methods of cognitive neuroscience

Question 1

how might we define a mental representation

Answer 1

anything that means something to an individual

Question 2

explain Posner’s letter matching task

Answer 2

the subject responds “same” when both letters are either vowels or consonants and “different” when they are from different categories.

Question 3

what were the findings of Posner’s original matching task

Answer 3

Found reaction times varied for different conditions - fastest reaction time when identical - slowest when different categories

Question 4

how did Posner argue letter processing worked

Answer 4

identity representations activated first, phonetic second and categorisations last

Question 5

How did Posner change his task for the second version

Answer 5

Stimulus onset asynchrony - an interval separates the presentation of the two letters

Question 6

explain the memory comparison task

Answer 6

Subject shown a set of one two or four letters, asked to memorise and then shown a singular letter and have to indicate if it is a part of the memory set

Question 6

what were the findings of Posner’s second matching task

Answer 6

Found as the interval increases, the difference in reaction time between conditions shortened

Question 7

usual findings of memory comparison tasks

Answer 7

reaction time increases with set size

Question 8

where are single cell recordings used

Answer 8

humans
animals
treating epilepsy
visual and audio tasks

Question 9

describe the method of single cell recordings

Answer 9

Microelectrode inserted into brain tissue and action potentials recorded, ideally of a single neuron (usually extracellular)
Various sensory stimuli presented and neuronal activity is monitored

Question 10

advantages of single cell recording

Answer 10

good spatial resolution
good temporal resolution

Question 11

disadvantages of single cell recording

Answer 11

samples only small section of neuronal system

Question 12

causes of brain damage

Answer 12

• Trauma
  
  • Stroke
  • Tumours
  • Neurodegenerative diseases
  • Infectious disorders
    Functional neurosurgery

Question 13

what is an EEG

Answer 13

Electrodes attached to the head to measure electrical activity in the brain

Question 14

what is an ERP

Answer 14

Event related potential
-electrodes placed directly onto brain and response to specific event measured

Question 15

what are the origins of functional neurosurgery

Answer 15

lobotomy - used to treat insanity

Question 16

define functional neurosurgery

Answer 16

Altering the activity of a brain area by either using ablation (removing), electrical or pharmacological methods to establish overall more normal patient function.

Question 17

what may functional neurosurgery be use for

Answer 17

Movement disorders
Psychiatric disorders
Chronic pain
Epilepsy
Tumours

Question 18

what is a single dissociation

Answer 18

Patient group shows impairment on one task and not on the other

Question 19

what is a double dissociation

Answer 19

One patient shows impairment on one task
Second patient shows impairment on another task

Question 20

what type of dissociation provides better evidence for selective impairment

Answer 20

double

Question 21

what is an issue with using correlations

Answer 21

only shows a relationship, cannot establish causation

Question 22

what are optogenetics

Answer 22

using light to manipulate neuronal activity

Question 23

what is TMS

Answer 23

transcranial magnetic stimulation

Question 24

what does TMS do

Answer 24

Low level currents that result in action potentials under the anodes

Question 25

what is an fMRI

Answer 25

functional magnetic resonance imaging

Question 26

what does fMRI measure

Answer 26

BOLD levels

Question 27

what are BOLD levels

Answer 27

Blood oxygen level dependent - depletion of oxygen from the activated cells