Behavioural Neuroscience - SAQs

what are the components of the neuroendocrine system?

pineal, hypothalamus (controls release of hormones), pituitary, adrenal, pancreas, ovary, testis

what does the anterior pituitary do?

controls the endocrine system

what is the process of hormonal communication?

brain (sends neural signals) -> hypothalamus (releases gonadotropin-releasing hormone) -> anterior pituitary (releases gonadotropin) -> gonads (release oestrogens, androgens and progestins -> body issues (e.g. testis and ovary)

what gene controls the production of the testis?

the SRY gene

what occurs at 6 weeks after conception (in reference to the development of an ovary)?

the primordial gonads of the XX and XY are identical, if there is no Y chromosome present then the cortex of the primordial gonad develops into an ovary

what occurs at 6 weeks after conception (in reference to the development of an testis)?

the primordial gonads of the XX and XY are identical, if there is a Y chromosome present, then the medulla of the primordial gonad develops into a testis

how does the wolffian system develop at 6 weeks?

human foetuses have both male and female reproductive ducts, under the influence of testicular testosterone the wolffian system develops and mullerian-inhibiting substance causes the degeneration of the mullerian system

how does the mullerian system develop at 6 weeks?

human foetuses have both male and female reproductive ducts, without the influence of testosterone, the mullerian system develops into female reproductive ducts and the wolffian system fails to develop

how does external genitalia differentiate?

conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (testosterone with 2 water molecules), causes development of male genitalia

what are some gender differences in the brain?

men's brains are 15% larger than women's brains; women's hemisphere's share more functions than men; different sizes of the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus

what did Rhees et al (1990) investigate?

the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus in male and female rats critical period 18th day to 5th day after birth - female was given an injection of testosterone after birth

what did Rhees et al (1990) discover?

there were sexually dimorphic nuclei in the preoptic area

what did De Jonge et al (1989) discover?

lesions of the sexually dimorphic nuclei decrease masculine sexual behaviour

what are the causes of differences between genders in the brain?

oestradiol (able to pass through the brain barrier), aromatisation of testosterone produces oestradiol and blocking this blocks masculinisation

how are human females protected from their mothers' oestradiol?

placenta

what role does testosterone play?

developing the male foetus and sexual maturation in the adolescent

what is androgen insensitivity syndrome?

where XY individuals are not sensitive to testosterone, so the wolffian system does not develop, neither does the mullarian system, external genitalia develops as female

what is turner's syndrome?

where an individual has an XO chromosome, neither ovaries or testes develop however individuals develop normal female internal sex organs and external genitalia

what is persistent mullerian duct syndrome?

either an individual fails to produce anti-mullerian hormone or there is no receptors for this hormone, both sets of sex organs develop (internal) and the additional female sex organs interferes with the normal functioning of male sex organs

what occurs when an individual has a deficiency of the 5a-reductase 2 enzyme?

individuals don't form a penis until they are 12 (due to an impairment of the differntiation of external genitalia). at 12, the hypothalamus releases gonadotropin releasing hormones to initiate puberty and secondary gender differentiation

what does maternal stress cause?

the release of cortisol (the medial preoptic area of the brain is reduced in male rats born to stressed mothers, are less likely to display male sexual behaviour

human study - ice storm, what were the findings?

children exposed in utero to high levels of objective stress had lower IQs (including verbal) and language abilities compared to children exposed to low or moderate levels of objective prenatal maternal stress

what did Vom Saal and Bronson (1980) discover about prenatal hormonal control of aggression in females?

being next to a male foetus increases female blood levels of testosterone, females next to two males are more likely to engage in inter-female aggressiveness

what did Money and Ehrhardt (1972) discover about testosterone?

reduction in testosterone leads to reduction in sexual behaviour

what did Hellhammer, Hubert & Schurmeyer (1985) and anonymous (1970) discover about testosterone and sex?

thinking about sex increases levels of testosterone and makes your beard grow faster

what did Grunt and Young (1952) find out about castration?

can only cause a slow decline in sexual activity and it may be released to previous levels

what did Cater (1992) find out about androgens?

androgens are produced by the adrenal gland, prostate gland and fat tissue

what did Foster et al (1990) find out about the refractory period?

