Traditional Motivation Concepts in Affective Neuroscience - Flashcards

Which of the following behaviours does motivation not explain?

Every listed option could be explained by motivation

Which statement best defines homeostasis as used in behavioural neuroscience?

A regulatory system that maintains physiological variables near a setpoint

Which of the following correctly lists the three core components of the homeostatic drive model?

Setpoint, error detector, and error correction mechanism

In a homeostatic system, a setpoint is best described as:

A target value of acceptable range the system attempts to maintain

Which of the following best illustrates the role of an error detector in homeostasis?

Comparing current physiological state to the setpoint

A person becomes thirsty after losing fluids through sweating. Specialized receptors detect low blood volume, and drinking behaviour is initiated. In this scenario, the detection of low blood volume corresponds to which component of the homeostatic system?

Error detector

Which of the following is the clearest example of a homeostatic error correction mechanism?

Releasing angiotensin to stimulate thirst when fluid levels are low

Why is maintaining physiological variables near a setpoint critical for survival?

Deviations can impair normal cellular and neural function

Which of the following best represents a variable regulated by a homeostatic system?

Neuronal glucose activity

Which statement best reflects how homeostatic models relate to non-physiological drives?

Homeostatic principles can be extended to behaviours like aggression or drug use, even without a clear physiological parameter

Over the past 50 years, research on homeostatic motivation has primarily focused on:

Identifying setpoints and deficit signals

Which feature is definitionally required for a mechanism to qualify as strictly homeostatic?

Presence of a setpoint and an error detector

Which of the following best explains why anticipatory motivation is not considered a homeostatic mechanism, despite producing homeostatic-like outcomes?

It operates without detecting a deviation from a setpoint

A person routinely eats dinner at 6:00 p.m. and begins feeling hungry at 5:45 p.m., even though their blood glucose and energy levels remain within normal ranges. This behaviour is best explained by:

Anticipatory motivation driven by learned cues

Which statement best captures the relationship between homeostatic and anticipatory motivational mechanisms?

They involve largely overlapping neural mechanisms despite different triggers

What distinguishes a settling point from a homeostatic setpoint?

Settling points emerge from opposing forces without an error detector

_____ is a good example of a settling point, while _____ is a good example of a setpoint.

body weight; body temperature

According to Bolles (1980), why can hunger not be triggered by a deviation from a body-weight setpoint?

Body weight lacks a true setpoint

Two individuals have the same caloric intake. One gains weight while the other does not, due to differences in activity level, hormonal signalling, and food palatability. This outcome most strongly supports which model?

Settling point regulation

Which pairing best illustrates the opposing forces that determine a body-weight settling point?

Eating-promoting cues vs energy expenditure and satiety

Why is sea level considered a useful analogy for a settling point?

It reflects equilibrium between opposing processes without a setpoint

Which statement best captures the key conceptual distinction between homeostasis and allostasis?

Homeostasis is reactive, whereas allostasis emphasizes stability through change

A person exposed to repeated stressors shows progressively stronger HPA-axis responses over time, even in the absence of increased threat. This pattern is most consistent with:

Allostatic feedforward regulation

In drug addiction, allostasis is often used to describe:

Temporary stability achieved through drug use following neuroadaptation

According to Neal Miller, drive concepts were developed primarily to:

Simplify and predict behaviour when multiple stimuli and responses are involved

A researcher attempts to explain drinking behaviour without invoking the concept of thirst. Which problem does Miller argue this approach creates?

An exponential increase in stimulus–response pairings

Which of the following is a circular use of a drive concept?

“Hypertonic saline causes thirst because it makes rats drink.”

A rat receives a hypertonic injection. After observing increased drinking, the researcher predicts the rat will also work harder to obtain water and tolerate bitter solutions. Why does this support the validity of thirst as a drive concept?

It generates novel, testable predictions across behaviours

Why is it difficult to infer the magnitude of a drive (e.g., thirst) from a single behaviour?

Different behaviours are constrained by different physical and behavioural limits

Variability across thirst-related behaviours primarily reflects differences in:

Expression constraints of behaviours

Which finding would most strongly undermine thirst as a useful drive concept?

Observed drinking fails to predict any other motivated behaviour

Why is the drive concept, as an intervening variable, considered limited as a theory of motivation?

It is reductionistic, and ignores neurological complexity

The “hungry fly” is considered motivated in which sense?

The intervening variable sense

A student argues that hunger can be fully explained by two reflexes: eat when food is present and stop when full. Which observation most directly challenges this claim?

Mammalian hunger involves widespread brain networks including cortex and dopamine systems

According to Teitelbaum (1970), a system qualifies as truly motivated only if it can:

Learn new instrumental behaviours to obtain goals

Wallace Craig’s distinction between appetitive and consummatory behaviour emphasizes that:

Approach behaviour is flexible and precedes goal contact

A rat explores a maze, adjusts its route after a barrier is added, and then eats food upon reaching the goal. Which phase best describes the maze exploration and route adjustment?

