Cognition, Consciousness And Language Flashcards
How our brain processes and reacts to information
Cognition
What are the four key components of the information processing model?
1) thinking requires sensation, encoding and storage of a stimuli
2) stimuli must be analyzed by the brain to be useful in decision making
3) decisions made in one situation can be extrapolated and adjusted to help solve new problems - situational modification
4) problem solving is dependant not only on the persons cognitive level but also on the context and complexity of the problem
The development of ones ability to think and problem solve across a lifespan
Cognitive development
What are piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational
Assimilation
Process of classifying new information into existing schemata
Accommodation
The process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass this new information
Sensorimotor stage
From birth to about 2 years old - child learns to manipulate their environment in order to meet physician needs
Repetition of a body movement that originally occurred by chance
Primary circular reactions
Manipulation focused on something outside the body - child often gets a response from the environment
Secondary circular reactions
What is the key milestone that ends the sensorimotor stage?
Object permanence - objects continue to exist even when out of view
Creating mental representations of external objects and events
Representational thought
Preoperational stage
Lasts from 2 to 7 years old - characterized by symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and contraction
Symbolic thinking
Ability to pretend, play make-believe and have and imagination
Egocentrism
The inability to imagine what another person may think or feel
Centration
Tendency to focus on only one aspect of a phenomenon or inability to understand conservation
Concrete operational stage
Lasts from 7 to 11 years of age - can understand conversation and consider the perspectives of others
Can engage in logical thought as long as we’re working with concrete objects
Cannot think abstractly yet
Formal operational stage
Starts at 11 years of age - ability to think logically and abstractly, can reason and problem solve
Fluid intelligence
Problem solving skills - peaks in early adulthood and declines with age
Crystallized intelligence
Use of learned skills and knowledge - peaks in middle adulthood and declines with age
Delirium
Rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical (non psychological) causes
What are the steps of problem solving
Frame the problem (need the right mental set)
Generate potential solutions
Implement solutions
Evaluate results
The inability to consider how to use an object in a non traditional manner
Functional fixedness
What are the four types of problem solving
Trial and error, algorithm, deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning
Trial and error
Less sophisticated, only works when relatively few possible solutions
Algorithm
Formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem
Deductive reasoning
Aka top-down
Start with a set of general rules and draws conclusions - the solution MUST be true based on the information given
Inductive reasoning
Aka bottom up
Create a theory via generalizations
Starts with specific instances and draws a conclusion
Simplified principles used to make decisions
Heuristics aka rules of thumb
Availability heuristics
Used to decide how likely something is - often leads to correct solution but not always
Representativeness heuristic
Categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the protypical, stereotypical or representative image of the category - can sometimes lead us astray
Using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical info
Base rate fallacy
Evidence obtained from testing demonstrates that a solution does not work
Disconfirmation principle
Tendency to focus on information that fits an individuals beliefs while rejecting information that goes against them
Confirmation bias
Tendency to erroneously interpret ones decisions, knowledge and beliefs as infallible
Overconfidence
Ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence. Is developed by experience
Intuition
Recognition primed decision model
Sorting through a wide variety of information to match a pattern
Subjective experience of a person in a certain situation
Emotion
What are the seven types of intelligence as defined by Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
Linguistic Logical-mathematical Musical Visual spatial Bodily kinaesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal
IQ
Intelligence quotient = mental age/chronological age x 100
Ones level of awareness of both the world and ones own existence in the world
Consciousness
What are the 4 main states of consciousness ?
Alertness, sleep, dreaming and altered levels of consciousness
(Sleep and dreaming are technically altered levels of consciousness )
Alertness
A state of consciousness in which we are awake and able to think
Cortisol levels tend to be higher and EEG waves indicate waking state
What occurs on brain level during alertness
Maintained by neurological circuits in the prefrontal cortex - communicated with the reticular formation (in brain stem ) to keep cortex awake and alert - a disruption of these connections would result in coma
What are the four characteristic EEG patterns during sleeping and waking ?
Beta, alpha, theta, delta
A fifth wave corresponds to REM in which we have most of our dreams and memory consolidation
Approx how long does a full sleep cycle last in adults ? In children ?
90 minutes in adults and 50 minutes in children
REM is more associated with ______ memory consolidation where SWS shows _______ memory consolidation
Procedural, declarative
Which two types of waves occur when we are awake?
