Emotion

Question 1

What is an emotion?

Answer 1

A physiological response to certain types of stimuli

A subjective experience

A behavioral response

Question 2

What is a subjective experience?

Answer 2

We often refer to these as feelings, that often, but not always accompany the bodily responses

Question 3

How can emotions as physiological responses in the brain be represented?

Answer 3

In the brain, changes in arousal levels and cognitive functions including attention, memory processing, and decision making

Question 4

How can emotions as physiological responses in the body be represented?

Answer 4

In the body, involves endocrine, autonomic, and musculoskeletal responses ( autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic - pituitary adrenal ( HPA ) axis ); a stress response

Question 5

What are feelings?

Answer 5

The experience of these somatic and cognitive changes; perceptions of emotional responses

Question 6

Explain the neural control of emotional responses, or really the emotional stimuli pathway.

Answer 6

An emotional stimuli is received by the sensory systems, which will then project to the emotion systems. The emotion systems project to the hypothalamus and brain stem. The hypothalamus and brain stem will project to the spinal cord and autonomic ganglia. The spinal cord and autonomic ganglia will project to effector cells ( Skeletal muscle, smooth/cardiac muscle, or the endocrine gland ). These effector cells will then become emotional responses.

Question 7

What are the universal emotions?

Answer 7

Anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness, and surprise

Question 8

What are some examples of complex emotions and what are some of their characteristics?

Answer 8

Jealously and romantic love; Goal oriented, involves circuits in the brain involving motivations, emotion, social cognition, reward, and cognitive control

Question 9

What are Ekman’s criteria for basic emotions?

Answer 9

Distinctive universal signals
Presence in other primates
Distinctive physiology
Distinctive universals in antecedent events
Rapid onset
Brief duration

Question 10

Explain the cognitive interpretation of arousal with Singer and Schachter when they see the bear?

Answer 10

Physiological response ( arousal ) - Their hearts race and they’re ready to run.

Behavioral response - They run

Cognition - What’s going on? They each think, “I see a bear and my heart is beating fast and my mouth is dry. I must be afraid!”

Emotional Feeling: “I’m scared!”

Question 11

What are the drive states?

Answer 11

Hunger, thirst, sex, sleep, pain, and vigorous exercise

Question 12

Because autonomic changes in response to emotion are similar to other drive states, what could this potentially lead to?

Answer 12

In the case of someone who is prone to panic attacks, partaking in any of these drive states, like sex, vigorous exercise and even sleep, can illicit that panic attack because they utilize the same pathways.

Question 13

After a stimulus is presented, how is this stimulus processed differently in humans and non-human animals?

Answer 13

In humans: Stimulus -> cognitive response -> motivational response -> somatic response -> behavioral response all of which are categorized into a emotional experience -> subjective feelings -> verbal report

In non-human animals: stimulus -> central emotional state ( can be projected to any of the following ) -> observed behavior, subjective reports, psychophysiology cognitive changes, and somatic responses.

Question 14

Why is the limbic system important?

Answer 14

Emotional and behavioral responses needed for survival

Question 15

Which syndrome may occur with traumatic brain injury, although rare?

Answer 15

Kluver-Bucy Syndrome

Question 16

What was see in the late 1930’s when Kluver and Bucy surgically removed the temporal lobes of monkeys bilaterally?

Answer 16

Alterations in feeding and sexual behaviors, lack of concern for previously feared objects.

Question 17

What is Urbach-Wiethe disease?

Answer 17

The degeneration of the amygdala, it is a rare autosomal genetic disorder that saw patients did not express fear and could not recognize it in others but were able to describe fear and define it.

Question 18

What is the amygdala made of?

Answer 18

A collection of 13 nuclei ( in primates ) grouped into complexes

Question 19

What three complexes make up the amygdala?

Answer 19

The Basolateral Nuclear complex, the Centromedial Complex ( Ce ), and the Cortical Nucleus ( Co )

Question 20

What does the Basolateral Nuclear Complex consist of?

Answer 20

Consists of the lateral nuclei (La), basal nuclei (B), and the accessory basal nuclei. ( Considered to be the largest in area )

Question 21

What does the Centromedial Complex consist of?

Answer 21

Consists of medial and central nuclei ( responsible for visceral information )

Question 22

What is the Cortical Nucleus?

Answer 22

Known as the olfactory part of the Amygdala. Also outputs directly to the hippocampus. May, in emotionally arousing situations involving olfaction, modulate memory formation.

Question 23

What are the inputs to the Basolateral Nuclear Complex?

Answer 23

Sensory thalamus and cortex ( Auditory, visual, somatosensory, gustatory, and olfactory ) = La

Hippocampus and entorhinal cortex = La, B

Multimodal association cortex = B

Prefrontal cortex ( medial ) = La, B

Question 24

What are the inputs to the Centromedial Complex?

Answer 24

Viscerosensory cortex, sensory brain stem ( pain, viscera ), and Prefrontal Cortex ( medial )

Question 25

What are the inputs to the Cortical Nucleus?

Answer 25

The olfactory bulb ( Olfactory and Pheromone )

Question 26

What are the outputs from the Basal Nuclei?

Answer 26

Sensory Cortex, Prefrontal Cortex ( regulation ), Ventral Striatum ( Instrumental behaviors ), and the Multimodal Modal Association Cortex ( Cognition )

Question 27

What are the outputs from the Centromedial Complex?

Answer 27

Modulatory systems: NE, 5-HT, DA, ACh ( cell groups in forebrain and/or brainstem ), HPA axis ( Hypothalamus ), Freezing ( Central Gray ), and Sympathetic and Parasympathetic NS ( Hypothalamus, Brainstem )

Question 28

What are the outputs from the Cortical Nucleus?

Answer 28

Centromedial Complex and the Hippocampus and Parahippocampus

Question 29

What are the outputs from the Lateral Nuclei?

Answer 29

To the basal nuclei

Question 30

What is the role of the Amygdala in implicit learning?

Answer 30

Amygdala lesions block the ability to acquire and express a conditioned response to a neutral stimulus paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Question 31

What is the Insula responsible for or linked to?

Answer 31

Interoception - perception of bodily states

Recall: models of emotion speculate awareness of bodily states necessary to experience emotion

Insular activity also increases with decisions involving risk
Disgust directly linked to insula

Question 32

What is the OFC important for?

Answer 32

One structure important for decision making and emotional processing

Question 33

What is the Iowa Gambling Task?

Answer 33

A psychological task meant to stimulate real life decision making; assess risk/reward

Bad decks have higher payout, but also penalties outweigh the benefit

Question 34

What is the relationship between the OFC and the Iowa Gambling task?

Answer 34

The OFC is involved in decision making success on the Iowa gambling task

Question 35

In William James’ Peripheral Feedback Theory, he posed the question, “Do we run from the bear because we are afraid or are we afraid because we run? Which does he believe is true?

Answer 35

We are afraid because we run, that feelings result from emotions.

Question 36

What did Cannon-Bard propose, and how did they prove this?

Answer 36

The hypothalamus is important for fight or flight responses.

When cutting the brain ABOVE the level of the hypothalamus, animal still capable of showing rage. When cutting BELOW the level of the hypothalamus, animal does not show rage.