w5 Emotion Flashcards
theories for classification of emotions
Categorical theories – Basic emotions
Innate
Across cultures
Shared with other species
Expressed by physiological patterns and facial cues
Categorical theories – Complex emotions
Examples: pride, contempt, embarrassment
Learned
Socially and culturally shaped
Most evident in humans
Expressed by combination of response patterns of basic emotions
dimensional theories
psychophysiology
measuring emotions
Relating psychological constructs to measurable bodily changes
Autonomic nervous system:
Sympathetic division: fight or flight (expend energy)
Parasympathetic division: rest-and-digest (conserve energy)
early neurobiological theories of emotion
situated 3 information-processing stages in different order
James-Lange feedback theory of emotion
Cannon-Bard diencephalic theory
Limbic system theory
James-Lange feedback theory of emotion
do we run from a bear because we are afraid, or we run first and then become afraid? He thought that first run, then afraid
late 19th century
Cannon-Bard diencephalic theory
disected the brain of cats: disconnected the rest of the brain from either only the cerebral cortex or also diencephalon (thalamus and hypothalamus)
James-Lange vs Cannon-Bard
Both theories state that: the body plays an important in generating emotions, conscious emotional states are processed in the neocortex
limbic system theory
Limbic system responsible for emotional functions
Critical role of hippocampus
problem: hippocampus is not such a specialized area. It has a lot of different functions (e. g. memory) except of emotions
contemporary approaches to studying the neurobiology of emotion
Hemispheric-asymmetry hypotheses (including right-hemisphere hypothesis, valence hypothesis)
Vertical integration models
Somatic marker hypothesis
Hemispheric-asymmetry hypotheses
Right-hemisphere hypothesis:
Right-hemisphere specialized for mediating emotions. Patients with right-hemisphere damage: difficulty in emotion perception tasks, difficulty with production of emotion in facial expressions and speech prosody
Valence hypothesis:
Left-hemisphere: Positive emotions, Linguistic and social functions
Right-hemisphere: Negative emotions, Reactive and survival related
Vertical integration models
Relating two levels of processing: Deeper brain regions (limbic system theory), Neocortical region (hemispheric-asymmetry hypotheses)
Studies on fear conditioning
shock produces fear, music doesn’t, but after conditioning it does. How comes?
when the lateral amygdala neurons are stimulated with both stimuli simultaneously, neural plasticity occurs. It strengthens the synaps between the intermediary neurons carrying information about the neutral stimulus (music) and the lateral amygdala neurons until eventually the synaps is strong enough to stimulate the lateral amygdala neuron on its own
the lateral nucleus excites the central medial nucleus, which excites the area that triggers the release of cortisol
so what?
fear conditioning experiments show that amygdala is responsible for the ability to feel fear and hippocampus is responsible for remembering the connection between the condition/context and the fearful thing that will happen with relation to it
Somatic marker hypothesis
Explain the role of emotion in decision making
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex: link factual knowledge to bioregulatory states (i.e., somatic markers)
Also the importance of insula (monitors one’s own physiological state (i.e., interoception) )
Benefit of emotions for complex cognitive functions
Somatic markers rule-of-thumb for decision making: good vs. bad
Emotional influences on perception and attention
Emotion influences other cognitive processes
Sensory information with emotion significance takes priority
Experiments: do masked emotional stimuli elicit autonomic responses? (it does)
Focus on fear because of quick detection of threats
so fear is perceived even without awareness
Influence of emotions on memory
Emotionally salient experiences -> more lasting memory
Memory modulation hypothesis: role of amygdala in enhancing memory consolidation
Amygdala’s influence on the brain: Direct by axonal connections, Indirect by releasing stress hormones -> regulating memory storage
