Lecture 32: Other cognitive realms Flashcards
What does much of our conscious mental activity relate to?
abstraction
What is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex involved in?
working memory, memory of the future, how things work and dorsolateral pfc damage
What is working memory?
remembering a phone number, remembering and applying rules (count backwards from 100 in steps of 7)
What does memory of the future involve?
planning, goals, temporal structuring of behaviour (delayed gratification)
What does memory of how things work involve?
analysis, estimation, strategy, hypothesis, calculation and decision
What does dorsolateral pfc damage result in?
distractibility, impulsiveness and perseverative errors
What does the Wisconsin Cardsort test measure?
the ability to change categorisation strategy
What does the conceptualisation of objects as tools require a link between?
perception and perceptual categorisation (its properties as an object), to a conceptual categorisation (regarding its properties in terms of applications - actual and possible)
What is required to form a link between perception / perceptual categorisation and conceptual categorisation?
conception of motor actions and other goals, immediate and future
What were Oldowan tools?
tools used for pounding, but also the manufacture of stone tools - sharp flakes of rocks that can hold an edge
What were Acheulean bi-faced tools?
tools which required careful selection of starting material, considerable bimanual dexterity and some sense of recursion ie “tools that make tools”
What were Levallios tools?
show a vocabulary of tools and processes giving huge variation
What do the tools tell us about the minds that made them?
creating “Levallios” tools require a temporal structuring of behavior and the creation of intermediate solution prior to the final solution
What do practical solutions require?
at least some degree of practical creativity / some imagination
What is required to appreciate the properties of objects and materials?
you need to have a semantic scheme for these, and a map of their use and applicability (a conceptualization of tools)
What is BA 45 involvement known to be activated in?
object naming (area 47 is also active during tool naming)
What is Broca’s area capable of?
organises not just language, but similarly organizes body movements in relation to motor learning and communication
What is area 47 associated with?
the symbolic potential of objects - what could they do, what functions does their form imply etc
What does semantic knowledge of hammers suggest?
the handle grasp, which allows effective tool use
What is tool use interrelated with?
gesture and language (in some way)
What is the last area of the brain to mature?
the function of Brodmann area 46
What is the role of BA 46?
ideates space and time and other abstractions (e.g. atomic structure and the existence of gods)
What happens at about 12 years of age?
children become able to perform the logical operation and abstract conceptualizations to form and integrate a personal set of constructs (beliefs)
What is the “Theory of Mind”?
ability to conceptualise the motivations of others
What ability does most of our skilled learning rest upon?
our ability to incorporate (to absorb) our cultural inheritance - most of our learning is by copying
What does the metabolically regulated enzyme sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) modulate?
monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) levels to link mood and behavior to energy consumption
What does variability in the SIRT1 gene contribute to?
human susceptibility to anxiety disorders
How do hungry mice act in comparison to well-fed mice?
anxious, vigilant and careful in comparison to being careless and procreating
What is the effect of endogenous brain state regulators and recreational drugs?
shift brain function from one coherent state to another
What do perturbations in brain design and operation result in?
doesn’t cause a total failure, but a shift in the range of operation which manifests in such ways as a change in orientation to the environment
