... or "a positive threat": vigilance"a negative reward": vigilance
"a negative reward": anger
... or "a positive threat": vigilance"a negative reward": vigilance
"a negative reward": anger
approach: excitement/interest
avoidance: vigilance
fight: anger
flight: fear
vigilance <--> nervousness
fear <--> freezing or startle response
approach: excitement/interest ..... a reward
avoidance: nervousness/vigilance ..... a reward and a potential threat
approach + acute stress (SNS): anger ..... a threat and a potential reward
avoidance + acute stress (SNS): fear ..... a threat
This facial expression indicates that he is already smelling something bad, so he is not avoiding it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affect_(psychology)
Affective states vary along three principal dimensions: valence, arousal, and motivational intensity.
Valence is the subjective spectrum of positive-to-negative evaluation of an experience an individual may have had. Emotional valence refers to the emotion's consequences, emotion-eliciting circumstances, or subjective feelings or attitudes.
Arousal is objectively measurable as activation of the sympathetic nervous system, but can also be assessed subjectively via self-report.
Motivational intensity refers to the impulsion to act; the strength of an urge to move toward or away from a stimulus and whether or not to interact with said stimulus. Simply moving is not considered approach (or avoidance) motivation.
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If we use this definition of affect/emotion then disgust (and dissmell) must be excluded.
... or he/she is already interacting with someone or something.This facial expression indicates that he is already smelling something bad, so he is not avoiding it.
http://www.tomkins.org/what-tomkins-...d-personality/
"Affect is the innate, biological response to the increasing, decreasing or persistent intensity of neural firing. This results in a particular feeling, facial and body display, and skin changes. Affects feel rewarding, punishing, or neutral in their own ways. Affect makes things urgent."
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This does not apply to disgust and dissmell.
calmness/relaxedness ... "don't approach anything", so it is not an emotion
surprise ... a) the startle response <--> fear ... b) disbelief/confusion, so it is not an emotion
boredom = (very) mild excitement/interest
happiness ... "approach everything"
sadness ... "avoid everything"
irritation = mild anger
apprehension = mild fear
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudate_nucleus
"The caudate nucleus contributes importantly to body and limbs posture and the speed and accuracy of directed movements. "
caudate nucleus: approach a reward
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putamen
"part of the motor system that's mobilized to take action"
"The caudate works with the putamen to receive the input from cerebral cortex. Collectively, they can be considered the 'entrance' to the basal ganglia."
putamen: approach a reward and a threat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disgust
"The insula (or insular cortex), is the main neural structure involved in the emotion of disgust."
But disgust and dissmell are still not emotions (see post #208).Motivational intensity refers to the impulsion to act; the strength of an urge to move toward or away from a stimulus and whether or not to interact with said stimulus. Simply moving is not considered approach (or avoidance) motivation.
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If we use this definition of affect/emotion then disgust (and dissmell) must be excluded.
All images and memories of people/objects are affected by emotions. Disgust only concerns specific types of images and memories, i.e. of spoiled food etc. An image of a dictator will not cause increased intensity of neural firing in the insular cortex, and a big and beautiful bronze statue (which is impossible to swallow) will never be expelled by a person due to feelings of disgust.
surprise:
a) The startle response is a reflex.
b) Disbelief/confusion will cause increased or decreased activity in the neocortex but the rest of the body will not be affected.
http://www.tomkins.org/what-tomkins-...d-personality/
"Surprise-Startle: The reset button ... Inherently neutral"
... which contradicts the definition in post #206. It is clear that surprise does not deal with motivation.
Disbelief/confusion does not activate the limbic system.
6 basic emotions
excitement/interest
nervousness/vigilance
anger
fear
happiness
sadness
Last edited by Petter; 05-26-2023 at 02:48 PM.
... or approach with cautionavoidance: nervousness/vigilance ..... a reward and a potential threat
... or a threat and a rewardapproach + acute stress (SNS): anger ..... a threat and a potential reward
... or approach rewards more oftenhappiness ... "approach everything"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_cortex
The insular cortex is a limbic-related cortex so disgust is not an emotion (in my view), even though it motivates people to stay away from spoiled food etc.
