Chapter 2 - Cognitive Neuroscience Flashcards
action potential
electrical potential that travels down a neuron’s axon
brain stem
the connecting part of the brain that controls basic life functions like breathing, blood pressure, heartbeat and swallowing
cerebellum
located back and down near the brain stem, it is the smaller brain-like structure that controls balance, coordination, and fine muscle control
Broca’s aphasia
a condition associated with damage to Broca’s area, in the forntal lobe, characterized by difficulty in using speech to express thought, but with a remaining facility for understanding speech
Broca’s area
an area in the frontal lob associated with the production of language
diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
a variant of MRI that enables directional imaging of water diffusion in brain tissue that allows mapping of connected brain regions
cerebral cortex
the 3-mm-thick outer layer of the brain that contains the mechanism responsible for higher mental functions such as perception, language, thinking, and problem solving
cognitive neuroscience
field involved in studying the neural basis of cognition
electroencephalography (EEG)
electrodes placed around scalp to measure electrical activity emanating form neurons within brain
lesions
removal or cutting of brain tissue due to trauma or intentional surgery
localization of function
location of specific functions in specific areas of the brain
event-related potential (ERP)
an electrical potential, recorded with disc electrodes on a person’s scalp, that reflects the response of many thousands of neurons near the electrode that fire together; consists of a number of waves occur at different delays after a stimulus is present and that can be linked to different functions
extrastriate body area (EBA)
an area in the temporal cortex that is activated by pictures of bodies and parts of bodies, but not by faces or other objects
near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)
shining a light into the skull and detecting how much is absorbed by the brain
frontal lobe
the lobe in the front of the brain that serves higher functions such as language, thought, memory, and motor functioning
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
a brain imaging technique that measure how blood flow changes in response to cognitive activity
fusiform face area (FFA)
an area in the temporal lobe that contains many neurons that respond selectively to faces
neuron
a specialized cell that receives and transmits information in the nervous system
neuropsychology
the study of the behavioral effects of brain damage in humans
neurotransmitters
chemicals within the brain
occipital lobe
the very back of the brain that controls vision
parahippocampal place area (PPA)
Area of temporal lobe activated by places (buildings, scenes, etc.)
parietal lobe
the top and back part of the brain that controls intelligence, reasoning and sensation
phrenology
A pseudoscience that assumed mental “propensities” are associated with specific brain areas and can be measured from the surface of the skull
positron emission tomography (PET)
low dose of a radioactive tracer is injected in a person’s bloodstream
prosopagnosia
an inability to recognize faces
single-cell recording of neurons
an electrode is inserted in the brain tissue of an animal until the tip is near a neuron
synapse
the gap between neurons where neurotransmitters are transmitted
temporal lobe
on the side of the brain; controls speech, memory, and emotions
topographic organization
adjacent areas of cortex process adjacent areas of the sensory field
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
not an imaging method; used to temporarily activate/deactivate brain areas
Wernicke’s aphasia
Difficulty in understanding language; production of meaningless speech
Wenicke’s area
Region of temporal lobe involved in language comprehension
