Emotions Lecture 1 - PSYC11212 & 11222 PDF

Emotions –Lecture 1 Brain and Behaviour –PSYC11212 & 11222 Dr Amber Ruigrok Monday 6March 2023 What are emotions? Core Features of Emotion 1 -When? 2 –Multi -component phenomena: - Subjective experience - Behaviours - Autonomic - Hormonal Modal Model of Emotion Situation Attention AppraisalRe...

Emotions –Lecture 1 Brain and Behaviour –PSYC11212 & 11222 Dr Amber Ruigrok Monday 6March 2023 What are emotions? Core Features of Emotion 1 -When? 2 –Multi -component phenomena: - Subjective experience - Behaviours - Autonomic - Hormonal Modal Model of Emotion Situation Attention AppraisalResponse Emotion Lectures Outline •Emotion as Response Patterns • Feelings of Emotion • Emotion Regulation • Empathy • Communication of Emotion • Moral decision makin g EMOTIONS AS RESPONSE PATTERNS Emotions as Response Patterns An emotional response consists of 3 components: Behavioural Muscle movements appropriate for the situation Autonomic Facilitate behaviours by providing quick mobilization of energy for movement Hormonal Reinforce autonomic responses via brain mechanisms Focus on Fear •All three components are organised by different neural systems • The integration for fear is controlled by the Amygdalae Šimićet al., (2021) Biomolecules, doi : 10.3390/biom11060823 The roleofthe Amygdala in fear processing •Lateral Nucleus (LA) – MAIN INPUT NUCLEUS – LA also sends internal and some external projections • Basal Nucleus (B) – Sends internal and limited external projections • Central Nucleus (CE) – MAIN OUTPUT NUCLEUS – Sends projections to variousbrain regions Damage to the Central Nucleusof the Amygdala Reduces or abolishes a wide range of emotional respon ses: • Animals nolonger showfear –When faced with stimuli that are paired with aversive events – Monkeys withamygdala lesions are not afraid of snakes •They act more tamely when handled by humans, e.g., – L ower stress levels intheirblood – Less likely to develop stress -induced illnesses Conditioned Emotional Responses 1. Before Conditioning2. Before Conditioning 3. During Conditioning 4. After Conditioning RESPONSE RESPONSE RESPONSE RESPONSE Electric Shock = Unconditioned stimulus Jumping up in the air = Unconditioned response To n e = Neutral stimulus Neutral = No conditioned response To n e + E l e c t r i c S h o c k Jumping up in the air = Unconditioned response To n e = Conditioned stimulus Jumping upinthe air = Conditioned response Neural Mechanisms -Conditioning • Lateral Nucleus (LA) is responsible for the establishment of a conditioned emotional response • Neurons in the LA communicate with neurons in the Central Nucleus (CE) • CE communicates with the regionsthat are responsible for the behavioural , autonomic and hormonal components of the conditioned emotional response Extinction –Removing the association •Learned process that the conditioned stimulus is no longer followed by an aversive stimulus –The conditioned responseis inhibited (extinction ≠ forgetting) – The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC ) is responsible for inhibiting these emotional responses Ve n t r o m e d i a l P F C –Extinction Evidence •Stimulation of the vmPFC inhibits conditioned emotional responses • Extinction training activates vmPFC neurons • Lesions to thevmPFC impair extinctio n A B Phelps et al., (2004) Neuron, doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2004.08.042 Extinction -Real Life Application Influenced treatments andsupport for people withphobias • Phobias: Unreasonable fear associated with a specific object or situation –Avoidance of object or situation – Persistence of fear over time – Significant distress associatedwiththe fear or avoidance – Awareness that phobia is irrational or unreasonable Eaton et al., (2018) Lancet Psychiatry, doi: 10.1016/S2215 -0366(18)30169 -X Extinction –vmPFC activations predicted exposure therapy outcome Lange et al., (2020) Neuropsychopharmacology, doi : 10.1038/s41386 -019 -0467 -8 Learning Check •Emotions are multi -component phenomena • Amygdala is involved in fearprocessing –Focus on Central Nucleus in fear processing – Focus on Lateral Nucleus in establishing a conditioned respon se •Ve n t r o m e d ia l PrefrontalCortex –Activated by extinction training – Activation in the vmPFCpredict exposure therapy outcomes for people with diagnosed spider phobias FEELINGS OF EMOTION Feelings of Emotion Subjective experience of emotion •Several different theories that suggest how we ‘feel’ emotions by ordering or exploring components differently • Late 19 th Century was very influential for the development of the basis of the current models of emotion James –Lange Theory of Emotion William JamesandCarl Lange suggested very similar explanationsfor the feeling of emotion in1884 /5: (1-2) Emotion producing situationselicit physiological responsesand behaviours . (3) Feedback from theorgans and musclesinvolvedorganise how wefeel emotion Stimulus Behavioural ,Autonomic, Hormonal responses