The Mind's Machine - Chapter 11

emotion

A subjective mental state that is usually accompanied by distinctive behaviors as well as involuntary physiological changes; depend on current context and past experiences; vary in valence and arousal

facial feedback hypothesis

The idea that sensory feedback from our facial expressions can affect our mood.

brain self-stimulation

The process in which animals will work to provide electrical stimulation to particular brain sites, presumably because the experience is very rewarding.

fear conditioning

A form of classical conditioning in which a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unpleasant stimulus, like foot shock, until the previously neutral stimulus alone elicits the responses seen in fear.

stress

Any circumstance that upsets homeostatic balance.

Folk Psychology

emotional experience causes the body to react

James-Lange Theory

bodily response causes emotional experience

Cannon-Bard theory

bodily response and emotional experience are simultaneous

Ekman's 8 Basic Emotions

anger, sadness, happiness, fear, disgust, surprise, contempt, embarassment

Cultural Display Rules

regulation of emotional expression; role of socialization; role of reaction and reflection

Prefrontal Cortex

Inhibition of emotion and emotion regulation

Anterior cingulate cortex

loss, uncertainty, regret

posterior cingulate cortex

risk

insula

disgust

brain self-stimulation

medial forebrain bundle (midbrain to hypothalamus); nucleus accumbens (reward circuit, dopamine)

Amygadala

fear, aversion, regret; stimulation induces fear; lesion decreases fear and fear recognition

Klüver-Bucy syndrome

reduced fear and anxiety following amygdala damage

allostasis

achieving stability, or homeostasis, through change; set up to deal with the unpredictable

stressor

stimulus that threatens allostatic balance

stress response

biological and/or psychological response to a threatening stimulus; restores allostasis through change

Acute stress

reaction to an immediate threat (ex: running from a lion)

Chronic stress

sustained experience of threat (ex: long-term relationship problems)

toxic stress

intense adverse experiences that are often chronic

Sympathetic Adrenal Medullary (SAM) System

fast acting, energy releasing arm of stress response (fight or flight); sympathetic nerves signal adrenal medulla to release norepinephrine and epinephrine into bloodstream

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis

Complex, slow acting arm of stress response; hormone cascade in bloodstream

consequences of stress hormones

increase heart rate and respiration, mobilize energy (glucose & fat stores), dilate blood vessels to the heart and limbs; increase mental activity; suppress digestion, growth, reproduction, immunity

Facial expressions are mediated by...

muscles, cranial nerves, and CNS pathways

Categories of Facial Muscles: Superficial

Attach between points of skin

Categories of Facial Muscles: Deep

Attach to bone; produce larger movements (chewing)

Facial muscles are innervated by two cranial nerves:

1. facial

2. trigeminal

medial forebrain bundle

a bundle of neurons that runs from the midbrain to the basal ganglia and other forebrain areas

core emotions

happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust

Schacter-Singer Experiment

showed that emotions have both a physical and a cognitive component.

decorticate rage

sudden intense rage characterized by actions that lack clear direction

nucleus accumbens

a subcortical structure that participates in reward and addiction

adrenal medulla

secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine

adrenal cortex

the outer portion of the adrenal glands

Asymmetrical processing

Damage to the left hemisphere can lead to depressive symptoms.

Lesions of the right hemisphere produce a cheerful attitude.

Composite photos of left sides of faces are judged to be more emotionally expressive than composites of right sides of faces.

Since the right hemisphere controls the left side of the face, this suggests that the right hemisphere is especially important for emotional processing.