Converging methods and decision making Flashcards
What is the Hol(e)y Trinity?
Mind, Brain, Behabiour
What are the challanges in the
Brain
Mind
Behaviour?
Brain: massively complex
~100 billions neurons
~100 trillion synapses
Mind: not directly observable
Behaviour:
noisy, inconsistent, individualized, diverse
What are the goals of cognitive neuroscience?
Determine how the brain mediates cognition and behaviour
relate neural structures to mental function and behaviour
type on a keyboard and move mouse and then observe out put would be related to what type of neuroscience experiment?
Behavioral
Record voltage and currents with multimeter would be what?
Single unit recording
diconnect different components and observe effect
lesion method
record content of RAM every few seconds
fMRI
What method would prove to be the most effective at determining the working of a computer/ mind?
there is a need for converging methods
to understand from all levels we need a diverse set of research methods that span across multiple levels and approaches
What does DTI do?
measuring fiber tracts between brain areas
What does PET do?
Using radiotracers to track dopamine distribution in the brain
What does pharmacological intervention do?
Administering a psychoactive chemical and looking at the effects of that
Ex. Effects of L-dopa on reinforcement learning
What is the genetic method?
what versions of specific genes and patterns of behaviour and neural activity match up
DARPP-32 and DRD2 genes involved in D1 and D2 dopamine receptor predict individual differences in exploration and exploitation
What is MEG?
Imaging of magnetic fields due to neural activity
less influenced by scale so better localization than EEG
What is fNIRS?
Imaging hemodynamic response non-invasively
What is a Brainbow?
Imaging of individual neurons using genetic manipulation and fluorescent proteins
What is Optogenetics?
genetic manipulation to allow use of light to switch neurons on and off
What are the benefits of converging methods (2)
Independent epistemic support
complementation
What is and example of independent epistemic support?
an example of this would be If you use lesion study and it suggests insula plays a role in cognition and then do an fMRI study and it also points to the insula
helps re-assures that both studies are believable
good type of replication
What is complementation?
To obtain complementary info about the phenomenon under investigation
not just confirming but providing additional info that helps up build a larger picture
different perspective and new insight
Lesion method allows you to do what but does not give info on what?
The loss of cognitive function following lesion but does not directly reveal what info processing operation that area performed
What are the pros and cons of Single unit recording
Can tell a cell is particularly active in a response to a stimuli but you need more information to know if that cell is processing that info or just conducting it
What are the pros and cons of fMRI?
it can identify a network of brain areas
but this approach relies critically on a task analysis that is generally arrived at a priori by trying to image a set of operations that would perform the task
