Psych 100 Emotion, Stress & Health Lecture Notes PDF

Psychology 100: Emotion, Stress & Health Emotion  Whare are Emotions? Emotions are psycho- logical states consisting of: – 1) Physiological arousal (e.g., sympathetic nervous system activity) – 2) Behavioral reactions (e.g., facial and postural expressions, fig...

Psychology 100: Emotion, Stress & Health Emotion  Whare are Emotions? Emotions are psycho- logical states consisting of: – 1) Physiological arousal (e.g., sympathetic nervous system activity) – 2) Behavioral reactions (e.g., facial and postural expressions, fight or flight) – 3) Subjective experiences or ‘feelings’ (e.g., surprise, elation, sadness, anger, fear)  Humans & Their Faces! Facial expressions of emotion play a critical role in social communication!  The ‘Basic’ Emotions Anger Fear Disgust Paul Ekman Surprise Happiness Sadness  The ‘Basic’ Emotions Anger Fear Disgust Basic emotions are universal! Paul TheEkman Fore PeopleSurprise (Papua, Happiness New Guinea) Sadness  Why Are Emojis Universal? Basic emotions (and their recognition) are “hard-wired” into the human nervous system!  Facial Perceptual Targets for Different Emotions Joy Disgust Fear Anger Sadness Our eyes (and brains) attend to specific features of faces to judge another’s emotional state! Schurgin et al, 2014 Fear  The Amygdala & Fear Fearful Amygdala ‘feelings’ Prefrontal Cortex Startle Amygdala Behavioral Fearful facial THREAT Reactions expressions Brainstem Heart Rate Stress Sympathetic Blood Pressure Cortisol Hormone Arousal Sweating Adrenaline Release Brainstem Respiration (via hypothalamus) (via HPA axis)  Happy Faces Fearful Faces 100% 75% 25% 25% 75% 100% Amygdala Amygdala Activation 100% Neutral 100% Happy Fearful Adapted from Morris et al, 1996  The Case of “Patient S.M.” “Patient S.M.” Please Abigail Marsh, watch! University Georgetown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hi3JO1rqYw Intact Control Patient S.M. (e.g., intact amygdala) Temporal lobe al lobe Temporal lob Temporal lob e Temporal lob Tempor Amygdala Amygdala e e Occipital Occipital lobe lobe  Patient S.M. & Fear...or a spider Adapted from Feinstein et al, 2011...or when visiting a Patient S.M. doesn’t ’haunted house’ exhibit fear when holding a snake Intact Controls Fear Response Patient S.M. Relative to controls, S.M. shows little fear response when viewing 10 scary film clips Clip 1 Clip 2 Clip 3 Clip 4 Clip 5 Clip 6 Clip 7 Clip 8 Clip 9 Clip 10  Patient S.M. & Face Processing Intact Control Patient S.M. (e.g., intact amygdala) Eye Tracking Composite Adolphs et al, 2005, Nature Patient S.M. does not track the eyes!  ‘Subliminal’ Processing of Threat Here, the threatening face is presented too quickly for us to consciously perceive it ‘Threatening’ ‘Neutral’ Mask Less Face Face Active Whalen et al, 1998 Amygdala’s reaction to the threatening face More Active 30 msec 500 msec Presentation of threatening faces results in amygdala activation even if we are unaware of the presence of the threat!  The Importance of the Eyes… Amygdala Activation Fearful Happy Adapted from Whalen et al, 2004 ‘Fearful’ ‘Happy’ Eye Eye Eye Eye Whites Blacks Whites Whites  The Importance of the Eyes… The threat must make biological sense! Amygdala Activation Fearful Happy Adapted from Whalen et al, 2004 ‘Fearful’ ‘Happy’ Eye Eye Eye Eye Whites Blacks Blacks Blacks  The High & Low Roads LeDoux, 1996, Scientific American  The Low Road The High Road FAST, Unconscious SLOW, Conscious Sensory cortex ?? “Yikes, that’s a spider!” Fear Fear response! response!  The Low Road The High Road FAST, Unconscious SLOW, Conscious Sensory PHEW ! cortex ?? “Just a dust bunny!!!” Fear Fear response response! turned off!  The Prefrontal Cortex & Emotion Regulation Prefrontal X Fearful ‘feelings’ Cortex X IN Behavioral EX Amygdala Startle HI CI T BI AT TO OR Y RY EXCITATORY Fearful facial PERCEIVED Reactions expressions EX THREAT CI TA RY Brainstem TO TO RY ITA X EXC Heart Rate X Stress Sympathetic Blood Pressure Hormone Arousal Sweating Cortisol Release Brainstem Adrenaline (via hypothalamus) Respiration (via HPA axis) STRESS!!  