L2: Neurobiological Foundations

Question 1

What are the two types of models of the mind?

Answer 1

Structural models represent structures in the brain that are involved in specific functions.
Process models illustrate how a process operates.

Question 2

What is meant by cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 2

The study of the physiological basis of cognition.
Involves an understanding of both
the nervous system and the
individual units that comprise that
system.

Question 3

What is meant by levels of analysis?

Answer 3

There are different points of views in understanding cognitive phenomena.
We try to understand both behavioural and physiological of the functioning of the mind.

Question 4

What is the difference between axon and dentrites?

Answer 4

Axon - outgoing signals
Dendrites - incoming signals

Question 5

What is meant by the neuron doctrine?

Answer 5

It argues that nerve nets are not continuous, but rather made up of individual cells that transmit in the nervous system.
Neurons form connections only to specific neurons resulting in groups of interconnected neurons, which together form neural circuits.

Question 6

What are receptors?

Answer 6

Neurons that receive information from outside
(“the senses”) are called receptors

Question 7

How do we measure how neurons communicate with each other?

Answer 7

We need electronic amplifiers that are sensitive enough to pick up and amplify a single neuron firing.

Question 8

How do neurons communicate with each other?

Answer 8

1. When a nerve is at rest, there is a
   negative charge in the inside
   compared to the outside of the axon, called the resting potential.
2. As the nerve impulse passes the
   electrode, the inside of the fibre near the electrode becomes more positive.
3. As the nerve impulse moves past
   the electrode, the charge in the fiber becomes more negative.
4. Eventually the neuron returns to
   its resting state.

Question 9

What is the principle of neural representation?

Answer 9

Everything a person experiences is based on representations in the person’s nervous system.

Question 10

What are feature detectors?

Answer 10

Neurons that respond best to a specific stimulus.
Discovered by Hubel & Wiesel (1960s) in research with visual
stimuli in cats.
each neuron in the visual area of the cortex responded to a
specific type of stimulation.
This means that multiple feature detectors represent
different aspects of objects

Question 11

What is meant by hierarchical processing?

Answer 11

When we perceive different objects, we do so in a specific order that moves
from lower to higher areas of the brain.
The ascension from lower to higher areas of the brain corresponds to
perceiving objects that range from lower (simple) to higher levels of complexity.

Question 12

What is sensory coding?

Answer 12

the problem of neural
representation for the senses.
sensory code refers to how
neurons represent various
characteristics of the
environment

Question 13

What are the 3 types of sensory coding?

Answer 13

1. specificity coding
2. population coding
3. sparse coding

Question 14

What is specificity coding?

Answer 14

representation of a stimulus by the firing of specifically tuned neurons
specialized to respond only to a specific stimulus (grandmother
cells/neurons)

Question 15

What is population coding?

Answer 15

representation of a stimulus by the pattern of firing of many neurons.

Question 16

What is sparse coding?

Answer 16

representation of a stimulus by a pattern of firing of only a small
group of neurons, with most neurons remaining silent.

Question 17

Functions of the frontal lobe

Answer 17

Motor cortex:
- Motor control
● Action knowledge
● ‘Muscle memory’
Executive control:
● Focus/ conscious
attention
● Knowledge
coordination
● Evaluation of
information

Question 18

Functions of the occipital lobe

Answer 18

Visual cortex
○ Visual
perception
○ Categorization

Question 19

Functions of the temporal lobe

Answer 19

Memory and
Remembering:
○ Knowledge
categories
Language:
○ Auditory
perception &
parsing
● Hearing

Question 20

Functions of the cerebellum

Answer 20

Movement
coordination
● Balance
● Rhythm
● Proprioception

Question 21

Functions of the brain stem

Answer 21

Basic biological functions
○ Breathing
○ Heart rate

Question 22

What are the primary receiving areas for the senses?

Answer 22

Occipital lobe: vision
– Parietal lobe: touch, temperature, and pain
– Temporal lobe: hearing, taste, and smell.
Coordination of information received from all senses
– Frontal lobe.

Question 23

What is double dissociation in localization of function?

Answer 23

When damage to one part of the brain causes function A to be absent while function B is present … and damage to another area causes function B to be absent while function A is present.
Allows us to identify functions that are controlled by different parts of the brain.