250 to 300 words all together.
1. Identify what stood out to you in this week's course materials, and briefly reflect on why. (MO 11.1-11.5) You may choose to expand more on a topic you discuss below.
2. After completing the readings and videos related to specific Module Objectives (MOs), choose one (1) below to discuss:
a. What do you think about the use of neuroscience findings in the courtroom in cases of violent crimes? (MO 11.3)
The Case of Gage: neuroscience's most famous patient, Phineas Gage, is remembered for surviving an accident in which an iron tamping rod was driven through his head. Following the accident, his physician, Dr. J. M. Harlow, reported changes in Gage's personality, sociality, and decision-making. Gage was reportedly much more disrespectful, profane, and aggressive. The original source material from Dr. Harlow may assist you in formulating your response: Harlow, J. M. (1848). Passage of an iron rod through the head. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 39, 389–393. Choose one (1) of the following to discuss:Links to an external site.
Phineas Gage's Story Link – https://www.uakron.edu/gage/story.dot
a. What brain regions were affected and how did Gage's injuries influence his emotional regulation? (MO 11.5)
b. How might his increase in aggressive behavior be explained? What would you do to design a “brain” intervention for aggression for Gage, using what we know today? (MO 11.5)
c. What diagnostic tests would be used today for diagnosis and what might they tell us? (MO 11.5)
Chapter 11: Emotions
1
Introduction
Emotion: To move or excite.
Movement evident in everyday expressions.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Emotion: The term emotion comes from the Latin word emovere, which means “to move or to excite.”
Movement evident in everyday expressions: Emotions signify the feelings associated with the perception of objects or events as being either a threat to one’s survival or the source of pleasure and enjoyment. These objects or events are perceived to create “movement” within the body.
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11.1 What Are Emotions? (1 of 8)
11.1.1 Emotions, Emotional Experience, and Emotional Expression
Automatic reactions to events.
Emotional experience: Subjective feelings.
Emotional expression: Overt behaviors.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.1.1: Define emotion, and differentiate between emotional experience and emotional expression.
Emotion: An automatic physiological, behavioral, and cognitive reaction to external or internal events.
Emotions are experienced in part through our interpretation of those bodily changes based on situational factors and past experiences.
Emotional experience: Subjective feelings that are labeled to identify particular emotions.
Sad and angry are labels that serve to identify the experience of particular emotions. These labels make sense to us relative to the context in which an emotion occurs.
Emotional expression: The covert and overt behaviors that accompany emotions.
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11.1 What Are Emotions? (2 of 8)
11.1.2 Theories of Emotion: Evolutionary Theory
Charles Darwin: Emotions and survival.
Importance of recognizing emotions.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.1.2: Describe the theories of emotion.
Evolutionary Theory: Charles Darwin: Charles Darwin thought that emotions were important for the survival of species and that they serve adaptive functions and are universal across cultures.
Importance of recognizing emotions: It is important to recognize emotions in others so that we can respond appropriately. For example, approaching someone who is displaying obvious expressions of extreme anger might be dangerous.
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11.1 What Are Emotions? (3 of 8)
11.1.2 Theories of Emotion: The James–Lange Theory
Physiological arousal and bodily changes.
Sensory stimuli processed by brain.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.1.2: Describe the theories of emotion.
Physiological arousal and bodily changes: The James–Lange Theory is a theory of emotions in which the sensory stimuli that compose certain sensory events directly result in bodily changes and emotions are the brain’s interpretation of these changes. According to this theory, the sensory stimuli that compose experiential events are processed by sensory areas of the brain. In response, the brain triggers increased activity in the autonomic and somatic nervous systems, giving rise to an increase in physiological arousal and muscle tension, respectively. According to the James-Lange theory, this process is not accompanied by emotional experience.
Sensory stimuli processed by brain: The emotion arises from the brain’s interpretation of these changes. That is, the sensory stimuli within the movie, after being processed by sensory areas of the brain, triggered the physiological arousal.