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/h...y/06brain.html
The activity of the insula in so many areas is something of a puzzle. “People have had a hard time conceptualizing what the insula does,” said Dr. Martin Paulus, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Diego.
If it does everything, what exactly is it that it does?
For example, the insula “lights up” in brain scans when people crave drugs, feel pain, anticipate pain, empathize with others, listen to jokes, see disgust on someone’s face, are shunned in a social settings, listen to music, decide not to buy an item, see someone cheat and decide to punish them, and determine degrees of preference while eating chocolate.
Damage to the insula can lead to apathy, loss of libido and an inability to tell fresh food from rotten.
The bottom line, according to Dr. Paulus and others, is that mind and body are integrated in the insula. It provides unprecedented insight into the anatomy of human emotions.
As of October 2017, hedonic hotspots have been identified in subcompartments within the nucleus accumbens shell, ventral pallidum, parabrachial nucleus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and insular cortex.
https://www.cell.com/trends/neurosci...2818%2930132-2 (The Insula: An Underestimated Brain Area in Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Neurology)
Interoceptive information of constantly changing body states arrives in the posterior insula by ascending sensory inputs from dedicated spinal and brainstem pathways via specific thalamic relays. This information is projected rostrally onto the anterior insula, where it is integrated with emotional, cognitive, and motivational signals from an array of cortical and subcortical regions. As a result, the anterior insula supports unique subjective feeling states. The anterior insula regulates the introduction of subjective feelings into cognitive and motivational processes by virtue of its cortical location at the cross-roads of numerous pathways involved in higher cognition and motivation.
the insular cortex <--> empathy (feeling the pain of others)
I think disgust is similar to pain rather than anger or another emotion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_hypothalamus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothalamus
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lateral hypothalamus <--> a reward
medial hypothalamus <--> a threat
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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-...l-circuit.html (How hunger makes food tastier: a neural circuit in the hypothalamus)
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https://www.healthline.com/health/wh...trols-emotions
Where do emotions come from?
The limbic system is a group of interconnected structures located deep within the brain. It’s the part of the brain that’s responsible for behavioral and emotional responses.
Scientists haven’t reached an agreement about the full list of structures that make up the limbic system, but the following structures are generally accepted as part of the group:
Hypothalamus. In addition to controlling emotional responses, the hypothalamus is also involved in sexual responses, hormone release, and regulating body temperature.
Hippocampus. The hippocampus helps preserve and retrieve memories. It also plays a role in how you understand the spatial dimensions of your environment.
Amygdala. The amygdala helps coordinate responses to things in your environment, especially those that trigger an emotional response. This structure plays an important role in fear and anger.
Limbic cortex. This part contains two structures, the cingulate gyrus and the parahippocampal gyrus. Together, they impact mood, motivation, and judgement.
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https://www.health.harvard.edu/stayi...tress-response (Understanding the stress response)
The stress response begins in the brain (see illustration). When someone confronts an oncoming car or other danger, the eyes or ears (or both) send the information to the amygdala, an area of the brain that contributes to emotional processing. The amygdala interprets the images and sounds. When it perceives danger, it instantly sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus.
When someone experiences a stressful event, the amygdala, an area of the brain that contributes to emotional processing, sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus. This area of the brain functions like a command center, communicating with the rest of the body through the nervous system so that the person has the energy to fight or flee.
The hypothalamus is a bit like a command center. This area of the brain communicates with the rest of the body through the autonomic nervous system, which controls such involuntary body functions as breathing, blood pressure, heartbeat, and the dilation or constriction of key blood vessels and small airways in the lungs called bronchioles. The autonomic nervous system has two components, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system functions like a gas pedal in a car. It triggers the fight-or-flight response, providing the body with a burst of energy so that it can respond to perceived dangers. The parasympathetic nervous system acts like a brake. It promotes the "rest and digest" response that calms the body down after the danger has passed.
