Theories of Emotion and Cognitive-Emotion Interactions

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering theories of emotion, cognitive-emotional interactions, neuroanatomical structures, and survival decision-making models as presented in the lecture notes.

Damasio's definition of emotion

A collection of responses triggered from parts of the brain to the body and from parts of the brain to other parts of the brain, using both neutral and humoral routes.

LeDoux's definition of emotion

Affectively charged, subjectively experienced states of awareness that are conscious states.

Sato, et al., (2026) emotional response implementation

Emotional responses are implemented through a dynamic and hierarchical interaction from the limbic motor network to the mentalizing network.

The computational approach

A logical exercise aimed at determining what processing subsystems are necessary to produce a specific behavior, given specific input.

Valence

A dimension of emotion distinguishing between positive versus negative feelings (feeling good and bad versus feeling good or bad).

Self-reflective emotions

Also known as self-conscious or moral emotions, these include shame, embarrassment, guilt, pride, and gratitude.

Counterfactual emotions

Emotions including regret, disappointment, and envy that arise from considering alternatives to what actually happened.

Epistemic emotions

Knowledge-based emotions such as interest, confusion, surprise, and awe.

Appraisal dimensions

Causal factors in emotion elicitation that determine response profiles, including relevance, implications, coping potential, and normative significance.

Action tendency

Stimulus-response associations or "habitual" responses to emotional stimuli that have been consistently reinforced and no longer depend on outcome value.

Cognition (standard definition)

All processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used.

Gyrus vs. Sulcus

Gyrus refers to the bumps on the brain, while sulcus refers to the grooves.

Rostral vs. Caudal

Rostral refers to the nose; Caudal refers to the tail. Above the midbrain, Rostral is anterior and Caudal is posterior.

Dorsal vs. Ventral

Dorsal refers to the back; Ventral refers to the stomach. Above the midbrain, Dorsal is superior and Ventral is inferior.

Fear vs. Anxiety

Fear relates to imminent, unambiguous danger involving fight-flight-freeze (Amygdala); Anxiety relates to uncertain, diffuse threats and future-oriented worry (BST or BNST).

Basolateral amygdala

A region of the amygdala with bidirectional connectivity to cortical sectors (frontal, temporal, and insular) involved in fear processing and encoding motivational relevance.

Central nucleus of the amygdala

Part of the amygdala that targets the basal forebrain and brainstem to mobilize neuroendocrine and autonomic systems for threats.

Emotional/Episodic Memory Enhancement (EEM)

The process by which the amygdala enhances the memory of emotional events; activation is necessary but not sufficient for this effect.

Anterior Insula

A brain region connected to interoception (bodily awareness) and emotional processing, associated with disgust and anticipating "how it is going to feel."

Fanselow and Lester's Threat Imminence Continuum Model

A model describing defensive behaviors across levels of threat: Safety, Pre-encounter threat, Post-encounter threat, and Circa-strike threat.

Marr's Tri-levels of Analysis

Computational (the goal/why), Algorithmic (the rules/computations), and Implementation (the biological hardware/how).

Krenz et al. (2025) successful emotional memory formation

Linked to persistent activation in intercortical attention and cognitive control regions, with transient activation in the MTL (amygdala and anterior hippocampus).

Prediction Error (PE)

A learning signal found in the ACCG, DMPFC, and TPJ representing the difference between expected and actual outcomes.

Model-based vs. Model-free learning

Model-based uses an internal cognitive map for prospective planning; Model-free relies on cached values through retrospective trial and error.

Empathy vs. Theory of Mind

Empathy is an emotional connection involving affective sharing (Anterior Insula, ACC); Theory of Mind is a cognitive connection involving belief attribution (TPJ, STS, MPFC).

Tagging (Encoding)

Direct prioritizing of memory trace creation via stress hormones and amygdala-MTL interactions, enhancing memory for higher arousal information.

Gross's Emotion Regulation Model

A sequence including situation selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, cognitive change, and response modulation.

Koole's three emotion generating systems

Attention, Knowledge, and The body.

PAG (Periaqueductal Gray) functional divisions

The dlPAG involves active responses (fight-or-flight); the vlPAG involves passive responses (freezing).

Alpha desynchronization

A brain oscillation state indicating greater arousal and neuronal excitation, linked to FMRI activation in ventrolateral attentional regions.