Stressors Stressors are events and/or conditions that 1) are perceived (appraised) as overwhelmingly challenging, threatening, and/or harmful and 2) trigger our body’s stress system Stressors vary as a function of intensity & persistence  Catastrophic Events Short-term effects include increased heart attacks on the day of the event Long term effects may include depression, nightmares, anxiety, and flashbacks An event that most people agree is harmful and overwhelming Examples include earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, war/combat and wildfires It can be one single event or chronic, ongoing conditions  Chronic Daily Difficulties Daily difficulties can be caused by facing too many tasks, too little time and too little control Daily difficulties can be accentuated by a lack of social power and freedom Being bullied Living in poverty Living under oppressive political conditions Subordinate Social Status  The Stress Response The stress response allows us to get ready for vigorous activity – and is perfectly normal! All of the physiological responses that are involved in the stress response help to mobilize the body’s ‘fight or flight’ energy stores The sympathetic nervous system becomes active, causing the adrenal gland to secrete the hormone adrenaline, resulting in: – Increased glucose (energy) availability and metabolism – Increased cardiovascular output – Increased lung capacity (and respiration) – Focused attention!  Stress & The Sympathetic Nervous System Pupil dilation Bronchial dilation Heart rate/blood pressure Glucose release from liver Adrenaline release Digestive processes The SNS acts quickly to set these processes in motion, while circulating levels of a d re n a lin e allow the system to remain active  Cortisol & the HPA Axis Stress also results in the release of cor tisol, a hormone produced in the adrenal gland The hypothalamus triggers the release of cortisol from the adrenal gland – Instructs the anterior pituitary gland to release a hormone known as adrenocor ticotropic hormone (ACTH) ACTH travels through the blood to the adrenal glands, where it promotes the release of cortisol This system is referred to as the ‘Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis’ The Pituitary (a.k.a. “The Master Gland”) The Hypothalamus The hypothalamus sends signals to the Anterior pituitary Posterior pituitary gland to gland pituitary gland trigger the release of pituitary hormones into the body’s circulation Release of posterior Release of anterior (blood) pituitary hormones pituitary hormones The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis Hypothalamus Signal to anterior pituitary B ra Feedback ins To Brain ACTH release tem An t e r i o r pi t ui t a r y Cortisol gl a nd release Adrenal c o r t ex Sympathetic Cor tisol nervous Adrenal system neuron medulla Adrenaline release Adrenaline  The Amygdala Activates the Stress Response! Amygdala Perceived Stressor Classical Neurotransmitter Systems Fear & (Arousal, Attention, Anxiety V ig ilan ce ) HPA Axis & Sympathetic Stress Nervous System Response Activation Cortisol & Adrenaline Stress & Disease  Acute vs. Chronic Stress Acute stress is normal during times of emergency, but exposure to chronic stress has harmful effects on the body and brain Many of the harmful effects of chronic stress have been linked to chronic release of the adrenal hormone cortisol: – 1) Long-term high blood pressure – 2) Stomach ulcers – 3) Inhibition of the immune system – 4) Accelerated aging – 5) Damage to the brain!  Chronic Stress & the Hippocampus Dominant Monkey Healthy Hippocampal Neurons Adapted from Uno et al, 1989 Hippocampus Subordinate Monkey Unhealthy Hippocampal Neurons Robert Sapolsky Naturally-occurring chronic social stress in baboons is associated with neuron loss in the hippocampus! Chronic Stress & the Hippocampus Dominant Monkey Subordinate Monkey Hippocampal Adapted from Uno et al, 1989 Neurons  Stress & Disease Psychologists no longer use the term ‘psycho- somatic’ because it has come to mean an imagined illness We now refer to psychophysiological illness, a real illness caused in part by psychological factors such as the experience of stress  Chronic Stress is Immunosuppressive 50 Adapted from Cohen et al, 1991 Developing Colds 45 Participants were % of Participants given nose drops 40 containing common cold viruses. Those 35 that reported being under the most stress 30 were more likely to catch a cold relative to those who were 25 less stressed. 