- 1.Chapter 12 Emotional Behaviors
2. What is Emotion?
- Psychologists define emotion in terms of three components:
3. What is Emotion?
- Emotional situations arouse the autonomic nervous system.
- Each situation evokes its own special mixture of sympathetic
and parasympathetic arousal
4. 5. What is Emotion?
- TheJames-Lange theoryof emotion suggests that the autonomic
arousal and skeletal action occurs first in an emotion.
- The emotion that is felt is the label that we give the arousal
of the organs and muscle
6. What is Emotion?
- James-Lange theory leads to two predictions:
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- People with a weak autonomic or skeletal response should feel
less emotion.
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- Increasing ones response should enhance an emotion
7. What is Emotion?
- Research indicates the following:
- Paralyzed people report feeling emotion to the same degree as
prior to their injury
- People with pure autonomic failure still report feeling emotion
but less intensely.
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- Pure autonomic failure -output from the autonomic nervous
system to the body fails.
- Suggests other factors are involved in the perception of
emotion.
8. What is Emotion?
- According to the James-Lange theory, emotional feelings result
from the bodys action.
- Panic attacksare marked by extreme sympathetic nervous system
arousal.
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- Only if perceived as occurring spontaneously.
9. What is Emotion?
- Creating certain body actions may also slightly influence
emotion.
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- smiling slightly increases happiness.
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- Inducing a frown leads to the rating of stimuli as slightly
less pleasant.
- Indicates that perception of the body's actions do contribute
to emotional feeling
- However, bodys actions are not required.
10. 11. 12. What is Emotion?
- Emotional experiences arouse many areas of the brain.
- Thelimbic systemincludes the forebrain areas surrounding the
thalamus
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- traditionally been regarded as critical for emotion.
- PET and fMRI studies also suggest many other areas of the
cerebral cortex, especially the frontal and temporal lobes, are
activated during an emotional experience.
13. 14. What is Emotion?
- Measurement of evoked responses indicate the brain is
specialized to attend strongly to facial expressions.
- Emotions tend not to be localized in specific parts of the
cortex.
- A single emotion increases activity in various parts of the
brain.
15. 16. What is Emotion?
- Localization in the brain seems to exist for the emotion of
disgust.
- Theinsular cortexis strongly activated during exposure to
stimuli perceived as disgusting.
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- Also the primary taste cortex.
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- Also reacts to frightening stimuli so not completely dedicated
to disgust.
17. What is Emotion?
- The two hemispheres of the brain play different roles in
emotion.
- Activation of the frontal and temporal areas of the left
hemisphere is associated with approach and theBehavioral Activation
System .
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- Marked by low to moderate arousal.
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- Can characterize either happiness or anger.
18. What is Emotion?
- TheBehavioral Inhibition System (BIS)is associated with
increased activity of the frontal and temporal lobe of the right
hemisphere.
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- Increases attention and arousal.
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- Stimulates emotions such as fear and disgust.
19. What is Emotion?
- Differences in frontal cortex activity relates to
personality.
- People with greater activity in the left hemisphere tend to be
happier, more out-going and friendlier.
- People with greater left hemisphere activity tend to be
socially withdrawn, less satisfied with life, and prone to
unpleasant emotions.
20. What is Emotion?
- The right hemisphere seems to be more responsive to emotional
stimuli than the left.
- Damage to the right temporal cortex causes problems in the
ability to identify emotions of others.
21. What is Emotion?
- Functions of emotions include:
- adaptive values (fear leads to escape, anger lead to attack,
etc.)
- allow us to make quick decisions
- help us make moral decisions.
22. What is Emotion?
- The consequences of our decisions have emotional
considerations.
- Emotions are an important component to moral decisions.
- Failure to anticipate the unpleasantness of an event can lead
to bad decision making.
- Contemplating moral decisions activates the prefrontal cortex,
cingulate gyrus, and amygdala.
23. 24. What is Emotion?
- Damage to the prefrontal cortex impairs decision making.