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hypothalamus and epithalamus.png
Last edited by Petter; 05-25-2023 at 07:52 AM.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3145462/
Role of excitations versus inhibitions in promoting and stopping behavior
A critical unanswered question is whether excitation or inhibition of NAc neurons promotes or suppresses behavior. Because initial studies in primates did not report inhibitions in the striatum (Bowman et al., 1996; Hassani et al., 2001; Cromwell and Schultz, 2003), most of the theories of the function of the ventral and dorsal striatum are related to excitations (Hikosaka, 2007; Nicola, 2007; Humphries and Prescott, 2010). However, studies from this laboratory in rodents have shown that NAc neuronal inhibitions are prevalent in several appetitive behaviors (Nicola et al., 2004a; Taha and Fields, 2006; Krause et al., 2010). The long-lasting inhibitions, such as those reported here in the core, have been proposed to permit (gate) goal-directed behaviors. This hypothesis states that a subpopulation of NAc neurons tonically suppresses behavior and that their inhibition is necessary for a behavior to occur (Taha and Fields, 2006; Krause et al., 2010). The fact that these inhibitions are more widespread and longer lasting in the core might appear to contradict the stronger behavioral suppression exerted by the shell in this and other paradigms (Kelley and Swanson, 1997; Stratford and Kelley, 1997; Peciña and Berridge, 2000; Reynolds and Berridge, 2002). However, electrical stimulation of both NAc core and shell produces powerful inhibition of sucrose licking (Krause et al., 2010). Furthermore, inhibitions (or excitations) in the core and shell could have opposing effects on behavior. Selective manipulation of excited and inhibited neurons will be required to determine their specific behavioral roles.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-021-01178-0
Stress decreases serotonin tone in the nucleus accumbens in male mice to promote aversion...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics...ccumbens-shell
Currently, it seems that the prelimbic mPFC, NAc shell, and BLA comprise the important circuitry that gives rise to optimal risk-based decision making, with the OFC and HPC possibly providing additional influences (Fig. 9.2C).
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2106648118
Dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) influence motivated behaviors, yet the mechanisms by which they modulate NAc activity are unclear. Here, we report that DA selectively reduced excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) from paraventricular thalamus (PVT) inputs, whereas 5-HT reduced EPSCs from PVT, ventral hippocampus (vHip), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) inputs but not medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) inputs. Mimicking the input-specific effect of DA via optogenetic inhibition of the PVT promoted cocaine-conditioned place preference, while inhibition of the mPFC blocked the enhancement of sociability induced by (±)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Together, these results suggest that these input-specific effects on NAc excitatory transmission contribute to the distinct modulation of behavior that is generated by release of DA and 5-HT.
https://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i...03_cr_par.html
The nucleus accumbens definitely plays a central role in the reward circuit. Its operation is based chiefly on two essential neurotransmitters: dopamine, which promotes desire, and serotonin, whose effects include satiety and inhibition. Many animal studies have shown that all drugs increase the production of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, while reducing that of serotonin.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25229197/
Disgust is a prototypical type of negative affect. In animal models of excessive disgust, only a few brain sites are known in which localized dysfunction (lesions or neural inactivations) can induce intense 'disgust reactions' (e.g. gapes) to a normally pleasant sensation such as sweetness. Here, we aimed to map forebrain candidates more precisely, to identify where either local neuronal damage (excitotoxin lesions) or local pharmacological inactivation (muscimol/baclofen microinjections) caused rats to show excessive sensory disgust reactions to sucrose. Our study compared subregions of the nucleus accumbens shell, ventral pallidum, lateral hypothalamus, and adjacent extended amygdala. The results indicated that the posterior half of the ventral pallidum was the only forebrain site where intense sensory disgust gapes in response to sucrose were induced by both lesions and temporary inactivations (this site was previously identified as a hedonic hotspot for enhancements of sweetness 'liking'). By comparison, for the nucleus accumbens, temporary GABA inactivations in the caudal half of the medial shell also generated sensory disgust, but lesions never did at any site. Furthermore, even inactivations failed to induce disgust in the rostral half of the accumbens shell (which also contains a hedonic hotspot). In other structures, neither lesions nor inactivations induced disgust as long as the posterior ventral pallidum remained spared. We conclude that the posterior ventral pallidum is an especially crucial hotspot for producing excessive sensory disgust by local pharmacological/lesion dysfunction. By comparison, the nucleus accumbens appears to segregate sites for pharmacological disgust induction and hedonic enhancement into separate posterior and rostral halves of the medial shell.
