Neuroscience of Emotions

Question 1

What is the definition of emotion?

Answer 1

A complex reaction pattern involving experiential, behavioural and physiology elements by which an individual attempts to deal with a personally significant matter or event

Question 2

What are the components of emotions?

Answer 2

Emotional experiences (subjective feelings), emotional behaviour (e.g. facial expressing) and physiological changes

Question 3

What is the cognitive component of emotion?

Answer 3

How emotional experiences can be influenced by the context or cognitive appraisal of the situation

Question 4

What does physiological arousal reflect?

Answer 4

Activity in the autonomic nervous system that varies with emotional state and vigilance

Question 5

What does physiological arousal correlate with?

Answer 5

Parameters such as respiratory rate, pupil dilation, blood pressure and heart rate

Question 6

What does the James-Lange Theory of Emotion say?

Answer 6

We experience emotion in response to physiological changes in the body

Question 7

What does the James-Lange Theory of Emotion say about reducing physical sensation?

Answer 7

It is associated with the ANS activity and diminishes the intensity of the emotion experiences

Question 8

What is interoceptive awareness?

Answer 8

When we can be aware of our body’s autonomic function

Question 9

What does Walter Cannon argue?

Answer 9

It challenges the James-Lange Theory that emotions originate from the hypothalamus

Question 10

Where does emotional experience occur?

Answer 10

Cerebral cortex

Question 11

Where does emotional expression occur?

Answer 11

Hypothalamus

Question 12

What did Bard and Hess find?

Answer 12

That hypothalamic stimulation provokes intense emotional responses

Question 13

What does the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion argue?

Answer 13

That emotional feelings and physiological accompaniments of an emotional response occurs at the same time but are separate and emotional experience can occur without emotional expression

Question 14

What is brain area is involved in the Cannon-Bard Theory?

Answer 14

The thalamus

Question 15

How are emotions produced in the Cannon-Bard Theory?

Answer 15

Emotions are produced when signals reach thalamus from sensory receptors of the descending cortical input

Question 16

What does cognitive appraisal account for?

Answer 16

The observation that the same physiological state can either feel pleasant or unpleasant

Question 17

What does the facial feedback hypothesis suggest?

Answer 17

Suggests that sensory feedback from facial expressions may influence how we feel

Question 18

What does March, 2019 suggest about facial feedback?

Answer 18

Forcing a smile may make you feel happier

Question 19

What is the motivational component of emotional state say?

Answer 19

That we have a drive to act

Question 20

What are motivational responses accompany?

Answer 20

Subjective feelings and physiological changes

Question 21

How can emotions be a behavioural response programme?

Answer 21

They have been shaped by evolution to optimise responses to a particular event

Question 22

What is valence?

Answer 22

It describes positive and negative emotional states

Question 23

What is the circumplex model?

Answer 23

Found by Russell, 1980 which categorises emotions based on dimensions of valence and arousal

Question 24

What does Darwin say about emotions?

Answer 24

That emotional facial expressions are conserved across species

Question 25

What did Ekman and Friesen find?

Answer 25

Analysed hundreds of films and photographs and identified 6 primary facial expressions

Question 26

What are the 6 primary facial expressions?

Answer 26

Happy, fear, disgust, surprise, sad and anger.

Question 27

What did Plutchik (1994) find?

Answer 27

There are 8 primary emotions arranges as opposites

Question 28

What are the 8 primary emotions?

Answer 28

Joy, sadness, trust, disgust, anticipation, surprise, fear, anger

Question 29

What is apart of the limbic lobe involved in emotion?

Answer 29

The cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus, septal area, amygdala

Question 30

What does the cingulate gyrus involved in?

Answer 30

Emotion and motivation

Question 31

What is the parahippocampal gyrus involved in?

Answer 31

Episodic memory

Question 32

What does the Papez circuit (1937) say?

Answer 32

The hippocampus and related structures are concerned with episodic memory not emotion

Question 33

What is the anterior cingulate cortex activity associated with?

Answer 33

Experiences of emotion and motivational drive states

Question 34

What is activity in the anterior cingulate cortex strongly linked with?

Answer 34

Hypothalamus, amygdala and motor area

Question 35

What does fMRIs show in the anterior cingulate cortex?

Answer 35

The dorsal areas of the cingulate gyrus in associated with experiences of emotion and positive valence

Question 36

What does over-activity of subgenal area 25 show?

Answer 36

Reduced metabolism, blood flow and volume in severe depression

Question 37

What does abnormalities in emotions relate to?

Answer 37

Abnormalities in the anterior cingulate cortex with patients with ASPD and psychopathy

Question 38

What is Kluver-Bucy Syndrome?

Answer 38

When there is removal of both temporal lobes. Problems recognising objects, hypersexuality, become docile, marked loss of fear and aggression

Question 39

What occurs when there is removal of amygdala?

Answer 39

Loss of natural fear

Question 40

What are the parts of the amygdala?

Answer 40

Central, medial and lateral

Question 41

How does emotions influence thoughts, perceptions and actions?

Answer 41

As the majority of cortical areas receive strong projections from amygdala

Question 42

What are the functions of the amygdala?

Answer 42

Conditioned fear responses in temporal lobe amnesia patients fear conditioning. Facilitates episodic memory. Reading body language and facial expression Danger detector (orchestrates somatic, attentional, autonomic and endocrine responses Fight or flight by projecting to the hypothalamus Evaluates the emotional significance of event

Question 43

What do projections from the amygdala and the hippocampus do?

Answer 43

Responsible for emotionally driven memory and vivid recall in PTSD

Question 44

What are disorders from amygdala pathology?

Answer 44

Generalised anxiety disorder Social and other phobias PTSD Major depressive disorder Anger and rage attacks Autism spectrum disorder

Question 45

What were the findings from the patient SM (1994)?

Answer 45

Little to no capacity to experience fear and no concept of personal space due to destruction of the amygdala

Question 46

What occurs in Urback-Wiethe disease?

Answer 46

Subjects show diminished anxiety and fearlessness, particularly in response to external threats, cues and dangers. But panic can be elicited experimentally

Question 47

What are the implications from Urbach-Wiethe disease?

Answer 47

Emphasises the role of the amygdala in emotional responses to external/environmental cues

Question 48

What is the orbitofrontal regulation of the amygdala?

Answer 48

How the orbitofrontl cortex exerts an inhibitory or restraining influence over the amygdala and inhibits emotional reactions

Question 49

What do survivors of head injuries show when there is damage to the orbitofrontal cortex?

Answer 49

Rash behaviours with increased impulsivity and aggression

Question 50

What does one to one mapping of emotions to brain regions show?

Answer 50

How different emotional states are associated with particular patterns of brain activity

Question 51

What is the ventral striatum involved in?

Answer 51

Emotional behaviours and reward based learning

Question 52

What connections does the ventral striatum receive?

Answer 52

From the limbic lobe

Question 53

What receptors is in the ventral striatum?

Answer 53

Dopamine, opiate, nicotine and cannabinoid

Question 54

What is the optimisation of behaviour based on in the ventral striatum?

Answer 54

Anticipated reward or avoidance of loss and punishment

Question 55

What is dopamine implicated with?

Answer 55

A training signal and additive behaviour

Question 56

What does deep brain stimulation provide insight in?

Answer 56

The role of basal ganglia in emotional experience and aggression

Question 57

What did Witt, 2006 find?

Answer 57

A change in artistic expression following deep brain stimulation