Human cognition Flashcards
What are the 4 key areas in cognitive psychology?
- cognitive psychlogy
- cognitive neuropsychology
- cognitive neuroscience
- computational cognitive science
What is cognitive psychology?
understanding human cognition through observation of behaviour during performance on cognitive tasks
What are 3 approaches in cognitive psychology?
information-processing approach
bottom-up approach
top-down approach
What is the information-processing approach?
assumption that human processing resembles a computer
What is the bottom-up approach?
believes processing is directly influenced by environmental stimuli
What is the top-down approach?
believe processing is influenced by internal factors
What are 3 strengths of cognitive psychology?
- very flexible as it can be applied to all areas of cognition
- was the 1st scientific approach
- led to multiple theories being developed
What are 3 limitations to cognitive psychology?
- most of the cognitive tasks used lack ecological validity
- theories are vague and hard to test
- findings are often paradigm specific
What does it mean if findings are paradigm specific?
means they are created from a specific perspective
What is cognitive neuropsychology?
studying brain damaged patients to understand human cognition in general
What does cognitive neuropsychology provide?
fairly direct evidence of brain-cognition interconnections
What are the 4 key assumptions of cognitive neuropsychology?
- functional modularity
- anatomical modularity
- universality assumption
- subtractivity
What is functional modularity?
refers to independent processing units
example of domain specificity (where different domains are supported by specialised cognitive processes)
What is anatomical modularity?
each cognitive module is located in a specific brain region
What is the universality assumption?
idea that the organisation of cognitive functions is very similar across all individuals
What is subtractivity?
brain damage can only disrupt modules or the connections between them but patients don’t develop new modules to compensate
What are the 4 lobes in each hemisphere?
frontal
parietal
occipital
temporal
What is the frontal lobe divided from the parietal lobes by?
the central sulcus
What separates the temporal lobes from the parietal and frontal lobes?
lateral fissure
What are the 3 methods used in cognitive neuropsychology?
correlational evidence/making associations
single-case studies (useful for rare cases)
case-series studies (gains rich data)
What is case-series study?
studies several patients with similar symptoms or damage
What is the double dissociation test? (Keane et al 1995)
patient (L.H) bilateral occipital lobe lesions
patient (H.M) bilateral medial-temporal lobe lesions
visuo-perceptual priming - impaired in L.H, intact in H.M
visual recognition memory - intact in L.H, impaired in H.M
(shows double dissociation)
What is a double dissociation?
technique that compares two tests to identify specialised brain functions
2 types:
- single dissociation
- double dissociation
What is a single dissociation?
doesn’t necessarily indicate modularity as one task might be more difficult than the other
What is cognitive neuroscience?
using behaviour and the brain to understand human cognition
What are 3 features of cognitive neuroscience?
computational modelling
artificial intelligence
cognitive architectures
What did Brodmann do in 1909?
produced the first accurate map of the brain (1909)
has 52 discrete areas
Bullmore and Sporns (2012): network organisation of brain
- principle of cost control (few long distance connections)
- principle of efficiency (ability to integrate info across the brain)
What are some measurement techniques in cognitive neuroscience?
single unit recordings
Event-related potentials (ERPs) (EEGs)
PET
fMRI
MEG
TMS
What are single-unit recordings?
where a micro-electrode is inserted into the brain
records activity from a singe neuron
What are the strengths and limitations of single-unit recordings?
high temporal and spatial resolution
but highly invasive
expensive
What is EEG / ERP?
electrodes are placed on scalp using sticky substance, measures electrical activity
What are the strengths and limitations of EEG / ERP?
high temporal resolution
But poor spatial resolution
What is Positron emission tomography (PET)?
water containing a radioactive tracer emits positrons
water rushes to active brain region
What are the strengths and limitations of PET?
good spatial resolution
But poor temporal resolution
Invasive
What is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)?
brain scanning technique that measure brain activity by tracking blood flow changes
What are event-related fMRI (efMRI)?
patterns of brain activity associated with specific events are compared
What are the strengths and limitations of fMRI?
non-invasive and high spatial resolution
But expensive, poor temporal resolution
What is magnetoencephalography (MEG)?
measures magnetic fields produced by brain activity
What are the strengths and limitations of MEG?
High temporal and spatial resolution
But expensive, technology is relatively new
What is Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)?
where a brief pulse (or pulses in repetitive/rTMS) is emitted by a coil which is placed next to skull
a magnetic filed disrupts brain activity in underlying cortex (creates interface and resembles short lived lesion)
What are the limitations to TMS?
effects are complex
brain areas not directly targeted by TMS may also be affected
can enhance performance due to compensatory flexibility (recruiting other brain areas)
What is “neuroenchantment”?
exaggerated respect for findings in cognitive neuroscience
