of three brainsteam areas (midbrain, pons, medulla)
- Serotonin (5-HT) – raphe nuclei (pons/midbrain)
- Dopamine (DA) – ventral tegmentum (midbrain)
What does amenergenic nuclei do
regulates arousal level, NE responsible for regulation of RAS (reticular activating system)
Serotonin have afferent fibers that connect to:
amygdala
hypothalamus
ACG
orbital prefrontal cortex
Affective (emotional) balance and mood disorders are strongly associated with the functioning of this system.
describe CRF stress system
- CRF neurons integrate information relevant to stress not only at the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), which forms the central component of the HPA axis, but also act in a widespread circuitry throughout the brain, producing autonomic and behavioral responses that parallel signs of stress, depression and anxiety.