- Leads to impulsive decision-making without pausing to consider
consequences.
- Stems form failure to anticipate unpleasantness of an
outcome
25. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Attack and escape behaviors are closely related physiologically
and behaviorally.
- Corresponding behaviors are anger and fear.
26. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Pain, threat or other unpleasant stimuli can trigger an attack
behavior.
- Attack behaviors are associated with increased activity in the
corticomedial area of the amygdala.
- After experiencing a provocation, people are more likely to
attack for a period of time afterwards.
- An initial attack behavior increases the probability of a
second attack behavior.
27. 28. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Environmental factors associated with increased violent
tendencies include
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- Smoking behavior of mother during pregnancy
-
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- The effect is particularly strong if the mother smoked and also
had complications during pregnancy.
- Both may impair brain development
29. 30. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Twins studies suggest genetic contribution to the likelihood of
violent behavior.
- Monozygotic twins resembled each other much more than dizygotic
twins with regard to violent and criminal behavior.
- Attempts to identify a specific gene have found only a weak
effect.
31. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Violence is particularly enhanced with both a genetic
predisposition and an early troubled environment.
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- Example: Interaction between MAO Alevels and childhood
maltreatment
32. 33. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Hormones also influence aggressive behavior.
- Male aggressive behavior is influenced by the hormone
testosterone.
- On average, males engage in moreaggressive and violent
behaviors than do females.
- Research shows that men with the highest rates of violent
behavior also have slightly higher testosterone levels.
34. 35. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Testosterone alters the way people respond to stimuli.
- Testosterone may increase the response of the amygdala to angry
expressions.
- Decreases ability of the cerebral cortex to identify and
regulate emotion.
36. 37. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Studies also suggest a connection between aggressive behavior
and low serotonin release.
- Turnoveris the amount of a neurotransmitter that is released
and resynthesized by neurons.
- Valzellis (1973) study with male juvenile mice found that
social isolation decreased serotonin turnover and increased
aggressive behavior.
38. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA)is a serotonin metabolite
found in the blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and urine that allows
researchers to infer turnover rate.
- High levels of 5-HIAA imply much serotonin release and
turnover.
- Research with monkeys has demonstrated that low levels of
5-HIAA increases the probability of attack on larger monkey
39. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Monkeys with high levels of 5-HIAA were more likely to
survive.
- Evolution seems to select for an intermediate amount of anxiety
and aggression.
- Evolution might also select for high aggressive behaviors.
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- may die young, but are more likely to achieve a dominant
position within the troop.
40. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- In human studies, low serotonin turnover has been linked
to:
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- People with a history of violent behavior and violent
crime.
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- People who attempt suicide by violent means.
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- Recurrent violent behaviors.
-
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- A simple blood tests does not enable the reliable
identification.
41. 42. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Changes in diet can alter serotonin synthesis.
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- Example: tryptophan and serotonin synthesis
43. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Serotonin activity an also be influenced by genetics.
- Genes control the production of tryptophan hydroxylase.
- Tryptophan hydroxylase is the enzyme that converts tryptophan
into serotonin.
- People with less active form of this enzyme are more likely
than others to report frequent anger and aggression.
44. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- The role of serotonin is very complicated and should not be
thought of as the anti-aggression transmitter.
- During aggression, the brain releases serotonin.
- Clinical depression is linked to low serotonin.
- High levels of serotonin may inhibit a variety of
impulses.
45. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Proneness to approach, avoidance, and anxiety varies with the
situation.
- Amygdala is one of the main areas for integrating both
environmental and genetic influences and then regulating current
levels of anxiety.
- Fear and anxiety are not necessarily associated with the desire
to flee.
46. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Thestartle reflexis the extremely fast response to unexpected
loud noises.
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- found in young infants and suggest fear is built-in and
unlearned
- Auditory information stimulates an area of the pons that
commands the tensing of the neck and other muscles.
