Cognitive Neuroscience and Visual Perception

Question 1

What is Capgras Syndrome?

Answer 1

Capgrass syndrome is when a person can recognize a loved one but cannot the emotional connection to them.

Question 2

Why does Capgras Syndrome happen?

Answer 2

In the brain, we have two routes: Dorsal and Ventral route.

The Ventral route is the route that allows us to recognize people whereas the Dorsal route is the one that gives an emotional response.

Capgras Syndrome happens when the Dorsal route was damaged.

Question 3

Spinal Cord

Answer 3

basic life functions

Question 4

Cerebellum

Answer 4

Spatial reasoning and coordination

Question 5

Midbrain

Answer 5

Coordinates movement (especially small movements),

Regulates pain

Relates auditory information for further processing

Question 6

Cerebral Cortex

Answer 6

Composed by

Corpus Callosum

Hypothalamus

Dura mater

Question 7

Who was the scientist that was able to see the neurons on brain tissue?

And how?

Answer 7

Ramon y Cajal used Golgi stains which involved to put silver on the tissue to highlight.

This allowed him to clearly see the neurons and showed that it wasn’t a continuous pathway but rather a structure of neurons.

Question 8

Name 4 components of a neuron’s structure.

Answer 8

Cell body

Dendrites

Axon

Axon terminal

Question 9

Cell body

Answer 9

Mechanism that keeps the neuron alive

Question 10

Dendrites

Answer 10

Receives signals from other neurons

Question 11

Axon

Answer 11

Nerve fiber that transmits signal to other neurons

Question 12

Axon terminal

Answer 12

Releases neurotransmitters to the synapse to transmit the signal to the next neuron.

Question 13

Synapse

Answer 13

The gap between two neurons.

Question 14

Who developed a way to record electrical activity directly from neurons?

Answer 14

Edgar Adrian

Question 15

How did Edgar Adrian measure the electrical activity in a neuron?

Answer 15

He measured the difference in charge between the recording electrode and the reference electrode.

Note that this difference in charge exists since when a neuron is at rest it is negatively charged inside and positively charged outside.

Question 16

What is an action potential?

Answer 16

An electrical signal that is transmitted down the axon and the difference in charge shoots up.

Notice: All this happens in a millisecond

Question 17

True or False

The action potential changes depending on the intensity of the stimulus.

Answer 17

False

The action potential is always the same. On the other hand, the frequency at which the neuron fires changes to indicate the intensity of the stimulus.

Question 18

What happens at the synapse?

Answer 18

If a neuron is sufficiently stimulated it produces enough action potentials that it will release neurotransmitters which serve as chemical signals that allow the neurons to communicate with each other.

Once the neurotransmitters are released, they are caught by the postsynaptic membrane. If enough neurotransmitters are received, this will cause the charge of the receiving neuron to change and so fire.

Question 19

True or False

The neurotransmitters change

Answer 19

True

Question 20

True or False

Specific functions are served by specific areas of the brain

Answer 20

True

Question 21

Temporal lobe

Answer 21

Auditory receiving area

Question 22

Occipital lobe

Answer 22

Visual receiving area

Question 23

Parietal lobe

Answer 23

Skin receiving area

Question 24

Frontal lobe

Answer 24

Most complex functions, information from all senses to combine them.

Question 25

Question 26

Prosopagnosia

Answer 26

Impaired face recognition

Question 27

If you injure Broca’s area you get Broca’s aphasia, what does this mean?

Answer 27

Understanding of language but difficulty speaking.

Question 28

If you injure Wernicke’s area you get Wernicke’s aphasia, what does this mean?

Answer 28

You will be able to speak but you will have difficulty understanding.

Question 29

Would a patient with Broca’s Aphasia have trouble understanding the following sentence?

The boy was pushed by the girl

Answer 29

Yes, they will not be able to understand who pushed who. They have problems understanding “by”