Cognitive Neuroscience Flashcards
What does a PET scan show?
Structural damage to the brain
Why are there folds in the brain?
It increases surface area of outer cortex e.g. Grey matter
What are axons?
They are the white matter, it’s coated by fat which promotes conductivity which is why it is white
What is phrenology?
It is if there are bumps on the head/brain development underneath it reflects your abilities. This was believed in 1758-1828
What happens to the brain during a stroke?
Capillary can no longer send nutrients to the brain and there’s a blockage and the capillary dies
What is a receptive field?
An area in space that a cell responds to
What is an MRI scan?
Magnet aligns protons in brain tissue
- more accurate
- different tissues take different times to realign depending on their densities
- can’t have any metal on your body including tattoos
What is a CT scan?
X rays are transmitted through the brain
What are ERPs?
Électrodes on scalp surface measure electrical activity generated by the brain
Average over many trials
What is an MEG?
Magneto-encephalogram
Electrical currents generate magnetic fields
These magnetic fiends generated by the brain are measured by powerful detectors
What is a PET scan?
Positon émission tomography
Blood flows to the parts of the brain that are active
Inject subject with radio active water
Track where blood is flowing
Blood contains oxygen which has magnetic properties
What is a fMRI scan?
Blood flows to areas that are active
Blood contains oxygen that has magnetic properties
Magnet measures position of blood with high oxygen
It is expensive
Blood takes a second to take on additional oxygen
What is the occipital lobe of the brain for?
Visual processing
What is the parietal lobe of the brain for?
Somatosensory processing and spatial (awareness) processing
What is the temporal lobe for?
Auditory processing, complex visual processing
What is the frontal lobe for?
Motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, planning, thought, executive functions
What is a lesion?
It is damage to the brain, different areas affected in each individual, individual differences, damage is “messy”
What is a topographic?
Brain area that corresponds to a visual field
What is the peripheral nervous system?
It connects the nervous system to the rest of the body and is itself divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system
What is the somatic nervous system?
Conveys information into and out of the central nervous system, controls voluntary muscles
What is the autonomic nervous system?
Divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system which complement each other in their effects on the body and controls the body’s organs automatically
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
Prepares the body for action in threatening situations
What is the parasympathetic nervous system
It returns the body to its normal state after it having to react to a threatening situation
What is the central nervous system composed of?
The brain and the signal cord
What is the brain split into?
Hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain
What does the hindbrain do?
Coordinates information coming into and out of the spinal cord with structures as the medulla, the reticular information, the cerebellum and the pons
What does the midbrain do?
The help of structures such as the tectum and tegmentum, generally coordinates functions such as orientation to the environment and movement and arousal towards sensory stimuli
What does the forebrain do?
Coordinates higher level functions such as perceiving, feeling and thinking. Has structured such as the thalamus, hypothalamus, Limbic system (including hippocampus and amygdala) and basal ganglia all of these functions perform a variety of functions related to emotion and motivation.
