Emotional Behaviors

What is Emotion?
 Psychologists define emotion in terms of three components
– Cognition
– Action
– Feeling
– http://www.goodnet.org/articles/7-astonishing-
facts-about-science-emotions-list#

The James-Lange Theory of Emotion

 Suggests that autonomic arousal and skeletal action occurs first in an
emotion
 The emotion felt is the label we give the arousal of the organs and
muscles

The James-Lange Theory of Emotion Explained

COMMONSENSE VIEW:
Frightening situation FEAR Running away, increased heart rate,etc

JAMES-LANGE THEORY:
Frightening situation Running away, increased heart rate,etc FEAR

The James-Lange Theory of Emotion Predictions

 James-Lange theory leads to two
predictions:
– People with a weak autonomic or skeletal response should
feel less emotion
– Increasing one’s response should enhance an emotion.
Emotions and Autonomic Arousal – Pure Autonomic Failure
 Research findings
– Paralyzed people report feeling emotion to
the same degree as prior to their injury

 Pure autonomic failure

– Output from autonomic nervous system to body fails
– People with this condition report feeling same emotions, but less intensely
• Suggests other factors are involved in the perception of emotion.
Emotions and Autonomic Arousal –BOTOX
 BOTOX blocks transmissions at synapses and nerve-muscle junctions
• People with BOTOX injections report:
– Weaker than usual emotional responses after watching short videos
• Implies body change is important part of feeling an emotion.

 However, people with certain types of brain damage show normal emotional
responses.

Is Physiological Arousal Sufficient for Emotions?

 According to the James-Lange theory, emotional feelings result from the body’s
Actions.

 Panic attacks are marked by intense sympathetic nervous system arousal (rapid
heartbeat, fast breathing, etc.)
– Only if perceived as occurring spontaneously.

Is Physiological Arousal Sufficient for Emotions? (cont’d.)

 Creating certain body actions may also slightly influence emotion
– Smiling slightly increases happiness
– 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, body’s actions are not required
– Example: Möbius syndrome

Effect of Facial Expression on Emotion

 Möbius Syndrome

Is Emotion a Useful Concept?

 An emotion is usually considered a coherent “whole”
– However, it has three or more aspects (cognition, feeling and action)
– All aspects do not always occur together.
Is Emotion a Useful Concept? – The Limbic System
 Emotional experiences arouse many areas of the brain
 The limbic system includes the forebrain areas surrounding the thalamus
– Traditionally regarded as critical for emotion
• PET and fMRI studies suggest particular cortical areas are activated during an
emotional experience

Is Emotion a Useful Concept? – Brain Imaging Studies

 Recent review of brain imaging studies indicated no strong evidence exists for
localization of emotions
– No brain area is critical for emotion in general without contributing to other
behavioral aspects.

Theory of Lisa Feldman Barrett

 Emotions are a category in the same sense that weeds are a category
– Nothing in nature makes weeds different from flowers
– Perception (for weeds) and social construct (for emotion) are the distinguishing
factors

Do People Have a Limited Number of Basic Emotions?

 Main support for the idea of basic emotions
– Facial expressions exist for happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust,
surprise, and perhaps other emotions
 We rarely interpret emotion based solely on facial expressions
– Two or more emotions can be present in a single facial expression
– Context and gestures important

Do People Have a Limited Number of Basic Emotions? (cont’d.)

 An alternative view
– Emotional feelings vary along two continuous dimensions

 Example: weak to strong, pleasant to unpleasant, approach versus avoid.

Decision-Making after Brain Damage that Impairs Emotions

 Damage to parts of the prefrontal cortex blunts emotions
– Impairs decision-making
– Leads to impulsive decision-making without pausing to consider consequences •
 Those with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex show:
– Inconsistent preferences
– Decreased guilt and trust
Emotions and Autonomic Arousal
 Emotional situations arouse the autonomic nervous system
 Most situations evoke a combination of sympathetic and parasympathetic arousal

Attack and Escape Behaviors
 Attack and escape behaviors and corresponding emotions (anger and fear)
– Closely related physiologically and behaviorally

Attack Behaviors
 Attack behaviors depend on the individual and the situation

Effect of Hormones – Aggressive Behavior

 Male aggressive behavior heavily depends on testosterone
– Young men have highest rates of aggressive behaviors and violent crimes

 On average, men engage in more aggressive and violent behaviors than women

 Aggressive behavior depends on ratio of testosterone to cortisol

– Cortisol inhibits violent impulses

Serotonin Synapses and Aggressive Behavior

 Impulsiveness and aggressive behavior have been linked to low serotonin
release
 Serotonin turnover
– The amount of serotonin that neurons released, absorbed, and replaced
– Measured by the concentration of 5-HIAA in the cerebrospinal fluid

Serotonin Synapses and Aggressive Behavior – Studies (cont’d.)

