Studied by 20 people
studying emotion and neuroscience
Affective neuroscience
Brain mechanisms of emotion derived from these 3 things
Animal models
Human studies
Brain lesions
emo system is dif than sensory system because
Diversity of emotions and brain activity
Many structures involved in emotion
No one-to-one relationship between structure and function
def 2 Early Theories of Emotion
The James–Lange theory: emotion experienced in response to physiological changes in body
The Cannon–Bard theory: emotions occur independent of emotional expression—no correlation with physiological state
Can stimulus have emotional impact without conscious
awareness.
yes
Aversive conditioning to masked stimulus results in increased skin conductance (ex. sweating)
Increased activity in the amygdala
Many possible ways for the brain to process emotional information
def Broca’s limbic lobe structures
Areas of brain forming a ring around corpus callosum:
cingulate gyrus
medial surface temporal lobe
hippocampus
def Broca’s limbic lobe funct
high cog functioning
The Papez Circuit
Limbic structures, including cortex, involved in emotion
hippocampus
hypothalamus
thalamus
cingulate cortex
neocortex
fornix
def Papez Circuit funct
Emotional system on the medial wall of the brain linking cortex with hypothalamus
what strengthens memory
cortosol
what governs behavioral expression of emotion
hippocampus
evidence: Rabies infection implicates hippocampus in emotion -> hyperemotional responses
Lesions to what lead to spontaneous laughing or crying
thalamus
Evolution of limbic system allows animals to…
experience and express emotions beyond stereotyped brain stem behaviors
Early theories of emotion and limbic system built on…
introspection and inference from brain injury and disease
Studies of disease and consequences of lesions not ideal for revealing…
normal funct
*This is a drawback
def 2 more recent theories of emotion
Basic emotion theories
Dimension emotion theories
Certain emotions thought… experiences.
unique, indivisible, universal experiences
hypothesis for basic emo theories
basic emotions have distinct representations or circuits in brain
Analogous to distinct representations for sensory experiences
def 6 basic emotions
Anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise
fMRI shows _____ activation with the basic emotions.
different
not single areas but…may represent emotions.
Patterns of activity
Emotions can be…. into…. fundamental elements. Combined in… ways and… amounts
broken down, smaller, different, differing
Emotions correspond to brain activation along dimensions such as…
valence and arousal
• Psychological constructionist theories of emotion
Variation on dimensional theories
Includes nonemotional psychological components
Emotion an emergent consequence of combined components
• Unknown whether each emotion is represented by:
Activity in a specialized area of the brain – A network of areas – A more diffuse network of neurons
def 3 Study approaches for defining emo
Behavioral observations – Physiological recordings – Studies of effects of lesions and disease
ex of studying emo
studying fear and anger
def 2 things that produced the Klüver–Bucy Syndrome
temporal lobectomy in rhesus monkeys
Temporal lobe lesions in humans—particularly lesions in amygdala
what are the symptoms of Klüver–Bucy Syndrome
Decreased fear and aggression – Decreased vocalizations and facial expressions of fear– Flattened emotions
what does Bilateral amygdalectomy lead to
reduced fear and aggression in all animals tested
Anger, sadness, and disgust may also be affected
what is the S.M. case study
inability to recognize fear in facial expressions
how does anxiety and fear in humans arise
Electrical stimulation of amygdala → increased vigilance or attention
what does fMRI imaging show about fearful faces
Fearful faces evoke greater amygdala activity than happy or neutral faces.
what is involved in forming memories of emotional and painful events
amygdala - learned fear
what are Intertwined in Animals
anger and agression
predatory aggression vs affective aggression
attack
Against different species for food – Few vocalizations, attack head or neck – No activity in sympathetic division of ANS.
for show
Used for show, not kill for food – High levels of sympathetic activity – Makes vocalizations, threatening posture
what operation leads to less aggression in animals
Amygdala lesions in animals
what operation leads to less aggression in humans/treats medical aggression
Amygdalectomy →
Reduced aggressive behavior
Relief from anxiety
Profound, unpleasant side effects
Psychosurgery—now treatment of last resort
Removal of cerebral hemispheres but not hypothalamus →
rage beh
Behavior reversed with additional lesions in hypothalamus
Hypothalamus may normally be inhibited by…
telencephalon
• Flynn’s research on affective and predatory aggression
Elicited affective aggression by stimulating medial hypothalamus
Predatory aggression elicited by stimulating lateral hypothalamus
Midbrain and Aggression
Two hypothalamic pathways to brain stem involving autonomic function
Medial forebrain bundle → ventral tegmental area; predatory aggression
Dorsal longitudinal fasciculus → periaqueductal gray matter; affective aggression
A Neural Circuit for Anger and Aggression
what NT Regulates Anger and Aggression
Serotonin
what is the Serotonin deficiency hypothesis
Aggression is inversely related to serotonergic activity.
Serotonergic raphe neurons project to the hypothalamus and limbic structures via the medial forebrain bundle
dec in Serotonin turnover →
inc of aggression in rodents
Drug PCPA blocks serotonin synthesis →
inc in aggression
humans: _______ correlation between
serotonin activity and aggression
Note 
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