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Chapter 3
The Motivated and Emotional Brain
THE MOTIVATED AND EMOTIONAL BRAIN
Why is the Brain Important?
Thinking BrainCognitive and Intellectual Functions
“What task it is doing”
Motivated Brain“Whether you want to do it”
Emotional Brain“What your mood is while doing it”
Brain
Three Principles
The Motivated And Emotional Brain
Figure 3.2
The Motivated Brain
Food Deprivation Activates the Ghrelin Release that Stimulates the Hypothalamus to Create Hunger
The Emotional BrainGood Event Activates The Dopamine Release That Stimulates Positive Affect
Look Inside The Brain
Figure 3.5 Cross Section of the Brain Showing the Anatomic Position of the Key Brain Structures Involved in Motivation and Emotion
Two Ways of Looking inside the Brain
• Surgeon’s View
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
Brain Structure Associated Motivational or Emotional Experience
HypothalamusPleasurable feelings associated with feeding, drinking, mating
Medial forebrain bundle Pleasure, reinforcement
Orbitofrontal cortex Learning the incentive value of events, making choices
Septal area Pleasure center associated with sociability, sexuality
Nucleus accumbens Pleasurable experience of reward, hotspot for liking
Anterior cingulate cortex Mood, volition, making choices
Cerebral cortex (Frontal lobes) Making plans, setting goals, formulating intentions
Left prefrontal cerebral cortex Approach motivational and emotional tendencies
Medial prefrontal cerebral cortex
Learning response-outcome contingencies that underlie perceived control beliefs and mastery motivation
Motivational and Emotional States Associated with
Approach-Oriented Brain Structure
Hypothalamus Comprises less than 1% of the total volume of
the brain “motivational giant” Stimulation generates wants for, and the
pleasures associated with, water, food, and sexual partners
Regulates the endocrine and automatic nervous system
Therefore it is able to regulate the body’s internal environment so to adapt optimally to the external environmentEx. Internal (heart rate, hormone secretion) to
cope with an External stressor
Medial Forebrain Bundle
“Pleasure Center” Stimulation creates pleasure and
leads animals to act as if they have just received (+) reinforcement
In humans, stimulation produces general positive feelings
Orbitofrontal Cortex
Processes incentive-related information
Helps people make choices between options
For example- which product to buy or what to drink
Septo-Hippocampal Circuit Forecasts the emotion associated
with upcoming events in terms of both anticipated pleasure and anticipated anxiety
Nucleus Accumbens- plays a critical role in the experience of pleasure form naturally occurring reinforces (good food, social acceptance)
Includes Hippocampus (Avoidance-oriented)
Anterior Cingulate Cortex Involved in the control of day-to-day
mood, volition, and choices Decreased activity is associated with
sadness and depression Important to the mental activity
underlying the act of “making a choice”
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Central role in the learning of response-outcome contingencies
“When I study, I make good grades” Important to goal-directed, outcome
seeking action
Left Prefrontal Cortex
Prefrontal Cortex houses a person’s concious goals
Goals routinely compete against one another (goal to eat vs. goal to lose weight)
Positive approach oriented feelings Personality differences (more
sensitive left vs. right prefrontal lobe)
Brain Structure Associated Motivational or Emotional Experience
Right prefrontal cerebral cortex
Withdraw motivational and emotional tendencies
AmygdalaDetecting and responding to threat and danger(e.g., via fear, anger, and anxiety)
Hippocampus Behavior inhibition system during unexpected events
Motivational and Emotional States Associated with
Avoidance-Oriented Brain Structure
Table 3.1 Motivational and Emotional States Associated with Specific Brain Structure
Right Prefrontal Cortex
Negative and avoidance oriented feelings
Negative emotionality Related to a personality oriented
toward anxiety and avoidance orientations
Amygdala
Detects and responds to threatening and emotionally significant events
Regulates the emotions involved in self- preservation (fear, anger, anxiety)
Each nuclei serves a different functionEmotional angerFear and defensive behavior
Hippocampus
Operates as a “comparator” that instantly compares incoming sensory information with expected events (from memory)
If events do not unfold as expected the hippocampus acts in “not okay” modeActivates septo-hippocampal circuitGenerates an anxiety-ridden
motivational state that takes control over behavior
Brain Structure Associated Motivational or Emotional ExperienceReticular formation Arousal
Motivational and Emotional States Associated with Arousal-Oriented Brain Structure
Figure 3.6 Anatomy (a) and Function (b) of the Reticular Formation
Arousal
Alert/aroused cortex processes information, makes a decision, and responds appropriately
NEUROTRANSMITTER PATHWAYS IN THE BRAIN
Neurotransmitter Pathway : A cluster of neurons that communicate with other neurons by using one particular neurotransmitter
Four Motivationally Relevant Neurotransmitter Pathways 1. Dopamine
2. Serotonin
3. Norepinephrine
4. Endorphin
Dopamine
Dopamine
Hormones In The Body
Essential Hormones underlying Motivation, Emotion, and Behavior
The World In Which Brain Lives