The Brain Emotion and Motivation Prof: T. Curwen

~ Behind every crooked thought is a crooked molecule `anonymous

Overview Basics on the brain Areas of brain involved in emotion Neurochemicals/neuropeptides Neuroscience studies of emotion

Plasticity Brains ability to repair itself Children’s brains show most plasticity Plasticity depends on extent of affect –Damaged –Destroyed

How the Brain is Studied 1) Brain Lesioning Abnormal disruption Produced –Surgically removing –Destroying with laser –Injecting a drug

2) Staining ~

EEG

Brain Imaging

PET and MRI scans

Structures of the Brain 3 major regions –Hindbrain – (next to the top of the spinal cord) –Midbrain – (above the hindbrain) –Forebrain - (uppermost region of the brain)

Hindbrain

Midbrain

Forebrain

3 Brain Regions

Limbic system Forebrain Memory and emotion Determines what information stays in the cortex 2 primary structures Amygdala Hippocampus object discrimination Storage of memories Emotions

Forebrain Multimedia Mgr. 2004

Amygdala

Hippocampus

Hypothalamus

Thalamus

Information movement To cortices

Hemispheres Cerebral cortex is divided into 2 hemispheres

Cerebral Cortex Most recently developed Highest mental functions occur here Connected to other parts of the brain Millions of connections to other parts of the brain

Corpus callosum

Lobes Each hemisphere is divided into 4 lobes –Occipital lobe –Temporal lobe –Frontal lobe –Parietal lobe

Occipital lobe – visual stimuli

Temporal lobe hearing, language processing, memory

Frontal lobe voluntary muscles, intelligence, language, planning, judgement, ?personality Prefrontal cortex – executive control (thought)

Parietal lobe – spatial, attention, motor control

Brain Division

Brain Regions and Responsibilities

Emotion hemispheric damage detect lies Does it matter which hemisphere is damaged?

Why does Neuroscience matter? get theoretical insights from neuroscience understand emotional processes that are hard to study evolutionary approach

Davidson all behavior is approach and avoidance How study without neuroscience? Evidence –Hemisphere –Children –Other research

Depression in brain Melancholia Anhedonia Hemisphere dominance

Dalai Lama Meditation –Does it change the brain? –Davidson study

Summary

The Amygdala and Unconscious Emotional Processing

LeDoux –unconscious affective appraisal system –Support/Research –Amygdala What happens when you knock out the amygdala

Knock out Knock out amygdala in monkeys Inappropriate emotional responses Do not learn from mistakes

Amygdala vs. Hippocampus out the amygdala but not the hippocampus can’t track the emotional significance of stimuli Can’t compare stimulus –Hippocampus – memory Brain responds to faces

Direct route to action Limbic system Action Stimuli/input

Unconscious emotion LeDoux Classical conditioning amygdala tracks emotional meaning infantile amnesia

D’Amasio Somatic marker hypothesis Feedback Research –Frontal lobe damage –Gut feeling, intuition

Neuropeptides Oxytocin Dopamine Norepinephrine Serotonin

Oxytocin and LOVE Love vs. desire Oxytocin released when touched Women have 7x’s more oxytocin Oxytocin promotes monogomy Chocolate and oxytocin