Beta and alpha
Beta waves
Have a high frequency and occur when a person is alert or concentrating
Occur when neurons are randomly firing
Alpha waves
Person is awake but relaxing with eyes closed
Somewhat slower than beta waves and more synchronized than beta waves
Theta waves
Appears in stage 1 as soon as you doze off
Irregular waveform, slower frequency, higher voltages
Stage 2
As you fall more deeply asleep the EEG shows theta waves along with sleep spindles and K complexes
Slow wave sleep (SWS)
Occurs when you fall even more deeply asleep - includes stages 3 and 4
Lower frequency, high voltage delta waves
Important for cognitive recovery, memory consolidation and increased growth hormone release
NREM Sleep
Non rapid eye movement sleep - includes stages 1 through 4
REM Sleep
Rapid eye movement comes between cycles of NREM
Arousal levels reach that of wakefulness but muscles are paralyzed
Also called paradoxical sleep because ones HR, EEG, and breathing patterns mimic wakefulness but they are asleep
Dreaming is most likely to occur, important for memory consolidations
Sleep cycle
Single complete progression through sleep stages
Makeup of cycle changes throughout night
Early in night SWS (children spend more time in SWS) predominates and later REM predominates
Circadian rhythm
A 24 hour cycle that regulates sleeping and waking - external factors such as light and biochemical factors such as melatonin play a role
Melatonin
A serotonin derived hormone from the pineal gland that is released after stimulation from the hypothalamus that is responding to decreased light reaching the retina - promotes sleepiness
Cortisol
A steroid hormone that is produced by the adrenal cortex - levels begin to rise in the early morning and promote wakefulness
Describe how cortisol release is increased in the early morning
Increasing light causes release or corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) from hypothalamus which stimulates release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from anterior pituitary which stimulates release of cortisol from adrenal cortex
What percentage of dreams occur during REM?
75% and they tend to be longer and more vivid
Dreams are caused by widespread activation of neural circuitry which mimics incoming sensory information that is related to memories, desires, and needs. The cortex then stitches this into a dream
Activation synthesis theory of dreams
Dreams allow us to solve problems that we are unable to during the day because we interpret obstacles differently in dreams
Problem solving dream theory
Dreams are just our sleeping counterpart of stream of consciousness
Cognitive process dream theory
Seeks to unify biological and psychological perspectives on dreaming by correlating the subjective cognitive experience of dreaming which measurable physiological changes
Neurocognitive model of dreaming
Dyssomnias
Disorders that Mae it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep
Eg. Insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea
Parasomnias
Abnormal movements or behaviours during sleep, night terrors, sleepwalking
When do most sleep disorders occur?
During NREM sleep
Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Insomnia
Lack of voluntary control over onset of sleep . Characterized by cataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle control due to sudden intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours of day - usually triggered by emotions
Narcolepsy
Sensation of being unable to move despite being awake
Sleep paralysis
What are hallucinations when going to sleep? When waking ?
Hypnagogic hallucinations when going to sleep and hypnopompic hallucinations when waking
Sleep apnea
Inability to breath during sleep
Can be obstructive when there is a physical blockage or central when the brain fails to send signals to diaphragm to breathe
Night terrors
Most common in children ,intense anxiety during SWS, sympathetic overdrive, difficult to wake, usually does not remember
Somnambulism
Sleepwalking. Occurs during SWS. Usually does not remember
Sleep deprivation
Can result from one night without sleep, multiple poor or short sleeps
Results in irritability, mood disturbances, decreased performance, slowed reaction
In extreme cases can cause psychosis
When one sleeps after sleep deprivation they typically have an earlier onset and greater duration of REM
REM rebound
A state in which a person appears to be in control of his or her normal function but are in a highly suggestive state
Hypnosis
Hypnotic induction
Hypnosis seeks to relax the subject and increase their level of concentration
Meditation
Quieting of the mind
Decreased heart rate and BP, on EEG it resembles stage 1 sleep with theta and slow alpha waves
Reduces nervous system activity resulting in relaxation and reduced anxiety
Depressants
Alcohol
Depressant.- increases activity of GABA receptor, a chloride channel, and causes hyperpolarization
What are some of the effects of alcohol
Generalized brain inhibition, diminished arousal, behaviour is less inhibited because centres of brain that prevent inappropriate behaviour are also depressed
Increases dopamine and causes a mild euphoria
Reduced logic and motor skills, fatigue
Alcohol myopia (inability to see consequences - short sighted view of world)
A thiamine deficiency (B1) that is characterized by severe memory impairment with changes in mental status and loss of motor skills
Wernicke’s- korsakoff syndrome
Barbiturates/benzos
Anxiolytics, increases GABA activity, promotes relaxation, addictive
Cause an increase in arousal in the nervous system and an increase in frequency of action potentials
Stimulants
Amphetamines
Increase arousal by increasing release of dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and decreasing their reuptake
-decreased appetite and need for sleep, increased HR and BP, euphoria, hypervigilance, anxiety, delusions of grandeur, paranoid
Prolonged use can cause stroke or brain damage
Withdrawal - depression, fatigue and irritability
