1 Exam Flashcards
Test Thursday
What are some of the cognitive functions that are damaged?
Memory, language, and perception
What do they study?
Genetics,astronomy,congitive science, mutations supernovas and connive deficits.
What are the basic cognitive functions?
Visual perception&object recognition
Language comprehension &production
Memory
Spatial cognition
Motor control
What were the patient name that had carbon monoxide?
What is goodie et al.(1991)
What is Neurotypical?
Neurological normal control patients
What is orientation task?
Is required to the responding shapes sizes of rectangular wooden block?
What is shape/size task?
To put the blocks into the place?
What did goodie al(1991) did with her hand?
She had turn her hand orientation bad and cannot put the card she was very slow.
What is Milner et al(1999)? What were the 3 main points?
Patient AT
* brain damage from cerebral hemorrhage
* Neurotypical control participants
* Tested on pointing to a visual target
* AT is impaired: optic ataxia
What is optic Ataxia?
He was always very fair away(from the dot)
What were the two conditions?
Immediate(points when the light is on)
Delayed(target then goes off delayed)
Question: Why does Coltheart (1997) consider cognitive neuropsychology a branch of cognitive psychology rather than neuropsychology?
Answer: Coltheart argues that cognitive neuropsychology focuses on understanding the mind’s structure and processes, using evidence from brain-injured patients to make inferences about normal cognitive functions. Therefore, it aligns more with cognitive psychology, which studies mental functions, than with neuropsychology, which emphasizes the brain’s structure and its relationship to behavior.
Focus on Brain-Injured Patients: Evidence from patients with brain injuries is crucial for cognitive neuropsychology. It uses these cases to infer how typical cognitive functions work by observing which aspects of cognition are disrupted.
Link to Cognitive Psychology: The approach is more closely aligned with cognitive psychology because both fields focus on understanding mental processes (e.g., memory, language, perception) rather than on the physical brain itself.
Distinction from Neuropsychology: Coltheart argues that traditional neuropsychology is more concerned with understanding the brain’s anatomy and its connections to behavior, whereas cognitive neuropsychology looks at how specific mental functions break down due to localized brain damage.
Modularity Hypothesis: Coltheart supports the idea that cognitive functions are modular, meaning distinct processes in the mind can be individually affected by brain damage, which helps in mapping out the architecture of cognition.
Double Dissociation: The use of double dissociation—where two patients show opposite patterns of cognitive impairment—helps in identifying independent cognitive systems and further differentiates cognitive neuropsychology from neuropsychology, which tends to focus on broader correlations between brain areas and behavior.
Question: What are the two complementary goals of cognitive neuropsychology according to Coltheart (1997)?
To Understand the Functional Architecture of Normal Cognitive Processes:
The first goal focuses on discovering how various cognitive processes, such as perception, memory, language, and attention, are organized within the mind. This involves determining how these processes are divided into distinct modules or systems that handle specific tasks (e.g., processing visual information, understanding speech, or forming new memories). Cognitive neuropsychologists aim to develop models that explain how these systems work in a normal, healthy brain, including how they interact with one another. The ultimate goal is to reveal the underlying “architecture” or structure that supports all cognitive functions.
For example, in studying language processing, researchers might want to know how different regions of the brain contribute to understanding and producing language, and how these processes are separated or integrated. By mapping out these systems in a healthy mind, cognitive neuropsychologists build a framework for understanding typical cognition.
To Use Cognitive Models of Normal Function to Explain Impaired Cognitive Abilities in Brain-Damaged Patients:
The second goal is to apply these models of normal cognitive function to better understand and explain the cognitive impairments that result from brain damage. By comparing a brain-damaged patient’s performance to the expected normal functioning, cognitive neuropsychologists can pinpoint where and how the damage has disrupted cognitive processes.
For instance, if a patient with brain damage has difficulty recognizing faces (a condition called prosopagnosia), the cognitive neuropsychologist would use their model of face recognition in a healthy brain to figure out which part of the cognitive system is impaired. By understanding the normal architecture of face processing, they can identify the specific cognitive function that has been disrupted by the brain injury. This approach not only helps explain the patient’s difficulties but also allows researchers to refine their models of normal cognitive processes by observing how damage affects specific systems
Answer: The two goals are: 1) To understand the functional architecture of normal cognitive processes, and 2) To use cognitive models of normal function to explain impaired cognitive abilities in brain-damaged patients.
Question: Do Ellis & Young (1988) agree with Coltheart about the goals of cognitive neuropsychology?
Agreement:
Common Goal: Both Ellis & Young and Coltheart agree that cognitive neuropsychology seeks to understand normal cognitive processes by studying cognitive impairments in brain-damaged individuals. They both use evidence from these impairments to make inferences about how the mind’s cognitive systems are structured in healthy people.
Use of Cognitive Models: Both emphasize the importance of cognitive models to explain the functioning of the mind. They use these models to describe both normal cognition and the impairments caused by brain damage.
