PSYC 358

How do brains react to changing landscapes?
a) blood flow changes
b) neurons fire differently
c) there is no change
d) different neurons synchronize

a) blood flow changes

capacity to adapt to demands of a social environment
a) social processing
b) social referencing
c) social competence
d) social adjustment

d) social adjustment

ability to achieve personal goals in interactions
a) social processing
b) social referencing
c) social competence
d) social adjustment

c) social competence

guiding your behavior based on the reactions of a trusted person
a) social processing
b) social referencing
c) social adjustment
d) social competence

b) social referencing

What the brain "looks" like (shape, size components)

structural changes

How the brain "works" (activation patterns, connectivity between regions)

functional changes

Neurons that respond to similar information are often grouped together is referred to as

function specialization

White matter tracts connect (4 things)

Cortical regions inside a hemisphere/lobe
Cortical regions across hemisphere/lobes
Cortical regions to subcortical regions
Subcortical regions to subcortical regions

What is the last area of the brain to mature?

The prefrontal cortex

The brain matures from ___ to ___

posterior to anterior aka. caudal to rostral aka. back to front

The brain develops until age
a) 19
b) 20
c) 25
d) 28

c) 25

Where the brain responds to a stimulus is called

localization

EEG will detect neurons when they

fire in synchrony

The more info the brain process the _____ the frequency

faster

How do we know what signals are triggered by an event or task? (3)

• Time-lock to event
• Average across many trials
• Compute event-related potentials (ERPs):see timing and amplitude of peaks

What is the N170 ERP?

N170 - ERP that tends to happens when people look at faces
- Activity in the red part of the brain hits N170
- N - negative 170ms (after stimulus is shown) Dip in activity at the right back of brain
- Consistent across different brains but with individual differences

BOLD is higher when there is more ____ than ______

oxygenated blood, deoxygenated blood

What does BOLD stand for?

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent signal

What is contrast in an fMRI study?

comparison between signal of condition of interest and baseline condition

You are interested in how quickly different emotions are processed by the developing brain. You will present angry and happy faces to teenagers, and are wondering whether angry faces (threatening information) are processed faster in the occipital cortex than happy faces. What method is best suited for your research question?
a) Single-cell recording
b) fMRI
c) EEG

c) EEG

NS of muscles
a) autonomic NS
b) parasympathetic NS
c) sympathetic NS
d) somatic NS

d) somatic NS

fight or flight, body needs to increase physiological arousal (ex. Accelerated heart rate)
a) autonomic NS
b) parasympathetic NS
c) sympathetic NS
d) somatic NS

c) sympathetic NS

low energy, automatic process (ex. Digestion, recovery processes)
a) autonomic NS
b) parasympathetic NS
c) sympathetic NS
d) somatic NS

b) parasympathetic NS

Made of parasympathetic and sympathetic NS
a) autonomic NS
b) parasympathetic NS
c) sympathetic NS
d) somatic NS

a) autonomic NS

How do you measure the peripheral nervous system? (3)

EMG - electromyography
Skin conductance response
Pupillometry

EMG measures what?

electrical activity due to APs in muscle fibres

Sweat response measures which part of the NS?
a) autonomic NS
b) parasympathetic NS
c) sympathetic NS
d) somatic NS

a) autonomic NS

How to measure performance? (2)

accuracy and response time

Observational measures of behaviour (3)

frequency of behaviour, specific action and looking behaviours

survey measures (2)

interviews and questionnaires

neuropsychological tests

standardized scores on tests

6 components of emotions

subjective feeling, neural response, action tendencies, physiological response, cognitions, expression

2 features of emotions

1. transient (which separates it from mood)
2. have hedonic value (liked or disliked)

Functions of emotions

canalizes attention to important parts of the environment
contributes to the fight or flight mechanism
social bonding
- promotes cooperation
- punishes bad behaviour
guides learning

