8.1 emotionhormones welkerlecture...dr. keith welker, ph.d. special guest lecture hormones and...

Human Emotion

The Knife - Heartbeats

Human EmotionEmotion and Health

How do Hormones Make us Emotional?

Emotion and Hormones (Guest Lecture)

Roadmap

Take-Away Qs & Expert Interview

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Dr. Keith Welker, Ph.D.

Special Guest Lecture

Hormones and Emotion

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of PsychologyUniversity of Massachusetts, Boston


• Overview of Hormones and Psychology • Hormones and Stress • Sex Hormones • Key Questions

What is a hormone?

• Greek for "to excite" or "impetus" • Ernest Starling (1905) • "The chemical messengers which speeding from cell to cell along the blood stream, may coordinate the activities and growth of different parts of the body.”

Functionality of Hormones

• Involved in numerous physiological processes such as: digestion, reproduction, growth, cell death/survival, immune function, etc. • Hormones can bind to specific receptors • Many of these receptors are in the brain • Glands in the brain can trigger hormone release

Types of Hormones

• Steroid hormones (e.g., androgens, estrogens, glucocorticoids) !

• Peptide hormones (e.g., vasopressin, oxytocin, insulin) !

•Monoamine hormones (e.g., norepinephrine, epinephrine)

Methods -‐ Assessment -‐ Collection

Bodily fluids and tissues contain hormones 1. Saliva Most common due to ease, can better represent "free" hormones, dynamic changes 2. Blood Collected with a sterile needle by a certified technician 3. Urine Similar to blood, cheaper, easier, non-‐invasive 4. Others... (Feces, hair)

Methods -‐ Assessment -‐ Collection

Things to watch out for: Take Samples After the morning Hormones are typically more stable in the afternoon !Minimize Exercise, smoking, eating, coffee, alcohol, brushing teeth These can influence several hormones and the quality of saliva samples

Methods -‐ Assessment -‐ Storage

Molecules can degrade Must be frozen soon after collection !Storage Temperatures -‐20C Short term, assay within 4 months of freezing !-‐80C ("Ultra Low") Archival Storage No limit on Storage Length

Methods -‐ Assessment -‐ Assays

Estimate concentrations of hormones Enzyme-‐Linked ImmunoSorbent Assays (ELISA) Commonly Used in Psychology Measure samples using a kit Optical Densities based on a chemical reaction of bound molecules Samples are measured in duplicate !Other Methods (more accurate but... $$$$) Radioimmunoassay Mass Spectometry

Methods -‐ Assessment -‐ Experimental Manipulations

Experimental Manipulation of hormones Need an MD for prescriptions, Extensive screening !Administration: Topical gels, pills, sublingual administration, nasal sprays !Knock-‐out procedures: Hormonal Antagonists -‐ stop hormone production !You can use a combination of the two

Methods -‐ Assessment -‐ Situations that alter hormones

Situations that can reliably alter hormones., e.g... Testosterone Competitive Interactions Aggressive Provocation Sexual Arousal Cortisol Social Stress (giving a speech)

What is Psychological Stress?

• Degree to which the body has to regulate processes and maintain homeostasis

Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis (HPA)

• Releases glucocorticoids (e.g., cortisol)

Hypothalamus (fight, flight, hunger,

mating)

Pituitary Gland

"Master Gland"

Adrenal Glands

CRH

ACTH

Cortisol

Negative Feedback

Cortisol

Catabolic stress hormone, regulated by the HPA axis Physical Action Metabolizes lipids and muscle tissue to release glucose Psychological Correlates Acute Stress, Negative Mood, Increased in depressed individuals Cortisol Reactivity to stressors Changes in Cortisol from a baseline measure, salivary levels reflect cortisol 10-‐15 minutes earlier

Cortisol

Diurnal Cycle Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) -‐ anticipation of events in the day • Blunted in many psychological disorders

Diurnal Cortisol Slope -‐ Flatter in the presence of chronic stress • Flat slopes = bad health, chronic stress

Time across the day

Healthy Unhealthy (Chronic Stress)

CAR Slope

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

Anabolic stress hormone, regulated by the HPA axis Physical Action Protects tissue damage from cortisol, promotes bioavailability of testosterone Psychological Correlates Antidepressant Properties, Decreased Anxiety, Increased Sexual Desire DHEA Reactivity Changes in DHEA-‐S from a baseline measure, salivary levels reflect cortisol 10-‐15 minutes earlier

Example: DHEA and Cortisol Reactivity to the TRIER Social Stress Task

You are going to give a speech on why you

deserve the perfect job.

PrepareSaliva Sample

Saliva Sample

Saliva Sample

Saliva Sample

Count backwardNeutral

Stimuli

TIME

Example: DHEA and Cortisol Reactivity to the TRIER Social Stress Task

You are going to give a speech on why you

deserve the perfect job.