Differences:
Emphasis on Brain Structures: Where they diverge slightly is in their emphasis on the relationship between cognitive models and brain structures. Coltheart tends to focus more on the architecture of cognitive processes themselves, sometimes independent of specific brain regions. His approach is more about understanding the “mental architecture” rather than pinpointing where in the brain these processes occur.
In contrast, Ellis & Young place more importance on connecting cognitive models to the physical structures of the brain. They are more focused on the brain-behavior relationship and how specific cognitive deficits relate to damage in particular brain areas. This brings their approach closer to traditional neuropsychology, which tends to prioritize anatomical localization.
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Yes, Ellis & Young agree that cognitive neuropsychology aims to understand normal cognitive functioning through the study of cognitive impairments. They also emphasize the use of cognitive models to explain both normal and impaired functioning.
Question: What distinction do Ellis & Young (1988) draw between modes of explanation on pp. 3-4?
Descriptive Explanations: These explanations focus on identifying and describing patterns of behavior or cognitive deficits in patients without necessarily explaining why these patterns occur. They are observational in nature and are used to categorize behaviors, such as listing the symptoms a brain-damaged patient exhibits or describing how a patient performs on certain cognitive tasks. While useful, descriptive explanations do not delve into the underlying mechanisms responsible for these behaviors.
Causal Explanations: In contrast, causal explanations aim to uncover the underlying mechanisms that cause the observed behavior or deficits. In cognitive neuropsychology, the emphasis is on understanding why certain cognitive impairments occur and how they relate to specific disruptions in normal cognitive processes. Researchers use cognitive models to explain the causal relationships between brain damage and impaired function, linking these deficits to particular cognitive systems or structures within the mind.
Answer: Ellis & Young distinguish between descriptive explanations, which simply describe patterns of behavior, and causal explanations, which attempt to explain the underlying mechanisms causing these behaviors. In cognitive neuropsychology, the predominant mode of explanation is causal, as researchers seek to understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms.
What is the key assumption of modularity in cognitive neuropsychological research according to Ellis & Young (1988)?
Modularity is the assumption that cognitive functions are divided into independent, specialized units or modules that can operate separately. This assumption is crucial because it allows researchers to infer which cognitive systems are impaired based on the types of deficits observed in brain-damaged patients.
What is a dissociation in cognitive neuropsychology?
A dissociation occurs when a patient has a selective impairment in one cognitive function but retains another intact, suggesting these functions are supported by separate neural systems.
What is a double dissociation in cognitive neuropsychology?
Answer: A double dissociation is when two patients show opposite patterns of impairment, where Patient A can perform Task 1 but not Task 2, and Patient B can perform Task 2 but not Task 1. This provides stronger evidence that the two tasks rely on different cognitive systems.
Example of Double Dissociation:
Patient A: Suffers from brain damage that affects language comprehension but not speech production. This means Patient A can speak fluently (performing Task 1: speech production) but struggles to understand spoken language (cannot perform Task 2: language comprehension).
Patient B: Suffers from brain damage that affects speech production but not language comprehension. This means Patient B can understand spoken language (performing Task 2: language comprehension) but has difficulty producing fluent speech (cannot perform Task 1: speech production).
This complementary pattern of impairment (one patient impaired in comprehension but not speech production, and the other patient impaired in speech production but not comprehension) provides strong evidence that speech production and language comprehension are handled by distinct cognitive systems or processes.
Question: What is an association in cognitive neuropsychology?
Answer: An association is when two cognitive functions are impaired together in a patient, suggesting they might rely on the same or overlapping cognitive processes or systems.
How do Ellis & Young (1988) evaluate dissociations, double dissociations, and associations as evidence in cognitive neuropsychology?
Answer: Ellis & Young argue that dissociations provide evidence for the independence of cognitive systems, but double dissociations offer even stronger evidence. Associations are more difficult to interpret, as they could indicate shared systems or simply co-occurring damage.
Question: What is the main difference between cognitive neuropsychology and neuropsychology?
Answer: Cognitive neuropsychology is a branch of cognitive psychology, not neuropsychology. It focuses on understanding how cognitive functions operate, often using data from brain-damaged individuals to test cognitive theories. Neuropsychology, on the other hand, studies brain-behavior relationships, focusing on how brain lesions affect behaviors.
What is the primary aim of cognitive neuropsychology?
The primary aim of cognitive neuropsychology is to use data from individuals with cognitive impairments to test, extend, or develop theories about normal cognitive functions. These theories are then used to explain patterns of preserved and impaired abilities in brain-damaged individuals.
How do cognitive neuropsychologists differ from neuropsychologists in their approach to brain-damaged patients?
Cognitive neuropsychologists focus on studying cognition itself, using brain-damaged individuals to understand how specific cognitive functions work. They do not study the brain or brain-cognition relationships directly, whereas neuropsychologists focus on how specific brain areas relate to behavior and cognition.
What is developmental cognitive neuropsychology?
Developmental cognitive neuropsychology studies developmental disorders of cognition, where individuals fail to acquire certain cognitive abilities normally. It uses theories about how cognitive abilities are normally learned to understand and address these developmental failures