_____ theory suggests that each emotion should have it's own separate physiological response and neural substrate. Each would have its own neural response

basic emotions theory

____ visual stream: "what is it?"

ventral

_____ visual stream: "where is it?"

dorsal

Which of these are the core regions specialized for face processing? (choose all that apply)
a) Occipital face area
b) Fusiform face area
c) Limbic system
d) Parietal lobe
e) Auditory cortex
f) Superior temporal sulcus
g) Temporal poles
h) Prefrontal cortex

a) Occipital face area
b) Fusiform face area
f) Superior temporal sulcus

Which of these is part of the extended system for face processing? (choose all that apply)
a) Occipital face area
b) Fusiform face area
c) Limbic system
d) Parietal lobe
e) Auditory cortex
f) Superior temporal sulcus
g) Temporal poles
h) Prefrontal cortex

c) Limbic system
e) Auditory cortex
g) Temporal poles

Which of these are part of the limbic system?
a) insula
b) amygdala
c) superior temporal sulcus
d) a and b
e) b and c

d) a and b

Making decisions about identity activates ___ but not ____ and making decisions about eye gaze activates ____ but not ____

FFA, STS and STS, FFA

True or false: children and adults process faces the same way

False

How to measure emotion recognition?

emotion recognition index

Emotion recognition index is related to which theory of emotion?

basic emotion theory

True or false: trajectories are the same for all emotions

false

How does facial recognition change as kids get older?

They get better

Who is better at facial recognition? Males or females?

females

There is a spike in learning facial recognition at _______

onset of puberty

______ is an emotion that is easy to detect even at age ____

happiness, 6

recognition of the emotion _____ increases over time and spikes at puberty

disgust

The development of ______ drives improvements in nonverbal emotion recognition skills

social brain network

What in humans is thought to facilitate eye gaze?
a) iris
b) cornea
c) sclera
d) pupil

c) sclera

How do they test infants' preference for direct eye gaze?

EEG and preferential-looking paradigm

Adults have a ___ ERP in response to faces and infants have a ____ ERP

N170, N290

Test for faster response to detecting congruent targets is called the

posner cueing task

Type of speech that caregivers use when talking to babies is called

infant-directed speech

Infant-directed speech components -

Lexicon - words we make up
Altered sentence construction - lots of repetitions, sometimes wrong grammar
Vocal cues - slower tempo, higher pitch, greater pitch range
One of the key components is elongating vowels which helps baby learn what is a word, sounds of native language and demarcations between words Breaks down language easily for babies

functions of infant directed speech

Learn language quicker and more easily (language acquisition)
Communicates emotion or affect - a lot of the time it is positive affect but can also be used to communicate fear or sadness
Promotes social interaction Babies respond well to it which encourages caregivers to do it more
Attracts babies attention

In EEGS babies show a ___ ERP

Nc

What brain region is likely to be implicated in social information gathering and joint attention?

superior temporal sulcus (STS)

The temporal lobe specializes in ____, _____, _____ and _____

Memory
Hearing
Language
Social stimuli response

The parietal lobe specializes in ___ and ___

Motor function
Sensory function

The deeper valley of the brain is called the

posterior sulcus

hemodynamic response function

Deoxygenation rises due to neurons using up oxygen

New oxygenated blood comes in to balance the deoxygenation

Then undershoots and returns to baseline

When a brain area is active it needs more oxygen and the BOLD signal increases

inferring cognitive processes from neuroimaging data is called

reverse inference

preference for face-like over non-face-like stimuli by
a) 1 month
b) 3 months
c) 4 months
d) 9 months

a) 1 month

preference for own-race bias by
a) 1 month
b) 3 months
c) 4 months
d) 9 months

b) 3 months

infants discriminate between static pictures of mom vs stranger by
a) 1 month
b) 3 months
c) 4 months
d) 9 months

a) 1 month

infants look longer at mom's face by
a) 1 day
b) 4 days
c) 1 month
d) 3 months

b) 4 days

impairment from ___ is as an indirect measure of configural processing

inversion

which 2 areas of the brain are associated with TOM skill?
a) dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC)
b) right temporal-parietal juncture (rTPJ)
c) ventral medial parra-hippocampus (vMPH)
d) a and b
e) All of the above

