Cognitive Neuroscience Flashcards
Non-fluent, expressive aphasia that causes problems with speech production (but not comprehension)
Broca’s aphasia
Fluent aphasia that causes disordered speech and problems with language comprehension
Werknicke’s aphasia
What is the purpose of synaptic pruning and at when does it occur?
The purpose is to make neural transmission more specific and efficient - the 2 major periods of synaptic pruning occurs at around/after age 5 and after adolescence
Location of and function of motor cortex
Located in precentral gyrus and is involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements.
Location and function of somatosensory cortex
Located in postcentral gyrus and process sensory information from the body
Define functional specialisation
different areas of the brain have different functions (specialisation of neuron’s in particular brain regions)
Which neuroimaging techniques are considered invasive?
Positron emitting tomography (PET) and single-cell recordings
What are the 2 components of episodic memory?
Recollection - re-experiencing past events (remembering)
Familiarity - stimulus is recognised but there is no information about the context of the experience (knowing)
What is the saphir-wolf hypothesis?
A theory relating to verbal codes that states that language shapes thought
How do neurons communicate electrically?
Information is conducted within the neuron through the movement of ions in and out of the cell
How do neurons communicate chemically?
Information is communicated between neurons through chemical signals via neurotransmitters
What is the resting charge of a neuron?
-70mV
What is the excitation threshold for neural firing?
-55mV
What is the axon hillock?
The area of the neuron where an action potential is created (trigger zone)
What is depolarization?
When the cell becomes less negative making it more likely for an action potential
What is hyperpolarization?
Inside of the cell becomes temporarily more negative which inhibits action potential
Why are voltage-gated ion channels important and where are they found?
They are only found in axons and are important in generating action potentials by letting ions in and out of cell
What happens during an action potential?
When there are enough graded potentials to cross the excitation threshold, the cell depolarises with voltage-gated channels allowing Na+ into cell, then reploarises by allowing K+ out
What is the difference between an agonist and antagonist?
Agnostic drug is excitatory and mimics effect of neurotransmitter - antagonist is inhibitory and blocks neurotransmitter
What is the difference between gray and white matter?
gray matter is made up of cell bodies and dendrites and white matter is made up of axons and glial cells
Dorsal/superior view is…
from the top of brain
Ventral inferior view of brain…
bottom
Anterior/rostral view of brain..
front
Posterior/caudal view of brain…
back
Transverse plane/coronal view of brain..
Sliced in half from front to back
Sagittal view of brain…
Side view/sliced in half side to side
Axial view…
Horizontal/sliced in half top to bottom
What is contralateral?
Processing of information from/to body occurs on opposite side of brain
What is ipsilateral?
Processing occurs on the same side of the brain
Basal ganglia are involved in…
Voluntary movement, reward and skill learning and habit formation
Limbic system is involved in…
relating to past and present environment, and emotional processing
Diencephalon includes…
Thalamus - relay centre - and hypothalamus - regulation
For EEG, neurons need to be…
oriented in the same direction (open field) and firing in synchrony
Event related potential’s (ERP’s) are…
the average amount of voltage change on the scalp linked to particular timing of events such as stimulus and response
Which brain measures/imaging techniques have the best temporal resolution?
electrophysiological techniques - e.g., EEG, ERP
Which brain measures/imaging techniques have the best spatial resolution?
functional imaging techniques - e.g., MRI, fMRI
What are the 2 types of EEG measurement?
Bipolar - comparing voltage difference between within pairs of electrodes across entire scalp
Monopolar - comparing voltage difference between each electrode and neutral reference point
What would steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) be used for?
Psychophysical methods, such as measuring absolute thresholds, contrast sensitivity and acuity relating to visual stimulation
What is the purpose of Transient Visual Evoked Potentials (VEP)?
To gather information on time course of visual processing by showing visual stimuli at a slow rate many times
What is the N400 EEG component related to?
Used to investigate semantic processing (such as semantic incongruity)
What is stereotactic normalisation?
Remapping brain onto standard brain to account for individual differences in order to make comparisons
What are the three stages of the haemodynamic response function?
fractionation assumption
transparency assumption
universality assumption
