Introducing cognitive neuroscience Flashcards
A variety of higher
mental processes such
as thinking, perceiving,
imagining, speaking,
acting and planning
Cognition
Aims to explain cognitive
processes in terms of
brain-based mechanisms
Cognitive neuroscience
The problem of how a
physical substance (the
brain) can give rise to our
sensations, thoughts and
emotions (our mind)
Mind-body problem
The belief that mind
and brain are made up
of different kinds of
substance
Dualism
The belief that mind and
brain are two levels of
description of the same
thing
Dual-aspect theory
The belief that mind-
based concepts will
eventually be replaced by
neuroscientific concepts
Reductionism
The failed idea that
individual differences in
cognition can be mapped
onto differences in skull
shape
Phrenology
Different regions of the
brain are specialized for
different functions
Functional specialization
The study of brain-
damaged patients to
inform theories of normal
cognition
Cognitive neuropsychology
An approach in which
behavior is described in
terms of a sequence of
cognitive stages
Information processing
The notion that certain
cognitive processes (or
regions of the brain) are
restricted in the type of
information they process
Modularity
The idea that a cognitive
process (or brain region)
is dedicated solely to
one particular type of
information (e.g., colors,
faces, words)
Domain specificty
Later stages of processing
can begin before earlier
stages are complete
Interactivity
The influence of later stag-
es on the processing of
earlier ones (e.g., memory
influences on perception)
Top-down processing
The passage of informa-
tion from simpler (e.g.,
edges) to more complex
(e.g., objects)
Bottom-up processing
Different information is
processed at the same
time (i.e., in parallel)
Parallel processing
Computational models
in which information
processing occurs using
many interconnected
nodes
Neural network models
The basic units of neural
network models that are
activated in response to
activity in other parts of
the network
Nodes
The accuracy with which
one can measure when
an event (e.g., a physiological change) occurs
Temporal resolution
The accuracy with
which one can measure
where an event (e.g., a
physiological change) is
occurring
Spatial resolution
A comprehensive map
of neural connections
in the brain that may be
thought of as its “wiring
diagram”
Connectome
A mathematical tech-
nique for computing the
pattern of connectivity (or
“wiring diagram”) from a
set of correlations
Graph theory