oxytocin (hormone released by pituitary glad is responsible for the refractory period

what did Rimmele et al (2009) find out about oxytocin?

increases memory for faces but non-social stimuli in both men and women

what did Morries et al (1987) find out about fluctuations in ovarian hormones?

they showed little correlation with sexual activity

what did Matteo & Rissman (1984) find out about in their study of lesbian couples?

found a significant increase in activity during synchronised ovulation

when is testosterone (released from the pituitary gland) highest during the menstrual cycle?

just prior to ovulation

what did Sherwin (1985) find out about during studies on hormone replacement in women following a hysterectomy

injection of testosterone not estradiol increased sexual motivation

when is sexual activity more likely to be female initiated?

during ovulation

what are pheromones?

a chemical released by one animals that affects the behaviour of others

what did McClintock (1971) find about women attending an all female college?

they had synchronised cycles

what did Wyart (2007) find when they exposed women to androstadienone (found in mens attention)

raised attention and mood, whereas it increased drowsiness and decreased positive mood for men

what did Savic (2001) find when they showed androstadienone to men and women?

activated the preoptic area in women but not in men

what did Savic (2001) find when they showed an oestrogenic chemical to men and women?

it activated the preoptic area in men but not in women

what did Cowley & Brookshank (1991) discover about sweat?

exposure to sweat increased social interactions

what dd Singh and Bronstad (2001) find out when they showed sweaty t-shirts?

more pleasent from a female in fertile cycle; females preferred men who had different immune systems to themselves

is there a difference in levels of testosterone between homosexual and heterosexual males?

no

is there a difference in testosterone levels between homosexual and heterosexual women?

yes, 30% of homosexual females have elevated levels of testosterone

what did Money, Swatz and Lewis (1984) discover about women with CAH?

incidence of homosexuality four times higher than in the wider population

what did Ehrdhart and Money (1972) find about androgen insensitivity?

no indication of sexual interest in women

what did Anferson et al (1986) find out about maternal stress in rats?

led to reduced exposure to androgens, reduced sexual behaviour in males and reduced the preoptic area of the hypothalamus

what did LeVay (1991) discover about the preoptic area?

smaller in human females than males, one study showed it to be smaller in homosexual men

what are the three hormones involved with control of maternal behaviour?

prolactin, progesterone and estradiol

is there evidence of an organisational effect like testosterone withs sexual behaviour?

no

what did Voci and Carlson (1973) find out about prolactin?

stimulates nest building in females

what did Rosenblatt, Seigel and Mayer (1970) find out about pregnant rats?

they will not care for foster pups until their own pups are born

what role does oxytocin play in maternal behaviour?

parent bond formation and there are increased levels facilitated in maternal behaviour

what did an fMRI study find when mothers looks at pictures of their infants?

brain regions involved in reinforcement and those that contain receptors for oxytocin showed increased activity

what to regions involved with negative emotions (e.g. amygdala) show?

decreased activity of oxytocin

what is the difference between prairie voles and meadow voles?

prairie voles are monogamous whereas meadow voles are promiscuous

is there sexual dimorphism in the MPA of prairie voles?

no

what neurons are activated when male prairie voles are exposed to pups?

in the MPA

what is the difference between monogamous voles and polygamous voles?

monogamous voles have higher levels of V11s vasopressin receptors in the ventral forebrain

what did Fleming et al (2002) find about father with higher blood levels of prolactin?

they had stronger feelings of sympathy and activation when they heard infants cry

what did Gordon et al (2010) find out about higher levels of prolactin and fathers?

they had more exploratory toy-manipulated behaviour

what did Gordon et al (2010) find out bout higher levels of oxytocin and fathers?

associated with synchronous, coordinate emotional behaviour between father and infant

how does Panksepp view emotions?

they emerge from hardwired neurobiological systems

how does Feldmen Barrett view emotions?

they are socially constructed (we make them up, they are individual)

what do most affective neuroscientists agree emotions are?

a set of subjective physiological and behavioural responses, they are stereotyped behaviours and they arise depending on a given situation and appraisal

what was the process of emotions laid out by Mauss and Robinson (2009)

situation -> appraisal -> emotional responses

what can different emotional responses be?