d) a and b

which neurotransmitter is hypothesized to be related to TOM?
a) dopamine
b) GABBA
c) acetylcholine
d) serotonin

a) dopamine

True or false: higher OT leads to increased trust in prisoner dilemma game

true

OXTR GG carriers are NOT
a) more socially sensitive
b) have higher empathy
c) exhibit greater emotional intelligence
d) more sensitive parenting style

c) exhibit greater emotional intelligence

OXTR GG carriers are
a) less likely to develop depression
b) less likely to have insecure-anxious attachment as adults
c) more inclined to display social withdrawal tendencies
d) more sensitive to effects of neglect

d) more sensitive to effects of neglect

Which of the following statements best reflects the relationship between oxytocin (OT) levels and social behavior?
a) Higher levels of oxytocin are consistently associated with increased generosity in trust games, along with elevated levels of relational satisfaction and reduced social anxiety.
b) Higher circulating oxytocin predicts more generosity in trust games; however, it correlates with increased relational dissatisfaction and heightened social anxiety.
c) Elevated oxytocin levels are linked to decreased generosity in trust games, along with improved relational satisfaction and decreased social anxiety.
d) Oxytocin levels have no significant correlation with generosity in trust games, relational satisfaction, or social anxiety.

b) Higher circulating oxytocin predicts more generosity in trust games; however, it correlates with increased relational dissatisfaction and heightened social anxiety.

True or false: adolescents show lowered neural response in the striatum and OFC to peer acceptance

false

Striatum is involved in what?

reward processing

the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is involved in what?

coding motivational value and decision-making in the context of emotions

true or false: social rejection and physical pain are represented in the brain similarly and located in the insula and the ACC

true

ture or false: taking pain killers decreases response to social rejection

false

Why are social stimuli considered powerful motivators?
a) Social stimuli primarily activate regions of the brain unrelated to motivation.
b) Social stimuli are processed in isolation from reward-related neural systems.
c) Social stimuli engage neural systems associated with reward processing, such as the striatum (NAcc) and OFC (sgACC).
d) Social stimuli have limited influence on human behavior compared to non-social incentives.

c) Social stimuli engage neural systems associated with reward processing, such as the striatum (NAcc) and OFC (sgACC).

Which of the following statements accurately describes the role of the ventral tegmental area (VTA)?
a) The VTA primarily processes visual stimuli in the brain.
b) The VTA is a non-dopaminergic region adjacent to the substantia nigra.
c) The VTA is a dopaminergic area of the brain associated with the processing of rewarding stimuli.
d) The VTA exclusively projects through the mesolimbic pathway to cortical structures.

c) The VTA is a dopaminergic area of the brain associated with the processing of rewarding stimuli.

What role does dopamine (DA) play in reward function?
a) Dopamine inhibits the reward system in the brain.
b) Dopamine has no significant impact on the brain's response to rewarding stimuli.
c) Dopamine is essential for reward function and is involved in processing novel situations and salient cues.
d) Dopamine exclusively regulates motor functions and has no association with reward processing.

c) Dopamine is essential for reward function and is involved in processing novel situations and salient cues.

Which brain region is primarily involved in encoding information about reward and shows increased dopamine levels in response to rewarding stimuli?
a) Hippocampus
b) Prefrontal cortex
c) Ventral tegmental area (VTA)
d) Nucleus accumbens (NAcc)

d) Nucleus accumbens (NAcc)

What is the relationship between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dopamine (DA) signaling according to the provided information?
a) The VTA inhibits dopamine release in the brain, leading to decreased reward processing.
b) Dopamine signaling in the VTA is irrelevant to reward function.
c) Activation of VTA's dopamine neurons leads to increased dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), facilitating reward processing.
d) Dopamine signaling in the VTA primarily regulates motor functions and has no association with reward processing.

