Cognitive Flashcards
What does the term cognition mean?
Mental processes
What do they focus on?
How mental processes affect our benaviour
How can internal mental processes be studied?
Scientifically
What is a key feature of this approach?
Theoretical models e.g computer analogy
What areas of the brain do they investigate?
Memory, thinking and perception
How ave behaviours studied?
Indirectly by making inferences
What are the steps of the information processing model?
Input from the environment via the senses
Processing - info is encoded and processed eg using schema
Output - observable behaviour
What is the computer model?
The idea that the human mind is an information processor
What are schema?
‘Packages’ of ideas and information developed through experience.
What do schema do?
They act as a mental framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by the cognitive system.
What do schema help us do?
They help us to take shortcuts in our thinking.
What is a negative of schema?
They can lead to faulty conclusions and can distort interpretations of sensory information, leading to perceptual errors.
What is inference? Plus example
The process whereby we draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate in the brain on the basis of observed behaviour.
E.g Peterson & Peterson
What is cognitive neuroscience?
CN is the study of the influence of brain structure on mental processes.
Why is it a new area of research?
Due to new technologies such as MRI and PET scans.
Why is CN useful?
Mapping the brain to specific cognitive functions allows us predict and possibly treat the symptoms of brain injury by understanding the possible effects of injury on a particular area of the brain.
What is an fMRI?
A non-invasive test that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the body.
What does fMRI look at? How does this help doctors?
Blood flow in the brain to detect areas of activity. These changes in blood flow, which are captured on a computer, help doctors understand more about how the brain works.
What are PET scans?
Usedtoproduce detailed three-dimensional imagesof the inside of the body.
How do they work?
They work by detecting the radiation given off by a substance called a radiotracer as it collects in different parts of your body. By analysing the areas where the radiotracer does and doesn’t build up, it’s possible to work out how well certain brain functions are working and identify any abnormalities.
What is an EEG?
Records brain activity.
How does EEG work?
During the test, small sensors are attached to the scalp to pickup the electrical signals produced when brain cells send messages to each other.
These signals are recorded by a machine and are looked at by a doctorlater to see if they’re unusual.
