Chapter 1 - Introduction Flashcards
Define cognitive neuroscience.
Explains cognitive processes in terms of brain based mechanism
What is the mind body problem?
How can a psychical substance (brain) give rise to our sensations, emotions and thoughts (mind)?
What is Descartes dualism?
Belief that mind and brain are made up of different kinds of substances. Mind = immortal and brain = mortal.
Interaction through pineal gland.
What is the dual aspect theory?
Criticism to dualism. Belief that mind & body are 2 levels of description of the same phenomena.
Define Reductionism.
Although cognitive, mind based concepts (emotions, memories) are currently useful for scientific exploration, eventually will be replaced by purely biological constructs (neurotransmitters)
Define phrenology
Incorrect notion that individual differences in cognition can be mapped onto differences in skull shape.
What are the 2 assumptions of phrenology?
That regions of the brain performed different varying functions and that the size of regions produces distortions in skull & correlates with individual differences.
What is functional specialisation?
Different regions of the brain are specialised for different functions
What are the 3 things language is now split up into?
Speech recognition, speech production and conceptual knowledge.
What does injuries in Broca’s area lead to?
Patients with impaired ability speak but understand and comprehend speech.
Define cognition.
Variety of higher processes such as thinking, perceiving, imagining
What is cognitive neuropsychology?
The study damaged patients to inform theories of normal cognition.
Describe info processing model.
Behaviour is described in terms of a sequence of cognitive stages.
Discuss Broadbent’s info processing model.
In his model, perceptual processes occur, followed by attritional processes that transfer info to short term memory and then long term memory.
What is interactivity in terms of info processing models?
Later stages of processing can begin before earlier stages are complete & are not strictly separate.
What is top-down processing?
Influence of later stages on the processing of earlier ones (e.g. Memory influences perception)
Define parallel processing.
Different info is processed at same time.
Define Connectivist Model.
Computationally explicit models of cognition (literally calculated set of outputs given a set of inputs) rather than computationally inspired.
What is a neural network?
Info processing occurs using many interconnected nodes.
What is a node?
Basic unit of neural network that are activated in response to activity in other parts
What is TMS?
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
What does tDCS stand for?
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Mention 2 types of electrophysiological methods.
EEG/ERG & single cell recordings
Give an example of magnetophsyiological method.
MEG
Give 2 examples of functional imagining methods.
PET & fMRI.
What are functional imaging methods also called and why?
Hemodynamic methods because they record physiological changes with blood supply to brain.
What is temporal resolution? Give an example of a method with good and bad temporal resolution.
Accuracy with which one can measure when an event happens.
EEG/MEG/TMS & single cell recordings = good
fMRI = bad.
What is spatial resolution? Give an example of a method with good and bad spatial resolution.
Accuracy with which one can measure where an event happens.
Lesions & fMRI = good
Single cell recordings = bad
What is invasiveness? Give an example of a method which is invasive.
Refers to whether the equipment is located internally or externally.
PET (injection of radioactive isotope) & single cell recordings.
What is brain modularity?
Notion that certain cognitive processes (or regions) are restricted in the type of info they process. Functional specialisation.
What are the 2 components in Fodor’s theory of modularity?
Central systems and modules. Models are domain specific (colours, words, faces) whereas central systems are held to be domain independent (memory, attention)