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11.1 What Are Emotions? (4 of 8)
11.1.2 Theories of Emotion: The Cannon-Bard Theory
Physiological arousal and emotional experience.
Different stimuli create different patterns.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.1.2: Describe the theories of emotion.
The Cannon-Bard Theory: A theory of emotions in which physiological arousal and emotional experience can occur at the same time and are independent of each other. Proposed that physiological arousal and emotional experience can occur at the same time and that they are independent from each other.
Different stimuli create different patterns: Different stimuli create different patterns of activity in the thalamus. It is these different patterns of activity that give rise to the wide range of emotions that can be experienced.
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11.1 What Are Emotions? (5 of 8)
11.1.2 Theories of Emotion: Schachter and Singer’s Two-Factor Theory
Physiological arousal and cognitive label.
Dictates type of emotion.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.1.2: Describe the theories of emotion.
Schachter and Singer’s Two-Factor Theory: A theory that proposes that sensory events directly trigger physiological arousal and that emotions are differentiated on the basis of a cognitive label applied to these physiological reactions. This cognitive label is consistent with the situational context in which the physiological arousal occurs.
Dictates type of emotion: It is this combination (physiological arousal + cognitive label) that dictates the type of emotion experienced.
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11.1 What Are Emotions? (6 of 8)
11.1.2 Theories of Emotion: Emotions Are Induced Partly by Patterns of Bodily Change
Stimulus: Variety of emotions.
Different patterns of bodily responses.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.1.2: Describe the theories of emotion.
Stimulus: Variety of emotions: A stimuli could trigger a variety of emotions in the participants.
Different patterns of bodily responses:
Each of these emotions is accompanied by different patterns of bodily responses.
Warmer colors that pull toward red show areas in which participants experienced increased activity, whereas colors that pull toward blue show areas in which participants reported experiencing low levels of activity.
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11.1 What Are Emotions? (7 of 8)
11.1.2 Theories of Emotion: Discrete and Dimensional Theories of Emotions
Discrete Theories: Basic emotions.
Dimensional Theories: Basic elements.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.1.2: Describe the theories of emotion.
Discrete Theories: Discrete theories of emotions: Theories in which a small set of emotions can be distinguished from one another and represented by particular response patterns in the brain, physiological processes, and facial expressions.
Basic emotions: A subset of discrete emotions thought to be universal across cultures.
Dimensional Theories: Theories in which emotions can be broken down into basic elements and individual differences exist in the way people experience emotions. Basic elements include:
Emotional valence, which is the perception of whether an emotion is pleasant (positive) or unpleasant (negative).
Arousal, which refers to how strongly an emotion is felt.
Potency, which refers to feelings of power or weakness.
Unpredictability, which is an appraisal of novelty.
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11.1 What Are Emotions? (8 of 8)
11.1.2 Theories of Emotion: The Theory of Constructed Emotions
Interoception: Brain sensing signals.
Categorization: Labeling signals.
Emotional experiences: Color perception.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.1.2: Describe the theories of emotion.
The Theory of Constructed Emotions: The theory that emotions are not hardwired entities but emerge into consciousness from interoception and categorization.
Interoception: The process by which the brain senses and integrates signals from the body.
Categorization: The process by which signals from the body are labeled using knowledge about emotions, past experiences, and the current situation.
Emotional experiences and color perception:
According to the theory of constructed emotions, emotional experiences arise from a process analogous to that of color perception.
That is, people perceive colors as discrete entities such as blue, green, red, etc.
However, out in the world, all that exist, relating to color perception, are wavelengths along the electromagnetic spectrum.
The perception of color is the result of the brain’s analysis of the pattern of excitation of photoreceptors on the retina, in the same way that emotional experiences result from the brain’s analysis of signals from the body, the current situation, and personal experiences.
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11.2 Emotions: Where in the Brain? (1 of 7)
11.2.1 Emotional Networks in the Brain: The Papez Circuit
Circuit processing emotions.
Limbic system: Processing emotions.
Brain parts and associated emotions.
