Karius: Neurophysology of cognition

Question 1

what are the components of cognition

Answer 1

• Language
• Executive function: forward planning, anticipation, reasoning
• Social cognition
• Decision-making
• Memory
• Visuospatial perception

Question 2

At a neuronal level, cognition is produced by extensive synaptic interactions produced by what?

Answer 2

the pyramidal neurons of the neocortical association cortices

Question 3

what are the language systems of the brain

Answer 3

Language conceptual system –> Language mediational system –> Language implementation system –> Spoken language

Question 4

The final common pathway of language (the language implementation system) involves what areas?

Answer 4

• Wernicke’s Area
• Broca’s Area
• Arcuate Fasciculus
• facial area of the motor cortex

Question 5

What surrounds the language implementation system

Answer 5

• the mediational system for language

- including a number of areas in the temporal, parietal, and frontal association areas

Question 6

Describe the conceptual system for language

Answer 6

• a broadly distributed set of structures that provides the concepts underlying our language
• For example: the noun mediation area that receives input from the ventral visual pathway provides us with the name of things

Question 7

describe language of babies under 6 months

Answer 7

• language universalists

- they recognize all sounds that might be language as distinct sounds

Question 8

Describe language in babies b/t 6-9 months

Answer 8

• brains start to change to recognize the specific language sounds of their native language
• with this change, babies “drop” the used of phenomes that don’t occur in their language

Question 9

language at age 1 year

Answer 9

• process complete

- child’s “babbling” will begin to convert to true spoken language

Question 10

Describe the language pathway

Answer 10

• Conceptual pathway: provides the concepts that underlie language (ie. what a “cup” is)
• Mediational pathway: relays the concept to:
• Language implementation system: including Broca’s and Wenicke’s areas, identifies and allows us to speak or read the word in question

Question 11

Describe acquisition of a second language in babies or adults?

Answer 11

• Babies: all co-located to Broca’s

- Adults: map to neighboring regions

Question 12

what are the 2 major functions of the Prefrontal cortex

Answer 12

• Planning of complex motor actions

- Carrying out of “thought” processes

Question 13

In the planning of complex motor actions, the Prefrontal cortex interacts with what

Answer 13

parieto-temporal-occipital association areas and all levels of motor cortex

Question 14

In Carrying out “thought processes”, the prefrontal cortex interacts with what

Answer 14

• Hippocampus: working memory

- Judgment: multiple areas but Limbic in particular

Question 15

3 roles of prefontal cortex in executive function

Answer 15

• Reward Processing (orbitofrontal): with the amygdala, we link new stimulus to primary reward
• Integration of bodily signals (ventromedial prefrontal): the “gut feeling”. decision when logical analysis is unable to help
• Top down regulation: especially towards delayed gratification

Question 16

What are the 2 components of social cognition

Answer 16

• Emotion comprehension (recognition)

- Theory of mind

Question 17

What part of the brain is required for perception of the face and facial expression

Answer 17

• superior temporal sulcus and

- Fusiform gyrus

Question 18

parts of brain for emotional recognition

Answer 18

• Anterior cingulate cortex
• Amygdala
• Prefrontal cortex

Question 19

what areas of the face cue us as to what emotion we are seeing

Answer 19

• eyes
• nose
• mouth

Question 20

what controls the use of the eyes and directs the gaze to a triangle on another’s face (particularly the eyes) when looking at human faces

Answer 20

-amygdala

Question 21

An individual with damage to what spends very little tie looking at the eyes of another and doesn’t methodically scan the face

Answer 21

amygdala

Question 22

Describe the role of mirror neurons in imitation of other people’s actions

Answer 22

• Posterior sector of the superior temporal sulcus provides the visual input
• The posterior mirror neuron system identifies the motor action
• The anterior mirror neuron system identifies the goal of the action

Question 23

The circuit for imitating is believed to interact with limbic structures via what?

Answer 23

insula

Question 24

what is prosody

Answer 24

auditory cues

Question 25

The primary auditory cortex is required for the basics of sound processing, including identity of pitch, loudness, and other characteristics of the sound. Then info is then sent where?

Answer 25

• right posterior superior temporal sulcus
• there, along with other acoustical info from secondary auditory processes, we begin to piece together the “meaning” of the loudness, pitch, etc of the vocalization

Question 26

The judgment of the emotional stimulus of sound is determined by what

Answer 26

frontal cortex

Question 27

what is the core pathway of the Theory of mind of social cognition

Answer 27

-Amygdala and connections to the medial temporal lobes and orbitofrontal areas

Question 28

What is the system involved in decision making and what areas make up this system?

Answer 28

• Stimulus encoding system
• orbitofrontal cortex
• ventromedial prefrontal cortex
• Striatum

Question 29

What evaluates the evidence available in making a decision

Answer 29

Stimulus encoding system

Question 30

What system learns and encodes the subjective value of the results from the stimulus encoding system. also involved in error detection

Answer 30

-Action selection system: Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Question 31

What system predicts the expected reward of a decision and what makes up this system?

Answer 31

Expected reward system

• Basal ganglia
• Amygdala
• Insular Cortex
• Intraparietal cortex

Question 32

What system is used to make a decision when the risks are explicitly known

Answer 32

Stimulus encoding system

Question 33

what systems are used when the decisions are made and the risks are unknown

Answer 33

the expected reward system and eventually on the Action selection system