Appetitive phase

Flexible goal-directedness implies that motivated behaviour must:

Change strategy when circumstances change

Which example best demonstrates goal expectation as defined by Epstein?

A person checking the fridge expecting a favourite food to be there

A robot is programmed to eat when food is present and stop when energy is sufficient, but cannot anticipate food, learn new actions, or show emotional responses. According to Epstein, this system fails to qualify as “truly motivated” primarily because it lacks:

Both goal expectation and affect

What were the three components of motivation proposed by Epstein?

Flexible goal-directedness, goal expectation, and affect

flexible goal-directedness or means-end readiness, (2) goal expectation, and (3) affect.

Opponent process theory proposes that emotional experiences:

Elicit an opposing emotional responses that restores balance

In Solomon’s opponent process theory, the a-process refers to:

The initial affective response directly caused by a stimulus

Which of the following best encompasses the b-process?

A delayed, opposite-valence response that counteracts the initial emotion

Why does pleasure from heroin feel weaker over repeated use according to opponent process theory?

The b-process strengthens and lasts longer

Withdrawal symptoms following drug use reflect which opponent process dynamic?

The b-process remaining after the a-process ends

According to opponent process theory, chronic drug use becomes motivated primarily by:

Avoidance of the negative b-process state

Which example best illustrates an opponent process following an aversive stimulus?

Pain followed by analgesia or euphoria

The “runner’s high” is often interpreted as:

A b-process that outlasts an aversive a-process

How can learning modify opponent processes?

By allowing the b-process to be triggered in advance by cues

Which example best demonstrates a learned opponent response?

CRF release triggered by drug-associated cues before drug intake

Which of the following scenarios is a good illustration of a learned opponent process?

Analgesia activation following pain-related cues

Which statement about b-processes is true?

They can exist without being the primary driver of behaviour

In the hydraulic drive model, motivation is likened to:

Pressure building in a reservoir

In the hydraulic model, internal factors primarily:

Increase drive pressure over time

According to the hydraulic drive model, behaviour occurs when:

Drive pressure and/or stimulus strength open the valve

When drive levels are high, motivated behaviour:

A. Requires stronger external stimuli
B. Becomes less flexible
C. Can be triggered by weak or absent stimuli
D. Is inhibited by reward consumption

Can be triggered by weaker stimuli

As drive pressure increases, the hydraulic model predicts that:

A. Only one behavior is expressed
B. Fewer behaviors are possible
C. Multiple behaviors are recruited sequentially
D. Motivation dissipates

Multiple behaviours are recruited sequentially

Which is a key limitation of the hydraulic drive model?

Motivated behaviour often increases future motivation rather than relieving it

Priming experiments challenge the hydraulic model because they show that:

Reward consumption can increase subsequent motivation

A big drawback of the hydraulic drive model is that it:

Lacks specific neural explanations

Drive reduction theory originally proposed that reward occurs when:

A physiological deficit is reduced or eliminated

Why did intravenous feeding experiments challenge drive reduction theory?

Reducing physiological hunger did not fully suppress eating

What did the failure of IV feeding to stop eating behaviour suggest?

Drive reduction is not sufficient to explain reward’s effects on motivation

Why is the anecdote of Tom (the boy with esophageal burns) relevant to motivation theory?

It suggests that sensory experience contributes to reward

Tom’s insistence on chewing food before tube feeding implies that:

Sensory pleasure can be motivationally significant

Why did lateral hypothalamus brain stimulation experiments pose a serious problem for drive reduction theory?

A. It always suppressed hunger
B. It reduced physiological deficits
D. It failed to elicit any behaviour

They showed that stimulation could be rewarding even when it increased motivation

Which lateral hypothalamus (LH) stimulation finding most directly contradicted drive reduction theory?

LH stimulation could trigger eating without deprivation

The brain stimulation findings suggest that motivation and reward:

Can be generated directly by brain circuits

Modern hedonic reward theories differ from drive reduction theories because they argue that reward:

Can occur without reducing any biological need

Which finding discussed in the readings best supports the claim that pleasure can directly motivate behaviour?

Rats work to obtain sweet saccharin without caloric benefit

What was the significance of Young’s work on pleasurable tastes?

It demonstrated that deprivation is unnecessary for reward

Young’s experiments showed that pleasurable stimuli can:

Override previously learned habits

Male rats working for access to a female without sexual release suggests that:

Sensory and incentive aspects of reward can motivate behaviour

In hindsight, why were attempts to explain sensory rewards using drive concepts flawed?

They assumed drive must always be involved

Pfaffmann’s key conceptual move was to argue that:

Sensory pleasure itself can be inherently motivating

By what measures can we infer hedonic experience in animals?

Approach-avoidance behaviours and emotional expressions