Feelings of emotion Brain Feedback Research evidence: James –Lange Theory Hohman (1966) aimed to describe any alterations in e motional feeling that might have occurred as a result of a spinal cord injury Participants : 25 veterans who had spinal cord injuries Predictions :Decrease inemotional feelings inpatients, worse if they show lesions higher up the spinal cord Procedure : A structured interview Hohmann, (1966) Psychophysiology, doi: 10.1111/j.1469 -8986.1966.tb02690.x Research evidence: James –Lange Theory Hohman (1966) aimed to describe any alterations in e motional feeling that might have occurred as a result of a spinal cord injury Findings : - Decreased experiences of feeling anger, sexual excitement, fear and ‘overall feelings’ - The more extensive the disruption, the greater the decrease in emotional feelings Hohmann, (1966) Psychophysiology, doi: 10.1111/j.1469 -8986.1966.tb02690.x Research evidence: James –Lange Theory Hohman (1966) aimed to describe any alterations in e motional feeling that might have occurred as a result of a spinal cord injury Conclusions : Data supports* the view that disruption of the autonomic nervous system causes changes in experienced emotional feelings But methodological limitations cast doubt on conclusions… Limitations* : - Experimenter Bias (Hohman was paraplegic) - No pre-injury emotion assessment - All institutionalised - No control group (memory, age, gender effects) - Attenuated not abolished Hohmann, (1966) Psychophysiology, doi: 10.1111/j.1469 -8986.1966.tb02690.x Evidence against: James –Lange Theory Cannon et al., (1929) American Journal of Physiology – Legacy Content, doi : 10.1152/ajplegacy.1929.89.1.84 Experiment : Cannon severed nerves in the autonomic nervous system in cats (sympathetic nerves) Aim : to study emotional responses to outward stimuli Findings : - Cat was not ableto experience somatic signals - Cat was abletodemonstrate anger, fear, pleasure - BUT feelings? Cat’s hairs on the right side (where the severed connection occurred) did not stand up in response to cold air. Cannon –Bard Theory of Emotion Cannon and Bard (1927) provided an alternative view t o how we might experience emotions and included the thalamus as the mediating centrein the brain Stimulus Physiological responses Feelings of emotion Subcortical activity in the Thalamus Significance of: Cannon –Bard Theory •First theory incorporating a link to the brain • Set thescene formodern theories of emotion that incorporate neural systems into our understanding of emotion • For example, proposal by MacLean (1959) that the Limbic System was involved in emotional processing Coles et al., (2022) Nature Human Behaviour, doi : 10.1038/s41562 -022 -01458 -9 Schachter –Singer Theory of Emotion The Schachter –Singer Theory of Emotion (1962) suggests that emotional experiences are based on two factors (1) physiological arousal and (2) cognitive label. One of the first theories to bring in a cognitive compo nent, e.g., cognitive appraisal, setting the direction for many future models of emotion Schachter & Singer, (1962) The Psychological Review, doi: 10.1037/h0046234 Stimulus Physiological responses Feelings of emotion Cognitive label Research evidence:Schachter –Singer Theory Schachter and Singer tested how people use cues in th eir environment to explain the physiological changes they experience. Schachter & Singer, (1962) The Psychological Review, doi: 10.1037/h0046234 Hypotheses: 1. If a person experiences a state of arousal for which they have no immediate explanation, they will “label” this state and describe their feelings in terms of the cognitions available to them at that time. 2. If a person experiences a state of arousal for which they have an appropriate explanation (e.g., “I feel this way because I have just received an injection of adrenaline”), they will be unl ikely to label their feelings in terms of the alternative cognitions available. 3. If a person is put in a situation, which in the past could have made them feel an emotion, they will react emotionally or experience emotions only if they are in a state of physiological arousal. PA R T I C I PA N T G R O U P S Euphoria condition Anger condition Epinephrine informed Epinephrine informed Epinephrine ignorant Epinephrine ignorant Epinephrine misinformed N/A Placebo Placebo Research evidence: Schachter –Singer Theory Euphoria Condition Anger Condition Conditions N Self -report Activity Index Acts Initiated N Self -report Anger index EPI INF 25 0.98 12.72 0.20 22 1.91 -0.18 EPI IGN 25 1.78 18.28 0.56 23 1.39 + 2.28 EPI MIS 25 1.90 22.56 0.84 - - - PLACEBO 26 1.61 16.00 0.54 23 1.63 +0.79 Schachter & Singer, (1962) The Psychological Review, doi: 10.1037/h0046234 Findings : Participants interprets physical sensations either as emotional arousal and joins in with euphoric or angry behaviours , OR interprets them as side effects and does not engage Conclusion : Emotions are the result of the interaction between physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation. General Limitations : - Difficulty replicating the study - Theory does not provide account of how the nervous systemis involved in emotional processing - Many newer theories of emotion that try to encompass different aspects of affective processing and their neural networks Learning Check •James -Lange Theory of Emotion – Hohman (1996)spinal cord injuries •Cannon -Bard Theory of Emotion – Cat severed spinal cord still demonstrates emotions – First toincorporate neural explanation into the theory •Schachter -Singer Theory of Emotion – Emotions aretheresult of the interaction between physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation EMOTION REGULATION Content note –discussion about anxiety and depression mechanisms and treatments Emotion Regulation How emotions themselves are regulated: shaping which emotions you have, when you have them, how you experience or express these emotionsThree core features of emotion regulation 1. Activation of a goal 2. Engagement of processes responsible for altering the emotion trajectory 3. Impact on emotion dynamics Process Model of Emotion Regulation The process model (Gross, 1998) builds upon the modal model of emotion and treats each step in the emotion- generative process as a potential target for regulation - Five families of strategies that are defined by when they impact the emotion generation process - These strategies are embedded inawider process where a need for regulation is identified, strategies are selected and implemented and monitored to check for success McRae & Gross, (2020) Emotion, doi: 10.1037/emo0000703 Process Model of Emotion Regulation McRae & Gross, (2020) Emotion, doi: 10.1037/emo0000703 Neural Basis of Emotion Regulation Meta-analysis of Emotion Regulation in the Brain Morawetz , et al., (2017) Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.11.014 Emotion Dysregulation measured in brain activity Participants with mood/anxiety conditions > participants without Participants without mood/anxiety conditions > peopl e with a diagnosis Picó-Pérez, et al., (2017) Prog NeuropsychopharmacolBiol Psych, doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.06.001; Zilverstandet al., (2017) NeuroImage, doi : 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.06.009 Cognitive Reappraisal: Strategy to reduce levels of negative emotion experience Anxiety and Depression Depression Anxiety COVID-19 Mental Disorders Collaborators, (2021) Lancet, doi : 10.1016/s0140 -6736(21)02143 -7; Young et al., (2017) Brai nScience s, doi : 10.3390/brainsci9040076 Common Treatments for Anxiety / Depression Talking Therapies Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Medications Antidepressants (e.g., SSRIs) Which treatment works better? Aim: Evaluate whether neural responses to three types of emotion processing (experience, regulation, and perception) were able to predict symptom improvement and correlate with symptom change after either use with SSRIs or CBT Participants :55 treatment -seeking adultswith either depression and/or anxiety were randomized to 12 weeks of SSRIs or CBT Findings : Amygdala and Insula activity during emotion perception is reduced by both SSRI and CBT treatments and predicts anxiety and depression symptom improvement. Gorkaet al., (2019) Neuropsychopharmacology, doi : 10.1038/s41386-019 -0407 -7 Treatments may work differently Aim: To t e s t t h e c o n v e r g e n c e a n d d i v e r g e n c e o f antidepressant -and psychotherapy -evoked neural changes, and their overlap with the brain's affect network. Method : (1) Assess the common and distinct neural changes evoked by antidepressant medication and psychotherapy; (2) Assess whether the neural changes overlapped with the brain’s emotional network Findings : Both treatments lead to changes in the emotion network, but the results suggest that their effects on affect processing occur via different neurocognitive mechanisms Fig. 1 Neural changes following antidepressant treatment versus psychological therapy for affective disorders. (a) Preferential involvement of the bilateral amygdala a nd right medial globus pallidus in antidepressant treatment versus psychotherapy. (b) Preferential involvement of the medial prefrontal co rtex in psychotherapy versus antidepressant treatment. No convergence of changes wa s found. Nord et al., (2021) British Journal of Psychiatry, doi: 10.1192/bjp.2021.16 Learning Check •Emotion regulation is about how emotions themselves are regulated • Process Model of Emotion Regulation treats each step in the e motion- generative process as a potential target for emotion regulation • Neural mechanisms behind cognitive reappraisal (reducing levelsof negative emotional experience) are changed in people with anxiety and mood related conditions • Treatments for anxiety and mood related conditions l ead to changes in the emotion network but the mechanisms are different Support information I hope that you enjoyed the content