Biopsychology of Emotion, Stress, and Health

27 important questions on Biopsychology of Emotion, Stress, and Health

Why is biopsychological research mostly concentrated on fear? (3 reasons)

1. Easiest emotion among species.
2. Plays adaptive function in motivating avoidance of threatening.
3. Chronic fear induces stress.

What is the limbic theory of emotion?

That emotion is controlled by the limbic system, a special circuit of structures.

What are the three main ideas of Darwins evolution theory concerning emotion?

1. Expression of emotion evolve from behaviors that indicate that the animal will do next.
2. If these signals benefit the animal, it may develop further and original function may be lost.
3. Opposite messages are often signaled by opposite movements.
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What is the modern biopsychological view on perception of fear?

The perception of fear, the feeling of fear and the physiological responses are ale elicited at the same time and all three influence the other two.

What did Bard conclude from the Sham Rage cats?

The hypothalamus is critical for the expression of agressive responses.
The cortex's function is to inhibit and direct these repsonses.

How can the Duchenne smile be distinguished from a fake smile?

Duchenne smile:

- contraction of the orbicularis oculi
- contraction of the zygomaticus major

What are contemporary perspectives on facial expressions?

1. Content and fear is also a primary emotion.
2. Not all emotions can be mixed from the primary emotions.

What are the differences between agressive and defensive behaviors?

Defensive behaviors: To protect the own from threat or harm.
Agressive: To threaten or harm the other.

On what 3 criteria are the categories of agressive and defensive in rat behavior based?

1. Topography
2. Eliciting situations
3. Apparent function

Are higher blood testosteron levels associated with more agression in humans?

No, because people are not more agressive in puberty.
No, because castrated people are not less agressive than normal people.
No, it is not increased by blood testosteron injections.

What are two flaws in the study of human agression?

1. Blood testosterone is measured, which is not a good indicator. There should be looked at brain levels instead.
2. Humans mostly exert defensive agerssion which is classified as agressive behavior.

What is the definition of fear conditioning?

1. The establishment of fear in response to a previously neutral stimulus by presenting it with another stimulus.

Which two circuits in the brain are thought to condition fear?

Mediate geniculate nucleus to: 
1. Auditory cortex - amygdala - PAG
2. Amygdala - hypothalamus

Which structure in the brain plays a role in contextual fear conditioning?

Hippocampus.

How do the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus project to the amygdala?

1. Prefrontal cortex: suppresses conditioned fear.
2. Hippocampus: contextual learning of fear conditioning.

What is the difference between short-term and long-term stress?

1. Short-term: It produces adaptive changes that help the animal respond to stressor.
2. Long-term: Produces maladaptive changes.

Explain the anterior-pituitary adrenal-cortex system.

The anterior ptuitary releases ACTH. 
ACTH triggers the release of glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex.

Besides the ap-ac system we have another system for stress response. Which one?

The sympathetic-nervous-system adrenal-medulla system. 
The sympathetic nervous system increases the amount of noradrenaline and adrenaline in the human body.

What else is released in stress response that can cause inflammation?

Cytokines, they cause inflammation and fever.

What is subordination stress?

A specific threat that becomes an enduring feature of daily life.

How can gastric ulcers be induced?

By the H.pylori, however, when people get chronic stress they will become much more susceptible towards gastric ulcers.

What are distress and eustress?

Distress is stress that disrupts health or other aspects of functioning.
Eustress improve health or other aspects of functioning.

Which brain structure is the most susceptible to stress and why?

The hippocampus, because of its high density of glucocorticoids.

How does stress influence brain structure?

1. It reduces dendritic branching.
2. Reduces adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus.
3. Disrupts performance of hippocampus-dependent tasks.

Which three points helped advance the knowledge of brain structure due to brain imaging?

1. There is not a center for emotion- more structures.
2. Always activity in the motor and sensory cortex when a person experiences/empathizes emotion.
3. Simlar patterns of brain function are experienced when a persons feels an emotion, imagines an emotion or sees someone else experience that emotion.

What is the Urbach Wiethe disease?

A genetic disorder that results in calcification of the amygdala and surrounding structures. Facial expressions are more difficult to recognize.

Two prominent models for lateralization of emotion

1. Right-hemisphere model; right hemisphere for emotion.
2. Valence model; right = negative and left is positive emotion.

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