What causes emotional and motivated behavior?

Question 1

hypovolumic thirst

Answer 1

Thirst that is produced by a loss of overall fluid volume from the body.

Question 2

pheromone

Answer 2

Odorant biochemical released by one animal that acts as a chemosignal and can affect the physiology or behavior of another animal.

Question 2

transsexuality

Answer 2

Gender-identity disorder involving the strong belief of having been born the wrong sex.

Question 3

hyperphagia

Answer 3

Disorder in which an animal overeats, leading to significant weight gain.

Question 4

aphagia

Answer 4

Failure to eat; may be due to an unwillingness to eat or to motor difficulties, especially with swallowing.

Question 4

motivation

Answer 4

Behavior that seems purposeful and goal-directed.

Question 5

Klüver-Bucy syndrome

Answer 5

Behavioral syndrome, characterized especially by hypersexuality, that results from bilateral injury to the temporal lobe.

Question 6

osmotic thirst

Answer 6

Thirst that results from an increased concentration of dissolved chemicals, or solutes, in body fluids.

Question 9

emotion

Answer 9

Cognitive interpretation of subjective feelings.

Question 10

regulatory behavior

Answer 10

Behavior motivated to meet the survival needs of the animal.

Question 11

anorexia nervosa

Answer 11

Exaggerated concern with being overweight that leads to inadequate food intake and often excessive exercising; can lead to severe weight loss and even starvation.

Question 12

learned taste aversion

Answer 12

Acquired association between a specific taste or odor and illness; leads to an aversion to foods that have the taste or odor.

Question 12

pituitary gland

Answer 12

Endocrine gland attached to the bottom of the hypothalamus; its secretions control the activities of many other endocrine glands; known to be associated with biological rhythms.

Question 13

medial forebrain bundle (MFB)

Answer 13

Tract that connects structures in the brainstem with various parts of the limbic system; forms the activating projections that run from the brainstem to the basal ganglia and frontal cortex.

Question 14

hippocampus

Answer 14

Distinctive, three-layered subcortical structure of the limbic system lying in the medial region of the temporal lobe; plays a role in species-specific behaviors, memory, and spatial navigation and is vulnerable to the effects of stress; named for the Greek word for seahorse.

Question 15

innate releasing mechanism (IRM)

Answer 15

Hypothetical mechanism that detects specific sensory stimuli and directs an organism to take a particular action.

Question 16

amygdala

Answer 16

Almond-shaped collection of nuclei located within the limbic system; plays a role in emotional and species-typical behaviors.

Question 17

obesity

Answer 17

Excessive accumulation of body fat.

Question 18

phobia

Answer 18

Fear of a clearly defined object or situation.

Question 19

homeostatic mechanism

Answer 19

Process that maintains critical body functions within a narrow, fixed range.

Question 20

gender identity

Answer 20

A person’s feeling of being either male or female.

Question 21

psychosurgery

Answer 21

Any neurosurgical technique intended to alter behavior.

Question 22

androgen

Answer 22

Male hormone related to level of sexual interest.

Question 23

sexual dimorphism

Answer 23

Differential development of brain areas in the two sexes.

Question 24

reinforcer

Answer 24

In operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.

Question 25

preparedness

Answer 25

Predisposition to respond to certain stimuli differently from other stimuli.

Question 26

sexual orientation

Answer 26

A person’s sexual attraction to the opposite sex or to the same sex or to both sexes.

Question 28

panic disorder

Answer 28

Recurrent attacks of intense terror that come on without warning and without any apparent relation to external circumstances.

Question 29

nonregulatory behavior

Answer 29

Behavior unnecessay to the basic survival needs of the animal.

Question 30

prefrontal cortex (PFC)

Answer 30

The large frontal-lobe area anterior to the motor and premotor cortex; plays a key role in controlling executive functions such as planning.

Question 31

orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)

Answer 31

Prefrontal cortex located behind the eye sockets (the orbits) that receives projections from the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus; plays a central role in a variety of emotional and social behaviors as well as in eating; also called orbital frontal cortex.

Question 32

releasing hormones

Answer 32

Peptides that are released by the hypothalamus and act to increase or decrease the release of hormones from the anterior pituitary.

Question 33

evolutionary psychology

Answer 33

Discipline that seeks to apply principles of natural selection to understand the causes of human behavior.

Question 34

sensory deprivation

Answer 34

Experimental setup in which a subject is allowed only restricted sensory input; subjects generally have a low tolerance for deprivation and may even display hallucinations.

Question 35

generalized anxiety disorder

Answer 35

Persistently high levels of anxiety often accompanied by maladaptive behaviors to reduce anxiety; the disorder is thought to be caused by chronic stress.

Question 36

somatic marker hypothesis

Answer 36

Posits that ‘marker’ signals arising from emotions and feelings act to guide behavior and decision making, usually in an unconscious process.