mood
diffuse, longlasting emotional states.
emotion
immediate responses to specific object or situation.
the neural basis of love
neurotransmitters
neurohormones
Neurohormones are a class of hormones that originate from neurons in the brain and diffuse through the bloodstream
The endocrine and nervous systems act individually and together in regulating physiology
the hypothalamus and emotion
pituitary gland and emotion
posterior pituitary and emotion
anterior pituitary and emotion
oxytocin
milk production, male ejaculation, etc.
insel & Young
Performed experiments on two breeds of voles
- Prairie vole (monogamous, pair bond after mating).
- Montane vole (promiscuous).
A. Prairie voles: greater expression of OT receptors in nucleus acumbens and prelimbic cortex
B. Differential behaviour patterns of female voles following mating
C. Blocking of partner preference in female prairie voles by OT antagonist infusions
Bertels & Zeki
Activation during both romantic and maternal love includes a set of structures that are rich in oxytocin receptor sites. Caudate, globus pallidus, hippocampus, hypothalamus, putamen, substantia nigra etc etc
Many of these sites are also implicated in cocaine induced euphoria (eg. Mandeville et al, 2011).
dimensions of emotion
- Arousal ○ High arousal = excited, tense. ○ Low= calm, lethargic - Valence ○ Positive= elated, contented ○ Negative= sad, gloomy. -
theories of emotion
saussignan’s experiement
Asked participants to hold a pencil in their mouth either using their teeth, in a smile, or by holding it between their lips, preventing them from smiling.
Found that alteration of facial expressions can lead to changes in the subjective experience of emotions.
cannon-bard
Visceral changes occur too slowly to precede emotional experience.
thus, emotion happens first and the body responds to this emotion.
evolutionary perspective on emotion
Charles Darwin.
- Emotions are functional (fight or flight) and confer survival advantage. - Facial signals are universal. - Facial signals of emotion are not arbitrary. - Emotions are categorical: i.e. they have evolved in response to distinct evolutionary pressures and fulfill different functions.
ekman
Claimed that facial expressions are universal and the 7 basic expressions consist of happiness, surprise, contempt, sadness, fear, disgust, anger.
In general westerners are better at recognizing emotion.
susskind et al.
fear and the amygdala
Lesions in monkeys found that when the amygdala was damaged they showed less fear.
blind sighted patients and fear
insula
facial feedback hypothesis
evidence supports James-Lange theory.