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- Information reaches the pons within 3 to 8 milliseconds
after
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- The startle response occurs within two-tenths of a second.
47. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Current mood or situation can modify the reaction
- Startle reflex is more vigorous if already tenses
- Cells in the amygdala, especially the basal lateral and central
nuclei, receive information from pain, vision, and hearing
circuits.
- Axons extend to areas in the midbrain that relay information to
the nucleus in the pons.
- The relay enhances the startle reflex.
48. 49. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Output from the amygdala to the hypothalamus controls autonomic
fear responses.
- Axons extending from the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex
regulate approach and avoidance responses.
50. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Damage to the amygdala interferes with:
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- the learning of fear responses
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- retention of fear responses previously learned
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- interpreting or understanding stimuli with emotional
consequences
51. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- In the early 1900s, studies of monkeys with Kluver-Bucy
syndrome illustrated the effects of amygdala damage.
- Monkeys with this syndrome are calm and placid and display less
than normal fear of snakes and larger, more dominant monkeys.
- Also alters social behaviors in that they have decreased
ability to interpret threat gestures.
- Amygdala damage can also lead to an increase in the approach
motive.
52. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- fMRI studies suggest the amygdala responds strongly to
emotional stimuli and facial expressions.
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- Not necessarily associated with just fear.
- Activity is strongest when the meaning is unclear and requires
some processing.
- Responds more strongly to an angry face directed toward the
viewer and frightened faces directed elsewhere.
- Amygdala also responds to stimuli not consciously
perceived.
53. 54. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- In humans, damage to the amygdala does not result in the loss
of emotion.
- Damage to the amygdala impairs the processing of emotional
information when the signals are subtle or complicated.
- Amygdala damage affects the ability to judge trustworthiness in
people.
- People with amygdala damage focus on emotional stimuli the same
as irrelevant stimuli or details.
55. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Amygdala damage also affects the ability to recognize emotions
specifically in photographs or pictures.
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- Effect is particularly strong for fear or disgust.
- Amygdala damage does not affect the ability to recognize fear
in real life.
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- Attention to certain aspects of the face (eyes versus mouth)
may account for the difference.
56. 57. 58. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Genetic variations in amygdala arousal may thus underlie some
of the variations of anxiety in the population and related
disorders.
- Arousal of the amygdala relates to the tendency to experience
some negative emotions.
- Excessive fear and anxiety disorders are associated with
hyperactivity in the amygdala
59. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Drugs intended to control anxiety alter activity at amygdala
synapses.
- The main excitatory neuromodulator in the amygdala is CCK, and
the main inhibitory transmitter is GABA.
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- Injections of CCK-stimulating drugs into the amygdala enhance
the startle response.
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- Drugs that increase GABA activity trigger panic.
60. 61. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Benzodiazepinesare the most commonly used anti-anxiety
drugs.
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- Examples: dizepam (valium), alprazolam (xanax)
- Benzodiazepines bind to theGABA Areceptor , and facilitate the
effects of GABA.
- Benzodiazepines exert their effects in the amygdala,
hypothalamus, midbrain, and other areas.
62. 63. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI)is a naturally occurring
protein which attaches to the same sites as benzodiazepines and
blocks their effects.
- Endozepinesare neuromodulators that include DBI and other
related proteins that work to increase levels of fear and
anxiety.
- Variations in genes controlling endozepines may relate to
peoples probability of developing anxiety disorders.
64. Attack and Escape Behaviors
- Ethyl alcohol has behavioral effects similar to
benzodiazepines..
- Alcohol enhances GABA effects.
- An experimental drug Ro-15-4513 blocks the effect of alcohol on
the GABA Areceptors complex.
65. 66. Stress and Health
- Behavioral medicineemphasizes the effects on health of diet,
smoking, exercise, stressful experiences, and other behaviors.
- Emotions and other experiences influence illness and pattern of
recovery.
67. Stress and Health
- Hans Selye (1979) definedstressas the non-specific response of
the body to any demand made upon it.
