The Social And Emotional Brain
Emotions also play a crucial role for guiding social behavior in most social species, including humans and primates. This chapter considers various theories of emotion, both historical and contemporary, and then places these theories into the context of the known neuroscientific basis of emotional processing. It shows that how the same brain networks are used to process both social stimuli as well as nonsocial stimuli with affective properties. The chapter also considers how social information is extracted from facial expressions and eye gaze. Evidence for the neural basis of theory of mind has come from several sources: functional imaging studies of neurotypical participants, studies of neurodevelopmental differences (primarily autism), and behavioral studies of patients with brain lesions.
Multiple Choice Questions
Flashcards
Part of the limbic system, implicated in learning the emotional value of stimuli (e.g. in fear conditioning)
A variant of autism linked to normal-to-high intelligence
The presence of markedly abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication, and a markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests
Different categories of emotions assumed to be independent of culture and with their own biological basis (in terms of evolution and neural substrate)
An account of autism in which the social difficulties are considered as a consequence of mirror-system dysfunction
People report that their acquaintances (spouse, family, friends and so on) have been replaced by " body doubles."
Theory centered on the hypothalamus’ role in emotions in which bodily responses occur after the emotion itself
Other members of the same species
A state associated with stimuli that are rewarding (i.e. that one works to obtain) or punishing (i.e. that one works to avoid). These stimuli often have an inherent survival value
The ability to appreciate others’ points of view and share their experiences
External motor outcomes in the face and body associated with emotional states
Learning that a previously rewarded stimulus is no longer rewarded
A belief that differs from one’s own belief and that differs from the true state of the world
A region of cortex buried beneath the temporal lobes; involved in body perception and contains the primary gustatory cortex; responds to disgust
A sensory system for monitoring the internal state of the body (e.g. heart rate)
The self-perception of bodily changes produces emotional experience (e.g. one is sad because one cries)
In monkeys after bilateral amygdala and temporal lesions, an unusual tameness and emotional blunting; a tendency to examine objects with the mouth; and dietary changes
Neural circuits or regions that disregard the distinction between self and other
An emotional state that is extended over time (e.g. anxiety is a mood and fear is an emotion)
Emotions that are related to the behavior of oneself (in relation to others) or the behavior of others (in relation to oneself or others)
EEG oscillations at 8–13 Hz over sensory-motor cortex that are greatest when participants are at rest
The process of sharing the emotions or mental states of others
The process of inferring or attributing mental states to others
A limbic-based circuit that was once thought to constitute a largely undifferentiated " emotional" brain
Changes in electrical conductivity on a person’s skin, triggered by certain stimuli (e.g. emotional or familiar stimuli)
Skin conductance response (SCR)
The theory that we come to understand others (their emotions, actions, mental states) by vicariously producing their current state in ourselves
The ability to represent the mental states of others (e.g. their beliefs, desires, intentions)
Part of the basal ganglia that includes the nucleus accumbens; involved in a " limbic circuit" connecting the orbitofrontal cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus
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