Emotion and Aggression part 2 What are some behavioral cognitive consequences of damage to the amygdala People can still feel emotions Impairment in focusing on emotional details as opposed to other details Impairment in processing emotional info when it is complicated or subtle or ambiguous o Difficult to recognize fear What do twin studies and adoption studies tell us about the role of heredity in aggressive behavior What about when we look at certain genes like that for MAO MAO breaks down monoamines such as dopamine and serotonin o MAOA status matters a little huge interaction w environment o Low MAOA activity and childhood mistreatment antisocial behavior Fraternal and identical twins were equal in adolescent delinquent behavior o Means it is more environmental than genetic Fraternal twins identical twins in adult crimes o Meaning more genetic the genetic contribution o Adults have more control over their environment therefore magnifying the influence of Adopted children show the most aggressive behavior when biological parents have a criminal tendencies AND there is dysfunction in the adoptive family What is the potential contribution of 1 smoking while pregnant 2 low serotonin turnover and 3 high testosterone to aggressive behavior Is testosterone working all by itself to alter aggressive behavior Is testosterone important in terms of aggression in males females or both Smoking during pregnancy is correlated with increased likelihood of son to be arrested for violent criminal activities in adolescence and early adulthood o Effects are magnified when combined with issues during delivery o Animal studies show that prenatal nicotine exposure impairs brain development Serotonin turnover amount of serotonin used and replaced o In mice less serotonin turnover means more aggressive behavior When mice were isolated for 4 weeks their overall aggressiveness increased and serotonin turnover decreased o Male monkeys in natural environment lowest serotonin turnover most aggressive most injured earlier death Female monkeys with low serotonin turnover also more likely to get injured and die earlier Testosterone aggression young for male violence o Animals males fight over mates females fight to defend their o Men fight more than women 15 25 years of age is most common Also the time when testosterone is highest o interacts with other chemicals to alter behavior Alcohol along with testosterone seems to increase aggressiveness Balance of testosterone serotonin which decreases impulses and cortisol a decrease of which decreases inhibitions is important Is the role of testosterone due to organizational or activational effects of the hormone Testosterone acts BOTH organizationally and activationally in both males and females What are some aspects of a face that are important in recognizing the emotion it is expressing What is different about the normal brain compared to the psychopathic brain eyes and mouth teeth Normal brain vs psychopathic o Paired pictures of men s faces w a painful stimulus to establish a conditioned emotional response brain activity o NORMAL SUBJECTS left Autonomic signs of emotional conditioning activation in amygdala insula part of prefrontal cortex o PSYCHOPATHIC SUBJECTS right no signs of emotional conditioning little to no By the way evolutionarily what is the general role of aggression In other words what is the most common cause of aggression think of intermale aggression specifically Evolutionary reasoning o Selects for intermediate aggressiveness bad to have too much fear but also bad to have too much aggression o High risk high payoff there is a high risk dying young but also a high payoff of becoming the dominant male which allows them to mate more or the dominant female allows them to get more food for herself and her offspring o Psychological and social stressors traffic relationships careers mortgage etc Stress and Health What is a stressor Anything that throws the body out of allostatic balance o Acute physical stressors lions physical threats o Chronic physical stressors famine drought parasites What is allostasis A range of measures appropriate for a situation o Ex sleep vs bungee jumping o As opposed to homeostasis maintenance of one optimal level What are the 3 stages of a stress response 1 Alarm sympathetic nervous system activates 2 Resistance decreased SNS activity increased immune functions 3 Exhaustion person is tired inactive vulnerable to illness What is the role of the sympathetic NS in the stress response Sympathetic nervous system is activated during the alarm stage SNS decrease leads to increased HPA activity cortisol other hormones for maintaining prolonged alertness increased immune function to fight infections to heal wounds What is the HPA and what is its role in the stress response HPA hypothalamus pituitary gland adrenal cortex o Hypothalamus makes CRH Pituitary makes ACTH adrenal secretes cortisol increase in blood sugar metabolism Activated with prolonged stressors o Beneficial in the short term detrimental in the long term Why do you feel terrible during finals week Powerful inescapable temporary stress body reacts like illness w increased immune activity The body increases production of natural killer cells a type of white blood cell for fighting infections and cytokines o Cytokines help fight infections but they are also the body s way of telling the brain you are sick so you have sickness syndrome fever exhaustion decreased appetite This also tires your immune system so when challenged with an actual bacterium or virus it will be ill equipped to handle it What are some factors that affect the stress response Individual s perception of their own ability to cope with stress Intensity of the stressor novel environment vs life threatening situation Individual s control over the stressor Duration of stressor Personality traits individuals with high anxiety are more likely to show impaired memory after stressor Sex males more affected than young females Age older more vulnerable to deleterious effects of stress than younger early stress might not show cognitive effect until later in life What are some effects of long term stress Hippocampal damage Decreased libido in women Inhibits menstrual cycle Decreased sexual performance in men Decreased immune function constantly feeling sick or being sick Increased blood sugar o Leads to kidney damage neurological damage and cardiovascular disease How does stress affect the hippocampus and
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