unit 5 Flashcards
3 related facets to emotions
- physiological response
- overt behaviors (smiling, baring teeth, etc)
- conscious feelings (actual subjective feeling of the emotion)
physiological components of emotion are mediated primarily by ______
ANS – innervates involuntary muscles of internals organs + hormonal system
6 basic emotions are innate to humans
recognizable emotions
- happiness, surprise, dear, sadness, anger, disgust
ekman
- physiological + overt responses
- conscious emotional feeling
see bear –> body responses (HR going up) –> feel afraid
James-Lange
- see bear –> body response (HR UP)
- see bear –> feel afraid
*INDEPENDENT + SIMULTANEOUS
cannon-bard
Arousal → Appraisal → Emotion
(bodily arousal + CONTEXT ARE INTERPRETED)
- see bear –> body responses
- see bear –> appraise situation/context
—> feel afraid (or don’t if at zoo)
2-factor theory
Very emotional events can lead to particularly vivid episodic memories
- emotion can greatly increase memory
encoding
- decay over time
flashbulb memories
Emotion can also influence retrieval: ____ _____ increases recall
mood congruence
_____ ______ is the most popular paradigm for studying conditioned emotional responses (CER)
conditioned fear
A neutral stimulus (CS, usually a tone) is paired with a painful stimulus
(US, usually a foot shock).
* The CS comes to evoke a fear response (CR), including freezing and
elevated blood pressure.
* Learned quickly, hard to extinguish, occurs over much of the animal
kingdom.
if R → take away ongoing noxious C
* e.g., press lever to terminate ongoing foot shock
* e.g., swim to platform to terminate being in cold water
* Also learned quickly and hard to extinguish
neg reinforcement
the response can be made before the onset of the noxious stimulation, avoiding its application altogether.
conditioned escape
If R, remove noxious C; this schedule increases Rs Discriminative stimulus
conditioned escape
two compartments separated by a barrier, electric floors
Light turns out in one compartment
Floor is electrified
Animal can jump over barrier to eliminate shock
When lights out: If jump, shock ends
shuttle box
: Inescapable adverse events impair later escape and avoidance learning
learned helplessness
*Animal exposed to several unavoidable shocks
*Then given chance to perform escape/avoidance learning
*Very low rate of avoidance — animal gives up and stops trying to escape
Learned helplessness can carry over to many tasks, impairing learning, decreasing effort, and dampening mood
Generalization
Early success at controlling adverse stimuli diminishes the negative impact of inescapable aversive experiences
inoculation
S → R → avoid C altogether. For
example, light signals impending shock, which can be
avoided by responding (e.g., lever press).
* Once acquired, animals can avoid C very effectively, leading to
theoretical puzzle of how the avoidance response is continuing to be
reinforced
avoidance learning
Papez (1937) sees that lesions cause emotional impairment; posits that the ______, ______, ______, and _______ _______ have a role in emotion
hippocampus, hypothalamus, thalamus, and cingulate cortex
Group of emotional brain structures
Emotions activate many brain
regions, including the amygdala
and the frontal cortex
limbic system
Despite this complexity, the
_______ stands out as a
structure involved in many
types of emotional
processing
amygdala
- A collection of subcortical nuclei in
the anterior temporal lobe - Collection of many different nuclei,
only some of which are shown
here
amygdala
collects emotionally
relevant information from cortex and
thalamus
lateral nucleus
coordinates
expression of behavioral and
physiological emotional responses
central nucleus
modulates brain centers related to memory and
learning
basolateral nucleus
CS comes to
evoke a strong SCR, due to
emotional arousal
healthy controls
the US is effective, but
the association with the CS is
never learned
patients with bilateral amygdala damage
_____ ____ of the amygdala organizes the expression of
emotional responses
central nucleus
The central nucleus of the amygdala organizes the expression of emotional responses:
- Stimulation can cause species-typical defensive responses (e.g., in
rabbits: freezing and lowered heart rate). - Stimulation in humans can cause positive or negative emotions,
and can also cause outbursts of rage (Delgado, 1971). - Disruption leads to impairments of emotional learning in humans
and other animals…
central nucleus
in controls and hippocampal patients (HL), CS comes to evoke a strong
skin conductance response (SCR), due to emotional arousal.
* In patients with bilateral amygdala damage (AL), the US is effective,
but the association with the CS is never learned and CR is never
expressed (left).
The central amygdala is required for fear conditioning
provides inputs, and thus may play a particularly important role in emotional learning about stimuli
lateral amygdala
collects inputs and seems to encode
emotional relevance of stimuli
lateral amygdala
- Fast and rough input direct from the thalamus (the “low
road”): gets to amygdala quickly, but minimal processing
doesn’t allow for fine distinctions between stimuli. - Slow but accurate input indirect from the cortex (the “high
road”): gets to amygdala more slowly, but inputs are more
accurate. - Emotional learning refines neural responses in the lateral
amygdala…
lateral amygdala
Fast and rough input ____ from the thalamus (the “low road”): gets to amygdala quickly, but minimal processing doesn’t allow for fine distinctions between stimuli
direct
Slow but accurate input _____ from the cortex (the “high
road”): gets to amygdala more slowly, but inputs are more
accurate
indirect
- Animals pre-tested on two neutral odors (baseline)
- One odor (CS+ almond odor) then paired with foot shock (US)
- Activity of neurons in the lateral nucleus recorded before
and after training - Selective increase or decrease ??? in activity to trained odor CS+, suggesting
encoding of emotional relevance of the stimuli
increase
The ____ _____ may modulate memory to
increase storage of emotional memories.