of the lecture, however, if any of the materials discussed during this lecture was difficult for you to attend to or process due to mental health difficulties, please do not hesitate to visit any of the following websites for support information, contact your Academic Advisor or contact your GP: - Links to list of support services: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk 24 hour supportisoffered by: - Qwell : https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/taking -care/qwell/ - Health Assured: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/taking - care/mental-health -helpline/ Emotions –Lecture 2 Brain and Behaviour –PSYC11212 & 11222 Dr Amber Ruigrok Monday 13 March 2023 Emotional Awareness The ability to identify your own and other people’s emotions •Emotional contagion: fast automatic responses to emotional expressions in another person – Mimicr y •Empathy: feeling and experiencing what another person is feeling Gage & Baars, (2018) Fundamentals of Cognitive Neuroscience, doi: 10.1016/B978 -0-12-803813 -0.00011 -8 Emotion Lectures Outline •Emotions as Response Patterns • Feelings of Emotion • Emotion Regulation •Empathy • Communication of Emotion • Moral decision making EMPATHY Empathy Affectiveempathy: • Feeling what another person is feeling through recognition, being sensitive and having an appropriate affective response –Parallel responses – Reactive responses • Sympathy Empathy Cognitive empathy: •Recognizing and understanding that another person is feeling something different to what you are feeling –Theory of Mind – Perspective Taking Double Dissociation:Alesion study Aims: (1) Investigate the neuroanatomical substrates of cognitive and affective empathy and (2) the relationship between the two systems Participants: •Fig A: 8 participants withinferior frontal gyrus (IFG) lesions • Fig B: 11 participants with ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions (vmPFC ) • Fig C: 11 participants with lesions outside the frontal lobes • 34 participants without brain lesions Procedure: • All participants completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) Shamay -Tsoory ,et al., (2009) Brain, doi: 10.1093/brain/awn279 Double Dissociation:Alesion study Findings: –(1) Patients with VM lesions were impaired in cognitive empathy compared to the healthy controls (HC), patients with posterior lesions (PC) and patients with IFG lesions whereas patients w ith IFG lesions were impaired in emotional empathy compared to the HC, VM and the PC group . Shamay -Tsoory ,et al., (2009) Brain, doi: 10.1093/brain/awn279 Double Dissociation:Alesion study •Findings: –(2) Patients with VM lesions were significantly impaire d in the cognitive index as compared to the IFG, PC and HC groups, whereas patients with IFG lesions were impaired in the emotional index as compared to the VM, PC and HC group. Shamay-Tsoory ,et al., (2009) Brain, doi: 10.1093/brain/awn279 Empathy Prosocial motivation*: •The intention to respond compassionately to another person’s distress • Precursor of prosocial actio n How can we measure empathy? Self-report –Empathy Components Questionnaire (ECQ) • Contains cognitive and affective components across 27 items: –6 items on cognitive ability: “the s kill, capacity or potential in perspective -taking and to adopt another’s point of view” – 5 items on cognitive drive: ” the motivated interest or tendency in perspective - taking and to adopt another’s point of view” – 5 items on affective ability: “the skill, capacity or potential in recognizing, being sensitive to and sharing others’ emotional experiences” – 4 items on affective drive: “the motivated interest or tendency in recognizing, being sensitive to and sharing others’ emotional experiences” – 7 items on affective reactivity*: the skills, capacity or potential in “responding and reacting to another person’s emotional experiences” Batchelde r, et al., (2017) PLoSOne, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169185 Sex differences in empathy Self-report –Empathy Components Questionnaire (ECQ) Batchelde r, et al., (2017) PLoSOne, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169185 Results: Significant sex differences for all components of affective empathy, small differences between sexes evident in cognitive empathy. Limitations: Small undergraduate student sample Differences in the development of empathy Early adolescence important period for development of empathy Aim : Investigate boys’ and girls’ development of perspective taking and empathic concern longitudinally from ages 13 to 18 years and to examine associations with pubertal status Participants : 497 adolescents (214 girls) who participated in the Adolescent Development and Relationships (RADAR) Procedure :Self -reported empathy at 6 timepoints between 13 and 18yearsold Van Der Graaff, et al., (2014) Developmental Psychology, doi: 10.1037/a0034325 Differences in development of empathy Cognitive EmpathyAffective Empathy Van Der Graaff, et