subjective experience, peripheral/autonomic nervous system, central nervous system, behaviour

can Mauss & Robinson's model be applied to animals?

no, only humans

do emotional experiences differ across and within individuals?

yes

what are two examples of brain areas associated with emotion?

the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)

how does the amygdala relate to emotion?

it responds to salience and when shown emotive content (faces or pictures of emotional things) it will react

what did Hariri et al (2002) find about bilateral amygdala actication?

the bilateral amygdala activates to emotional faces and pictures (IAPS)

what did Herry et al (2007) find about bilateral amygdala activation?

greater bilateral amygdala activation to unpredictable versus predictable sounds

what is the vmPFC?

a regulator and an updator

what did Yang et al (2002) find abut vmPFC activation?

observed vmPFC activation during active emotion regulation

what did Etkin et al (2011) find about similar vmPFC activation patterns?

similar vmPFC activation patterns when updating threat to safety associations - brain makes predictions and vmPFC tells amygdala whether it is safe or not

how is the amygdala and the vmPFC connected?

they are well connected structurally via the uncinate fasciculus (with other brain regions also)

what happened in the case of Phineas Gage?

emotional outbursts and poor social functioning, potentially due to social reactions to his lack of eye

what did Motzkin et al (2015) find out about vmPFC damage?

leads to a hyperactive amygdala activation to averse images

what did Frankle et al (2005) find out about low serotonin in the vmPFC?

leads to impulsive, aggressive individuals

what did Higley et al (1996) find out about low serotonin and risk taking?

was related in male monkeys

what did Gogtay et al (2004) find out about developmental windows and aging?

the amygdala matures quicker than the vmPFC, which could be used to explain why adolescents take more risks than adults

what is the difference between white and grey matter in the amygdala over time?

white matter thickens (until age of 30), grey matter thins

what is the emotional brain?

the fact that lots of regions of the brain are involved in emotional experience

what did Field et al (1982) find in reference to if expressions of emotions are innate or learned?

newborn infants imitate facial expressions

what did Willingham (2009) find out in reference to if expressions of emotion are innate or learned? - hint eyesight

facial expressions of congenitally blind, non-congenitally blind and sighted athletes were similar

what did Ekman & Friesen (1971) find in reference to if expressions of emotion are innate or learned? - hint cultures

individuals from different cultures display similar expressions when hearing emotive stories

what did Olsonn & Phelps (2007) find in reference to if expressions of emotions are innate or learned? - hint emotional responses

emotional responses may be learned through observation

what did Zemen and Garber (1996) discover in relation to children crying?

children less likely to cry in front of peers compared to their caregivers - they know their peers will criticise them

what did Friesen (1972) find in relation to cultural display rules between countries?

in some populations, negative emotions are more likely to be suppressed, e.g. Japanese vs North Americans

what dud Matsumoto (1993) find in relation to cultural display rules within countries?

more variation in display rules due to ethnicity and culture interactions

what did Ekman (1985) find in relation to faking emotions?

individuals can display micro-expressions

what did Cacioppo et al (1986) find in relation to faking emotions?

sometimes micro-expressions cannot be seen so easily, but if they are measured via facial electromyography they become more apparent

what can damage to different areas of the brain result in?

altercations in voluntary and involuntary movements

what is emotional facial paresis?

results in a difficulty making involuntary emotional expressions, can be caused by things like lymphoma

what is volitional facial paresis?

difficulty in making voluntary facial expressions, can be caused by dead tissue in left temporal artery

what did Sackhein & Gur (1978) find in relation to emotional expressions?

they start or are stronger on the left side of the face

what does the central nucleus of the amygdala do in reference to emotion?

responds in a linear way to ambiguity of fearful expressions

what do lesions in the amygdala result in?

difficulty recognising emotional expressions in the self and others

what did George et al (1996) find in reference to detecting emotions from the tone of voice?

greater activity in the right side of the frontal cortex when detecting emotions from tone of voice

what did George et al (1996) find in reference to detecting emotions from the meaning of words?

greater activity in left and right side of frontal cortex when detecting emotions in meaning of words