L19 - The Brain Flashcards
Cognitive Neuroscience
Why is the brain seen as a ‘black box’ in classic cognitive psychology?
Because while we see what it produces (stimulus -> cognition -> response), we cannot see exactly what is happening inside (cognition).
Why is reaction time (RT) a good measure in cognitive psychology?
The RT needed to react to a stimulus can tell us about the time needed to process that stimulus.
This allows us to draw inferences about the internal organisation of cognition.
What is the philosophy behind behaviourism?
Empiricism - all knowledge comes from sensory experience.
What is cognitive psychology interested in?
- The structures of cognition
(separable working systems; what are they, what are their properties?)
- The processes of cognition
(lead to changes of state with regard to the information within these structures; how are they organised?)
e.g. how does the brain implement cognition
What are the problems with using abstract representations when describing cognitive function?
They are distant from the physical objects they are describing.
We instead want a grounded explanation and they are more useful and similar than abstractions
What did the “neuron doctrine” describe that won a Nobel Prize in 1906?
- That neurons are discrete entities.
- The nervous system is made up of these individual cells
- The electrical information in the brain is unidirectional (dendrites -> axonal tip)
What is ‘the levels problem’ in neuroscience?
There are multiple different levels of analysis that experts need to discover, but they all need to be integrated to understand relevant findings at each level for the next level.
What parts of the body are affiliated with the central nervous system (CNS)?
Brain and Spinal Cord
What parts of the body are primarily concerned in the peripheral nervous system (PNS)?
Spinal cord and Sensory receptors
What are the two parts within the peripheral nervous system and what do they control?
Autonomic; controls self-regulated action of internal organs and glands
Somatic; controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles
What are the two parts of the autonomic region of the PNS?
Sympathetic (arousing) and Parasympathetic (calming)
What is the inside of the brain made out of?
White matter (myelinated axons)
white because it’s wrapped in a fatty layer called myelin
What is the outside of the brain made out of?
Grey matter (cell bodies and dendrites - each covered with synapses)
What are the three divisions of the brain?
Hindbrain
Midbrain
Forebrain
What parts of the brain are within the hindbrain (or brainstem)?
Medulla Oblongata
Cerebellum
Pons (‘bridge’)
What is the medulla oblongata responsible for?
Heart Rate
Blood Flow
Breathing
What is the cerebellum responsible for?
Body movement (including speech).
Plays some role in executive functions as well.
What proportion of the brain is the cerebellum?
How many neurons does it have compared to the rest of the brain?
10%
It has as many neurons as the rest of the brain.
What does the pons (‘bridge’) do in the brain?
Connects the brainstem and cerebellum.
What is the midbrain important for?
Integrating sensory processes (acts as a relay system for auditory and visual information)
What systems are within the midbrain?
Dopamine system
Reticular formation
Substantia nigra
Ventral tegmental area
What is the reticular formation important for?
Sleep and arousal
What is the substantia nigra important for?
What colour is it and why is it that colour?
Movement
It is darkly pigmented because of the large number of dopamine-producing neurons.
What is the ventral tegmental area important for?
Pleasure and reward
What is the main neurotransmitter that helps movement function in the brain?
What happens when people lose production of this neurotransmitter?
Dopamine.
They have trouble with movement (e.g. Parkinson’s disease)
What are the regions within the forebrain?
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Limbic System
Cerebrum
What is the purpose of the thalamus?
Relay station for movement and sensory information.
What is the purpose of the hypothalamus?
Meeting point between the nervous and endocrine system.
An important part of the brain that signals the bodies hormonal system.
What body functions does the hypothalamus control?
Maintains the bodies status quo, including; blood pressure, body temperature, weight, hunger, thirst, sex drive etc.
The brain has two hemispheres, is lateralization of brain function complete or is there crossover?
There is crossover
What is the Corpus Callosum?
What does it aid in?
The major pathway between hemispheres.
It aids motor coordination of left and right side
The right eye is controlled by the left side of the brain.
True or False
False
The right visual field is controlled by the left side of the brain.
What does contralateral organization mean?
That sensory information is sent to the opposite hemisphere in the brain.
In the Roger Sperry ‘lateralisation of function’ experiment, what had happened to the brains of the participants?
Their corpus callosum had been severed.
In the Roger Sperry ‘lateralisation of function’ experiment, how did he test for brain lateralization.
Through showing participants images on each side of a screen (different visual field for different hemispheres).
Where is the occipital lobe?
The cortex near the rear
What cortex does the occipital lobe contain?
What does it do?
The primary visual cortex?
It receives inputs from Optic nerves and outputs to parietal and temporal lobes
What cortex does the temporal lobe contain?
Where is it located?
The primary auditory cortex
The side of the cortex
What functions is the primary auditory cortex responsible for?
Speech reocgnition
Face recognition
Word recognition
Memory formation
Where does the temporal lobe output to?
Limbic System
Basal Ganglia
Brainstem
What part of the cortex does the parietal lobe contain?
Primary Somatosensory Cortex
Where is the parietal lobe located?
Borders visual and auditory cortex on the top of the brain
What is the parietal lobe important for?
Hand-eye coordination
Eye movements
Attention
Prerequisites for higher cognitive functions
Where does the parietal lobe output to?
Frontal Lobe
What cortex does the frontal lobe contain?
Primary Motor Cortex
What is the frontal lobe important for?
Planning and sequencing of actions
Important for executive functions
What sensory input does the frontal lobe have?
None
What are executive functions?
A set of processes that all have to do with managing oneself and one’s resources in order to achieve a goal.
e.g. decision making, memory etc.
What is the prefrontal cortex important for?
Executive functions