al., (2014) Developmental Psychology, doi: 10.1037/a0034325 Meta-analysis neural correlates of empathy Aim : Differentiating brain regions associated with affective and cog nitive empathy Procedure : Inclusion of studies exploring affective empathy (19 exp; 428 participants) and cognitive empathy (28 exp; 765 participants) Kogler , et al., (2020) Cortex, doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.04.031 Learning Check •Emotional contagion describes having fast automatic responses to emotional expressions in others – Precursor to affective empathy • Empathy consists of 2 main constructs: –Affective empathy – Cognitive empathy • Empathy networks in the brain include regions such as –Affective :the inferior frontal gyrus and posterior dorsal medial frontal gyrus – Cognitive: the supramarginal gyrus and anterior dors al medial frontal gyrus COMMUNICATION OF EMOTIONS EXPRESSION OF EMOTION Expression of emotion Are emotional expressions innate or not? Cross cultural research: Darwin(1872) - Observing his own children - Communicating with people in countries around the world Ekman and colleagues (1969) - Concluded that the expression of emotions are unlearned as they are the same in cultures that have not been exposed to each other Ekman et al., (1969) Science, doi: 10.1126/science.164.3875.86 Expression of emotion Research aim: Compared the expressions of congenitally and noncongenitally blind athletes in the 2004 Paralympic Games with each other and with those produced by sighted athletes in the 2004 Olympic Games. Results : Few differences in emotional expressions of congenitally blind, noncongenitally blind and sighted athletes in 2004 Paralympic Games -They both produced facial expressions associated wit h anger, contempt, disgust, sadness, surprise and multiple types of smiles and smile blends - The range and type of emotion signals displayed were comparable to those produced by sighted athletes Conclusion : suggests that emotion expression is innate and does not require learning by imitation. Matsumuto& Willingham, (2006) Journal of Personality and Social Psyhcology, 10.1037/0022 -3514.91.3.568 ;Matsumuto & Willingham, (2009) Journal of Personality and Social Psyhcology, doi :10.1037/a0014037 Are emotional expressions innate or not? “Someone finds out that a member of their family has died, and they feel very sad.” A. B. “Someone manages to kill a lion by themselves, and they feel like they want to celebrate”. A. B. Expression of emotion Aim : to investigate whether emotional vocalisations communicate affective states across cultures Procedure : Participants heard an emotional story. They either - Played the Himbanonverbal emotional vocalisations from European -English speakers - Played European English speakers nonverbal emotional vocalisations of emotion from the Himba Sauter et al., (2009) PNAS, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0908239106 Are emotional expressions innate or not? Expression of emotion Results: Groups were able to identify ‘basic’ emotions of their own cultural group at a higher level Conclusions : Negative emotions have vocalisations that can be recognised across cultures, but positive emotions are communicated with culture - specific signals Sauter et al., (2009) PNAS, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0908239106 Are emotional expressions innate or not? Expression of emotion Aim: To refute the universality hypothesis that claims all humans communicate sex basic internal emotional stateswiththesame facialmovement s Results : Cross -cultural analysis of the timing of facial expressions showed cultural specificity where in the face and when facial expressions convey emotional intensity Conclusion : F acial expressions of emotion are culture specific, refuting the hypothesis that human emotion is universally represented by the same set of six distinct facial expression signals Are emotional expressions innate or not? Jack et al., (2012) PNAS, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1200155109 Learning Check –Expression of emotion Evidence forinnate emotional expressions • Facial expressions –Cross cultural studies – Studies with visually impaired people • Vo c a l e m o t io n s –Cross cultural studies Evidence againstinnateemotional expressions • Differences in the emotional intensity between East Asi ans and Western cultures COMMUNICATION OF EMOTIONS THE SIMULATIONIST HYPOTHESIS The role of imitation in emotion recognition Adophset al., (2000) Journal of Neuroscience, doi:10.1523/jneurosci.20 -07 -02683.2000; Field et al., (1982) Science, doi : 10.1126/science.7123230 Aim: To c o r r e l a t e the location of lesions in 108 people with the ability to perceive emotion in the face Results : - People who were poorest at facial emotion recognition had damage to the right somatosensory cortex. - People with somatosensory impairments also had impairments in emotion recognition. Conclusion: When we see a facial expression of an emotion, we