Last edited by Petter; 05-25-2023 at 11:55 AM.
a reward (pleasure): excitement, interest ... approach
a threat (pain): fear, nervousness ... avoid
an obstacle (that unfairly causes pain, disgust or a lack of pleasure): anger, annoyance ... remove
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unfairness or unreasonableness ---> lose patience ---> get angry
Last edited by Petter; 05-26-2023 at 07:49 AM.
CARE and PANIC = basic emotions (?)
basic emotions Jaak Panksepp.png
basic emotions Jaak Panksepp 2.jpg
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CARE <--> an asset ... care for, keep
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CARE does not induce movement/action so it is not directly linked to motivation. (?)
Caregiving is explained by mirror neurons/empathy and mutual reward (oxytocin etc).
Last edited by Petter; 05-26-2023 at 05:25 AM.
Last edited by Petter; 05-26-2023 at 03:12 PM.
5 basic emotions
excitement, interest (euphoria?)
fear, nervousness
anger, annoyance
happiness
sadness
Last edited by Petter; 05-30-2023 at 08:26 AM.
https://www.nicabm.com/how-anger-aff...y-infographic/
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https://journals.physiology.org/doi/...rev.00037.2006 (Functional Internal Complexity of Amygdala: Focus on Gene Activity Mapping After Behavioral Training and Drugs of Abuse)
The amygdalar nuclei are divided into three groups (see text): the centromedial (orange), deep or basolateral (green), and cortical (brown).
[...]
One of the earliest concepts explaining the functional organization of the amygdala was proposed by Wutz and Olds (518), starting from the point that one can discriminate phylogenetically and morphologically two major subdivisions of the amygdalar complex: the dorsomedial and basolateral groups of nuclei (see above). Wutz and Olds, relying on the results of the self-stimulation studies, suggested the former as a rewarding and the latter as a punishing system. Thus they pointed at the importance of the valence of motivation in the functional descriptions of the amygdala. Although, for the next decades most of the studies were focused on the involvement of the amygdala in negative emotions, recent evidence supports a role of this structure in processing positive emotions, in addition to the negative ones (28, 216).
Last edited by Petter; 05-26-2023 at 04:34 PM.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellum
The cerebellum, Doya proposes, is best understood as predictive action selection based on "internal models" of the environment or a device for supervised learning, in contrast to the basal ganglia, which perform reinforcement learning, and the cerebral cortex, which performs unsupervised learning. Three decades of brain research have led to the proposal that the cerebellum generates optimized mental models and interacts closely with the cerebral cortex, where updated internal models are experienced as creative intuition ("a ha") in working memory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midbrain
The midbrain or mesencephalon is the forward-most portion of the brainstem and is associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep and wakefulness, arousal (alertness), and temperature regulation. The name comes from the Greek mesos, "middle", and enkephalos, "brain".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pars_compacta
The pars compacta (SNpc) is a portion of the substantia nigra, located in the midbrain.
"Dopamine neurons are activated by novel, unexpected stimuli, by primary rewards [...] during learning". Dopamine neurons are thought to be involved in learning to predict which behaviours will lead to a reward (for example food or sex). In particular, it is suggested that dopamine neurons fire when a reward is greater than that previously expected; a key component of many reinforcement learning models. This signal can then be used to update the expected value of that action. Many recreational drugs, such as cocaine, mimic this reward response—providing an explanation for their addictive nature.