c) Activation of VTA's dopamine neurons leads to increased dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), facilitating reward processing.

true or false: dopamine levels are correlated with changes in liking

false

Which statement accurately reflects the role of dopamine (DA) in reward processing, considering its relationship with liking and motivational value attribution?
a) Dopamine activity correlates directly with changes in liking, primarily involving opioid, GABA, cannabinoid, and serotonergic systems.
b) Dopamine neurons are exclusively excited by rewarding events and inhibited by aversive events, leading to straightforward changes in liking.
c) Dopamine's primary function is to modulate liking, while other neurotransmitter systems handle motivational value attribution.
d) Dopamine enables the attribution of "motivational value" to stimuli and increases when unexpected rewards are received but decreases when expected rewards are not received, indicating its role in reward prediction errors.

d) Dopamine enables the attribution of "motivational value" to stimuli and increases when unexpected rewards are received but decreases when expected rewards are not received, indicating its role in reward prediction errors.

What role does the amygdala primarily play in reward processing?
a) Integration of current value of reward
b) Detection of errors of estimation/conflict and planning for responses
c) Evaluation of self-related significance of stimuli
d) Translation of "salience" value

d) Translation of "salience" value

Which brain region serves as an integrator of the current value of reward?
a) Amygdala and insula
b) Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and insula
c) Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
d) Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)

b) Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and insula

Which brain region acts as a detector of errors of estimation/conflict and plans responses in reward processing?
a) Insula
b) Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
c) Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
d) Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)

b) Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

What is the primary role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in reward processing?
a) Integration of current value of reward
b) Detection of errors of estimation/conflict and planning for responses
c) Evaluation of self-related significance of stimuli
d) Translation of "salience" value

c) Evaluation of self-related significance of stimuli

What happens to dopamine (DA) concentrations and fiber density during the growth of the mesocorticolimbic DA system in animals?
A) They decrease
B) They remain constant
C) They fluctuate randomly
D) They increase

D) They increase

When does the input of dopamine (DA) to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) peak during development?
A) In infancy
B) In adulthood
C) During adolescence
D) In old age

C) During adolescence

When does the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system in animals experience significant growth?
A) During early life
B) During mating season
C) During early life and adolescence
D) During older age

C) During early life and adolescence

What role does the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system play in animal behavior during adolescence?
A) It has no impact on behavior
B) It decreases risk-taking behavior
C) It promotes reward-seeking and risk-taking behavior
D) It induces hibernation

C) It promotes reward-seeking and risk-taking behavior

Which area is very important for regulating and inhibiting behaviour?
a) anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
b) dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)
c) ventrolateral prefrontal cortex
d) all of the above

d) all of the above

In go/no-go tasks requiring behavioral inhibition, adolescents compared to adults typically exhibit:
A) Slower reaction times and fewer mistakes.
B) Faster reaction times and fewer mistakes.
C) Slower reaction times and more mistakes.
D) Faster reaction times and more mistakes.

D) Faster reaction times and more mistakes.

Which of the following statements accurately describes the correlation between brain activation and performance on the gambling task in adults versus adolescents?
A) Adults show a positive correlation between ventral striatum activation and performance, while adolescents show no significant correlation.
B) Adults exhibit a positive correlation between ventral striatum activation and performance, whereas adolescents display a negative correlation.
C) Both adults and adolescents demonstrate a positive correlation between ventral striatum activation and performance.
D) Adults exhibit no significant correlation between ventral striatum activation and performance, while adolescents show a negative correlation.

D) Adults exhibit no significant correlation between ventral striatum activation and performance, while adolescents show a negative correlation.

In the context of the gambling task, what correlation is observed between ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) activation and performance in adults and adolescents?
A) Adults show a positive correlation, while adolescents show no significant correlation.
B) Both adults and adolescents display a positive correlation.
C) Adults exhibit a negative correlation, while adolescents show a positive correlation.
D) There is no significant correlation observed between vmPFC activation and performance in either adults or adolescents.

A) Adults show a positive correlation, while adolescents show no significant correlation.