* Imaging studies show that emotional events activate the amygdala.
* Degree of amygdala activation predicts memory boost for emotional
material
basolateral amygdala (BLA)
Inputs from hormonal system via the brainstem
* Outputs to the hippocampus
how BLA modulates memory to increase storage of emotional memories
Emotional stimuli cause the release of _____ hormones,
including _____
stress; epi
This is monitored in the BLA,
through a relay in the brainstem
that releases ______.
Strong activation of this pathway
predicts better encoding
norepinephrine
Enhancing ______ boosts emotional memory
epi
Similarly, blocking _____ decreases the boost in recall for
emotional stories
epi
In contextual fear conditioning, animals learn not only the
pairing between CS and US (e.g., Tone and Shock) but also
the _____ in which the relationship was experienced
context
After training, simple re-exposure to the context (CS training
chamber) also evokes ____ fear responses (far left, Controls)
CR
Although hippocampal lesions (HL) have no effect on fear
conditioning of the CS-US relationship (middle panels, HL), it abolishes ______ learning: contextual CS of training apparatus no longer provokes fear responses (far left, HL)
contextual
______ lobe damage can impair the ability to recognize facial
expressions of mood
frontal
fMRI studies show enhanced activation of the ____ ___ (in addition
to the amygdala) while viewing emotional faces.
medial PFC
Frontal lobe damage can cause changes in
emotional regulation, with some patients exhibiting flattened
affect and others experiencing heightened and inappropriate
emotionality (e.g., Phineas Gage).
mood regulation
Frontal lobe damage can impair extinction of
fear responses, leading to perseveration of the response.
fear learning
The ___ is essential for learning about the context of
fear memory.
hippocampus
The _____ lobes play a role in mood regulation, the perception of
social expression of emotion, and extinction of conditioned fear.
frontal
_____ stress leads to moderate arousal and can improve memory
* Moderate levels of stress hormones can facilitate LTP and dendritic growth
* High concentration of glucocorticoid receptors in hippocampus
mild
Chronic ____ stress and arousal can impair encoding and recall
* High levels of stress hormones may overexcite hippocampus and even
lead to excitotoxicity
high
an overwhelming, irrational fear of an object,
place, or situation.
* e.g., ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), agoraphobia (fear of open
spaces).
phobia
therapy for phobias; present
successive approximations of CS while patient stays relaxed.
* Eventually CS no longer elicits CR reaction (i.e., extinction).
systematic desensitization
- Phobic person learns to relax on cue (progressive relaxation).
- Present anxiety hierarchy — contact with least fearful to most fearful
phobic object or event. - Apply hierarchy sequentially while the phobic person remains relaxed;
apply each step gradually.
Procedure can be slow but is generally successful and long-
lasting for systematic desensitization
Obsessive thoughts,
nightmares, or flashbacks
persist long after exposure to
the traumatic event.
PTSD
____ hormone levels may remain high and persistent, so fear
response lasts longer and further strengthens the memory in PTSD
stress
drug treatment for PTSD
Drugs like propranolol interfere with epinephrine, reducing stress
reaction.
* With propranolol administration, the patient may be less likely to
develop PTSD.
- Expose patient to anxiety-triggering cues
- But in the absence of danger
extinction therapy
MRI studies
indicate that
individuals with
PTSD – and
their unexposed
twins – typically
have ____
hippocampal
volumes.
* Risk factor for
those later
exposed to
traumatic event
smaller
Extreme stress can disrupt the ______, resulting in an
incomplete memory
* Such memories may be vulnerable to distortion
* Lab research suggests memories recovered during guided imagery or
hypnosis can be distorted
hippocampus
______ systems development parallels development of
their underlying brain substrates
memory
By____weeks, auditory habituation:
* A speaker is placed on the mother’s abdomen.
* Sounds initially cause fetal movement.
* Repeated sounds decrease responses
34-36
Immediately after birth, human infants demonstrate incredible
______ abilities:
* Language
* Motor control
* Social skills
Some limitations are evident due to immature sensory and
motor systems
learning
kick leg → move mobile
Infant operant conditioning
Eye-blink conditioning ____ in infants than adults
slower
____ ____(gap between CS and US) not possible until age 4,
and even then, still a bit slower than adults
Trace conditioning
Infants have ____ memory, which develops
further over time
semantic
The development of _____ memory is less clear
episodic
______ memory seems to develop more slowly.
* Children hid stuffed toys around their homes and were later tested for
the what, where, and when of these events.
