Chapter 3 Flashcards
main concepts of cognitive psychology
- information processing depends on mental representations
- mental representations undergo internal transformations
word superior effect
letters are better recognized as part of a word than within a random string of letters
Alzheimer’s disease
a degenerative vascular disorder caused by tangles within neurons and plaque build up in the brain that increases with age
epilepsy
excessive and abnormal patterned behavior in the brain; often causes seizures which are a transient loss of consciousness
double dissociation *
strongest neuropsychological evidence that a patient has a selective deficit in a certain cognitive function; done by studying two patients who have different lesions that affect different areas of the brain
agonist
pharmacological substance that activates a receptor to cause a biological activity
antagonist
pharmacological substance that blocks the activation of a receptor to prevent a biological activity
behavioral genetics
study of how genetic makeup and environment impact behavior
knock out procedure
study method that involves inactivating part of a gene
deep brain stimulation
invasive form of brain stimulation that involves implanting an electrode on the brain
optogenetics *
a protein is encoded in a virus that is selectively given to certain neurons that allows them to be ‘turned on and off’ by different light exposures
transcranial magnetic stimulation *
form of noninvasive neuronal stimulation that involves using a magnetic field to temporarily deactivate neurons
(rTMS) repetitive
(noninvasive) low frequency bursts stimulation over a long period of time- inhibitory effects
cTBS (continual-theta burst stimulation)
high frequency continuous stimulation for a shorter period of time- excitatory effects
ERP (event related potential)
measure of neuron that aligns a trial relative to an event