Introduction to Psychology Emotion, feeling and attention Prof Introduction to Psychology Emotion, feeling and attention Prof. Jan Lauwereyns jan@sls.kyushu-u.ac.jp

The expression of the emotions in man and animals Charles Darwin, The expression of the emotions in man and animals What are emotions? How are they useful to humans and other animals?

Damasio’s 3 types of consiousness Proto-self Homeostasis Core consciousness Awareness, attention Extended consciousness Memory, language, reasoning

Patient with tic douloureux after small lesion to cut incoming fibers to frontal cortex

Two theories of emotion: which comes first? Expression or experience? James and Lange: the expression Cannon and Bard: the experience

The limbic system: Papez Circuit

Problems with Papez circuit Single emotion concept, too simplistic Hippocampus: no longer primarily associated with emotional function – rather memory (but not entirely wrong either, cf. fear conditioning, and the role of reward/punishment in memory and learning) Doesn’t mention other structures that are important for emotion – e.g., amygdala (fear, aggression) and the dopamine system (reward)

The amygdala

When the amygdala don’t work as they are supposed to… Buried in the temporal lobe – Klüver-Bucy syndrome Psychic blindness Oral tendencies Altered sexual behaviour Emotional changes (decrease in fear) Specific amygdala lesions Similar observations “Flattened” emotions (Pribram and the ex-alpha males) Stimulation of the amygdala Increased vigilance Combination of fear and violent aggression

Negative Avoidance Negative Fear Serotonin Amygdala to Frontal cortex Approach Positive Desire Dopamine Ventral striatum (Nucleus accumbens) to Frontal cortex Ventral stream of information processing -> deciding whether to approach or avoid

Negative, positive Avoidance Negative Fear Serotonin Amygdala to Frontal cortex Approach Positive Desire Dopamine Ventral striatum (Nucleus accumbens) to Frontal cortex Ventral stream of information processing -> deciding whether to approach or avoid

Negative, positive Avoidance Negative Fear Serotonin Amygdala to Frontal cortex Approach Positive Desire Dopamine Ventral striatum (Nucleus accumbens) to Frontal cortex Ventral stream of information processing -> deciding whether to approach or avoid

Reinforcement and Reward Electrical Self-stimulation (Olds & Milner)

What is this man in danger of?

The case of Phineas Gage & Top-down control of emotions Frontal lobotomy (Dr Egas Moniz, Nobel prize and Poetic justice) Top-down control from prefrontal cortex onto amygdala etc. - incorporating social context in decision-making - abstract or complex types of reward representation - inhibition of inappropriate responses