Affect and Emotion Flashcards
Fear-relevant stimuli
Some stimuli are frequently associated with danger in the natural environment – these are termed fear-relevant.
Certain animals, such as snakes and spiders, can be dangerous – bites can cause illness or death.
It aids survival for these fear-relevant animals to have priority in our attentional and cognitive systems.
What did we do?
First, fixation in centre
Second, distractor images – a snake and lizard OR a spider and beetle.
Third, the target appears on the left OR right.
What do you predict?
Do you think people should be faster or slower to detect the target when it appears in the same place as the fear-relevant animal?
Why?
Prediction
If fear-relevant animals capture attention, then:
We should be faster to detect the target when it appears on the same side as the fear-relevant animal (valid condition) than the non-feared animal (invalid condition).
Thoughts on our experiment?
Strengths
Realistic animal photos – like what you see in real life
Spiders and snakes paired with similar-looking non-dangerous creatures.
Limitations
Lots of extraneous variables (colour, background, posture of animals, etc) could add noise or confound
Didn’t measure people’s fear of snakes/spiders
Some scary creatures were camouflaged.
Standard procedures - these are standard procedures rather than notable strengths – would not get good marks in Lab Report 2
Had half the targets on the left and half on the right to eliminate handedness effects (this is more a standard procedure than a notable strength – don’t use this in assignment)
Randomised the order of trials – to avoid doing all the snakes first or all the spiders first or all the left-targets first
Summary
The affective content of stimuli can influence our attention.
Fear-relevant animals can involuntarily capture our visual attention.
Emotion and Memory
Events that evoke high levels of emotion are likely important for us.
There is good evidence that the affective content of a stimulus influences how likely we are to remember it.
Cahill et. al. (1996):Activation of amygdala during emotional films – effect on memory
Participants did two sessions in PET scanner on separate days (3-7 days apart) – order counterbalanced
Emotionally Arousing Session
12 emotionally arousing films
Rated by different set of people to evoke fear and disgust
E.g. animal mutilation and violent crime
Emotionally Neutral Session
12 emotionally neutral films
Rated less emotionally arousing by separate set of people
E.g. travelogue, court proceeding
Increased activity in amygdaloid complex for emotional film session (left) compared with neutral film session (right).
(Anyone remember how a PET scan measures brain activity?)
Number of films recalled 3 weeks later
Amygdala activity predicts memory of emotional films (but not neutral films) three weeks later.
1 minute – how does this analysis strengthen the conclusions?
Cahil et al. cont
Strengths
Good analyses – predicting recall with brain activity much better than just assuming it’s related
Pre-tested film stimuli to make sure they work how they want them to
Limitations
Emotional condition just negative emotions, what about positive emotions?
Standard procedure (not a strength): counterbalance order of emotional and neutral sessions
The Amygdala
The response to, and memory of, fearful events is linked to the amygdala.
Lesioning or deactivation of the amygdala can interfere with the learning and expression of fear.
The Amygdala - Overview
The amygdala is a complex structure adjacent to the hippocampus. The amygdala is involved in processing emotions, and fear–learning. It links areas of the cortex that process “higher” cognitive information with hypothalamic and brainstem systems that control “lower” metabolic responses (e.g. touch, pain sensitivity, and respiration). This allows the amygdala to coordinate physiological responses based on cognitive information – the most well–known example being the fight–or–flight response.
The amygdala has three functionally distinct parts – 1) the medial group of subnuclei has many connections with the olfactory bulb and olfactory cortex, 2) the basolateral group has extensive connections with the cerebral cortex, particularly the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex, and 3) the central and anterior group of nuclei has many connections with the brainstem hypothalamus, and sensory structures.
Case study
The neurological patient SM has extensive damage to the amygdala in each hemisphere. She has no motor, sensory, or cognitive deficits. When asked to identify photographs of a series of facial expressions, SM could identify every expression but one, she could not recognize fear. Similarly, when asked to draw facial expressions, SM produced accomplished pictures of each emotion, but she could not reproduce the expression of fear. When asked about her drawings, she explained that ‘she did not know what an afraid face would look like.’
Associated functions fear–processing emotion processing learning fight–or–flight response reward–processing
Associated cognitive disorders
Many studies have linked autism with amygdala dysfunction. The lack of empathy often shown by autistic individuals has associated with the amygdala (Blair, 2008). Neural activity in the amygdala has also been strongly linked to depression (Northoff, 2007) and bipolar disorder (Phillips & Vieta, 2007). There is very strong evidence linking post–traumatic stress disorder with amygdala responses (Brewin, 2008).
Associated with damage aggression irritability loss of control of emotion disruption of short–term memory deficits in recognizing emotions (particularly fear)
The Hippocampus - Overview
The hippocampus is the structure in the brain most closely aligned to memory formation. It is important as an early storage place for long–term memory, and it is involved in the transition of long–term memory to even more enduring permanent memory. The hippocampus also plays an important role in spatial navigation.
Case study
In 1985, Clive Wearing, an English conductor, composer, and musician, contracted viral encephalitis, which caused extensive damage to the left and right hippocampus. Although his intellectual and perceptual abilities are intact, he has severe memory impairments and has completely lost the ability to form new declarative memories. This causes him to assume he has just awoken from a coma, writing repetitively in his diary, “I am awake!” The inability to remember has severely debilitated his life – he cannot engage in conversation (he forgets the previous sentence), he cannot go outside alone (he forgets where he is going or coming from), and he is incapable of comprehending the events that essentially define his existence.
Associated functions
early memory storage
formation of long–term memory
spatial navigation
Associated cognitive disorders
Classic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include memory loss and disorientation both of which have been strongly associated with decline in the hippocampus (Scheff and Price, 2006). There is also evidence linking hippocampal atrophy to depression (e.g. Sheline and colleagues, 2002), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia (Weis and colleagues, 2007).
Associated with damage
severe memory impairment
disorientation
