Taak 4
1. Which parts of the brain are involved in emotion regulation?
1. extinction
Safety behaviour is maintained through negative reinforcement, since restorative
strategies, such as neutralizing, first reduce anxiety, but lead to stronger urges to
neutralize in subsequent trials.
The safety behaviour that is most often linked to specific phobia is escape. Effects of
safety behaviours:
Cells in some regions of the auditory thalamus also give rise to fibers that reach several
subcortical locations → damages in each one of the subcortical regions with which these
fibers connect → effect in only one area: the amygdala.
The central nucleus (site in amygdala)→ crucial part of the system through which
autonomic conditioned responses are expressed (heart rate, respiration, etc.). Lesions of
the central nucleus → prevented the autonomic conditioned response: the increased
startle reaction that occurs when an animal is afraid.
• The central nucleus provides connections to the various brain stem areas involved
in the control of a spectrum of responses.
• The central nucleus is the interface with the systems that control responses.
The lateral nucleus receives inputs from the auditory thalamus (not the auditory
part of the thalamus). Lesions of the lateral nucleus prevented fear conditioning.
Because this site gets information directly from the sensory system, we think of this
as the sensory interface of the amygdala in fear conditioning.
Information reaching the lateral nucleus → can influence the central nucleus, via the
basolateral-, basal-, or basomedial nucleus (many synaptic contacts).
The emotional significance of a stimulus is determined not only by the sound itself, but
by the environment in which it occurs. Therefore, you must not only learn that a specific
cue is dangerous, but under what conditions it is so.
Hippocampus = area involved in declarative memory (explicit, consciously accessible
information, as well as spatial memory). The hippocampus plays an important role in
processing complex information, such as details about the spatial environment where
activity is taking place. Connection between subiculum (region of hippocampus) and the
lateral nucleus (of the amygdala) → suggests that contextual information may acquire
emotional significance in the same way that other events do → via transmission to the
lateral nucleus.
The lateral nucleus receives
inputs from sensory regions of
the brain and transmits these
signals to the basolateral, the
accessory basal and the central
nuclei. The central nucleus
connects to the brain stem,
bringing about physiological
change
, Although the amygdala stores primitive information, we should not consider it the only
learning centre.
Memory is generally thought to be the process by which we bring back to mind some
earlier conscious experience. The original learning and the remembering, in this case, are
both conscious events. Workers have determined that declarative memory is mediated
by the hippocampus and the cortex. But the removal of the hippocampus has little effect
on fear conditioning - except conditioning to context.
Emotional learning is not declarative learning:
• Emotional learning → amygdala;
• Declarative learning / memory → hippocampus (and cortex).
Emotion is not just unconscious memory: it exerts a powerful influence on
declarative memory and other thought processes. The amygdala plays an essential
role in modulating the storage and strength of memories.
Consciousness is a prerequisite to subjective emotional stress. Thus, emotions or
feelings are conscious products of unconscious processes. Emotional experiences
are the result of triggering systems of behavioural adaptation that have been
preserved by evolution.
• After conditioning, presentation of the conditioned stimulus evoked brain activity in
the anterior cingulate cortex, the anterior insula, and the amygdala. Interestingly,
amygdala activation decreased over time, indicating a rapid habituation of this
structure.
The Fear network → 3 critical structures for fear and anxiety: amygdala, insula,
and anterior cingulate cortex.
The direct path just does not pass through the cortex ‘crude but rapid’
• Sensory stimulus → thalamus → amygdala (lateral nucleus → central nucleus)
→ behavior (defense), activation of AZS or HPA axis or startle response.
The indirect path runs through the cortex, where information processing errors
may occur 'processed but slower'
- Sensory stimulus → thalamus → cortex → amygdala (lateral nucleus → central
nucleus) → behavior (defense), activation of AZS or HPA axis or startle response.
Majority of functional neuroimaging studies investigating anxiety disorders
employed a symptom provocation paradigm: contrasting a negative emotional
condition (e.g. pictures of feared objects or situations) with a neutral or positive
condition to elicit anxiety-specific brain activity, and then compared activity in
anxiety disorder patients with healthy controls
Consistent finding: hyperactivity of the amygdala during symptom provocation
(related to the experienced symptoms of fear);
Neural circuitry underlying the regulation of conditioned fear and its relation to extinction.
The ability to eliminate, control, or diminish negative emotional responses is important for
adaptive function and critical in the treatment of psychopathology. Two paradigms for
diminishing fear:
• Extinction of conditioned fear (examined across species);
• Cognitive emotion regulation (unique to humans).
