fear and aggression

Emotion

combination of cognition, action, feeling, physiological change

Limbic system

brain structures involved in emotion (amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cingulate gyrus)

Prefrontal cortex

involved in emotional decision-making and moral judgment

Sympathetic nervous system

activates fight-or-flight responses; uses norepinephrine

Testosterone

facilitates aggressive and dominant behavior

Serotonin

inhibits impulsive and aggressive behaviors

Cortisol

stress hormone; promotes cautious behavior

Amygdala

central to fear learning and emotional processing

Klüver-Bucy syndrome

damage to amygdala causing reduced fear and aggression

Urbach-Wiethe disease

human amygdala damage leading to fearlessness

Startle reflex

rapid response to unexpected stimuli; stronger when anxious

Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis

controls long-term, generalized emotional arousal

PTSD

post-traumatic stress disorder; linked to overactive amygdala and small hippocampus

Hippocampus

smaller size increases susceptibility to PTSD; stress can shrink it

Eustress

positive, motivating form of stress

Distress

negative stress causing burnout and poor performance

HPA axis

hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal pathway; releases cortisol during stress

General adaptation syndrome

four-stage stress response: alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Benzodiazepines

anti-anxiety drugs that enhance GABA effects

Cognitive appraisal

evaluation of stressors as threats or challenges

Reappraisal

reinterpreting stress as less threatening; involves prefrontal inhibition of amygdala