unconsciously imagine ourselves making that expression SimulationistHypothesis SimulationistHypothesis: Emotion recognition involves simulation of emotion that we are viewing Adophs et al., (2000) Journal of Neuroscience, doi:10.1523/jneurosci.20 -07 -02683.2000 Aim: To t e s t w h e t h e r s i m u l a t i o n o f t h e somatic response associated with the perceived expression helps withemotion recognition Procedure: Participants to performed a expression matching task while rTMSwas targeted at the face or finger region of rSC SimulationistHypothesis SimulationistHypothesis: Emotion recognition involves simulation of emotion that we are viewing Adophs et al., (2000) Journal of Neuroscience, doi:10.1523/jneurosci.20 -07 -02683.2000 Results :M ean accuracy scores revealed a spatially specific effect limited to the face region of rSC. rTMS at the face area reduced accuracy to 79.00% compared with accuracy of 83.25% at the finger area. Conclusion: rTMStargeted at the face region of rSCimpaired expression discrimination relative to rTMStargeted at the finger region and the vertex. Learning Check –Simulationist Hypothesis •People tend to use imitation to assist emotion recog nition • If the activity in the face perception region of the somatosensory cortex is disturbed, this impairs emotion expression matching COMMUNICATION OF EMOTIONS RECOGNITION OF EMOTION 5-minute break Emotion recognition in the brain Meta-analysis aims : –Identify brain activity and connectivity profiles in discrete and dimensional emotions – E xplore asymmetry of the brain for facial expressions recognition Xu et al., (2021) Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.023 Emotion recognition in the brain Conclusions: –consistent engagement of the amygdala and its connectivity with distributed networks across discrete and dimensional emotions. – The left -hemisphere dominance of the amygdala and anterior insula across emotions, but category - specific lateralization of the vmPFC Xu et al., (2021) Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.023 Sex differences in emotion processing Electroencephalography (EEG) – high temporal resolution making it a good technique to help understand facial processing, but poor spatial re solution - Interested in regions suchasFusiform Face Area, Occipital Face Area for facial expression processing (PO8, PO7) Hinojosa et al., (2015) Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.06.002 Sex differences in emotion processing Meta-analysis aim : Establish whether there are sex differences in the laterality of face processing Conclusions : Presence of a sex difference in the way the two cerebral hemispheres process facial information, with a right -sided asymmetry of the bioelectrical activity in males and a bilateral or left -sided activity in females. Proverbio, (2021) Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, doi: 10.1093/scan/nsab043 Developmental differences in emotion recognition Aim:Comparing facialandvocal emotion recognition and processing biases in88 4 -to 11-year -olds and 21 adults Chronaki et al., (2014) British Journal of Developmental Psychology, doi : 10.1111/bjdp.12075 Developmental differences in emotion recognition Aim:Comparing facialandvocal emotion recognition and processing biases in88 4 -to 11-year -olds and 21 adults Conclusion : Developmental trajectories of emotion processing differ as a function of emotion type and stimulus modality. In addition, vocal emotion processing showe d a more protracted developmental trajectory, compared to facial emotion processing. Chronaki et al., (2014) British Journal of Developmental Psychology, doi : 10.1111/bjdp.12075 Learning Check –Emotion Recognition •The amygdala has a prominent role in basic and compl ex emotion recognition • There are sex differences in the laterality of the t emporal response to face processing in the fusiform face and occipital face areas • Developmental trajectories of emotion processing dif fers depending on the type of emotional expression as well as the modality (visual or vocal) COMMUNICATION OF EMOTIONS HORMONAL INFLUENCES ON EMOTION Content note: discussion about antisocial personality disorder Oxytocin influences on emotion recognition Aim: To explore whether oxytocin administration influenced facial emotion recognition in people with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) Conclusions : – I mprovement of the recognition of fearful and happy facial expressions by oxytocin in young adults with ASPD. – The increased recognition of facial fear is of high importance since the correct perception of distress signals in others is thought to inhibit aggression. Timmerman et al., (2017) Psychoneuroendocrinology , doi : 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.07.483 Te s t o s t e r o n e a n d c o r t i s o l i n f l u e n c e e m o t i o n r e c o g n i ti o n Aim: Examining whether males’ response accuracy is influenced by the modality of stimulus presentation Procedure :282 