Previous research has highlighted a role for the amygdala and ventromedial
1. Which parts of the brain are involved in emotion regulation?
1. extinction
Safety behaviour is maintained through negative reinforcement, since restorative
strategies, such as neutralizing, first reduce anxiety, but lead to stronger urges to
neutralize in subsequent trials.
The safety behaviour that is most often linked to specific phobia is escape. Effects of
safety behaviours:
Cells in some regions of the auditory thalamus also give rise to fibers that reach several
subcortical locations → damages in each one of the subcortical regions with which these
fibers connect → effect in only one area: the amygdala.
The central nucleus (site in amygdala)→ crucial part of the system through which
autonomic conditioned responses are expressed (heart rate, respiration, etc.). Lesions of
the central nucleus → prevented the autonomic conditioned response: the increased
startle reaction that occurs when an animal is afraid.
• The central nucleus provides connections to the various brain stem areas involved
in the control of a spectrum of responses.
• The central nucleus is the interface with the systems that control responses.
The lateral nucleus receives inputs from the auditory thalamus (not the auditory
part of the thalamus). Lesions of the lateral nucleus prevented fear conditioning.
Because this site gets information directly from the sensory system, we think of this
as the sensory interface of the amygdala in fear conditioning.
Information reaching the lateral nucleus → can influence the central nucleus, via the
basolateral-, basal-, or basomedial nucleus (many synaptic contacts).
The emotional significance of a stimulus is determined not only by the sound itself, but
by the environment in which it occurs. Therefore, you must not only learn that a specific
cue is dangerous, but under what conditions it is so.
Hippocampus = area involved in declarative memory (explicit, consciously accessible
information, as well as spatial memory). The hippocampus plays an important role in
processing complex information, such as details about the spatial environment where
activity is taking place. Connection between subiculum (region of hippocampus) and the
lateral nucleus (of the amygdala) → suggests that contextual information may acquire
emotional significance in the same way that other events do → via transmission to the
lateral nucleus.
The lateral nucleus receives
inputs from sensory regions of
the brain and transmits these
signals to the basolateral, the
accessory basal and the central
nuclei. The central nucleus
connects to the brain stem,
bringing about physiological
change
, Although the amygdala stores primitive information, we should not consider it the only
learning centre.
Memory is generally thought to be the process by which we bring back to mind some
earlier conscious experience. The original learning and the remembering, in this case, are
both conscious events. Workers have determined that declarative memory is mediated
by the hippocampus and the cortex. But the removal of the hippocampus has little effect
on fear conditioning - except conditioning to context.
Emotional learning is not declarative learning:
• Emotional learning → amygdala;
• Declarative learning / memory → hippocampus (and cortex).
Emotion is not just unconscious memory: it exerts a powerful influence on
declarative memory and other thought processes. The amygdala plays an essential
role in modulating the storage and strength of memories.
Consciousness is a prerequisite to subjective emotional stress. Thus, emotions or
feelings are conscious products of unconscious processes. Emotional experiences
are the result of triggering systems of behavioural adaptation that have been
preserved by evolution.
• After conditioning, presentation of the conditioned stimulus evoked brain activity in
the anterior cingulate cortex, the anterior insula, and the amygdala. Interestingly,
amygdala activation decreased over time, indicating a rapid habituation of this
structure.
The Fear network → 3 critical structures for fear and anxiety: amygdala, insula,
and anterior cingulate cortex.
The direct path just does not pass through the cortex ‘crude but rapid’
• Sensory stimulus → thalamus → amygdala (lateral nucleus → central nucleus)
→ behavior (defense), activation of AZS or HPA axis or startle response.
The indirect path runs through the cortex, where information processing errors
may occur 'processed but slower'
- Sensory stimulus → thalamus → cortex → amygdala (lateral nucleus → central
nucleus) → behavior (defense), activation of AZS or HPA axis or startle response.
Majority of functional neuroimaging studies investigating anxiety disorders
employed a symptom provocation paradigm: contrasting a negative emotional
condition (e.g. pictures of feared objects or situations) with a neutral or positive
condition to elicit anxiety-specific brain activity, and then compared activity in
anxiety disorder patients with healthy controls
Consistent finding: hyperactivity of the amygdala during symptom provocation
(related to the experienced symptoms of fear);
Neural circuitry underlying the regulation of conditioned fear and its relation to extinction.
The ability to eliminate, control, or diminish negative emotional responses is important for
adaptive function and critical in the treatment of psychopathology. Two paradigms for
diminishing fear:
• Extinction of conditioned fear (examined across species);
• Cognitive emotion regulation (unique to humans).
Previous research has highlighted a role for the amygdala and ventromedial
