Week 6: Emotions Flashcards
1
Q
What is the James-Lange Theory?
A
- theory of emotions
- emotions = interpretation of physiological responses triggered by external stimuli
- physical change is felt first
- then brain understands this as a specific feeling (e.g. fear)
2
Q
What is the Cannon-Bard Theory?
A
- theory of emotions
- an argumentative critique of the James-Lange Theory
- physiological changes and experience of emotion occur at the same time
3
Q
What are emotions?
A
- short transient episodes (phenomena)
- a neurophysiological response to stimuli
- evoke a system of components which prepare the organism to respond and determine its behavior
4
Q
What are the different components of emotions?
A
- autonomous visceral phenomena
- somatic skeletal-motor interactions
- personal experience / subjective feeling
5
Q
What do we understand as autonomous visceral phenomena?
A
- include
- changes in cardiovascular activity
- muscle tension
- sweating
- pallor / redness of facial skin
- governed by sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
6
Q
What do we understand as somatic skeletal-motor interactions?
A
- expressed through “body language”, e.g. posture and movement (flight or fight)
- represent nonverbal communication
7
Q
What do we understand as personal experience / subjective feeling?
A
- internal, short-term responses to interoceptive signals that influence orientations
- emotions like shame, anger, fear, sadness, jealousy are often concealed
8
Q
What is the limbic system?
A
- the “emotional system” or “memory system”
- includes:
- cingulate gyrus
- orbital and medial prefrontal cortex
- ventral basal ganglia
- Hypothalamus
- amygdala
- mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus
9
Q
What are feelings as opposed to emotions?
A
- raw data (as opposed to subjective feelings)
- mental experience of body states
- include physiological reactions like hunger, thirst, pain
10
Q
What are emotions as opposed to feelings?
A
- subjective feelings (as opposed to raw data)
- complex psychological states
- involving
- subjective experiences
- physiological responses
- expressive behaviors
- shaped by our thoughts, memories and experiences
- usually longer-lasting than feelings
11
Q
What are fundamental dimensions of emotion?
A
- arousal
- valence
12
Q
What is the circumplex Model?
A
a model of emotion that places emotions on a grid based on their arousal and valence
13
Q
What are the key goals in neuroscience in the context of emotion?
A
- understanding the neurobiological basis of emotion
- understanding the contributions of affective neural processing to higher brain functions
- understanding behaviors that reflect the vulnerability of emotional neural circuits when exposed to drugs that alter their normally adaptive operations in goal directed behavior
14
Q
What Brain regions are affected by addiction?
A
- PFC: decision making and impulse control
- Basal ganglia: rewards & motivation, forming habits and behavior
- extended Amygdala: stress and anxiety, flight or fight response
- nucleus accumbens: receives powerful stimulus when drug is consumed and releases flood of dopamine
15
Q
How is dopamine relevant in the context of addiction?
A
- chemical that underlies motivation
- dopamine is released upon drug consumption which encourages repetition
- stimulation to drugs of abuse is so high, that response of emotional reinforcement circuit to natural rewards is dampened
16
Q
What is the Incentive-Sensitization Theory by Robinson and Berrigde?
A
- addiction is driven by enhanced wanting for drugs rather than the liking of the drug itself
- repeated drug use sensitizes brain’s reward system → heightened sensitivity to drug-related cues → increases craving and drug-seeking behaviors
17
Q
What is the low road?
A
- Stimulus → Thalamus → Amygdala → external response
- rapid, automatic emotional response to potential threats
- quick survival mechanism
- primes body for immediate action
- jumping at a sudden sound, before realizing it’s harmless
- dysregulation can lead to responses like PTSD (overractive fast pathway) or anxiety disorders
18
Q
what is the high road ?
A
- Stimulus → Thalamus → Sensory Cortex → Amygdala → external response
- detailed evaluation of the emotional stimulus
- enables nuanced and reasoned responses
- refines the response to prevent overreaction
19
Q
What neurochemicals play a role in love?
A
- oxyctocin
- Dopamine
- vasopressin
- adrenaline
20
Q
How does Oxyticin play a role in love?
A
- known as “bonding hormone”, “love hormone”
- promotes trust, empathy, social bonding
- enhances feelings of attachment and connection (esp. in long-term relationships)
- released during physical touch, childbirth, intimate moments
21
Q
How does dopamine play a role in love?
A
- fuels feelings of pleasure and motivation (brain’s reward system)
- associated with euphoria of romantic love
- Deals dring early stages pf love creating feelings of excitement and infatuation
22
Q
How does Vasopressin play a role in love?
A
- critical role in long-term pair bonding and monogamy
- linked to loyalty and protective behaviors in relationships
23
Q
How does the angular gyrus play a role in love?
A
- associated with complex language functions and mirror neuron system
- helps anticipating the actions of a loved one
24
Q
How does the basal ganglia play a role in love?
A
- is typically associated with motor control
- involved in promoting attachment → provide ability to stay together even during harder times (applies to humans and other animals)
25
How does love affect the reward system?
- romantic love activates regions involved in reward and pleasure
- when talking about a loved one, brain's reward circuit lit up on scan in studies
- includes VTA nucleus accumbens, amygdala, hippocampus, PFC
26
How does the Hippocampus play a role in love?
part of the reward system
27
How does the VTA play a role in love?
- part of the reward system
- stimulated by natural rewards like food, sex, but also drugs of abuse
28
How does the nucleus accumbens play a role in love?
part of the reward system
29
How does the PFC play a role in love?
- part of reward system
- responsible for rational thinking
- in early romantic love PFC may be less active
- impulsive decisions and idealized perception of partner
30
How does the amygdala play a role in love?
- part of the reward system
- love can reduce amygdala activation → dampening fear and anxiety → supports trust and vulnerability
31
In what sense is there a different between a normal and a psychopath brain?
- frontal lobe inactive on scans for psychopath → no emotional response
- also less activity in Amygdala, medial PFC, Insula, OFC
