BIOPSYCHOLOGY OF EMOTION, STRESS AND HEALTH

Here are some theories about emotion in summarize form:

Darwin’s The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals was the first major event in the study of the biological bases of emotion.Darwin believed emotions evolved from behaviors that indicated what an animal would do next in a given situation; that when these behaviors were advantageous to the animal

The James-Lange Theory was the first attempt to explain the physiological bases of emotion; suggests that emotion-inducing stimuli are received and interpreted by the brain, which triggers visceral changes ( organ changes in the abdomen or thorax) that subsequently trigger the experience of emotion

Canon-Bard Theory is alternative theory based on the idea that emotional stimuli evoke visceral and emotional responses that are independent of one another.

Neither theory is entirely correct; emotions can be induced by stimuli that cannot elicit a peripheral, visceral response (e.g., patients suffering from a spinal cord transection), but visceral responses can often induce an emotional state in the absence of any obvious eliciting stimuli (e.g., a racing heartbeat and increased respiration can produce a feeling of fear in the absence of an eliciting stimuli). Bard reported that decorticate cats (without cortex) responded with unusual aggression to the slightest provocation; often this behavior was not directed at any specific topic. Bard concluded that the hypothalamus is critical for the performance of these aggressive behaviors, which he called sham rage; he also believed that the cortex normally inhibited and directed these aggressive displays. This theory of hypothalamic function was followed by Papez’s proposal of a limbic system that controlled the expression of emotions by connections with the hypothalamus and mediated the perception of emotions by connections with the cortex. This was supported by Kluver-Bucy syndrome - damage to the amygdala (part of the limbic system) resulting patients who are fearless, hypersexual, and inclined to explore objects with mouth.

Stress – reaction to harm to threat

Stressors – stimuli that cause stress

Chronic psychological stress – most clearly linked to ill health

In the short-term stress is adaptive, in the long-term it is maladaptive

Activation of the anterior-pituitary adrenal-cortex system. Selye neglected the role of the sympathetic nervous system. All common psychological stressors are associated with high levels of glucocorticoids, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.