Chapter 2 (Cognitive Neuroscience) Flashcards
Action potential
Propagated electrical potential responsible for transmitting neural information and for communication between neurons. These typically travel down a neuron’s axon.
Axon
Part of the neuron that transmits signals from the cell body to the synapse at the end of the axon.
Brain imaging
Technique such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that results in images of the brain that represent brain activity. In cognitive psych, activity is measured in response to specific cognitive tasks.
Broca’s area
An area in the frontal lobe associated with the production of language. Damage to this area causes Broca’s aphasia
Cell body
Part of the cell that contains mechanisms that keep the cell alive. In some neurons, the cell body and the dendrites associated with it receive information from other neurons.
Cerebral cortex
The 3-mm thick outer layer of the brain that contains the mechanisms responsible for higher functions such as perception, language, thinking, and problem solving.
Cognitive neuroscience
Field concerned with studying the neural basis of cognition.
Dendrites
Structures that branch out from the cell body to receive electrical signals from other neurons.
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
A technique, based on detection of how water diffuses along the length of nerve fibres, for tracing nerve pathways and determining connections.
Distributed representation
Occurs when a specific cognition activates many areas of the brain.
Double dissiciation
A situation in which a single dissociation can be demonstrated in one person and the opposite type of single dissociation can be demonstrated in another person. (e.g. person 1: function A is present, function B is damaged; Person 2: function A is damaged, function B is present).
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.
Feature detectors
Neurons that respond to specific visual features, such as orientation, size, or more complex features that make up environmental stimuli.
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 measures 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.
Hierarchical processing
Processing that occurs in a progression from lower to higher areas of the brain.
Level of analysis
A topic can be understood by studying it at a number of different levels of a system.
Localisation of function
Location of specific functions in specific areas of the brain. For example, areas have been identified that are specialised to process information involved in the perception of movement, form speech, and different aspects of memory.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Brain imaging technique that creates images of structures within the brain. Related to fMRI.
Microelectrodes
Small wires that are used to record electrical signals from single neurons.
Nerve fiber
see axon.
Nerve impulse
An electrical response that is propagated down the length of an axon (nerve fibre). Also referred to as action potential.
Nerve net
A network of continuously interconnected nerve fibers (as contrasted with neural networks, in which fibers are connected by synapses.
Neural circuit
Group of interconnected neurons that are responsible for neural processing.
Neural network
Groups of neurons or structures that are connected together.
Neural representation, principle of
Everything a person experiences is based on representations in the person’s nervous systems.
Neuron
Cell that is specialised to receive and transmit information in the nervous system.
Neuron doctrine
The idea that individual cells called neurons transmit signals in the nervous system, and that these cells are not continuous with other cells as proposed by nerve net theory.
Neuropsychology
The study of the behavioural effects of brain damage in humans.
Neurotransmitter
Chemical that is released at the synapse in response to incoming action potentials.
Occipital lobe
The lobe at the back of the brain that is devoted primarily to analysing incoming visual information.
Parahippocampal place area (PPA)
An area in the temporal lobe that contains neurons that are selectively activated by pictures of indoor and outdoor scenes.
Parietal lobe
The lobe at the top of the brain that contains the mechanisms responsible for sensations caused by stimulation of the skin and also some aspects of visual information.
Population coding
Neural representations of a stimulus by the pattern of firing of a large number of neurons.
Prosopagnosia
Condition caused by damage to the temporal lobe that is characterised by an inability to recognise faces.
Receptors
Specialised neural structures that respond to environmental stimuli such as light, mechanical stimulation, or chemical stimuli.
Recording electrode
When used to study neural functioning, a very thin glass or metal probe that can pick up electrical signals from single neurons.
Reference electrode
Used in conjunction with a recording electrode to measure the difference in charge between the two. These are generally placed where the electrical signal remains constant, so any change in charge between the recording and reference electrodes reflects events happening near the tip of the recording electrode.
Resting potential
Difference in charge between the inside and outside of a nerve fibre when the fibre is at rest (no other electric signals are present).
Retina
A network of neurons that lines the back of the eye. Transformation of light into electrical signals and the initial processing of visual information occur in the retina.
Sensory code
How neural firing represents various characteristics of the environment.
Sparse coding
Neural coding based on the pattern of activity in small groups of neurons.
Specificity coding
The representation of a specific stimulus by the firing of neurons that respond only to that stimulus. An example would be the signalling of a person’s face by the firing of a neuron that responds only to that person’s face.
Subtraction technique
The technique used in brain imaging in which baseline activity is subtracted from the activity generated by a specific task. The result is the activity due only to the task that is being studied.
Synapse
Space between the end of an axon and the cell body or dendrite of the next axon.
Temporal lobe
The lobe on the side of the brain that contains mechanisms responsible for language, memory, hearing, and vision.
Visual cortex
Area in the occipital lobe that receives signals from the eyes.
Voxel
Small cube-shaped areas in the brain used in the analysis of data from brain scanning experiments.
Wernicke’s area
Area in the temporal lobe associated with understanding language. Damage to this area causes Wernicke’s aphasia.