* 3-year-olds were worse than 4-year-olds at episodic memory retrieval
episodic
- Slow hippocampus development; needed to support episodic memory
formation? - Developing sense of self? Infants don’t pass the “red mark” test until
about 24 months. - Performance issue? Infants may have episodic memories, but it’s hard
for them to express these memories. - The correct explanation is still unclear.
Possible causes of infantile amnesia
_____ memory seems to develop even more slowly
source
- Young children had poor source memory and could rarely recall having
learned the pair within the experiment.
forming a close bond
with first individual seen after birth.
* Common in birds, but also occurs in other
species.
* Bond forms best immediately after birth;
after this critical period, harder to form.
Imprinting
Some learning abilities are only available early in life
sensitive period or critical period
impaired visual input early in development leads
to permanent disruption of visual system.
visual development
Male sparrows raised in isolation don’t develop normal songs, unless
played tape recordings during the exact right developmental time frame
(30-100 days after birth)
Skill at ____ ____for sound distinctions not
used in exposed languages is lost during early development.
phonetic discriminations
ome evidence suggests language must be learned before
~_____ years of age to be fully mastered.
12
the transitional stage between the onset of
puberty and full adulthood
adolescence
Strong development of _____ memory and central
executive function during adolescence.
* ____ ____ increases through early teens.
* ______ function develops throughout early adulthood
working; digit span; executive
______ perform slightly better (on average) on verbal memory and on
spatial learning of landmark locations
women
______ perform slightly better (on average) on spatial learning of routes
men
_____ abilities can remain stable for many years
adult
overall pattern in _____ age is decline
in most basic learning, memory, and cognitive skills
old
____ memory is one of the first to show age-related
decline
working
Proactive interference? Older adults have learned much more and may
be less able to prevent this from interfering with the contents of working
memory
______ conditioning starts declining at 40-50 years and can take
twice as long in older adults relative to young adults
eye blink
____ learning declines rapidly after 60 years (e.g., rotary pursuit).
skill
______ to encode episodic and semantic
memories (i.e., encoding) does decline with age
- Older adults show poor paired associate learning
ability
richer pool of experience can often help _______ for
diminished skills and enable performance of complex skills at the same
or better level than in young adults!
compensate
Overall performance is only preserved in skills that are practiced
throughout aging t/f
t
During _____, strong development of working memory and
executive function, and the appearance of small gender
differences.
adolescence
through ______, period of stability but overall decline in most
basic memory and cognitive skills, especially working memory.
* Storage & retrieval of declarative memories is strong throughout healthy
aging, but formation of new declarative and skill memories declines
adulthood
______ memory seems intact (but developing) from an early age, but
______ memory may take more time to fully develop
semantic; episodic
a form of progressive cognitive
decline from accumulating brain deterioration
AD
Earliest symptoms are _____ memory failures, such as forgetting
recent visitors
of AD
episodic
- Earliest symptoms are episodic memory failures, such as forgetting
recent visitors. - Later, there are declines in semantic memory (e.g., forgetting familiar
names, locations). - Much later, conditioning and skill memory deteriorate.
- In late-stage AD, there is often a lack of awareness and activities of
daily living (ADL) skills.
Progression of memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease
deposits of beta-amyloid (abnormal byproduct
of amyloid precursor protein, or APP; kills adjacent neurons)
Amyloid plaques
collapsed tau protein, which normally
functions as scaffolding within neurons
Neurofibrillary tangles
Hippocampal shrinkage = early ____ warning sign
AD
Early in AD, accumulate in hippocampus and MTL, relating to _____
memory deficits (episodic and semantic)
declarative
Verification of presence of plaques and tangles (to confirm AD
diagnosis) can only happen at ____.
* 10% to 20% of “probable AD” diagnoses (based on MRI, PET, lumbar
puncture, etc.) are incorrect.
* Many other conditions (some treatable) mimic AD (e.g., vitamin B
deficiency, hypothyroidism, depression)
* So better diagnostic tests needed (e.g., PiB imaging on next slide)
autopsy
____-onset Alzheimer’s disease (onset < 60 years; rare =
less than 1% of cases) has significant genetic component
* Autosomal dominant mutations found in genes coding for proteins
involved in amyloid processing are linked to early-onset AD
* Amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin (PS1, PS2) mutations
early
Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (onset > 60 years; 99% of
cases) is more influenced by ______ factors
* But also linked to ApoE4 mutation of gene for apolipoprotein E
environmental
Prevention: remain active cognitively, socially, physically
* Promotes neuronal survival and hippocampal neurogenesis
* Slows cognitive aging in both healthy and disease states
Methods to decrease β-amyloid accumulation
* Aβ1-42 vaccine
* Antioxidants
* Prevention: remain active cognitively, socially, physically
* Promotes neuronal survival and hippocampal neurogenesis
* Slows cognitive aging in both healthy and disease states
251 Unit 10.3B fa24
Leqembi (new AD drug)
AD prevention
