PSY 2C 08: BRAIN, BODY AND
BEHAVIOUR
UNIT–I: BRAIN AND BEHAVIOUR
TOPIC:
Emotional Disorders Associated with
Neurological Diseases
, EMOTIONAL DISORDERS ASSOCIATED WITH NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES
Emotions may be divided into two major divisions, experience and behaviour. Because the brain is critical
for mediating emotional experience and behaviour, diseases of the brain may induce changes in emotional
behaviour and experience. Emotional disorder is a mental disorder in which one’s emotions are disturbed
to a great extent.
A neurological disorder is any disorder is any disorder of the nervous system. Structural, biochemical or
electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves can result in a range of symptoms. Examples
of symptoms include paralysis, muscle weakness, poor coordination, loss of sensation, seizures, confusion,
pain and altered levels of consciousness.
DEFINITION OF THE EMOTIONAL PROBLEM
The first challenge one faces in an attempt to assess emotions is related to the issue of complexity of the
construct itself. Theorists and researchers have parsed the general construct of emotion in a number if ways.
At the most molar level, a potentially useful heuristic would be to consider whether the problem one is
observing is a matter if an alteration in affects emotion or mood.
Affect is considered to be fundamental, irreducible emotional feeling state. The experience of affect is by
definition, subjective. At the most basic level, affect is experiences as either a pleasant or an unpleasant
feeling state. Affect is generally regarded as temporally limited, that is as a fleeting or momentary emotional
state.
Emotion lends itself to more definitional variability. Despite disagreements about the range and types of
experiences that should be included in a definition of emotion, most investigators are in general agreement
that emotions are object focused. That is, the experience and expression of an emotion are related to some
specific environmental event or cognitive representation of event. Emotions function to signal the presence
of personally relevant environmental situation and to prepare the person for some specific action. Whereas
an affective experience is always a private event, an emotion is an observable “public” event. It is generally
accepted that there is a limited finite number of core or basic emotions which include, happiness- joy,
sadness, fear, anger, disgust and more equivocally surprise. There is strong empirical evidence that these
are universally experienced and recognized emotions.
Mood is defined as a more generalized diffuse, feeling state that has no specific object or referent associated
with its experience. Whereas individual can generally identify the object their emotional state (e.g:- one
BEHAVIOUR
UNIT–I: BRAIN AND BEHAVIOUR
TOPIC:
Emotional Disorders Associated with
Neurological Diseases
, EMOTIONAL DISORDERS ASSOCIATED WITH NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES
Emotions may be divided into two major divisions, experience and behaviour. Because the brain is critical
for mediating emotional experience and behaviour, diseases of the brain may induce changes in emotional
behaviour and experience. Emotional disorder is a mental disorder in which one’s emotions are disturbed
to a great extent.
A neurological disorder is any disorder is any disorder of the nervous system. Structural, biochemical or
electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves can result in a range of symptoms. Examples
of symptoms include paralysis, muscle weakness, poor coordination, loss of sensation, seizures, confusion,
pain and altered levels of consciousness.
DEFINITION OF THE EMOTIONAL PROBLEM
The first challenge one faces in an attempt to assess emotions is related to the issue of complexity of the
construct itself. Theorists and researchers have parsed the general construct of emotion in a number if ways.
At the most molar level, a potentially useful heuristic would be to consider whether the problem one is
observing is a matter if an alteration in affects emotion or mood.
Affect is considered to be fundamental, irreducible emotional feeling state. The experience of affect is by
definition, subjective. At the most basic level, affect is experiences as either a pleasant or an unpleasant
feeling state. Affect is generally regarded as temporally limited, that is as a fleeting or momentary emotional
state.
Emotion lends itself to more definitional variability. Despite disagreements about the range and types of
experiences that should be included in a definition of emotion, most investigators are in general agreement
that emotions are object focused. That is, the experience and expression of an emotion are related to some
specific environmental event or cognitive representation of event. Emotions function to signal the presence
of personally relevant environmental situation and to prepare the person for some specific action. Whereas
an affective experience is always a private event, an emotion is an observable “public” event. It is generally
accepted that there is a limited finite number of core or basic emotions which include, happiness- joy,
sadness, fear, anger, disgust and more equivocally surprise. There is strong empirical evidence that these
are universally experienced and recognized emotions.
Mood is defined as a more generalized diffuse, feeling state that has no specific object or referent associated
with its experience. Whereas individual can generally identify the object their emotional state (e.g:- one
