Cognitive Neuroscience methods Flashcards
main characteristics about a cognitive model
Specific and realistic
Parsimonious (simple)
falsifiable
linked to knowledge of the brain
Important aspects for the study of behaviour
accuracy and reaction time involved in models
electrodes that pick up signals from a neuron
single cell recordings
behaviour can tell us
difficulty of the problem
influence of extraneous factors
behaviour study requires
control over inputs and analysis of the outputs
amount of time it takes for an input to generate a response
reaction time
erros that reflect task-related and non-task related issues
accuracy
A good cognitive model
can be reduced to parts of the brain
consequences from spontaneous neural activity
we need a dramatic increase in order to link stimulation to function
map parts of the eye to parts of the brain is called
retinatopic
map of frequencies to the brain is called
tonotopic
tracing from cell body to terminal is
anterograde
tracing from terminal to cell body is
retrograde
tracing allows to
know where electrons come from
lesion to temporal lobes in animals cause
Kluver bucy syndrome
difficulties reaching objects is caused by
lesions in parietal lobes
method that allows to study brains lacking an area without surgery
genetic manipulation
Computerized Axial Tomography (CT) relies on which principle?
different tissues absorb radiation at different rates
Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI) relies on
magnetic properties of tissues on the brain. waves that get back are called resonance
unit for brain volume
voxels: volumetric pixels
Advantages of sMRI for lesion tracing
boundary, size and extent of injury
process of stretching the brain to fit the general template
spatial normalization
reason why we need normalization
brains have different sizes
Difussion tensor imaging (DTI) principle
water moves more readily along the white matter tract
Elentroencephalography (EEG) method
uses a cap of electrodes that pick up electrical signals from brain
event-related potentials (ERP) are computed by
averaging several trials
average of ERP is needed because
it reduces noise and characterizes the real peaks associated to mental processes
funtional method that uses radioactive isotopes and measures the emission of gamma rays
Positron Emission Tomography Imaging (PET)
PET is used for which diseases
cancer, schizofrenia and alzheimer
Funtional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) principle
magnetic properties of oxygen allows to track blood oxygenated level dependent (BOLD) signals
Echo Planar Imaging (EPI) is
slice the brain and repeat readings
type of imaging that answers questions about brain dynamics
functional imaging
dark areas on CT are
ventricles
advantages of fMRI over CT
better resolution and safer
limitations of MRI
cannot be used if people have ferrous metals in their body
mehtods that looks at patients with common areas of impairment and see areas of injury
Lesion overlap technique
template used to compare brains was crated by
Montreal National Institute
the ratio of water moving in one direction against other directions
fractional anisotropy
DTI is used in
injuries, trauma, mutiple sclerosis and other cases where white matter is damaged
limitation of DTI
only looks at white matter
subjects have to be stable
method with greatest temporal resolution
EEG
limitations of EEg
bad spatial resolution
advantages of PET
good spatial resolution, it can isolate parts of the frontal lobe
principle that predicts in the changes of blood flow in the brain
hemodynamic response
principle that says the more neural activity requires more oxygenated blood
neurovascular coupling
limitation of fMRI
very bad temporal resolution (about 6 seconds)
not every region has the same hemodynamic response
method with worst temporal resolution
PET
define subtraction method
take sample of the experimental condition, then the control condition and look at differences in activation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) principle
magnetic pulse introduces a electrical current that changes neural activity
limitations of TMS
very much detail needed to stimulate right area
relation between stimulation and activation is
proportional in time and activity (higher frequency excites while ow frequency disrupts)
Optical imaging principle
shine laser to the brain and pick up how light scatters or is absorbed
method that shows neurotransmitters levels
optical imaging