0 Stress Level Carol Shively Chronic Stress & Heart Disease Please watch! Blackboard > Lecture Videos > Stress Movies Chronic Stress & High Blood Pressure Adapted from Cobb & Rose, 1973 Incidence of Hypertension (cases per thousand) hypertension across various age groups of air traffic controllers at “high-stress” and “low-stress” airports  Chronic Stress & Heart Disease Dominant Subordinate Monkey Monkey Dominant Subordinate Adapted from Shively et al, 2016 Artery Artery Rank of Atherosclerosis Monkey  Chromosomes, Telomeres & Cellular Aging A telomere is a region of repetitive, non-coding DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome that protect the ends of chromosomes from Secretion of becoming frayed or tangled chemicals that Telomeres trigger Each time a cell divides, inflammation, age-related telomeres become slightly diseases, etc shorter Stress, damage, aging… Eventually, they become so short that the cell can no longer divide successfully, and the cell Normal Senescent Cell dies Cell (cell-cycle arrest)  Chronic Stress, Telomeres & Accelerated Cellular Aging Please watch! Blackboard > Lecture Videos > Stress Movies  Chronic Stress & Telomeres Elizabeth Blackburn Elissa Epel Telomere Length Telomerase Level High Stress Low Stress Years Spent Caregiving Adapted from Epel et al, 2004, PNAS Chronic Stress & Mental Illness Please watch! Blackboard > Lecture Videos > Stress Movies  Radiolabeled Dominant compound that Monkey binds to dopamine receptors Depression & Dopamine Chronic Social Stress, Adapted from Grant, Shively, et al, 1998 Subordinate Monkey Dopamine binding is reduced in the brains Dopamine of subordinate monkeys! Binding Dominant Subordinate  Health & Psychological Well-Being  Quality of Life vs. ‘Healthspan’ The goal? To be as healthy as we can Lifespan until the end! Length of Life  Coping with Stress Problem-focused Emotion-focused coping involves coping involves reducing reducing the stressors the emotional impact of (e.g., working out a stress (e.g., getting support, conflict or tackling a comfort, and perspective difficult project head on) from others) The risk: Magnifying The risk: Ignoring the emotional distress! problem! We may be trying to We might focus on this change something that’s style of coping when difficult or impossible to we perceive the change (e.g., another stressor as something person’s personality traits) we cannot change  Appraisal: Choosing How to View a Situation Questions to ask ourselves when facing a stressor: Is this a challenge, and will I tackle it? Is it overwhelming, and will I give up? Stressful Negative Event Positive (Tough Math Exam) Appraisal Appraisal There are very few conditions that are Threat Challenge inherently and (“Yikes! This is (“I’m going to beyond me!”) beat this exam!”) universally stressful; we can often choose our appraisal, or at Stressed Aroused & Distracted & Focused least learn to! The Prefrontal Cortex & Stress Reduction  Positive Appraisal & the Prefrontal Cortex Prefrontal Amygdala Cortex Activation Adapted from Ochsner et al, 2002 More active Less active Stress Stress + No Prefrontal activity (green Positive Stress areas) during positive appraisal Appraisal Positive appraisal leads to increased activity in the prefrontal cortex and decreased amygdala activity  Prefrontal Intervention in the Stress Response PFC Amygdala Perceived X Stressor Classical Neurotransmitter X Systems Fear & (Arousal, Attention, Anxiety V ig ilan ce ) X X HPA Axis & Sympathetic Stress Response X Nervous System Activation Cortisol & Adrenaline  Managing Stress: Social Support Having close relationships (even a few) is associated with improved health, immune functioning and longevity Social support, including from pets, provides a calming effect that reduces blood pressure and stress hormones Laughter helps too! “Well, I think you’re wonderful.”  Social Support & Telomeres Social support increases the expression of telomerase, the enzyme that repairs telomeres!  Managing Stress: Aerobic Exercise Aerobic exercise promotes the Aerobic exercise expression of genes which refers to sustained activity guard against chronic diseases that raises heart rate and and conditions oxygen consumption Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of heart disease, cognitive decline, dementia, and early death  Managing Stress: Meditation Mindfulness meditation involves moment to moment attention to sensations, thoughts, sounds, emotions, breathing, etc in a non- judgmental manner Increases conscious awareness of our own negative thoughts, emotions, and stress triggers Promotes compassion  Please watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw71zanwMnY