CHAPTER 1 Flashcards
Why bother with cog neuro?
so we can improve understanding of the brain, what treatment, policy or practice is neccesary for how/when to treat something
Techniques in Cog Neuro
fMRI, MRI, EEG, PET
Multiple levels of analysis
Molecular/cellular structure and composition, Single cell recordings, ERP/MEG recordings (electrical activity), PET/fMRI (metabolic activity/blood flow) => where in the brain?, Patient studies, Temporary lesions (TMS), Behavior
Definition of cog neuro
study of how the body enables the mind
2 central themes of cog neuro
Nature Vs Nurture and Localization Vs “holism”
Nature
Refers to rationalism, through right thinking and rejection of unstoppable or superstitious beliefs.
Nurture
Refers to empiricism, idea that all knowledge comes from sensory expereince
Localization
The belief that certain parts of the brain had certain jobs
“Holism”
The belief that the entire brain/ whole brain is involved with every cognitive function
Early views of cog neuro
ancient cultures “heart was the seat of emotions, brain is “cooling” organ, philosophers like rene descartes believed that nerves contained fluid or “spirits” and these spirits were responsible for the flow of sensory and motor information for the body. Ancient media scrolls
Phrenology (Gall)
Bumps in the skull indicate overdeveloped brain regions, bigger brain does not equal better
aggregate field theory
developed by Flourens, the belief that the whole brain participates in behavior
Cytoarchitectonics
the way in which cells differ between brain regions
Broadmans areas
analyzed the cellular organization of the cortex and characterized 52 distinct regions of the brain.
Neuron Doctrine
the concept that the nervous system is made up of individual cells, dicovered by Cajal
Golgi stain
a neural stain that completely darkens a few of the neurons in each slice of tissue, thereby revealing their silhouettes
Camillo Golgi
developed the Golgi stain which labels a subset of neurons; was ‘the black reaction’ that impregnated individual neurons with silver chromate, this stain permits visualization of individual neurons in their entirety.
Behaviorism (1920s-1960s)
John Watson, the study of behavior. Mind is not appropriate to study, must focus on observable behavior.
John B. Watson
behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat
Skinner boxes (operant conditioning)
a controlled conditioning chamber used to study operant conditioning in animals in a controlled environment
brenda miller
continued the behavioral studies on Penfield’s patients (he stimulated various parts of the brain with electrical probes and observed the results on the patients- who were awake, lying on the operating table, and under local anesthesia only) before and after surgery, when patients complained of mild memory loss after surgery, this sparked her interest in memory and was the first to provide anatomical and physiological proof that there are multiple memeory systems.