- Threats on the body activate a general response to stress
called thegeneral adaptation syndrome .
68. Stress and Health
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- The General Adaptation Syndrome:
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- Alarm stage- characterized by increased sympathetic nervous
system activity.
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- Resistance stage- sympathetic response declines, the adrenal
cortex releases cortisol and other hormones that enable the body to
maintain prolonged alertness.
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- Exhaustion stage- occurs after prolonged stress and is
characterized by inactivity, vulnerability, and decreased energy to
sustain heightened responses.
69. Stress and Health
- Sapolsky (1998) argues that the nature of todays crises are
more prolonged.
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- Accounts for widespread stress-related illnesses and
psychiatric problems in industrial societies.
- Long-term, inescapable issues activate the general adaptation
syndrome which is harmful to our health over time.
70. Stress and Health
- Stress activates two systems in the body:
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- The sympathetic nervous system - fight or flight response that
prepares the body for brief emergency responses
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- TheHPA axis- the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal
cortex.
71. 72. Stress and Health
- The HPA axis becomes the dominant response to prolonged
stressors.
- Activation of the hypothalamus induces the pituitary gland to
secreteadrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) .
- ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex to secrete cortisol.
- Cortisol helps to mobilize energies to fight a difficult
situation.
73. Stress and Health
- Theimmune systemconsists of cells that protect the body against
viruses and bacteria by producingleukocytes(white blood
cells).
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- B-cells leukocytes that mature in the bone marrow and secrete
antibodies.
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- Antibodies Y-shaped proteins that attach to particular kinds of
antigens.
-
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- Antigens surface proteins that are antibody-generator
molecules
74. Stress and Health
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- T cells attack intruders directly and help other T cells or B
cells to multiply.
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- Natural killer cells leukocytes that attack tumor cells and
cells that are infected with viruses.
- Prolonged increased cortisol levels impair the immune
system.
75. 76. Stress and Health
- During an infection, leukocytes and other cells produce small
proteins calledcytokines.
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- Combat infection and communicate with the brain to inform of
illness.
- Cytokines in the brain produce symptoms of illness.
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- Fever, sleepiness, lack of energy etc.
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- Sleep and inactivity are the bodies way of conserving energy to
fight illness.
77. Stress and Health
- Psychoneuroimmunologydeals with the way in which experiences
alter the immune system.
- Also deals with how the immune system influences the central
nervous system.
78. Stress and Health
- In response to a stressful experience, the nervous system
activates the immune system.
- Immune system increases production of natural killer cells,
leukocytes and cytokines.
- The cytokines can trigger symptom of illness as a reaction to
the stress itself.
79. Stress and Health
- Prolonged stress response is damaging to the body.
- Prolonged increase of cortisol detracts from the synthesis of
proteins of the immune system.
- Prolonged stress of longer than a month significantly increases
the likelihood of illness.
80. Stress and Health
- Prolonged stress can also be harmful to the hippocampus and can
affect memory.
- Cortical enhances metabolic activity in the body.
- When metabolic activity is high in the hippocampus, the neurons
are more sensitive to damage by toxins or over-stimulation.
- Stress also impairs the adaptability and the production of new
hippocampal neurons.
81. Stress and Health
- A variety of ways exist to reduce stress or control our
response to it:
- Breathing routines, exercise, meditation, distraction, dealing
with the problem.
- Social support from a loved one helps to reduce stress.
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- Reduces response in several brain areas including the
prefrontal cortex.
82. Stress and Health
- Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) occurs in some people after
terrifying experiences and includes the following symptoms:
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- Frequent distressing recollections.
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- Avoidance of reminders of the event.
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- Exaggerated arousal in response to noises and other
stimuli.
83. Stress and Health
- Studies have revealed most PTSD victims have a smaller than
average hippocampus.
- PTSD victims showlower than normal cortisol levels after the
trauma.
- People with low cortisol levels may be ill-equipped to combat
stress and more prone to the damaging effects of stress.