https://www.statpearls.com/ArticleLi...warticle/18155 (Neuroanatomy, Basal Ganglia)
The substantia nigra is composed of two distinct nuclei, the inhibitory pars reticulate (SNpr) and the dopaminergic pars compacta (SNpc). These nuclei are situated in the midbrain lying dorsal to the cerebral peduncles. The substantia nigra derives its name from its dark, neuromelanin pigment formed along the same biosynthetic pathway as dopamine. These dopaminergic neurons of the SNpc receive inputs through the ascending reticular activating system, a deep network of brainstem nuclei, and ascending collaterals that regulate alertness and prime automatic functions prior to cortical awareness and are a way of refining or preselecting appropriate motor, executive, limbic and autonomic responses.[2] The dopaminergic projections of the SNpc synapse on the putamen and the caudate nuclei of the striatum. The SNpr sends inhibitory axons to the ventral anterior (VA) and ventrolateral (VL) nuclei of the thalamus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_ganglia
The basal ganglia are situated at the base of the forebrain and top of the midbrain.
Last edited by Petter; 05-27-2023 at 08:30 AM.
emotion
1. the limbic system
2. reinforcement learning
https://nobaproject.com/modules/know...and-reflecting
interest surprise confusion.jpg
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interest (including surprise and confusion) <--> a potential reward or a potential threat
excitement (+) ...... interest (?) ...... fear (-)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10649575/
Temperature sensation is regarded as a submodality of touch, but evidence suggests involvement of insular cortex rather than parietal somatosensory cortices. Using positron emission tomography (PET), we found contralateral activity correlated with graded cooling stimuli only in the dorsal margin of the middle/posterior insula in humans. This corresponds to the thermoreceptive- and nociceptive-specific lamina I spinothalamocortical pathway in monkeys, and can be considered an enteroceptive area within limbic sensory cortex. Because lesions at this site can produce the post-stroke central pain syndrome, this finding supports the proposal that central pain results from loss of the normal inhibition of pain by cold. Notably, perceived thermal intensity was well correlated with activation in the right (ipsilateral) anterior insular and orbitofrontal cortices.
1. Disgust interacts with the limbic system so it has to be considered a basic emotion.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25229197/
Disgust is a prototypical type of negative affect. In animal models of excessive disgust, only a few brain sites are known in which localized dysfunction (lesions or neural inactivations) can induce intense 'disgust reactions' (e.g. gapes) to a normally pleasant sensation such as sweetness. Here, we aimed to map forebrain candidates more precisely, to identify where either local neuronal damage (excitotoxin lesions) or local pharmacological inactivation (muscimol/baclofen microinjections) caused rats to show excessive sensory disgust reactions to sucrose. Our study compared subregions of the nucleus accumbens shell, ventral pallidum, lateral hypothalamus, and adjacent extended amygdala. The results indicated that the posterior half of the ventral pallidum was the only forebrain site where intense sensory disgust gapes in response to sucrose were induced by both lesions and temporary inactivations (this site was previously identified as a hedonic hotspot for enhancements of sweetness 'liking'). By comparison, for the nucleus accumbens, temporary GABA inactivations in the caudal half of the medial shell also generated sensory disgust, but lesions never did at any site. Furthermore, even inactivations failed to induce disgust in the rostral half of the accumbens shell (which also contains a hedonic hotspot). In other structures, neither lesions nor inactivations induced disgust as long as the posterior ventral pallidum remained spared. We conclude that the posterior ventral pallidum is an especially crucial hotspot for producing excessive sensory disgust by local pharmacological/lesion dysfunction. By comparison, the nucleus accumbens appears to segregate sites for pharmacological disgust induction and hedonic enhancement into separate posterior and rostral halves of the medial shell.
2. Disgust is like any other uncomfortable feeling (feeling overheated etc) and it is not a basic emotion.
Last edited by Petter; 05-27-2023 at 03:00 PM.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2367156/
two dimensions of emotion.png
The problem here is that a threat is not the opposite of a reward, so tense (fear) is not a negative version of alert or excited. Tense refers to a bodily state and fear concerns moving objects and/or people whilst alert/excited refers to a mental state (caused by dopamine) and mainly concerns food and sex.
The opposite of interest/attraction is disgust/repulsion.
A threat can cause interest (vigilance) but it cannot cause disgust.
interest <--> moving towards a reward
excitement <--> getting a reward
Surprise and confusion are special cases of interest.
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