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NSCS 200 > 2.10 Cognitive Science > Flashcards

2.10 Cognitive Science Flashcards

1
Q

cognitive science

A

Interdisciplinary scientific study of the mind and its processes

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2
Q

cog sci: disciplines

A

psychology, computer science/AI, anthropology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy

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3
Q

CHALLENGES TO STUDYING MIND

A

Subjective - interpretation of cognitive processes differs from person to person
Difficult to study - e.g. infants, songbirds

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4
Q

phrenology

A

(mid-1800s) - different cognitive processes are related to skull shape and size, craniometer, functional specialization

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5
Q

structuralism

A

(1880s - early 1900s): study cognition by having participants reflect and break down their conscious experiences into basic elements of thoughts and sensations, analytical introspection, William Wundt (developed first psych lab), Edward Titchener

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6
Q

behaviorism

A

(1913 - 1960): reject structuralism, abandon studying conscious experiences in favor of studying behavior, John Watson (blank slate), Little Albert Experiment (bunnies and loud noise), B.F. Skinner
-classical and operant conditioning

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7
Q

Classical conditioning

A

pair neutral stimulus with second stimulus associated with a reflexive response

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8
Q

operant conditioning

A

pair behavior with reward or punishment (Skinner boxes)

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9
Q

cognitive revolution

A

(late 1950s): analyze cognitive processes through behavioral experiments, likened to computer outputs; Noam Chomsky (language is biologically innate, not learned bc incorrect grammar and hateful language are never reinforced but still repeated), information processing

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10
Q

cognitive neuroscience

A

(1976 - ): understand mind by understanding brain

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11
Q

cog sci approach

A

How can we relate experimental tasks → brain and behavior correlates → human and societal outcomes (e.g. DSM-5 diagnoses, etc.)

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12
Q

subjects

A

Most people are not WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic), unlike most subjects of cog sci/neuroscience

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13
Q

spatial resolution

A

precision with measuring where brain activity occurs when a specific cognitive process is engaged

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14
Q

temporal resolution

A

precision with measuring when a part of the brain is engaged as a result of a cognitive process

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15
Q

measurement technique

A

approximate neural representations associated with psychological phenomena (e.g. language formation); correlations
E.g. MRI to correlate blood flow with brain activity and cognitive processes

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16
Q

perturbation technique

A

: simulate/remove brain region and observe behavioral response; causal relationships
E.g. surgical legion approach of removing hippocampus and observing effect on memory (purposefully destroying part of brain and observing behavior)

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17
Q

fMRI

A

Use large magnet to detect changes in magnetic properties (oxygenated/deoxygenated hemoglobin) in the brain to correlate blood flow/oxygen delivery with cognitive processes
When certain parts of the brain are stimulated, blood flows to that part of the brain to deliver oxygen via oxygenated hemoglobin, deoxygenated hemoglobin will then leave the brain

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18
Q

fMRI: subtraction method

A

: compare brain activity b/w different task conditions (e.g. experimental and control)
Blood flow in condition A (e.g. auditory stimulus) - blood flow in condition B (e.g. visual stimulus)

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19
Q

fMRI: resting state functional capacity

A

observing brain activity (fluctuations in blood flow) at rest to see which cognitive processes are related and function together

20
Q

fMRI: advantages

A

Minimally invasive

High spatial resolution (allow us to observe correlations b/w cognitive processes and brain locations)

21
Q

fMRI: disadvantages

A

Poor temporal resolution (blood flow lags behind cognitive processes)
Costly
Loud/disruptive (may interfere with language/auditory studies)
Requires patients to stay still (not well-suited for epilepsy patients, babies, etc.)

