cognitive neuroscience Flashcards
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Cognitive neuroscience is defined as ‘the scientific field concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on theneural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes’
What is the current focuses of cognitive neuroscience?
.Current Focuses of Cognitive Neuroscience =
Current research focuses on the neuralbasis of model-based planning (including the role of the dorsal hippocampus), the neurological basis of autism, and also the neural basis of moral reasoning
What is the objectively identifying brain localisation theory part of the emergence of congnitive neuroscience?
Objectively Investigating Brain Localisation Theoryin the 1970s =
Advances in technology meant that it was possible to systematically measure and observe the neural processes which coincide with specific brain functions.
for example, using PET scans, Petersen et al (1988) found evidence of Wernicke’s area being activated during a listening task and Broca’s area being activated during a reading task.
what is the brain mapping part to emergence of cognitive neureoscience?
Brain Mapping =
Carl Wernicke, based on case studies of patients who all had damage to a specific area of the brain and all suffered from the same type of aphasia (Wernicke’s), inferred that wernickes must be involved in language comprehension.
broca identified how damage to an area of the frontal lobe could impair speech production.
emergence of cognitive neureoscience:
A brief history of the emergence of cognitive neuroscience is detailed below:
1. Brain Mapping = Carl Wernicke, based on case studies of patients who all had damage to a specific area of the brain and all suffered from the same type of aphasia (Wernicke’s), inferred that wernickes must be involved in language comprehension. broca identified how damage to an area of the frontal lobe could impair speech production.
2.Objectively Investigating Brain Localisation Theoryin the 1970s = Advances in technology meant that it was possible to systematically measure and observe the neural processes which coincide with specific brain functions. For example, using PET scans, Petersen et al (1988) found evidence of Wernicke’s area being activated during a listening task and Broca’s area being activated during a reading task.
3.Current Focuses of Cognitive Neuroscience = Current research focuses on the neuralbasis of model-based planning (including the role of the dorsal hippocampus), the neurological basis of autism, and also the neural basis of moral reasoning
Why is it a strength that cognitive neureoscience has objectivity?
*The use of scanning to link brain structures with mental processes is objective and unbiased
*reliable data has been objectively collected through direct observation in PET CT MRI and fMRI scans
Why is cognitive neuroscience reductionist ?
When we reduce a complex cognitive processing disorder to one or two areas of the brain we risk losing a holistic overview of the causes of the disorder
Why is it a limitation that cognitive neuroscience uses correlational evidence ?
Scanning techniques like fMRI scans can only tell us the relationship between brain structures and thought processes and don’t give causation
What is the supporting evidence for cognitive neuroscience?
*Braver et al - gave ps a task that involved the central executive while they were having a brain scan.
*There was greater activity in the prefrontal cortex and as the task got harder the activity in the area increased
*suggesting that the central executive is located in the prefrontal cortext
Tulving et al:-
*got ps to perform various memory tasks while their brains were scanned using a PET scanner
*they found that episodic and semantic memories were both recalled from the prefrontal cortex
*the left prefrontal cortex was involved in recalling semantic memories
*the right prefrontal cortex is where episodic memories were recalled —
*episodic memories are associated with hippocampus and other parts of the temporal lobe
*semantic mems are associated with cerebellum and motor cortex
What are the practical applications of cognitive neuroscience?
*Use of scanning / imaging techniques to locate different types of memory in different areas of the brain leading to treatment for memory problems or to investigate OCD
*muse of computer stimulations - modelling to test theories or hypotheses about mental processes such as attention , memory , problem solving etc
use of computer modelling to develop voice recognition programmes
*use of eye tracking and motion tracking to study visual word processing and reading
