L12. Introduction to Cognition and Emotion Flashcards
Define the following terms:
- Sensation
- Perception
- Higher level cognition
- Sensation - The act of a sensation to neural encoding of physical information
- Perception - The transformation and interpretation of the sensory information into constructive percepts
- Higher level cognition - How thoughts, prior knowledge and experiences interacts with the information as it comes through
What does the term cognition mean?
Literally translates to “with knowledge”
It is a broad term to encompass information processing, the application of knowledge and reflects the internal dialogue and thoughts of an individual
What kind of ‘actions’ does cognition include?
- Memory
- Speed of information processing
- Language
- Planning
- Problem solving
- Attention span
What are the advantages of studying cognition? [2 major reasons]
- To make an informed diagnoses
- To figure out how to best work with that particular patient: their abilities, compliance and consent
What is the frontal lobe most important for in terms of cognition?
- Planning
- Execution
- Regulation of behaviour
What is the temporal lobe most important for in terms of cognition?
- Audition
- Language
- Music
- Memory
- Emotion
What is the parietal lobe most important for in terms of cognition?
- Somatic
- Visuospatial representations
What is the occipital lobe most important for in terms of cognition?
Vision
Describe what is meant by lateralisation of function, give the most common example
The break up of functional responsibility between different sides/hemispheres of the brain.
The left hemisphere specialisation for language and right hemisphere specialisation for visuospatial functioning.
Note: there are individual differences and it is very rare to have absolute lateral specialisation
What is Luria’s brain behaviour theory?
The three basic units of the CNS:
- Regulation of arousal and muscle tone by the brainstem and lower
- Reception, integration and analysis of information by the posterior cortical regions
- Planning, executing and verifying behaviour by the frontal and prefrontal lobes
What is important to remember when assigning the cortical zones and areas with function?
That many cognitive domains do not have one-to-one structural relationships with function.
There are SYSTEMS or NETWORKS for each cognitive domain so disruption to any point in that network may (or may not) result in impairment
What is Luria’s principal of functional systems?
“pluripotency”
Each area of the brain works in conjunction with other areas and no area is singluarily responsible for voluntary human behaviour.
Each area may play a specific role in many behaviours
Define behaviour, what are the main components of it?
Any outward projection of how a person presents.
- Cognition: what we know about the world and how we think
- Emotion: how we understand the world through our feelings
Define emotion
An inferred behavioural state that is a conscious, subjective feeling that is wholly internal (ie. only we know how we feel). Thus it is inferred or assumed by behaviour what emotions one is experiencing.
Emotion is a psychophysiological state, what is meant by this?
It incorporates conscious feelings and cognition that map to physiological changes such as arousal (HR, sweating, etc)
What is the difference between a core emotion and a complex emotion?
A core emotion is culturally universal and innate (from ‘old brain’ structures) such as fear, anger, happiness, sadness.
A complex emotion involves different combinations of core emotions such as guilt
What is the limbic system?
A theoretical constuct
- A complex system of nerves and networks in the brain
- Concerned with instinct and mood.
- It controls the basic emotions (fear, pleasure, anger) and drives (hunger, sex, dominance, care of offspring).
It includes the amygdala, the hippocampus, regions of the limbic cortex, and the septal area
What is the amygdala?
Subcortical structures (bilateral) that sits as a mass of fibres just below the hippocampus
- Implicit emotional learning
- Integrative center for emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation
What is Kluver-Bucy syndrome?
(bilateral anterior temporal lobectomy)
- A tameness or loss of feat
- Exaggerated sexual responses
- Agnosia (inability to interpret sensations and hence recognise things)
- Related to depression and anxiety
Describe the function of the orbitofrontal cortex (the pre-frontal cortex)
Identification and expression of emotion
Describe the function hippocampus
Linked to memory and mood
It is linked to affective disorders such as depression and stress
What are the conflicting theories linking cognition to emotion?
James Lange: We experience emotion as a result of a physiological change
Cannon Bard: We are able to experience emotion without expressing it physically
How is cognitive appraisal thought to be related to emotion?
Cognitive processing is integral to emotional states and cognitive appraisal directly impacts the physiological stress response.
