Lecture 2 Flashcards
(52 cards)
What is the thinking brain?
Cognitive & intellectual functions such as thinking, learning, remembering, decision making, & problem solving
What is a clinical diagnosis?
Understanding clinical conditions such as autism & dyslexia
What is the motivated brain?
needs, desires, liking, & wanting, cravings, pleasure & pain, addiction
What is the emotional brain?
Emotions, feelings, affect, & mood
What is the 1st principle of the motivated & emotional brain?
Day-to-day events activate specific brain structures – threat activates the amygdala & reward activates the ventral striatum (discovered from a study that applied some shock to different areas of the brain)
What is the 2nd principle of the motivated & emotional brain?
Activated brain structures then generate specific motivations & emotions – amygdala activation generates feelings of fear & activation of the prefrontal cortex generates self-control
Where is the cortical region of the brain?
The upper right region
Where is the subcortical regional of the brain?
Lower left side of the brain
Where is the hypothalamus in the brain?
Middle bottom
Where is the amygdala in the brain?
To the right of the hypothalamus
Where is the reticular formation in the brain?
In the brain stem
Where is the ventral tegmental area in the brain?
Lil dot in the brain closer to the right side
What is the reticular formation?
Has a key role in arousal, alertness, & process of awakening the brain to process incoming sensory information (2 parts: ascending = activate and descending = regulate)
What is the amygdala?
Collection of interconnected nuclei associated with emotion & motivation, specifically fear responses (during emotional traumatic events it becomes overwhelmed & when something triggering happens it perceives it as a threat)
What is the Hypothalamus?
Regulates a range of important biological functions, including eating, drinking, & mating (via the motivations for hunger satiety, thirst & sex)
What is the Ventral tegmental area (VTA)?
Part of the brain’s reward system, the VTA manufactures & releases dopamine
What is dopamine’s role in motivation?
Dopamine is a crucial neurotransmitter for motivation & movement, experience of “reward” or “pleasure” results from the release of dopamine, the brain can be trained to feed off bursts of dopamine sparked by rewarding experiences
What are the subcortical brain structures?
Reticular formation, amygdala, hypothalamus, & ventral tegmental area
What are the cortical brain structures?
Left & right prefrontal cortex’s
What is the prefrontal cortex?
the left & right prefrontal lobes of the cerebral cortex lie immediately behind the forehead; the right prefrontal cortex is more avoidant & negative whereas the left side is approach motivation & is more positive
Together these two cortical lobes underlie many important motivations, including affect/emotion, goals, & personal strivings
What is the behavioral activation system (BAS) - active left prefrontal cortex?
“When I get something that I want, I feel excited & energized”, “When good things happen to me, it affects me strongly”, “I crave excitement & new sensations”
What is the behavioral inhibition system (BAS) active right prefrontal cortex?
“If I think something unpleasant is going to happen, I usually get pretty worked up”, “Critisism or scolding hurts me quite a bit” & “I feel worried when I think I have poorly at something”
What are the cortical brain structures?
Orbitofrontal cortex & anterior cingulate cortex
What is the orbitofrontal cortex?
prefrontal cortex just above the eyes. It stores & processes reward-related information that helps people formulate their preferences & make choices between options (helps us to decide what to order at a restaurant)
