Week 12: Emotions Flashcards
What are the 3 components of emotions?
1) Cognition (“this is a dangerous situation”)
2) Action (“run”)
3) Feelings (“I feel frightened”)
What is the James-Lange theory of emotion?
Event –> Appraisal (cognitive) –> Action (behavioural aspect, including physiology) –> Emotional feeling
(eg. frightening situation –> appraise as dangerous –> heart rate increase, run faster etc. –> interpret as fear)
Why is the James-Lange theory of emotion counterintuitive?
common sense view: event –> feeling (fear) –> action (run away; autonomic responses)
What is the nature of physiological responses after appraisal of the event?
Can’t control it consciously (fight-or-flight response) autonomic responses
Quick changes
Why are the feelings associated with emotions not straightforward?
We attach specific feelings to a specific cognitive context
What is an evidence in support of James-Lange theory of emotions?
Patient S.M - damage to amygdala
Can appraise events accurately and body physiology responds appropriately, but does not feel the emotion
What are 3 pieces of evidence to support James-Lange theory that physiological arousal is important for emotions?
1) People with pure autonomic failure claim that they can feel emotions, but less strongly
2) People with brain damage that prevents voluntary facial movement and expression, have trouble recognising others’ emotional expressions.
3) Forcing a physiological response can produce an emotion.
What is the limbic system?
Limbic system is often understood as any area involved in emotional regulation. May not even be a real system; debatable. The limbic system is a network of forebrain areas, surrounding the thalamus, that are involved in emotional processing. It includes amygdala, hippocampus and cingulate cortex etc.
What is the most important structure of the limbic system?
Amygdala - involved in emotional regulation (but also involved in other things not related to emotional regulation)
Which brain structure is often associated with disgust?
Insula in the primary auditory cortex
Why do some neuroscientists consider the limbic system obsolete? (3)
1) no evidence that the limbic system functions as an integrated system in the mediation of emotion
2) efforts to define the limbic system has failed
3) The limbic areas are not the only areas of the brain that influence the hypothalamus
The left hemisphere is associated with the ________ system and the right hemisphere is associated with ______ system.
left: Behavioural activation system (BAS) - low arousal emotions like happiness
right: Behavioural inhibition system (BIS) - high arousal emotions like anger
What is the adaptive value of emotions?
Emotions seems like a way for our bodies to react to stimuli without having to assess it
What influences our moral decisions?
Emotions can influence our decisions in ways that we may not be conscious of. But emotions alone do not determine these decisions. We impose certain rules on our decisions.
The inability to experience emotions is associated with damage of the ______.
prefrontal cortex.
Nothing angered him. He was never very sad, even about his own brain damage. Nothing gave him much pleasure. Can’t use his emotions to make rational decisions.
How does sensitization of emotional responses occur in the amygdala?
An initial threat builds up in the amygdala, subsequent threats will be met with faster and more aggressive behaviours. Buildup of activity in the amygdala predisposes to aggressive behaviour.
Describe an example of an interaction in heredity and environmental influences in violence.
Genetics - MAOA levels (breaks down neurotransmitters, decreasing their availability)
Environmental - maltreatment
No maltreatment: MAOA levels does not matter
Severe maltreatment: those with lower MAOA are more antisocial
What does the Triple Imbalance Hypothesis state about aggressive behaviour?
States that aggressive behaviour depends on the balance of 3 chemicals - testosterone, cortisol (stress hormone) and serotonin.
Violent crime is associated with _____ testosterone level.
Higher
relationship still not clear, lot’s of variability
What is the relationship between cortisol levels and aggression?
lower cortisol levels –> loss of inhibition –> higher aggression
What is the relationship between serotonin levels and aggression?
decreases in serotonin associated with higher aggression
The amygdala projects to 3 areas:
1) hypothalamus - control of autonomic fear responses
2) prefrontal cortex - cognitive approach and avoidance response
3) midbrain - in turn projects to the pons which control startle reflex
Amygdala plays a role in ______. Give one evidence to support this.
Fear processing (especially in facial expressions and emotions) Patient SM. Amygdala damage. Fearless to external stimuli. She was not emotionless -- has curiosity and excitement. Show decreased fear response.
When the facial expression is angry, does direct or averted gaze activate the amygdala more?
averted gaze
When the facial expression is fearful, does direct or averted gaze activate the amygdala more?
direct gaze
What is anxiety?
A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.
What is panic disorder?
Frequent periods of anxiety and occasional attacks of rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweating, and trembling (ie. extreme arousal of the sympathetic nervous system.) Dysfunction of the sympathetic nervous system.
Which part of the brain controls the functioning of the sympathetic nervous system?
hypothalamus
Anxiety is associated with increases in neurotransmitters _____, and _____.
orexin
CCK in amygdala or hipocampus
How do benzodiazepines (anxiolytic drugs) relieve anxiety?
They bind to GABAa receptor, increasing the likelihood of binding to GABA. Since GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, this increases overall inhibition.
