Emotion in the Brain

Question 1

emotions

Answer 1

Relatively brief psychological and physical response to an internal or external event.
(Moods are longer lasting)

Question 2

Darwinian theory of Emotion

Answer 2

• Emotions are universal (1972)
• Expressions of Emotion evolve from behaviours that indicate what an animal is likely to do next
• If emotional signals are beneficial, they will evolve to more effectively communicate and may lose their original meanings

Question 3

The Limbic system

Answer 3

• Regulation of motivated behaviors (e.g. fleeing, feeding, fighting, sexual behaviour)

-near midline in a ring around the thalamus

Question 4

Theories of Emotion 1

Answer 4

Emotional stimuli induce different patterns of activation of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) > we then interpret these resopnses as an emotion in the brain

=> not entirely correct

Question 5

Theories of Emotion 2

Answer 5

Emotional stimuli produce the same pattern of
activation of ANS (and this is independent of the emotion experienced)

=> not entirely correct

Question 6

Emotions & Facial Expressions: 6 basic emotions

Answer 6

Meanings of facial expressions appear to be universal

• Paul Ekman -> 6 basic emotions: happy, surprise, sadness, anger, fear, disgust
• Naturally occurring expressions are usually variations or combinations of the basic ones

Question 7

Emotions & Facial Expressions 2: Microexpressions

Answer 7

• definition: brief facial expressions reveal true feelings & may break through false ones (basically people who are trained to detect microexpressions can detect false and true emotions)
• different muscles are involved in fake smiles vs real smiles
• current perspective: body cues also play a major role in emotional expression

Question 8

a real smile’s (aka a Duchenne smile) muscle
(not necessarily compulsory, mainly for example) that a fake smile doesn’t have

Answer 8

the obicularis oculi (lines formed under eyes & raised cheeks) & zygomaticus major (corners of mouth pulled back and up) contract

Question 9

Emotional Recognition: is it universal or culturally determined?

Answer 9

culturally determined: the Trobrianders (small-scale Melanesian society) chose the “fear” gasping face as expressing anger when the Spaniards (= native Spanish, Western Industrialized society) chose the “anger” scowling face as anger for emotional labelling.

Question 10

Neural Activation for Basic Expressions

Answer 10

happiness - activation of rostral anterior cingulate cortex

fear - amydala

disgust - insula

sadness - medial prefrontal cortex

anger - orbitofrontal

_ Note: Each emotion is unlikely to have its distinct & separate brain regions; all emotions are processed by a network of interacting sub-cortical and cortical structures
(Vytal & Hamann, 2010)

Question 11

Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test through Theory of Mind

Answer 11

Theory of Mind: the capacity to infer mental states to self and to others.
- Reading expressions from faces is a basic component of ToM

Question 12

Emotional Recognition in First Impressions

Answer 12

• Humans can identify expressive faces well
• Impressions from 10s viewing of strangers’ photographs are correlated with the impressions formed after 9 weeks acquaintance
• Threat judgement of neutral faces viewed for 40ms were the same as 2 seconds
• Appearance-based personality judgments can be formed very
  quickly, regardless of whether the judged face is seen for considerably longer

Question 13

Visual Pathway Shortcuts

Answer 13

some information bypasses V1
- meaning: goes from retina to amygdala

Question 14

Classical conditioning of fear

Answer 14

Study paradigm:
- Baseline: classically condition a fear response in an animal
Electric shock (US) => fear response (UR)
Auditory tone (CS) + electric shock => UR
Auditory tone (CS) => fear response (CR)

Question 15

Emotional memories: Classical Conditioning (CC)

Answer 15

• Learn to associate emotions with events
  + Pleasure at sound of favourite music
  + Fear when seeing mouse, snake, etc.
• Basic emotional associations with events generally thought to occur through CC
• Fear CC behaviour & might underline anxiety, phobias, panic attack, and PTSD
  => Implications of treatment (e.g. Behaviour Therapy)

Question 16

Non-conscious processing of emotions through two visual systems

Answer 16

1. visual inputs => retina => thalamus => visual cortex ( then amygdala)
2. retina => thalamus (or superior colliculi) => amygdala

Question 17

Neural Structures that do NOT contribute to/prevent Fear Conditioning

Answer 17

Overall: auditory pathway
- auditory cortext not contribute
- lesions of auditory midbrain prevent
- cortex not conribute
- lesions of amygdala prevent

Question 18

lesions
lesions of amygdala prevent fear conditioning

Answer 18

• Lesion is destroying a part of the brain.
• Lesion of amygdala is destroying a part of the amygdala => prevent fear conditioning
  => amygdala contributes to fear conditioning

Question 19

Amygdala & Fear Conditioning

Question 20

A fast pathway for fear in human amygdala

Answer 20

• fast amygdala responses (74 ms post-stimulus onset) to fearful, NOT neutral or happy
  - limited to low spatial frequency
  components of fearful faces
  => suggesting magnocellular inputs to
  amygdala
• slower responses in ventral stream (inferotemporal cortex) - 170 ms
• Hypothesis: a phylogenetically old subcortical pathway providing fast, but coarse, threat- related signals to human amygdala.

Question 21

amygdala