Logistic regression.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.2.1: Identify the networks of brain areas involved in emotions.
Circuit processing emotions: The Papez Circuit is the circuit of brain areas once thought to be dedicated to processing emotions.
Within this circuit, the hypothalamus is responsible for the behavioral responses that are part of emotional expression.
Emotional experience is thought to be produced by the cingulate cortex.
The hypothalamus and the cingulate cortex are linked to each other through a loop that includes the hippocampus and the anterior thalamic nuclei.
This arrangement suggested a way in which emotional expression and emotional experience could be integrated.
Limbic system: A revised version of the Papez circuit that includes the amygdala, septum, and prefrontal cortex.
Paul McLean added the amygdala, septum, and prefrontal cortex to the list of structures proposed by Papez.
Evidence suggests that discrete emotions can be distinguished by patterns of brain activity that can be found in a meta-analysis.
In an analysis, five of the proposed basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust) were induced by presenting participants with emotionally arousing stimuli such as emotional pictures or emotional facial expressions while their brains were being scanned by either fMRI or positron emission tomography (PET).
Brain parts and associated emotions:
Happiness: Associated mainly with activity in the right superior temporal gyrus.
Sadness: Associated mostly with activity in the left medial frontal gyrus.
Anger: Associated mainly with activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus.
Fear: Associated mostly with activity in the left amygdala.
Disgust: Associated mostly with activity in the right insula and inferior frontal gyrus.
Logistic regression: Lindquist and colleagues obtained their results by using a statistical procedure known as logistic regression.
This procedure permitted the researchers to measure the probability that a particular emotion or component of an emotion would predict activity in a given brain area.
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11.2 Emotions: Where in the Brain? (2 of 7)
11.2.1 Emotional Networks in the Brain
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.2.1: Identify the networks of brain areas involved in emotions.
Figure 11.7: Results of a logistic regression that shows the odds that an emotional experience, expression, or component of an emotion, such as arousal level and perception, could predict activity in a brain area of interest. The rectangles contain the names of brain areas (amygdala, insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC], anterior temporal lobe [ATL], ventrolateral prefrontal cortex [VLPFC], dorsomedial prefrontal cortex [DMPFC], anterior medial cingulate cortex [aMCC], subgenual anterior cingulate cortex [sACC], and orbitofrontal cortex [OFC]). The blue lines represent the left hemisphere and the red lines represent the right hemisphere. Different emotions and components of emotions are written across the rings. The percentages represent the odds that an emotion or a component of emotions would trigger activity in a given brain area (lines going toward the periphery) or that it would not trigger activity in a given brain area (lines going toward the center). Points above zero represented odds of 100% that an area would be activated, whereas points below zero represented odds of 100% that an area would not be activated (see text for examples).
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11.2 Emotions: Where in the Brain? (3 of 7)
11.2.2 Emotions and the Amygdala
Klüver–Bucy syndrome.
Fear conditioning.
Amygdala in fear learning.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.2.2: Describe how the amygdala is involved in processing emotions.
Klüver–Bucy syndrome: A set of symptoms, including a loss of fear and flattened emotions, that follow the removal of the temporal lobes.
The amygdala is buried deep within the medial temporal lobes.
The role of the amygdala and emotions comes from studies involving a procedure known as fear conditioning.
Conditioned fears can also be expressed in exaggerated ways, resulting in psychological disorders such as phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Fear conditioning: A procedure in which animals (typically rats) are exposed to a mild foot shock simultaneously to hearing a tone, resulting in the conditioning of a fear response.
Amygdala in fear learning: The amygdala is subdivided into several areas that consist of particular cell nuclei: the lateral nucleus, the accessory basal nucleus, the central nucleus, and the basolateral nucleus.
Sensory information from the thalamus is relayed to the lateral nucleus.
The lateral nucleus sends projections to the central nucleus, both directly and by way of the accessory basal and basolateral nuclei.
