PSYB30H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Sympathetic Nervous System, Alexithymia, Clinical Psychology
Document Summary
Emotion include three components: associated with distinct subjective feelings or affects, accompanied by bodily changes, mostly in the nervous system, accompanied by distinct action tendencies, or increases in probabilities of certain behaviours. Older emotions theories (e. g. , james-lange theory) assumed that different emotions have distinct patterns of physiological responses. Evidence shows that most emotions activate the sympathetic nervous system, leading to increased heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance (sweaty hands) One area of the brain that is frequently linked to emotion is the amygdala. Animal studies suggest that the amygdala is particularly responsive tp threatening stimuli. In recent years, it has become possible to study activity in the amygdala of human participants while watching emotional pictures. Theses studies show that the amygdala is activated by both negative (angry faces) and positive (erotica) stimuli. Paradigms that include fear or anxiety (threat-of-shock) or other emotions (displaying evocative imagery) Tapping into emotional regulation and the outcome of experiencing emotion.
