Emotions, Aggression, and Stress

chapter 15

Emotion

A subjective mental state that is usually accompanied by distinctive behaviors, feelings, and involuntary physiological changes

Sympathetic nervous system

A component of the autonomic nervous system that arises from the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord, and generally prepares the body for action

Parasympathetic nervous system

A component of the autonomic nervous system, arising from both the cranial nerves and the sacral spinal cord, that typically inhibits the activity of organs such as the heart.

James-Lange theory

The theory that our experience of emotion is a response to the physiological changes that accompany it.

Cannon-Bard theory

The theory that our experience of emotion is independent of the simultaneous physiological changes that accompany it.

Cognitive attribution theory

Also called the two-factor theory of emotion. The theory that our emotional experience results from cognitive analysis of the context around us, such that physiological changes may accentuate emotions but not specify which emotion we experience.

Individual Response Stereotypy

The tendency of individuals to show the same response pattern to particular situations throughout their life-span.

evolutionary psychology

A research field that asks how evolutionary selection pressures have shaped the behavior of humans and other animals.

Facial nerve

Cranial nerve VII, which receives information from the face and controls the superficial muscles there.

Trigeminal nerve

Cranial nerve V, which receives information from the face and controls jaw musculature.

Bells palsy

A disorder, usually caused by viral infection, in which the facial nerve (VII) on one side stops conducting action potentials, resulting in paralysis of one side of the face

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

Medial forebrain bundle

A collection of axons traveling in the midline region of the forebrain

Decorticate rage

Also called sham rage. Sudden intense rage characterized by actions (such as snarling and biting in dogs) that lack clear direction.

Limbic system

A loosely defined, widespread group of brain nuclei that innervate each other to form a network. These nuclei are implicated in emotions.

Kluver Bucy syndrome

A condition, brought about by bilateral amygdala damage, that is characterized by dramatic emotional changes, including reduction in fear and anxiety.

Conditioning

A type of classical conditioning where a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with shock or some other unpleasant experience, causing the individual to act fearful in response to the stimulus.

Amygdala

A group of nuclei in the medial anterior part of the temporal lobe.

Aggression

Behavior that is intended to cause pain or harm (whether physical or emotional) to others, either individually or in groups.

Intermale aggression

Aggression between males of the same species.

medial amygdala

A portion of the amygdala that receives olfactory and pheromonal information

Ventromedial hypothalamus

A hypothalamic region involved in eating, sexual, and aggressive behaviors.

maternal aggression

The fierce defensive aggression of females defending their offspring

psychopathy

A cluster of personality traits associated with superficial charm, lying, and diminished remorse.

stress

Any circumstance that upsets homeostatic balance.

allostasis

The varying behavioral and physiological adjustments an individual makes to maintain optimal (rather than unchanging) functioning of a regulated system in the face of current or anticipated environmental stressors.

alarm reaction

The initial response to stress.

adrenal medulla

The adrenal gland’s inner core, which secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine.

epinephrine

Also called adrenaline. A compound that acts in two ways: as a hormone, secreted by the adrenal medulla under the control of the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the body for action; and as a synaptic transmitter.

norepinephrine

Also called noradrenaline. 1. A neurotransmitter produced and released by sympathetic postganglionic neurons to accelerate organ activity. Also produced in the brainstem and found in projections throughout the brain. [2, 4, 5] 2. A hormone secreted by the adrenal medulla under the control of the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the body for action

adrenal cortex

The outer rind of the adrenal gland, which secretes steroid hormones, including cortisol.

adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)

A tropic hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland that controls the production and release of hormones of the adrenal cortex

adrenal corticosteroids

Steroid hormones secreted by the adrenal cortex, including glucocorticoids such as cortisol and mineralocorticoids such as aldosterone.

cortisol

A glucocorticoid stress hormone of the adrenal cortex.

epigenetic regulation

Process affecting the expression of a particular gene without affecting the sequence of nucleotides making up the gene itself.

Psychosomatic medicine

A field of study that emphasizes the role of psychological factors in disease.

Health psychology

Also called behavioral medicine. A field that studies psychological influences on health-related processes, such as why people become ill or how they remain healthy.

Phagocytes

An immune system cell that engulfs invading molecules or microbes.

antibodies

Also called immunoglobulins. Large proteins that recognize and permanently bind to particular shapes, normally as part of the immune system attack on foreign particles.

T lymphocytes

Also called T cells. Immune system cells, formed in the thymus (hence the T), that include killer T cells, which attack foreign microbes, and helper T cells, which secrete cytokines.

Cytokines

Signaling proteins that influence the activity of other cells, as in the immune system

Mindfulness-based stress reduction

A therapy to reduce stress that pairs relaxation with efforts to focus attention on the present moment, rather than past or future problems