Download Central Emotional System

Central systems involved in
emotional behavior
April 2004
Central Coordination between:
Autonomic Functions & Ongoing Behavior
N. of the solitary tract modulates the autonomic
functions:
 Visceral inputs from VII, IX & X (gustatory,
vestibular).
 Projections to brain stem and spinal autonomic
reflexes, like the motor vagal n.
 Projections to more complex behavioral &
endocrine centers like the hypothalamus &
parabrachial n.
Central Coordination
Visceral sensory
distribution in CNS
to preganglionic n.
& forebrain
Cortex
Amygdala
Hypothalamus
n. ambiguus
Ventrolateral medula
Periaqueductal g.
Parabrachial
Vagal n.
n. Solitary
track
Central Coordination between:
Autonomic Functions and Ongoing Behavior
Parabrachial n.:
 Visceral inputs from the solitary tract and descending
inputs from the bellow mentioned projection targets.
 Projections to hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray m.,
amygdala, visceral sensory thalamus, cortex.
Central Coordination between:
Autonomic Functions and Ongoing Behavior
Periaqueductal gray matter:
 Visceral inputs from the solitary tract, the
parabrachial n., hypothalamus.
 Projections to medullary RF which produces
behaviorally coordinated patterns of autonomic res.
(redirects blood flow during f-or-f response).
Central Coordination between:
Autonomic Functions and Ongoing Behavior
Amygdaloid complex regulates the autonomic
components of the unconditioned & conditioned
behavioral response:
 Inputs from sensory thalamus and cortex to lateral
and basal n. & inputs from central autonomic system
to central n.
 Divergent ascending and descending outputs.
Amygdala nuclei
Amygdala
inputs/outputs
Stria Terminalis:
Hypothalamus, Accumbens.
Amygdalofugal: Brain stem,
Thalamus, Hippocampus,
Cingulate, Orbitofrontal c.
Integrative amygdala response
Highly divergent
outputs from the
amygdala
Central Coordination between:
Autonomic Functions and Ongoing Behavior


Visceral parabrachial n. >to> Visceral sensory
thalamus (ventroposterior parvocellular n.) >to>
Visceral sensory cortex (anterior insular cortex –
conscious appreciation of taste, hunger, abdominal
fullness, etc.) >to> Anterior cingulate cortex
(infralimbic a. – visceral motor region – stimulation of
cause BP res., lesion of cause abulia – no emotional
res. to external stim.).
Insular & infralimbic cortex projects to amygdala,
hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray, parabrachial, n.
solitary tract, medullary RF.
Central Coordination between:
Autonomic Functions and Ongoing Behavior




Hypothalamus integrates somatic, visceral & behavior info.
Controls BP & electrolyte composition by drinking & salt
appetite, temp regulation, energy metabolism by feeding,
emergency res. by stress hormones.
Inputs from visceral sensory system, olfactory and visual.
Internal sensory neurons sensing temp, glucose, sodium, &
circulating hormones (angiotensin).
Compares sensory information with bio-set points (local
temp with 37 C). Upon deviation activates autonomic,
endocrine & behavioral res. To restore homeostasis.
CNS control of
autonomic
preganglionic n.
Also afferents
from NE, E,
5-HT n. in brain
stem.
Emotion and feeling


Emotion = bodily state mediated by subcortical &
peripheral autonomic, endocrine & skeletomotor res.
Feeling = conscious sensation mediated by cingulate &
frontal cortex.
Stimulus
Emotional state

•
•

Functions of peripheral aspects of emotion:
preparatory - general and specific arousal such as in
different motivation states.
communicative - facial & postural expressions.
Optimal arousal enhances mental and physical
performance.
Theory of emotion: Relationship between
cognition and physiological states
Conscious
emotional
stimulus
Acts & bodily
responses code for
type & intensity of
feeling
Reflexive
autonomic
response
Conscious
explanation
19th century
James-Lange
theory
Ekman support for
James-Lange
Autonomic indices were
measured while Ss held various
emotional expressions.
Some, but not all, emotions
could be differentiated.
Parallel processing in
hypothalamus & cortex
Cannon-Bard criticism on
James-Lange:
 Emotional responses
are too undifferentiated
to convey specific state.
 Hypothalamus
integrates the emotional
responses.
 Cortex mediates the
subjective feeling.
 Emotion & feeling
occur simultaneously.
Cannon-Bard in opposition to
James-Lange
Cognition modulates the emotion
Schachter extension of James-Lange:

Cortex constructs feelings which are the cognitive
response to peripheral information consistent with the
individual’s expectations and social context.

