Cognitive Neuroscience Flashcards

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1
Q

What is neuropsychology?

A

Studies behavior of people with brain damage

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2
Q

What is Electrophysiology?

A

Studies electrical responses of the nervous system including brain neurons

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3
Q

What is cognitive neuroscience?

A

The study of the physiological basis of cognition

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4
Q

Levels of analysis

A

We look at topics of interest from many different perspectives. Each viewpoint adds small amounts that when added together create a greater understanding

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5
Q

What are neurons?

A

Cells specialized to create, receive, and transmit information to the NS

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6
Q

Parts of the neuron

A

Dendrites, cell body (SOMA), and an axon

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7
Q

Cell body

A

Has mechanisms to keep the cell alive

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8
Q

Dendrites

A

Multiple branches that RECEIVE information from other neurons

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9
Q

Axon

A

Tube filled with fluid that SENDS electrical signal to other neurons

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10
Q

Action potential

A

Neuron receives signal and info travels down the axon to be sent to another neuron

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11
Q

How to measure action potential

A

Through a microelectrode

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12
Q

What is a microelectrode?

A

A receptor that measures action potentials in nerves. Placed near the axon

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13
Q

Measuring Action Potential

A

Size is not measured, it remains constant

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14
Q

What is measured during AP?

A

Rate of firing
Low intensity: slow firing
High Intensity: fast firing

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15
Q

What is the synapse?

A

The space between the axon of a neuron and a dendrite of another neuron

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16
Q

When the Action potential reaches the end of an axon, ____________

A

synaptic vesicles open and release chemical neurotransmitters

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17
Q

What are neurotransmitters?

A

chemicals that affect the electrical signal of the receiving neuron

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18
Q

Excitatory

A

INCREASES chance neuron will fire

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19
Q

Inhibitory

A

DECREASES chance neuron will fire

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20
Q

Action potential results only if the _______ is reached

A

Threshold level

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21
Q

What is threshold level?

A

Interaction of excitation and inhibition

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22
Q

Definition of the mind

A

A system that creates representations of the world, so that we can act on it to achieve goals

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23
Q

Principle of neuronal representation

A

Everything a person experiences is based on representations in the person’s NS; Vision example

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24
Q

What did Hubel and Wiesel bring to the psych world?

A

Researched vision stimulus with cats; discovered feature detectors

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25
Q

What are feature detectors?

A

Neurons that respond best to a specific stimulus

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26
Q

The stimulus for vision is ________

A

Light

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27
Q

What did Hubel & Wiesel conclude?

A

Different neurons would respond to different orientations; different neurons respond to vertical stimuli, while others respond to horizontal stimuli.

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28
Q

If you did not have vertical line detectors, ________

A

You would not be able to see and recognize vertical lines

29
Q

What is experience-dependent plasticity?

A

The brain changes with experiment

30
Q

Kittens exposed to vertical-only stimuli over time___________

A

Could only perceive verticals in normal stimulus

31
Q

A man losing the ability to walk learning to walk again through a separate part of the brain is an example of _________?

A

Experience-dependent plasticity

32
Q

What did the kitten-vertical line experiment demonstrate?

A

demonstrated that perception is determined by neurons that fire to specific qualities of a stimulus

33
Q

What is Hierarchical Processing

A

When we perceive different objects, we do so in a specific order that moves from lower to higher areas of the brain.

34
Q

What is specificity coding?

A

Representation of a stimulus by the firing of specifically tuned neurons specialized to respond only to a specific stimulus; NOT USED

35
Q

What is population coding?

A

Representation of a stimulus by the pattern of firing of a large number of neurons

36
Q

What is sparse coding?

A

Representation of a stimulus by a pattern of firing only a small group of neurons

37
Q

Is specificity coding, population coding, or sparse coding the accurate coding?

A

Population and/or sparse

38
Q

What is localization function?

A

Specific functions are served by specific areas of the brain

39
Q

What is the cerebral cortex?

A

3-mm-thick layer that contains the mechanisms responsible for most cognitive functions

40
Q

Occipital lobe functions

A

Vision (lower level)

41
Q

Parietal lobe functions

A

Somatosensory cortex (touch, pain, pressure) and spatial awareness (orientation, recognition, attention)

42
Q

Temporal lobe function

A

Hearing, smell, speech, memory

43
Q

Frontal lobe functions

A

Primary motor cortex, personality, speech, emotion, decision making, recognition,

44
Q

Broca’s Area

A

Produces language; in left hemisphere of frontal lobe

45
Q

Wernicke’s Area

A

Language comprehension; in the left hemisphere of the temporal lobe

46
Q

Example of Broca’s Aphasia

A

Patients know what they want to say but can’t get it out; “Tip of the tongue”

47
Q

Example of Wernicke’s Aphasia

A

Patients cannot comprehend what they are trying to say; “Word salad”

48
Q

How do we know about certain area functions?

A

Brain imaging

49
Q

What is the most common form of brain imaging?

A

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and

50
Q

What does an fMRI do?

A

Measures neural activity by identifying highly oxygenated hemoglobin molecules

51
Q

What is fusiform face area (FFA)?

A

Responds specifically to faces

52
Q

What happens when the FFA is damaged?

A

Prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces)

53
Q

What is the Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA)?

A

Responds specifically to places (indoor/outdoor scenes)

54
Q

What is the Extrastriate Body Area (EBA)?

A

Responds specifically to pictures of bodies and parts of bodies

55
Q

What is the central principle of cognition?

A

Most of our experience is multidimensional; we use different parts of the brain to decipher events

56
Q

What is Distributed Representation?

A

A specific cognition activates many areas of the brain; distributed across the brain

57
Q

Neuronal Networks

A

Interconnected areas of the brain that communicate with each other

58
Q

What is connectome?

A

Structural description of the network of elements and connections forming the human brain

59
Q

Structural connectivity

A

What connects to what; “Wiring Diagrams”

60
Q

How unique are structural connectivities?

A

They are unique to each person and change over time

61
Q

Functional connectivity

A

How groups of neurons within a connectome function compared to types of cognition

62
Q

What are the six common functions determined by resting-state fMRI?

A

Visual, Somato-motor, Dorsal Attention, Executive Control, Salience, Default Mode

63
Q

Dorsal Attention

A

Attention to visual stimuli and spatial locations

64
Q

Salience

A

Survival-relevant events in an environment

65
Q

Somato-motor

A

Movement and Touch

66
Q

Default Mode

A

Mind Wandering; not oriented towards a task

67
Q

Executive Control

A

Higher-order functions and thinking

68
Q

Dynamics of cognition

A

The flow and activity within and across the brain’s functional networks change based on conditions