 Studies in humans
– Low serotonin turnover found in people with history of violent behavior
-Arson
- Suicide by violent means
 Relationship between serotonin and aggression is small
– Cannot be used to make predictions about an individual

Environment Factors in Violence

 Environmental factors associated with increased violent tendencies
– Witness or victim of violence in childhood
– Living in a violent neighborhood
– Exposure to lead

Genetic Factors in Violence

 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
 Genes influence violent behavior in many ways, including autonomic arousal
  Attempts to find a strong link between aggression and a specific gene have
failed

Interaction of Genetics and Environment in Violence

 Interaction between genetics and childhood environment shows strong link to
aggression
– Example: interaction between MAOA levels and childhood maltreatment

Fear and Anxiety

 Proneness to approach, avoidance, and anxiety varies with the situation and the
individual
 Role of the amygdala
– Important for enhancing the startle reflex
 Startle reflex
– Extremely fast response to unexpected loud noises

Fear and Anxiety – Startle Reflex

 Auditory information stimulates an area of the pons that commands tensing of
neck and other muscles
– Information reaches the pons within 3 to 8 milliseconds
– Startle response occurs within two-tenths of a second

Fear and Anxiety – Startle Reflex (cont’d.)

 Startle reflex is more vigorous if already tense
 Startle reflex can be used as a behavioral measure of anxiety
– Can be used with laboratory animals to explore brain mechanisms

The Amygdala and Studies of Rodents

 Cells in the amygdala get input from pain fibers, vision, and hearing
 Different paths through the amygdala responsible for fear of pain, fear of
predators, and fear of aggressive members of same species
 One part of the amygdala controls breathing changes
– Another helps identify safe places

The Amygdala and Studies of Rodents (cont’d.)

 Output from the amygdala controls autonomic fear responses
– Also controls avoidance and approach responses
 Rat with damage to amygdala shows normal startle reflex
– Signals presented before the noise do not modify reflex

Long-Term Fear and Anxiety

 If a person is attacked or has a fearful experience, he/she becomes fearful in a
wide variety of circumstances
 Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis
– Brain area that controls long-term, generalized emotional arousal

Studies of Monkeys – Kluver-Bucy Syndrome

 Kluver-Bucy syndrome
– Damage to the amygdala
– Monkeys with this syndrome are tame/placid
 Display less than normal fear of snakes and larger, more dominant monkeys •
Have impaired social behaviors, including learning what to fear
  Non-damaged monkeys with a vigorously active amygdala show fear to noise/
intruder.

Response of the Human Amygdala to Visual Stimuli

 fMRI studies show the amygdala responds strongly to photos that arouse fear or
photos of faces showing fear
– Response is stronger 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

Individual Differences in Amygdala Response and Anxiety

 People’s tendency toward anxiety remains fairly consistent over time
 People with genes for reduced serotonin uptake have increased responses to
threat
 Soldiers with initial high levels of amygdala response showed more combat
stress
 Anxiety depends on more than just the amygdala
– Reappraisal as coping mechanism

Damage to the Human Amygdala

 In humans, amygdala damage does not result in the loss of emotion
 Effects of damage
– Individuals can classify emotional pictures without difficulty
– Individuals experience little arousal from viewing unpleasant photos

A recent episode of the NPR show Invisibilia featured a woman who suffers from a rare
disorder that left her amygdalae calcified. The patient, who goes by the initials S.M.,
does not report experiencing fear, a fact that would seem to solidify the connection
between anatomy and emotions. But in 2013, researchers were able to trigger a fear
response in S.M. and other patients with amygdala damage by having them inhale
carbon dioxide. This makes the body feel like it’s suffocating, and the so-called
“fearless” patients panicked, much as anyone would.

Urbach-Wiethe Disease
 Rare genetic condition that causes calcium to accumulate in the amygdala until it
wastes away
 Case study of person called SM
– Experiences fearlessness
– Correctly drew faces with various emotions but had trouble drawing a fearful
face
– Did not generally look at people’s eyes
– Lack of fear is dangerous to her

Recognizing Facial Expressions

 Amygdala damage affects the ability to recognize facial expressions of fear or
disgust
– When recognized, rated as less intense than other people
Stress and the General Adaptation Syndrome
 Hans Selye (1979) defined stress as the non-specific response of the body to
any demand made upon it
 General adaptation syndrome: threats to the body activate a general response
to stress

Stages in the General Adaptation Syndrome

 Alarm stage: increased sympathetic nervous system activity
 Resistance stage: sympathetic response declines; adrenal cortex continues
releasing cortisol and other hormones to prolong alertness
 Exhaustion stage: occurs after prolonged stress; individual no longer has
energy to sustain responses

Stress and the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Cortex Axis

 Stress activates two systems in the body:
– The sympathetic nervous system: “fight or flight” response that prepares the
body for brief emergency responses

– The HPA axis: the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal cortex

Stress and the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Cortex Axis (cont’d.)

 The HPA axis becomes the dominant response to prolonged stressors
 Activation of the hypothalamus induces the pituitary gland to secrete
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
– Stimulates the adrenal cortex to secrete cortisol
 Cortisol helps to mobilize energies to fight a difficult situation

The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Cortex Axis

HYPOTHALAMUS

Releasing factor

Anterior pituitary

ACTH
(through blood)

Adrenal Cortex

Cortisol

Prolonged Stress Response

 Produces symptoms similar to depression
 Weakens the immune system
 Can harm the hippocampus
 – Toxins or overstimulation more likely to damage or kill neurons in the
hippocampus

Controlling Stress Responses

 Studies in mice have revealed genes that relate to being more
vulnerable or more resilient
 Methods to control stress responses
– Breathing routines, exercise, meditation, distraction, and
addressing issues
– Social support from a loved one helps to reduce stress
• Reduces response in several brain areas, including the
prefrontal cortex

Resilience
 People’s responses to stress vary
 What determines resilience?
– Genes
– Social support
– Physical health
– Previous stressful experiences
 Resilience is not easy to investigate