Chapter 1: Brief History of Cognitive Neuroscience Flashcards
Dualism
A major philosophical approach to describing
consciousness, which holds that the mind and brain are two separate phenomena
empiricism
The idea that all knowledge comes from sensory experience. Compare rationalism.
phrenology
The study of the physical shape of the human head, based on the belief that variations in the skull’s surface can reveal specific intellectual and personality traits. Today phrenology is understood to lack validity.
aggregate field theory
The theory that all individual mental functions are performed by the brain as a whole, not by discrete parts.
aphasia
A language deficit following brain damage or dis-
ease.
cytoarchitectonics
Also cellular architecture. The study of the cellular composition of structures in the body
Broca’s area
An area located in the left hemisphere of the frontal cortex, identified by Paul Broca in the 19th century, that is important to language production. Compare Wern- icke’s area
computerized tomography (CT or CAT)
A noninvasive neuroimaging method that provides images of internal structures such as the brain. CT is an advanced version
of the conventional X-ray. Whereas conventional X-rays compress three-dimensional objects into two dimensions, CT allows for the reconstruction of three-dimensional space from compressed two-dimensional images through computer algorithms.
electroencephalography (EEG)
A technique to measure the electrical activity of the brain. In EEG, surface record- ings are made from electrodes placed on the scalp. The EEG signal includes endogenous changes in electrical activity(e.g., due to changes in arousal), as well as changes triggered by specific events (e.g., stimuli or movements). Compare electrocorticography.
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
A neuroimaging method that utilizes MRI to track blood flow changes in the brain that are thought to be correlated with local changes in neural activity.
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
A neuroimaging technique that exploits the magnetic properties of organic tissue. Certain atoms are especially sensitized to magnetic
forces because of the number of protons and neutrons in their nuclei. The orientation of these atoms can be altered by the presence of a strong magnetic field. A radio frequency signal can be used to knock these aligned atoms from their orientation in the magnetic field. The atoms will then realign with the magnetic field and give off a radio frequency signal that can be measured by sensitive detectors. Structural MRI studies usually measure variations in the density of hydrogen ions in the tissue being scanned. Functional MRI measures changes over time in the signal intensity of the targeted atom.
Montreal Procedure
A surgical procedure to treat epilepsy, originally developed by Wilder Penfield and Herbert Jasper, in which the neurons that produced seizures were surgically destroyed.
neuron doctrine
The concept, proposed by Santiago Ramón y Cajal in the 19th century, that the neuron is the fundamen- tal unit of the nervous system, and that the nervous system is composed of billions of these units (neurons) connected to process information.
positron emission tomography (PET)
A neuroimaging method that measures metabolic activity or blood flow changes in the brain by monitoring the distribution of a radioactive tracer. The PET scanner measures the photons that are produced during the decay of a tracer. A popular tracer for cognitive neuroscience studies is O15 because its decay time is rapid and the distribution of oxygen increases to neural regions that are active.
syncytium
A continuous mass of tissue that shares a common cytoplasm.
