1. Emotion and Social Cognition

2. Plan
Today: Emotion and social cognition - mostly amygdala damage (already talked about orbitofrontal)

3. What is emotion? William James (James-Lang)
Specific pattern of autonomic arousal  Particular emotion experienced

4. Stanley Schacter Two-factor theory
Emotional experience = physiological arousal and the attribution of a cause
Different emotions based on context

6. Emotion and Social Cognitive Neuroscience
Review paper by Adolphs (online)
Understanding each others’ intentions
Active topics of research
Social interaction
Responding to the environment normally
Empathy
Intention
Action
Simulation (mirror neurons)
Studying these in disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, psychopathology, Williams syndrome, patients with lesions to specific brain areas, etc…

7. Historically James Papez, 1937
Emotion circuit – hypothalamus, anterior thalamus, cingulate, hippocampus
Limbic structures --> hypothalamus
Basically no role for cortex
Mc Lean --> added amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex and --> the limbic system

8. Earlier neuroscientific models of emotions tended to involve: evolutionarily early systems, primarily subcortial regions, simple, innate, automatic processes
Modern theories also consider higher-order aspects, learned associations, cortical regions (as opposed to only innate/subcortical) – e.g., LeDoux & Brown, 2017

9. Several brain areas involved
Amygdala
Cingulate
Orbitofrontal (medial prefrontal)
Insula
Inferior frontal/Premotor
Somatosensory
Parietal
Superior temporal
Fusiform

10. Theory of mind
The Sally-Ann Task

11. Orbitofrontal (Tue) E.g. Phineas Gage
Change in personality and emotionality
Irresponsibility, lack of concern
Decision-making, control
Social context is one criterion for selection of action

14. Amygdala criticial for conditioning
Fear conditioning
Amygdala criticial for conditioning

15. Amygdala lesions in monkey
“Kluver-Bucy Syndrome”
Amygdala +
Bizarre oral behaviors: stick odd things in mouth
Hyperactive and hypersexual -- making physical contact with almost anything in the environment
Previously wild, monkeys became tame and showed no fear when handled by humans, or saw snakes

16. Selective amygdala lesions in monkey
2 weeks, return to mothers, 6-8 mo.
Loss of neophobia.
Loss of snake fear.
In the presence of snake

17. Amygdala and fear What about the human brain?
Recordings from human amygdala neurons
Amygdala damaged patients and fear processing

20. from R. Adolphs

21. Human Amygdala Lesions
Patient S.M.

22. Patient S.M. Urbach-Weithe disease
very rare; autosomal recessive congenital disease
lipoid storage disease
mostly dermatological symptoms
sometimes mental retardation
more than half have bilaterally symmetrical amygdala damage
S.M.: Nearly complete bilateral calcification of amygdala, spared hippocampus, neocortex
Poor decision making in life - “too friendly”
Indications of impaired fear processing - is reportedly not disturbed at all during movies such as “The Shining”

23.
Heider & Simmel, 1944

26. Emotion from Faces
fear surprise anger disgust happiness sadness

30. Amgydala and Fear
Happy
Surprised
Afraid
Angry
Disgusted
Sad

31. The amygdala’s role in judging the trustworthiness
& approachability of people from their faces

32. Norm: Normal controls, Ctrl: Non-amygdala lesioned patients
Right, Left, Bilat. : Amygdala lesioned patients
Winston et al. 2002, Nature Neurosci

33. Norm: Normal controls, Ctrl: Non-amygdala lesioned patients
Right, Left, Bilat. : Amygdala lesioned patients
Winston et al. 2002, Nature Neurosci

34. Approachable? Trustworthy?

35. Impaired in recognizing fear Impaired in recognizing trustworthiness
What features within faces are the basis for these social judgments?
Adolphs et al. 2005

40. Information used by normal subjects Information used by subject SM

41. Difference image: S.M. is mainly not using information from the eyes in fear perception

42. For other emotions, S.M. and controls don’t show this difference

45. Is impaired in recognizing fear in faces
S.M.
Is impaired in recognizing fear in faces
Doesn’t spontaneously look at the eyes
Doesn’t use information about the eyes
Eyes are most important for recognizing fear

46. Is impaired in recognizing fear in faces
S.M.
Is impaired in recognizing fear in faces
Doesn’t spontaneously look at the eyes
Doesn’t use information about the eyes
Eyes are most important for recognizing fear
SO….
What if we tell her to look at the eyes?

51. The ability to perceive fear is not what is lost

52. Amygdala’s role in fear in the human brain is not simple !