Cocaine
Decreases reuptake of dopamine, serotonin and NE
Has anaesthetic and vasoconstriction properties - vascularized surgery like nose
Vasoccontrictive properties can lead to heart attack or stroke
Smokeable form is crack
Ecstasy/MDMA
Hallucinogen combined with amphetamine
Inc hear rate and BP, blurry vision, sweating, nausea, hyperthermia
Euphoria, alertness, overwhelming sense of welll-being and connectedness
Opiates and opioids
Derived from poppy plant
Naturally occurring forms like morphine and codeine are opiates
Synthetic ones like oxy are opioids
Decreased reaction to pain and a sense of euphoria
Heroin (diacetylmorphine) is rapidly metabolized to morphine
Hallucinogens
Includes LSD (lysergic acid diethylamid), peyote, mescaline, ketamine, psilocybin mushrooms Works on multiple NT mostly serotonin Distortions of reality and fantasy, enhancement of sensory experiences, introspection, increased HR and BP, dilation of pupils, sweating and increased body temp
Marijuana
From leaves and flowers of cannabis sativa and indica plants
Active chemical is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - acted at cannabinoid receptors, glycine receptor, and opioid receptors
Increases GABA activity causing neural inhibition and dopamine activity causing pleasure
Red eyes, dry mouth, impairment of short term memory, increased HR, increased appetite, lower BP
Acts as stimulant, depressant and hallucinogen
Drug addiction is highly related to this pathway
Mesolimbic reward pathway which includes the nucleus accumbens (NAc) , ventral tegmental area (VTA) and connection between them called medial forebrain bundle (MFB)
Activation accounts for positive reinforcement of substance use
Activated by all substances that cause psychological dependence
Gambling and love activate this pathway
Concentrating on one aspect of the sensory environment or sensorium
Attention
Focusing on one part of the sensorium while ignoring other stimuli - a filter
Selective attention
Cocktail party phenomenon
Focus on one thing while allowing other stimuli to be processed in the background - ie hearing your name in the background at a party
Ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time
Divided attention
New or complex tastes require undecided attention and utilize
Controlled (effortful) processing
Familiar actions or routines can be performed with
Automatic processing
What are the 5 basic components of language
Phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax, pragmatics
Phonology
Sound of language, we have approx 40 speech sounds (phonemes)
Categorical perception
Determining if subtle differences between speech sounds represent a different meaning or not, pronunciation of words varied between people
Morphology
Structure of words - broken down into building blocks called morphemes which have specific meanings
Semantics
Association of meaning with a word
Syntax
How words are put together to form sentences
Pragmatics
Dependence of language on context and preexisting knowledge -affected by prosody (the rhythm, cadence and inflection of voices)
What is the precursor to language ?
Babbling - spontaneously begins within first year
For hearing children it is at highest frequency between 9 and 12 months
For deaf children verbal babbling ceases soon after it begins
From 12 to 18 months children add about one work per month
Starting at 18 months there is an explosion of language where they quickly learn dozens of words
Between 18 and 20 months children begin to combine words
By 2 or 3 years can speak in longer sentences
Substantially mastered by age of 5
A child may apply a grammatical rule in a situation in which it does not apply - parents are less likely to correct this than errors of word choice
Errors of growth
Nativist (biological ) theory
Innate capacity for language - study of transformational grammar - syntactic transformations or changes in word order retain the same meaning
Language acquisition device (LAD)
Theoretical pathway in the brain that allows infants to process and absorb language rules
What is the critical period for language acquisition ?
Between two years and puberty - if no language exposure occurs during this time later training is largely ineffective
Sensitive period
A time when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of an ability - for language development it is before puberty
Learning (behaviourist ) theory and its relation to language
Language acquisition can be done with operant conditioning and reinforcement
Social interactionist theory of language development
Language acquisition is driven by a child’s desire to communicate and behave in a social manner
Whorfian hypothesis
Aka linguistic relativity hypothesis
Our perception about reality is determined by the content of language - language affects the way we think rather than the other way around
Which brain hemisphere is responsible for speech production and language comprehension
The dominant hemisphere which is usually the left
Broca’s area
Located in the interior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe
Controls motor function of speech via connections to motor cortex
Wernicke’s area
Located in the superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe
Responsible for language comprehension
What connects the Broca’s area and wernicke’s area in order to allow appropriate association between language comprehension and speech production
A bundle of axons called arcuate fasciculus
A deficit of language production or comprehension
Aphasia
Broca’s aphasia
Aka expressive aphasia
Damage to the Broca’s area so we have reduced ability to produce spoken language but comprehension is intact
Wernicke’s aphasia
Aka receptive aphasia
Damage to wernicke’s area comprehension of speech is lost but motor production of speech is intact
-speak nonsensically
Conduction aphasia
Damage to arcuate fasciculus
Speech production and comprehension are intact however the patient is unable to repeat something that has been said
