Chapter 11: Emotions, Aggression And Stress

Front 1

Emotion

Back 1

A subjective mental state that is usually accompanied by distinctive behaviors as well as involuntary physiological changes

Front 2

Sympathetic Nervous System

Back 2

The part of the autonomic nervous system that acts as the "fight or flight" system, generally activating the body for action.

Front 3

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Back 3

The part of the autonomic nervous system that generally prepares the body to relax and recuperate.

Front 4

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Back 4

The idea that sensory feedback from our facial expressions can affect our mood.

Front 5

Evolutionary Psychology

Back 5

A field of study devoted to asking how natural selection has shaped behavior in humans and other animals.

Front 6

Brain Self-Stimulation

Back 6

The process in which animals will work to provide electrical stimulation to particular brain sites, presumably because the experience is very rewarding.

Front 7

Medial Forebrain Bundle

Back 7

A collection of axons traveling in the midline region of the forebrain

Front 8

Nucleus Accumbens

Back 8

A region of the forebrain that receives dopaminergic innervation from the ventral tegmental area.

Front 9

Decorticate Rage

Back 9

Also called sham rage. Sudden intense rage characterized by actions that lack clear direction.

Front 10

Limbic System

Back 10

A loosely defined, wide spread group of brain nuclei that innervate each other to form a network. These nuclei are implicated in emotions.

Front 11

Kluver-Bucy Syndrome

Back 11

A condition brought about by bilateral amygdala damage that is characterized by dramatic emotional changes including reduction in fear and anxiety.

Front 12

Fear Conditioning

Back 12

A form of classical conditioning in which a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unpleasant stimulus, like foot shock, until the previously neutral stimulus alone elicits the responses seen in fear.

Front 13

Amygdala

Back 13

A group of nuclei in the medial anterior part of the temporal lobe.

Front 14

Aggression

Back 14

Behavior that is intended to cause pain or harm to others.

Front 15

Intermale Aggression

Back 15

Aggression between males of the same species.

Front 16

Testosterone

Back 16

A hormone produced by male gonads, that controls a variety of bodily changes that become visible at puberty. One of a class of hormones called androgens.

Front 17

Serotonin

Back 17

A synaptic transmitter that is produced in the raphe nuclei and is active in structures throughout the central nervous system.

Front 18

Psychopath

Back 18

An individual incapable of experiencing remorse.

Front 19

Stress

Back 19

Any circumstance that upsets homeostatic balance.

Front 20

Alarm Reaction

Back 20

The initial response to stress.

Front 21

Adrenal Medulla

Back 21

The inner core of the adrenal gland.

Front 22

Epinephrine

Back 22

Also called adrenaline. A compound that acts both as a hormone and as a synaptic transmitter.

Front 23

Norepinephrine

Back 23

A neurotransmitter produced and released by sympathetic postganglionic neurons to accelerate organ activity.

Front 24

Adrenal Cortex

Back 24

The outer rind of the adrenal gland.

Front 25

Adrenal Steroid Hormone

Back 25

A steroid hormone that is secreted by the adrenal cortex.

Front 26

Cortisol

Back 26

A glucocorticoid stress hormone of the adrenal cortex.

Front 27

Adaptation Stage

Back 27

The second stage in the stress response, including successful activation of the appropriate response systems and the reestablishment of homeostatic balance.

Front 28

Exhaustion Stage

Back 28

A stage in the response to stress that is caused by prolonged or frequently repeated stress and is characterized by increased susceptibility to disease.

Front 29

Stress Immunization

Back 29

The concept that mild stress early in life makes an individual better able to handle stress later in life.

Front 30

Epigenetic Regulation

Back 30

Changes in gene expression that are due to environmental effects rather than to changes in nucelotide sequence of the gene.

Front 31

Psychosomatic Medicine

Back 31

A field of study that emphasizes the role of psychological factors in disease.

Front 32

Health Psychology

Back 32

A field of study that focuses on psychological influences on health related processes, such as why people become ill or how they remain healthy.

Front 33

Psychoneuroimmunology

Back 33

The study of the immune system and its interaction with the nervous system and behavior.