Cognitive-Chapter 2-Cognitive Neuroscience Flashcards
Ramon y Cajal’s research resulted in…
The abandonment of the neural net theory in favor of the neuron doctrine, which states that individual cells called neurons transmit signals in the nervous system
What did Adrian do?
Adrian recorded the first signals from single neurons, determined that action potentials remain the same size as they travel down an axon and that increasing stimulus intensity increases the rate of nerve firing.
How are neuron signals recorded?
Using micro electrodes
What does the principle of neural representation state?
Everything that a person experiences is based not on direct contact with stimuli, but on representations in the person’s nervous system
Representations by neurons can be explained by…
Considering feature detectors, neurons that respond to complex stimuli, and how neurons are involved in specificity coding, population coding, and sparse coding.
The idea of localization of function in perception is supported by…
The existence of a separate primary receiving area for each sense, by the effects of brain damage on perception (for example, prosopagnosia) by recording from single near rounds, and from the results of brain imaging experiments.
Brain imaging measures brain activation by measuring…
Blood flow in the brain
Brain imaging experiments have…
Measured the response to still pictures to identify areas in the human brain that respond best to faces, places, and bodies, and the response to movies to create a brain am indicating the kinds of stimuli that activate different areas of the brain.
The idea of distributed processing is that…
Specific functions are processed by many different areas in the brain. This principle is illustrated by the finding that faces activate many areas of the brain and by the simpler example of the rolling red ball, which also activates a number of areas.
Distributed processing also occurs for…
Other cognitive functions, such as memory, decision making, and problem solving. A basic principle of cognition is that different cognitive functions often involve similar mechanisms.
Neural networks are…
Groups of neurons or structures that are connected together. The structures that create the pain matrix are, together, an example of a neural network.
One of the contributions of neuroscience to the understanding of the mind is determining…
Where different capacities occur in the brain
Proposals based on behavioral research can be supported…
By the results of physiological research. EX: the proposal of different types of long term memory based on behavior has been supported by neuropsychological research, studying patients with different types of brain damage
Action potential
Propagated electrical potential responsible for transmitting neural information and for communication between neurons. Action potentials 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 psychology, activity is measured in response to 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: labored ungrammatical speech and difficulty in understanding some types of sentences
Cell body
Part of a 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 mental functions such as perception, language, thinking, and problem solving.
Cognitive neuroscience
The 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 fibers, for tracing nerve pathways and determine connections
Distributed representation
Occurs when a specific cognition activates many areas of the brain.
Double association
A situation in which a single dissociation cane be demonstrated in one person and the opposite type of single dissociation cane be demonstrated in a mother person.
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 the 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 in the brain.
Levels of analysis
A topic can be understood by studying it at a number of different levels of a system
Localization of function
Location of specific functions in specific areas of the brain. for example areas have been identified that are specialized to process information involved in the perception of movement, forms, speech, and different aspects of memory.
MRI magnetic resonance imaging
Brain imaging technique that creates images of structures within the brain.
Micro electrode
Small wires that are used to record electrical signals from single neurons
Nerve fiber
Part of the neuron that transmits as signals from the cell body to the synapse (axon)
Nerve impulse
An electrical response that is propagated down the length of an axon (nerve fiber) also known as an 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
Groups of interconnected neurons that are responsible for neural processing
Neural network
Groups of neurons or structures that are connected together
Principle of neural representation
Everything a person experiences based on representations in the person’s nervous system
Neuron
Cell that is specialized 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 behavioral effects of brain damage in humans
Neurotransmitter
Chemical that is released at the synapses in response to incoming action potentials
Occipital lobe
The lobe at the back of the brain that is devoted primarily to analyzing 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 mechanisms responsible for sensations caused by stimulation of the skin and also some aspects of visual information.
Population coding
Neural representation 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 characterized by an inability to recognize faces.
Receptors
Specialized 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. Reference electrodes are generally placed where the electrical signal remains constant, so any change in charge between the recording and reference electrode reflects events happening near the tip of the recording electrode.
Resting potential
Difference in charge between the inside and outside of a nerve fiber when the fiber is at rest no other electrical signal are present.
Retina
A network of neurons that lines the back of the eye. the 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 patterns 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 signaling of a person’s face by the firing of a neuron that responds only to that person’s face.
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, vision
Visual cortex
An area in the occipital lobe that receives signals from the eyes
Voxel
Small cubed shaped areas in the brain used in the analysis of data from the brain scanning experiments
Wernicke’s area
Area in the temporal lobe associated with understanding language. Damage to this causes a condition characterized by difficulty in understanding language, and fluent, grammatically correct, but incoherent speech
cognitive neuroscience is
The study of the physiological basis of cognition. Taking levels-of analysis approach to the study of the mind involves research at both behavioral and physiological levels
