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Autonomic Nervous System. Neuropsychology of emotion: From Behavior to Biology (reductionism) From Normal to Abnormal (psychiatry) From Conscious to Unconscious (measures) From Animal to Human (manipulations). The working of the mind.
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Autonomic Nervous System Neuropsychology of emotion: • From Behavior to Biology (reductionism) • From Normal to Abnormal (psychiatry) • From Conscious to Unconscious (measures) • From Animal to Human (manipulations)
The working of the mind • Western culture has pivoted around the arts.Film directors are cool… • Culture of Science has traditionally accepted the smartest students … Neuroscientists are cool… • Recently a third culture emerged, call it Nerd culture of technology, and Nerds became cool… • Artists would contemplate about the mind… • Scientists would measure and test the mind… • Nerds would settle the ‘how the brain works’ by manufacturing a working mind. (Kevin Kellay, Essays in Science and Society. Science, 1998).
Emotion: Art & Science From artist’s (Marquez) understanding of love…. To psychologist understanding of aging. Lancet 1997, v. 350: 1169-72.
Emotion: Art & Science Venus of Milo was admired by art lovers. More than 250 scientific papers discussed the statue (scoliosis ??).
Emotion & Nerds Happy memories wrapped in a silicon chip.
Anatomy as a starting point of Nerds’ adventure Cerebellar anatomy Ghez & Tach, 2000
Simulation of anatomy to revealbrain functions Output Memory/Learning Sensors/Preprocessing Cerebellar simulation (Working environment IQR421) Emotions Behavior Output
Emotional companions Rodney A. Brooks- MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Communication of emotion Communication of emotion has survival value for the species (Darwin).
Mechanistic approach to emotional brain Computation • Outputs: • Feelings • Autonomic • Facial • Actions • Cognitive • Inputs: • Genetically defined US’s • Experience defined CS’s • Thoughts & Memories
Emotion as an integrative response Psychological perspective: • Subjective feelings (introspection). • Internal body responses (sensations-emotions) including autonomic. • Cognitive associations (causality+simulation). • Facial expressions (genetic). • Action tendencies.
Functions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) (Squire et al., 2003) • Controls online the homeostasis of body’s physiology: blood chemistry, respiration, circulation, digestion, immune… • Innervates smooth muscles & many tissues. • Cannon (1939) referred to the “Wisdom of the body”. • Autonomic: automatic, involuntary, visceral. • Sympathetic: sympathy, coordination between organs. : subserves the “sympathies”, or emotions. • Parasympathetic: only recently discovered. • Example: Postural hypothension in dysautonomia.
ANS & consciousness • No conscious experience of autonomic reflexes. • Imagine the confusion if cognitive system would be in charge (Thomas, 1974). • No experience of deficit as ANS responses are: initiated rapidly. initiated in anticipation. coordinated with somatic nervous system.
Spine Preganglionic Postganglionic Target Para/pre-vertebral ganglia
SNS 1- preganglionic neuron 2- spinal nerve 4- symp. ganglia 6- autonomic n. 7- 8- prevertebral ganglia 9- terminal ganglia
Brainstem Preganglionic (III, VII, IX, X-vagal) Spine Near the target
SNS & PSNS pre- and postganglionic levels Compared with skeletal motor system, the extra synapse at peripheral ganglia allows: • More divergence: from single spinal segment to several ganglia; from single ganglia to organs; SNS > PSNS). • Local integration: Sup. Cervical ganglion innervates eyes, salivary & lacrimal glands, blood vessels; ganglia receives sensory afferents form the target organ; PSNS>SNS.
SNS - thoracolumbar • Functions during inactivity: tonic homeostatic balance. • Functions during Fight-or-Flight: optimal tuning of peripheral organs. synergy of adjustments. fast response.
Arousal and Homeostasis Homeostasis: Maintaining a single level of adaptive arousal
Arousal and Allostasis Allostasis rather than homeostasis: Stable level of arousal is not adaptive
Allostasis and Performance Allostasis: maintaining stability of performance through change of arousal, as a fundamental process by which organisms actively adjust to both predictable and unpredictable events. i.e., stay maximally adaptive by changing the arousal Allostatic overload being a state in which serious pathophysiology can occur.
Allostasis and Poor Performance Allostasis: Catastrophic conditions are possible
PSNS Rest & digest vs. f & f. Anabolic vs. catabolic.