Emotion And The Brain

Question 1

The two components of emotions are…

Answer 1

1) emotional response

2) subjective feeling

Question 2

The bodily response during the emotional response…

Changes in the ANS

Answer 2

Involve parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves
Sympathetic - short term emergency. Acceleration of heart rate, slowing of digestive function, perspiration and glucose availability increase

Question 3

Bodily response

Hormonal changes…

Answer 3

Adrenal glands produce cortisol, the stress hormone, adrenaline and noradrenaline.
Stress leads to increased production and supply of oxygen and glucose to the brain
Hypothalamus - pituitary - adrenal glands

Question 4

Bodily response

Typical actions…

Answer 4

Fight
Flight
Freezing

Question 5

Facial expressions - Ekman

6 primary emotions

Answer 5

Happy
Sad
Angry
Surprised
Fear
Disgust

Question 6

Facial expression involve 2 neural circuits…

Answer 6

Voluntary under command - motor cortex

Involuntary spontaneous - basal ganglia

Question 7

Subjective feelings is…

Answer 7

Awareness of emotions, conscious experience of emotions

Question 8

James Lange theory (1884)

Answer 8

Bodily response comes first and the brain interpreted that as an emotion

Question 9

Criticism of James Lange theory

Answer 9

1) autonomic responses can’t produce large range of emotions we feel
2) spinal cord injury patients still feel emotions

Question 10

Cannon-Bard theory (1927)

Answer 10

Subjective feeling comes first, is processed, and the appropriate bodily response follows

Question 11

Cannon-Bard criticism

Answer 11

1) forced smiles makes us feel happier
2) drugs influencing heart rate can reduce anxiety
3) angry face in the crowd effect

Question 12

James Papez (1930) the Papez circuit…

Answer 12

Is a bidirectional loop
Neocortex (emotional colouring)
- cingulate cortex - hippocampus (emotional experience) - hypothalamus (emotional expression) - anterior nucleus or thalamus - cingulate cortex

Question 13

Paul McLean (1952) Limbic system

Answer 13

No single emotion system

Different brain networks for different emotions

Question 14

The hypothalamus…

Answer 14

Generates an emotional response associated with aggressive behaviour

Question 15

The amygdala…

Answer 15

Is responsible for fear and aggression
Stimulus - amygdala - emotional response/feeling
Joseph LeDoux - 2 routes either from the cortex or the thalamus.
It outputs to the hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray matter and cerebral cortex

Question 16

Klüver-Bucy syndrome is…

Answer 16

Monkeys with temporal lobes removed had an absence of fear and aggression

Question 17

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex…

Orbitofrontal cortex

Answer 17

Is important for emotional feeling, social interactions and decision making.

Question 18

Phineas Gage (1848)

Answer 18

Railway worker. Rod went through his head.

Damage to the prefrontal cortex. He recovered normal intelligence but suffered changes in his social behaviour

Question 19

Iowa gambling task…

Answer 19

Win or lose money. A bad deck has a high immediate win but long term loss
A good deck has low immediate wins but a long term win

Question 20

Healthy adults on the Iowa gambling tasks…

Answer 20

Chose good decks

Question 21

Patients with ventromedial lesions

Answer 21

Chose bad decks. Poor decision making

Question 22

The insula…

Answer 22

Is important for experience of pain and several basic emotions like disgust.
Important role in translating visceral States into subjective feelings

Question 23

Emotions are important for our survival because…

Answer 23

Fight or flight response
Reproduction and upbringing
Quick decisions to complex problems
Learning