The Neuropsychology of Emotion

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to the neuropsychology of emotion, including theories, components, and brain structures involved.

Emotion

A relatively new term coined in the early 1800s by Thomas Brown, referring to complex psychological states that involve physiological, behavioral, and experiential components.

Charles Darwin

An influential biologist whose work in the late 1800s included 'The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals', emphasizing that emotions are not unique to humans and evolve as adaptive responses.

Three Components of Emotion

The components include Behavioral, Physiological, and Experiential aspects.

Behavioral Component of Emotion

Involves expressions such as facial expressions and body language that indicate emotional states.

Paul Ekman

A psychologist known for his research on facial expressions and identification of six basic emotions.

Six Basic Emotions

The foundational emotional categories identified by Ekman: Anger, Disgust, Fear, Surprise, Happiness, and Sadness.

Physiological Component of Emotion

Refers to changes in the autonomic nervous system, including heart rate, respiration rate, perspiration, and pupil diameter in response to emotions.

James-Lange Theory

A theory suggesting that emotions are the result of perceiving physiological changes in the body, such as heart rate increase when encountering a threat.

Two-Factor Theory

A theory proposed by Schachter and Singer stating that emotion is based on physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal.

Amygdala

A brain structure that plays a key role in emotional processing, particularly in the formation of conditioned fear responses.

Fear Conditioning

A type of classical conditioning where an initially neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a fear response.

Lateral Amygdala (LA)

A region critical for learning fear-based conditioned responses; damage here disrupts this learning process.

Role of the Frontal Lobes

Involved in the interpretation of emotions, regulating emotional responses, and experiencing personality changes upon damage.

Orbitofrontal Cortex

A brain area that helps translate the personal consequences of behavior and involved in decision-making and emotional regulation.