Ss were injected with epinephrine, were informed/notinformed about the autonomous side effects, and
exposed to annoying/amusing conditions. Ss who had
been warned about the side effects exhibited less
strong feelings, they attributed the arousal to the drug.
Emotion as a cognitive story
Damasio:


Autonomous responses are not as uniform as Cannon
has originally suggested (confirms James-Lange).
Emotional experience – the feeling state - is a story
that the cortex constructs to explain the bodily
reactions (confirms Schachter).
Emotion before action
Magda Arnold:
 Emotion is the product of unconscious evaluation of a
situation.
 Feeling is the conscious reflection of the unconscious
appraisal.
 Feeling is therefore a tendency to respond in a
particular way, not the response itself. Thus, unlike
James-Lange, autonomic response is not required for
emotional experience.
 Emotional experience: Unconscious evaluation of a
stimulus→ action tendencies→ peripheral res. →
→ conscious experience. Explains also the emotional
response to subliminal stimuli.
Unconscious evaluation → action tendencies
Hypothalamus & emotional response
Hess localized the James & Lange emotional response to
the hypothalamus:
 Modulates the visceral reflexes.
 Stimulation in vivo provokes site-dependent
autonomic states, i.e., anger ↑, BP↑, pupillary
constriction, hair-erection, arching of the back.
 Lateral lesions → animal placid.
Medial lesions → animal aggressive.
 Is not only motor n. for the ANS but rather integrates
various inputs to ensure a coherent autonomic and
somatic expression of emotional states.
Limbic system: interaction between
emotions & feelings
Limbic lobe is a ring of primitive cortex (Papez)
enabling a reciprocal communication between the
conscious & peripheral aspects of emotion:

From feeling to emotion: Neocortex→ Cingulate g.→
→ Parahippocampal gyrus→ Hippocampus→
Fornix→ Mammilary bodies→ Hypothalamus.

From emotion to feeling: Hypothalamus→
→ Mammilary bodies→ Thalamus→ Cingulate g.
Expansion of the
limbic system
MacLean expanded the
limbic system to include
the septum, accumbens,
amygdala, orbitofrontal
cortex.
Amygdala and not the
hippocampus coordinates
the activity of the
hypothalamus with the
cortex.
Temporal lobe
Kluver-Bucy syndrome initially ascribed to temporal-limbic
lesions, latter fractioned to symptoms/sites:
 Emotionally tame, fearless, flat emotions: amygdala lesions.
 Excessive mouth behavior & ill directed sexual drive:
amygdala lesions.
 Excessive reaction but no recognition of visual stim: lesions
of visual association area of the inferior temporal cortex.
Mammillary bodies, hippocampus, anterior thalamic n., are
not considered nowadays as essential for emotion.
Amygdala, rather than Papez’s hippocampus
Conscious feeling:
Cingulate cortex
Parahippocampal
Prefrontal
Amygdala
Somatic emotion:
Hypothalamus
Brainstem nuclei
Electrical stim of human amygdala → triggers feeling and
somatic expression of fear.
Calcification of human amygdala (Urbach-Wiethe disease) →
disrupts implicit processing of facial cues of fear but does
not impair explicit recognition of faces/objects.
Amygdala & Hippocampus
11/5/04LeDoux confirms James-Lange:
 Unconscious evaluation of the emotional significance
of a stimulus precedes the conscious evaluation.
 Amygdala stores the unconscious memories of
emotional states.
 Hippocampus stores the cognitive features of
conscious feelings: where, when and context of the
fear-provoking stimuli.
 Hippocampus/Amygdala - Parallel to the
explicit/implicit features in memory research?
Amygdala
mediates
inborn
emotional
responses
Happy
Fearful
Amygdala and face perception
Amygdala responds to complex visual stimuli important
for social cognition:
Amygdala ????
Face stim → Thalamus → Occipital cortex → Inferior
temporal cortex (facial features including direction of
gaze) → Amygdala → Emotional expression.
Amygdala mediates acquired
emotional responses
18.5.04 Studied in context of classical conditioning: CS – US association
and contingency (predictability).
Amygdala→ Rapid Res.
Tone CS→ Brainstem→ Thalamus
Cortex→ Amygdala→ Slow Res.
Somatosensory US→ Brainstem→ Thalamus→ Amygdala→ Rapid Res.
Amygdala:
rapid evaluation
followed by
emotional
output
Cortex: slow
evaluation
followed by
cognitive
output
Auditory CS
pathways
Amygdala & reward/pleasure?
food taste ≠ after amygdala lesion
Tone CS
food look = spared after amygdala lesion
(excessive mouth behavior in
Kluver-Bucy Syndrome)
Amygdala & context conditioning?
Context conditioning = ↑ presence in rewarding environment.
Amygdala = place cues acquire valance values (implications
for fMRI context).
Hippocampus = construction of cognitive maps through
relation learning, binding of spatial & temporal cues.
Ongoing controversy = context conditioning in hippocampus
but expression through the amygdala.
Amygdala mediates the autonomic expression &
cognitive experience of emotion
Emotional autonomic states = reciprocal projections from
amygdala to hypothalamus & autonomic n.
Influence on conscious feeling:
 Reciprocal projections from amygdala to hippocampus,
cingulate, prefrontal & orbitofrontal cortex.
 Somatic feedback to cingulate and prefrontal cortex.
Output of the central n. through the stria terminalis
& v. amygdalofugal pathway
END OF CENTRAL EMOTIONAL
SYSTEMS