males who categorized voice, face and voice - face stimuli for nonverbal emotional content Results : – R ecognition accuracy was significantly higher in the audio - visual than in the auditory or visual modality Lausen et al., (2020) Psychoneuroendocrinology , doi : 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104719 Te s t o s t e r o n e a n d c o r t i s o l i n f l u e n c e e m o t i o n r e c o g n i ti o n Results(cont ): –A p o s i t i v e a s s o c i a t i o n b e t w e e n testosterone and recognition accuracy as well as between cortisol and reaction time – The overall effect size of testosterone by cortisol interaction with recognition accuracy and reaction time was significant but small Conclusion : Combining audio- visual content enhances recognition accuracy. The interaction of testosterone and cortisol relates to males’ accuracy and response times in emotion recognition tasks. Lausen et al., (2020) Psychoneuroendocrinology , doi : 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104719 Learning Check –Hormonal Influences Hormones influence emotion recognition abilities: –Oxytocin – Cortisol – Te s t o s t e r o n e COMMUNICATION OF EMOTIONS DIFFICULTIES WITH RECOGNISINGEMOTION Content note –Discussion about Alexithymia Difficulties emotion interpretation or expression Alexithymia –Externally oriented cognitive style – Difficulty identifying feelings – Difficulty describing feelings • Stable psychological trait across thelifespan • Dimension ranging fromlow- to -high inthe population • High co -occurring depression and anxiety Hogeveen & Grafman, (2021) Handbook of Clinical Neurolo gy, doi:10.1016/B978 -0-12-822290 -4.00004 -9 Alexithymia impact on emotion recognition Aim: To i n v e s t i g a t e w h e t h e r p e o p l e w i t h a l e x i t h y m i a h a v e d i m i n i s h e d emotion -related social cognitive competencies, beyond the effect of anxiety/depressive symptoms –social cognition encompassing the set of abilities that all ows one to navigate one's social environment Procedure :206 participants completed four components of social cognition as well as a measure of alexithymia – R ecognition of others’ emotions – Representation of others’ affective and cognitive men tal states – Empathy – Regulation of one's own feelings Di Tella et al., (2020) Journal of Affective Disorders, doi : 10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.012 Alexithymia impact on emotion recognition Results: Alexithymia significantly predicted emotion recognition, empathy, and emotional regulation but not the representation of others’ affective and cognitive mental states Conclusion : - The data seem to support the idea that recognising emotions and feelings of other people relies on the ability to identify and recognise correctly one's own feelings. - A lexithymia seems to play an intervening role in social cognitive functioning. Di Tella et al., (2020) Journal of Affective Disorders, doi : 10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.012 Learning Check –Difficulties recognitio n •People with Alexithymia have difficulties with identify ing and describing their feelings • Alexithymic traits have a significant impact on a person’s emotion regulation, emotion recognition and empathy abilities MORAL DECISION MAKING Content note – Discussion about Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemp oral Dementia Roleofthe ventromedial prefrontal cortex •The vmPFC plays an important role in emotional regulation and inhibition of emotional responses (extinction). • The vmPFC includes medial orbitofrontal cortex and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex • Inputs to the vmPFCprovide information about what is going on in the environment and what is being planned in the rest of the frontal lobe • Outputs from the vmPFCaffect a variety of behaviours and physiological responses, including emotional responses organised by the amygdala Role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex Input • Information about what is happening in the environment • What plans are being made by the rest of the frontal lobes Areas • Thalamus • Te m p o r a l c o r t e x • Ve n t r a l t e g m e n t a l a r e a • Olfactory system • amygdala Output : • Affects a variety of behaviours and physiological responses, including emotional responses organised by the amygdala. Areas • Cingulate cortex • hippocampal formation • temporal cortex • lateral hypothalamus • amygdala Ve n t r o m e d i a lprefrontalcortexdamag e Damage to the vmPFC causes serious impairments of behaviouralcontrol and decision making • Inhibition (Phineas Gage) • Decision making (EVR) • Research study:Lesion study indicated that damage to the left vmPFCwas strongly associated with emotional/social personality changes Above: Gage Right: EVR Left: Study Barrash , et al., (2022) Cortex, doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.12.004 Moral decision making Impersonal moral dilemma •Most people given this scenario