Activation of the central nucleus leads to emotional responses such as freezing, increased autonomic system activity, and the release of cortisol through the central nucleus’s connections with the central gray matter, lateral hypothalamus, and basal nucleus of the stria terminalis, respectively.
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11.2 Emotions: Where in the Brain? (4 of 7)
11.2.2 Emotions and the Amygdala
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.2.2: Describe how the amygdala is involved in processing emotions.
Figure 11.8: (a) Top: The fear conditioning procedure. Bottom: Blood pressure measurements and the percentage of time the rats spent freezing at each stage of the procedure. (b) Example of how an aversive stimulus triggers activity along two pathways that each end up stimulating the amygdala. Along one pathway, the direct pathway, the thalamus connects directly with the amygdala. Along the other pathway, the indirect pathway, sensory information is routed to the amygdala through the cortex. (c) The amygdala is subdivided into several nuclei. The input to the amygdala is through the lateral nucleus. Its outputs, which give rise to responses associated with fear, are through the central nucleus. Also shown are the direct and indirect routes.
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11.2 Emotions: Where in the Brain? (5 of 7)
11.2.2 Emotions and the Amygdala
Sensory information.
Direct pathway: Thalamus to amygdala.
Indirect pathway: Thalamus to cortex.
Joseph Ledoux: Triggering of reactions.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.2.2: Describe how the amygdala is involved in processing emotions.
Sensory information: Thalamus: Sensory information that represents a potentially dangerous stimulus triggers activity in the amygdala, which results in the behavioral and physiological activation. It makes it to the amygdala along two pathways: direct and indirect.
Direct pathway (to the amygdala): Also known as the low road and “quick and dirty road”; brings sensory information from the thalamus directly to the amygdala.
Information in the direct pathway gives rise to a quick and reflexive response to potential threats.
Indirect pathway (to the amygdala): Also known as the high road and “slow but accurate road”; brings sensory information from the thalamus indirectly through the cortex.
The hippocampus is thought to further process the information along the indirect pathway by analyzing whether the information matches anything stored in memory so that a proper response can be prepared.
Whether activation of the amygdala was really worth it is assessed moments later along the indirect route, in which information is sent to the sensory cortices where it is analyzed and discriminated.
The outcome of this analysis is then transmitted to the amygdala.
If a stimulus indeed presents a danger, the amygdala’s response is accentuated.
If it does not present a danger, the amygdala’s response is attenuated.
Joseph Ledoux: Demonstrated how the direct pathway triggers emotional reactions, independent from the conscious analysis that takes place along the indirect pathway.
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11.2 Emotions: Where in the Brain? (6 of 7)
11.2.2 Emotions and the Amygdala
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.2.2: Describe how the amygdala is involved in processing emotions.
Figure 11.9: The low road along which sensory information is processed by the thalamus and sent directly to the amygdala. The low road is the direct pathway, also known as the “quick and dirty road.” Along the high road, information is sent from the sensory thalamus to the amygdala only after having been processed by the cortex. The high road is also known as the “slow but accurate road.”
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11.2 Emotions: Where in the Brain? (7 of 7)
11.2.3 Emotions and the Amygdala in Humans
Urbach–Wiethe disease.
Amygdala: Emotional facial expressions.
Subliminal stimuli: Not perceived.
Neurobiology and implicit racial prejudice.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.2.3: Explain how the amygdala is involved in the emotions of humans.
Urbach–Wiethe disease: A disease that causes the temporal lobes to degenerate because of a calcium build-up in the brain.
The disease has disintegrated SM’s amygdala on both sides of the brain.
The study of SM revealed that she cannot be conditioned to fear stimuli and shows a remarkable absence of fear when exposed to a variety of stimuli that usually provoke fear in other people.
Amygdala and emotional facial expressions:
Evidence for the involvement of the amygdala in processing emotional facial expressions was found in a study in which participants were presented with emotional facial expressions while their brains were being imaged by fMRI.