22
Q

PET

A

Detect gamma rays emitted by radioactive ligands (tracers) injected in the body that bind specifically to receptors in the brain

23
Q

PET: advantages

A

Detect early onset of diseases

Allows for image distribution and degree of neurotransmitter signaling

24
Q

PET: disadvantages

A

Poor temporal resolution: tracers take time to degrade in the body and bind to receptors
Expensive
Invasive: requires highly functional kidney

25
Q

EEG

A

Record electrical brain activity (neuronal ensembles) from electrodes placed on the scalp
E.g. gamma, beta, alpha rays that differ based on states of consciousness, sleeping and wakefulness

26
Q

EEG: event related potentials

A

average of EEG signals across trials of the same task condition (small voltages generated in the brain as a result of tasks)

27
Q

EEG: advantages

A

High temporal resolution (direct measure of neural activity, plotting, electrical potentials vs. time)
Noninvasive
Relatively mobile and inexpensive
Better for certain populations (e.g. infants)

28
Q

EEG: disadvantages

A

Poor spatial resolutions (bc many electrodes are being used, can’t pinpoint exact location, scalp produces signal distortion so can’t specifically identify where cognitive processes occur)

29
Q

Lesions

A

brain injury, often due to strokes or injury
-E.g. Phineus Gage (railroad spike penetrated skull), Patient “H.M.” (had hippocampus removed b/c of severe seizures → posterior and anteriorgrade amnesia), Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasia

30
Q

neurophysiology

A

study to characterize cognitive effects of naturally-occuring lesions
Often due to strokes or injury

31
Q

lesions: advantages

A

infer causality

32
Q

lesions: disadvantages

A

Patients can be hard to find (not ethical to induce lesions)
Lesions are not local, but spread out
Patients are case studies

33
Q

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

A

Experimental method to temporarily induce brain lesions (inhibit/stimulate brain activity)
Emit electric pulses → converted into electrical current → varies pulse frequency to stimulate or inhibit brain activity
Clinical treatment applications (e.g. depression) over repeated sessions

34
Q

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: advantages

A

Noninvasive, but repeated TMS at high frequencies can alter brain
Less expensive
Reveals necessary role of brain regions

35
Q

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: disadvantages

A

Sometimes painful

Poor spatial resolution (targets cortex, can’t reach subcortical structures)

36
Q

Why do humans outperform computers when identifying objects?

A
  1. image on the retina is ambiguous (inverse projection problem)
  2. images can be obscured or blurry (harder for computers to identify)
  3. objects look different from different viewpoints (viewpoint invariance)
37
Q

perception

A

conscious experience that follows sensory stimulation
Based on our previous experiences/context, what we choose to focus on (e.g. vase or two faces), heavily influenced by expectations (predictive coding) and statistical regularities in our environment

38
Q

Hemholtz: influence of regularities in the environment

A

postulated that we make unconscious assumptions about our environment based on past experiences (e.g. blue rectangle is on top of red rectangle, not a red rectangle cutout, people are better at identifying horizontal and vertical objects than objects of other orientations, harder to identify abnormalities in upside down faces than right side up)

39
Q

inverse projection problem

A

objects of different orientation are projected as the same image on the retina

40
Q

Why are people better at identifying verticals and horizontals than slanted objects?

A

slanted objects are less common, especially in natural world

41
Q

Why are people better at identifying abnormalities in right side up faces, not upside down faces?

A

we are not used to seeing inverted faces

42
Q

Visual Process (beyond V1)

A

visual system is organized hierarchically: larger receptive fields code for more complex shapes and objects moving further away from the subject

43
Q

hierarchical coding hypothesis

A

as you move up hierarchy (LGN –> V1 –> V4 –> ventral temporal cortex), neurons coding for more rudimentary features synapse onto neurons coding more complex features

44
Q

Downtream Pathways from V1: dorsal stream

A

“where/how”
-allows us to spatially locate and interact w/ objects
-extends into parietal lobe (and ultimately dorsal frontal cortex)
E.g. allows me to locate and reach out towards water bottle

45
Q

Downtream Pathways from V1: ventral stream

A

“what”
-allows us to perceive/identify objects, extends into anterior temporal lobe
E.g. allows me to identify the object on my desk is a water bottle

46
Q

Two streams: water bottle

A

Picking up the water bottle integrates both streams (ventral: identify, weight, adjust how tightly I hold onto water bottle/dorsal: where do I reach out towards, move it upwards)

NSCS 200 (5 decks)

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