Embodied Emotion, Decision-Making, Fear, and Depression

A set of question-and-answer flashcards covering embodied emotion theories, decision-making, fear circuitry, and neurobiology of depression.

What does the James-Lange Theory propose about emotions?

Emotions are the perception of bodily changes; autonomic responses occur first and are then interpreted as specific emotions.

According to the Cannon-Bard Theory, how are emotions produced?

Thalamic activation triggers simultaneous but independent emotional experience and bodily responses.

What did Nummenmaa et al. (2014) demonstrate with ‘body maps of emotion’?

Different emotions correspond to distinct patterns of bodily activation or deactivation, supporting an embodied view of emotion.

How does Pure Autonomic Failure (PAF) support the James-Lange Theory?

Individuals with PAF have blunted emotional experiences because their autonomic responses are absent, indicating bodily feedback is essential for emotion.

What evidence supports the facial feedback hypothesis?

Manipulating facial muscles (e.g., holding a frown) changes reported emotion, and Botox dampens emotional intensity, implying facial feedback shapes feelings.

How is the right somatosensory cortex involved in emotion recognition?

Damage to this area impairs recognition of others’ facial emotions, showing its importance in interpreting emotional bodily states.

What role does the insula play in emotional processing?

It activates during personal disgust and while observing others’ disgust, linking it to empathy and interoceptive awareness.

What is the somatic marker hypothesis?

Visceral bodily signals (‘somatic markers’) bias decision-making by influencing regions like the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), amygdala, and insula.

How do patients with VMPFC damage perform on the Iowa Gambling Task?

They fail to develop anticipatory emotional responses and persist in risky deck choices, demonstrating impaired, emotion-guided decision-making.

Which brain regions are engaged by moral personal dilemmas?

Emotion-related areas including the medial frontal gyrus, amygdala, and posterior cingulate, suggesting emotional dominance over cognitive control.

How does VMPFC damage affect moral judgment?

It leads to more utilitarian choices in personal moral dilemmas, indicating the VMPFC’s role in social and emotional evaluation.

What is the amygdala’s role in fear processing?

It detects threat cues and coordinates behavioral and physiological fear responses via projections to the hypothalamus and periaqueductal gray (PAG).

Describe the neural pathway for auditory fear conditioning.

Auditory conditioned stimulus → Lateral amygdala → Basolateral amygdala → Central amygdala → PAG → fear response output.

What did patient SM reveal about amygdala function?

Bilateral amygdala damage caused profound difficulty recognizing fear, especially in faces, confirming the amygdala’s critical role in fear perception.

How do testosterone and serotonin influence aggression?

High testosterone is correlated with increased aggression, whereas low serotonin is linked to poor emotion regulation and heightened aggression.

What are the DSM-5 core criteria for Major Depressive Disorder?

A depressed mood or loss of interest/pleasure plus at least four additional symptoms for two weeks or more, causing functional impairment.

What is the monoamine hypothesis of depression?

Depression stems from low brain levels of monoamines (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine), although evidence for a simple deficit is inconsistent.

How is the HPA axis implicated in depression?

Depressed individuals show chronically elevated cortisol due to impaired negative feedback, leading to excitotoxicity and brain atrophy.

What structural and molecular brain changes are observed in depression?

Reduced BDNF, hippocampal and prefrontal cortex atrophy, glial cell loss, and impaired neurogenesis are commonly reported.