PrepareSaliva Sample

Saliva Sample

Saliva Sample

Saliva Sample

Count backwardNeutral

Stimuli

TIME

Cortisol DHEA

Stress and Hormones – The Bottom Lines

Stress is not bad in itself but chronic stress is !Relatedly, Cortisol is not bad in itself, but the inability to return to baseline/homeostasis is !Anabolic Hormone responses (e.g., DHEA) to stress in the presence of catabolic responses (e.g., Cortisol) is healthy and indicative of better coping in response to stressors

Sex Hormones

e.g., Testosterone Estradiol Oxytocin

Testosterone

Anabolic sex steroid synthesized in testes and ovaries Product of Hypothalamic Pituitary Gonadal Axis (HPG) Related to: • Dominant Behavior • Lower Nurturance • Sexual Libido • Competitiveness • Threat vigilance

Hypothalamus (fight, flight, hunger,

mating)

Pituitary Gland "Master Gland"

Gonads Testes & Ovaries

GnRH

LH

Testosterone

Negative Feedback

• PROS: • Reduce Anxiety • Testosterone Administration decreases depressive symptoms • Dominance and competitiveness in certain contexts is beneficial • Status seeking has benefits • Benefits to threat vigilance

• CONS: • Testosterone responses predict aggression and risk-‐taking • Correlated with increased risky-‐taking/impulsivity, drug-‐use, delinquency • Decreased Relationship Satisfaction

Testosterone and Emotions – Pros and Cons

Testosterone and Emotions – Implications

• May increase approach Emotions and Goals • Anger • Hostility • Excitement (increased enjoyment of competitions, reward)

• May decreases Avoidance/Withdrawal Emotions and Goals • Reduced Fear • Reduced Anxiety • Decreased Sadness

Testosterone and Reward

• Work in rodents and humans • T Can be used to condition behaviors (rodents) • Dopamine-‐linked sexual behaviors (rodents) • T can increase activation in reward centers of the brain:

• Dopamine Pathways • Ventral Striatum • Nucleus Accumbens • Circuitry linked to reduced depression !

• Appetitive Motivation • Aggression can be rewarding • Implications for addictions (gambling, drugs, etc.)

Oxytocin

Peptide hormone Produced by Hypothalamus Stored & Secreted by Pituitary Gland !Important role in Pair bonding, Maternal Behaviors, Social Interactions, In-‐group preferences, and Anxiety !

Sometimes called the “Bonding/cuddle/love hormone”

Oxytocin and emotions

Increased trust and disclosure of emotional events, generosity, empathy, romantic attachment !Intranasal oxytocin administrations can increase sharing of emotional details and self-‐disclosures of more emotional significance !Reduced fear of betrayal

The “DARK SIDE” of Oxytocin

Promotes relationship building behaviors What if you have bad relationship-‐building behaviors? !Oxytocin can increase intimate partner violence in aggressive people (DeWall et al., 2014)

The “DARK SIDE” of Oxytocin

Promotes in-‐group relationships? Can increase prejudice and ethnocentrism (De Dreu et al., 2011) -‐Implicit/Automatic Evaluations of outgroup members -‐Dehumanization -‐Willingness to sacrifice outgroup members to save ingroup members

Special Case: Dual-‐Hormone Hypothesis Interactions between Cortisol and Testosterone

• Hormonal systems are not closed systems • HPG and HPA Axes proposed to co-‐regulate each-‐other • Cortisol Can Counter-‐act the effects of Testosterone: • On Tissues • Block Androgen Receptors

• Violent Criminals tend to have High T, Low Cort • Dual-‐Hormone Hypothesis: • Testosterone predicts Dominance and Approach Behaviors when Cortisol is low

Testosterone Positively Associated with Risk-‐taking when Cortisol is Low

Trait R

isk-‐Taking

7

8.25

9.5

10.75

12

Low Testosterone High Testosterone

Low CorjsolHigh Corjsol

p = .859

p = .006

Mehta, Welker, Zilioli, & Carré (In press, Study 1)

Take-‐home messages about Hormones and Emotions• The associations between hormones and emotions are not always direct, but depend on the context • Testosterone and Status • Cortisol and Stressors • Oxytocin and Relationships

• High vs. Low levels of certain hormones are not always bad or always good

!• We still have a lot to learn about hormones, emotions, and social behavior!


Roadmap


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Experts In Emotion? !

*EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY*

Dr. Pranjal Mehta

Experts In Emotion Interview

Emotion and Hormones

Assistant Professor of PsychologyUniversity of Oregon

Thank You!

8.1 emotionhormones welkerlecture...dr. keith welker, ph.d. special guest lecture hormones and...

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