The amygdalas of participants responded to a significantly higher degree when facial expressions such as those depicting fear, anger, and disgust were shown, compared to those depicting happiness, neutral faces, and pictures of buildings
Subliminal stimuli: Stimuli that are not consciously perceived but that can nevertheless influence behavior. The conditioned stimulus, which consisted of a tone, was processed along the direct pathway, which carries sensory information from the thalamus directly to the amygdala.
Neurobiology and Implicit racial prejudice: Prejudice shown in people who do not endorse any form of prejudice toward other groups but who demonstrate a negative bias on evaluation. It is shown in people who do not consciously endorse any form of prejudice toward other groups but who show a negative bias on evaluation.
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11.3 Emotions and Decision Making: Beyond the Amygdala (1 of 2)
11.3.1 The Prefrontal Cortex
Phineas Gage: Prefrontal cortex function.
Effect of surgical removal of tumor.
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.3.1: Describe some of the functions of the prefrontal cortex in emotions.
Phineas Gage: A historical and prototypical case of prefrontal cortex function.
The prototype of emotional disturbances after damage to the prefrontal cortex is that of Phineas Gage.
Another brain area known to be involved in processing emotions is the prefrontal cortex.
Effect of surgical removal of tumor: Antonio Damasio, in his book Descartes’ Error, describes the case of Elliot, who suffered damage to the frontal lobes as a result of the surgical removal of a tumor.
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex: A part of the prefrontal cortex important for planning and judgment.
Suffered severe disruptions in decision making and in the ability to regulate their emotions, both of which depend on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
VMPFC plays a role in emotional regulation by dampening the activity of the amygdala.
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11.3 Emotions and Decision Making: Beyond the Amygdala (2 of 2)
11.3.2 The Somatic-Marker Hypothesis
Gut feeling.
Somatic marker: Biasing mechanism.
Skin conductance response (SCR).
The Iowa Gambling Task: Emotions and decision making.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.3.2: Explain the somatic-marker hypothesis.
Gut feeling: Somatic-marker hypothesis is the hypothesis that the unconscious activation of past emotional experiences informs decision making.
The hypothesis was developed in response to the observation that people with damage to the VMPFC are severely impaired in personal and social decision-making, leaving other intellectual abilities intact.
The decision-making impairments in these patients is thought to reflect their inability to use their emotions or gut feelings to help them make choices.
Somatic marker: The perception of physiological changes that act as a biasing mechanism in decision making.
According to the SMH, bodily changes induced by autonomic nervous system activity, as well as changes in posture and muscle tension that result from emotionally arousing stimuli, are stored within the brain as somatic markers (in the VMPFC).
Skin conductance response (SCR): A method for measuring the electrical conductance of the skin due to moisture produced by physiological arousal.
The Iowa Gambling Task: A task used to assess the role played by emotions in decision-making processes in brain-damaged patients.
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11.4 Aggression (1 of 3)
11.4.1 What Is Aggression?
Hostile social behavior.
Instrumental aggression: Predatory.
Impulsive aggression: Defensive.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.4.1: Define aggression as well as its different types.
Hostile social behavior: Aggression is a type of hostile social behavior aimed at inflicting damage or harm on others. But aggression is not a unitary trait. It is likely built up of several cognitive, behavioral, and genetic factors.
Instrumental aggression: Also known as predatory aggression; cold-blooded (unemotional), often premeditated actions directed toward others.
It is not associated with high levels of physiological arousal
In humans, instrumental aggression includes actions such as bullying, stalking, and premeditated murder.
Impulsive aggression: Also known as defensive or affective aggression; occurs in response to perceived threats.
It is often accompanied by fear or anger.
In contrast to instrumental aggression, impulsive aggression is emotion driven and associated with high levels of physiological arousal.
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11.4 Aggression (2 of 3)
11.4.2 Aggression in the Brain
Decortication: Removal of cortex.
Sham rage: Reactions and rage.
Walter R. Hess: Triggering ANS reactions.
John P. Flynn: Triggering aggression.
Gaskin, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1e. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
Satisfies Learning Objective 11.4.2: Identify some of the neurobiological bases of aggression.