conclude that it is logical to switch the tracks and save the 5 people at the sacrifice of 1. Personal moral dilemma • This scenario poses more problems, despite the outcome being the same. The idea of pushing a person is more emotionally wrenching than pulling a switch. Moral decision making Neuroimaging evidence •Moral problems activate vmPFC, non -emotional decisions don’t vmPFC damage evidence • Presentation of nonmoral, impersonal (e.g., flip the switch) and personal (e.g., push man off bridge) dilemmas to people with and without vmPFC damage • More logical / utilitarian decisions in personal moral dilemmas by people with vmPFC damage Koenigset al., (2007) Nature, doi: 10.1038/nature05631 Double dissociation in moral brain network Research Question: How do patterns of neural activation in the moral network differ when processing easy or difficult moral challenges? Participants : 38 adults (22 females, mean age 24.6 years)Procedure : Brain scan during solving of difficult and easy moral scenarios and difficult and easy non -moral scenarios Activation of the moral network, including the bilat eral temporoparietal junction (TPJ), vmPFC, dorsolateral PFC ( dlPFC ) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex ( dACC) Feldmanhall et al., (2014) Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, doi: 10.1093/scan/nss139 Double dissociation in moral brain network Results:Difficult moral dilemmas engaged the bilateral TPJ and easy moral dilemmas engaged the vmPFC Conclusions : Degree of functional dissociation between the TPJ and vmPFCfor moral decision making suggesting flexible use of the moral network during moral decision making A : Activation of the TPJ (Yellow) and deactivation of the vmPFCand OFC (blue) during difficult moralvsdifficult nonmoral scenarios B : Activation of the vmPFC (Yellow) and deactivation of the TPJ and dlPFC (blue) during easy nonmoral vs easy moral scenarios. Feldmanhallet al., (2014) Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, doi: 10.1093/scan/nss139 Dementia and moral dilemmas Aim: Investigate verbal responses and emotional arousal to moral dilemmas during the process of moral decision - making in – 10 patients with the behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia bvFTD – 11 p a t i e n t s w i t h A l z h e i m e r ’ s d i s e a s e ( A D ) – 9 people without dementia (HC) Procedure : Participants were presented with computerized versions of moral dilemmas that probed the necessity for harmful action of an impersonal nature (pull switch) or personal nature (push man off footbridge). Fong et al., (2016) Social Neuroscience, doi: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1186111; Musa et al., (2020) Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, doi : 10.3233/JAD -190924 Dementia and moral dilemmas Fong et al., (2016) Social Neuroscience, doi: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1186111 Results : • The bvFTD participants were more willing to push a man in order to stop a trolley from killing five other people, than AD participants and HC. • The bvFTD participants showed more positive emotional responses when responding to moral dilemmas, whereas the AD and HC groups expressed distress and an unwillingness to cause direct harm to another person. Dementia and moral dilemmas Results(cont ): • T he bvFTD group showed decreased conflict (measured by time to respond) and emotional arousal (measured by SCRs) at the prospect of committing harmful actions that involve direct personal interaction. Conclusion : bvFTD patients have dysfunction of the emotional processes that guide moral behavior. Suggesting that they quickly and without hesitation resort to a “morality” that values the saving of more lives. Fong et al., (2016) Social Neuroscience, doi: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1186111 Learning Check •Damage to the vmPFC causes serious impairments of behaviouralcontrol and decision making • Damage to the vmPFCleads to more logical or utilitarian decision making for nonmoral, impersonal moral and personal moral dilemmas • The TPJ is involved in difficult moral decision making and the vmPFCin easy moral decision making • People with bvFTDwho have damage to the frontal lobes make more utilitarian decisions than people with AD or people without dementia Support information I hope that you enjoyed the content of the lecture, however, if any of the materials discussed during this lecture was difficult for you to attend to or process due to mental health difficulties, please do not hesitate to visit any of the following websites for support information, contact your Academic Advisor or contact your GP: - Links to list of support services: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk 24 -hour support is offered by: - Qwell : https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/taking -care/qwell/ - Health Assured: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/taking - care/mental-health -helpline/