Psych 358-Chapter 2 Definitions

Question 1

Action potential (Nerve Impulse)

Answer 1

• Propagated electrical potential responsible for transmitting neural information and for communication between neurons.
• Action potentials typically travel down a neuron’s axon.

Question 2

Axon (Nerve Fiber)

Answer 2

-Part of the neuron that transmits signals from the cell body to the synapse at the end of the axon.

Question 3

Brain imaging

Answer 3

• Technique such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that results in images of the brain that represent brain activity.
• In cognitive psychology, activity is measured in response to specific cognitive tasks.

Question 4

Broca’s area

Answer 4

-An area in the frontal lobe associated with the production of language. Damage to this area causes Broca’s aphasia.

Question 5

Cell body

Answer 5

• Part of a cell that contains mechanisms that keep the cell alive.
• In some neurons, the cell body and the dendrites associated with it receive information from other neurons.

Question 6

Cerebral cortex

Answer 6

-The 3-mm-thick outer layer of the brain that contains the mechanisms responsible for higher mental functions such as perception, language, thinking, and problem solving.

Question 7

Cognitive neuroscience

Answer 7

-Field concerned with studying the neural basis of cognition.

Question 8

Dendrites

Answer 8

-Structures that branch out from the cell body to receive electrical signals from other neurons.

Question 9

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

Answer 9

-A technique, based on detection of how water diffuses along the length of nerve fibers, for tracing nerve pathways and determining connections.

Question 10

Distributed representation

Answer 10

-Occurs when a specific cognition activates many areas of the brain.

Question 11

Double dissociation

Answer 11

• A situation in which a single dissociation can be demonstrated in one person and the opposite type of single dissociation can be demonstrated in another person
• (i.e., Person 1: function A is present, function B is damaged; Person 2: function A is damaged, function B is present).

Question 12

Extrastriate body area (EBA)

Answer 12

-An area in the temporal cortex that is activated by pictures of bodies and parts of bodies, but not by faces or other objects.

Question 13

Feature detectors

Answer 13

-Neurons that respond to specific visual features, such as orientation, size, or the more complex features that make up environmental stimuli.

Question 14

Frontal lobe

Answer 14

-The lobe in the front of the brain that serves higher functions such as language, thought, memory, and motor functioning.

Question 15

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 15

-A brain imaging technique that measures how blood flow changes in response to cognitive activity.

Question 16

Fusiform face area (FFA)

Answer 16

-An area in the temporal lobe that contains many neurons that respond selectively to faces.

Question 17

Hierarchical processing

Answer 17

-Processing that occurs in a progression from lower to higher areas of the brain.

Question 18

Level of analysis

Answer 18

-A topic can be understood by studying it at a number of different levels of a system.

Question 19

Localization of function

Answer 19

-Location of specific functions in specific areas of the brain.

Question 20

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Answer 20

-Brain imaging technique that creates images of structures within the brain.

Question 21

Microelectrode

Answer 21

• Small wires that are used to record electrical signals from single neurons.

Question 22

Nerve net

Answer 22

-A network of continuously interconnected nerve fibers (as contrasted with neural networks, in which fibers are connected by synapses).

Question 23

Neural circuit

Answer 23

-Group of interconnected neurons that are responsible for neural processing.

Question 24

Neural network

Answer 24

-Groups of neurons or structures that are connected together.

Question 25

Neural representation, principle of

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Neuron

Answer 26

-Cell that is specialized to receive and transmit information in the nervous system.

Question 27

Neuron doctrine

Answer 27

-The idea that individual cells called neurons transmit signals in the nervous system, and that these cells are not continuous with other cells as proposed by nerve net theory.

Question 28

Neuropsychology

Answer 28

-The study of the behavioral effects of brain damage in humans.

Question 29

Neurotransmitter

Answer 29

-Chemical that is released at the synapse in response to incoming action potentials.

Question 30

Occipital lobe

Answer 30

-The lobe at the back of the brain that is devoted primarily to analyzing incoming visual information.

Question 31

Parahippocampal place area (PPA)

Answer 31

-An area in the temporal lobe that contains neurons that are selectively activated by pictures of indoor and outdoor scenes.

Question 32

Parietal lobe

Answer 32

-The lobe at the top of the brain that contains mechanisms responsible for sensations caused by stimulation of the skin and also some aspects of visual information.

Question 33

Population coding

Answer 33

-Neural representation of a stimulus by the pattern of firing of a large number of neurons.

Question 34

Prosopagnosia

Answer 34

-Condition caused by damage to the temporal lobe that is characterized by an inability to recognize faces.

Question 35

Receptors

Answer 35

-Specialized neural structures that respond to environmental stimuli such as light, mechanical stimulation, or chemical stimuli.

Question 36

Recording electrode

Answer 36

-When used to study neural functioning, a very thin glass or metal probe that can pick up electrical signals from single neurons.

Question 37

Reference electrode

Answer 37

• Used in conjunction with a recording electrode to measure the difference in charge between the two.
• generally placed where the electrical signal remains constant, so any change in charge between the recording and reference electrodes reflects events happening near the tip of the recording electrode.

Question 38

Resting potential

Answer 38

-Difference in charge between the inside and outside of a nerve fiber when the fiber is at rest (no other electrical signals are present).

Question 39

Retina

Answer 39

• A network of neurons that lines the back of the eye.
• The transformation of light into electrical signals and the initial processing of visual information occur in the retina.

Question 40

Sensory code

Answer 40

-How neural firing represents various characteristics of the environment.

Question 41

Sparse coding

Answer 41

-Neural coding based on the pattern of activity in small groups of neurons.

Question 42

Specificity coding

Answer 42

• The representation of a specific stimulus by the firing of neurons that respond only to that stimulus.
• An example would be the signaling of a person’s face by the firing of a neuron that responds only to that person’s face.

Question 43

Synapse

Answer 43

-Space between the end of an axon and the cell body or dendrite of the next axon.

Question 44

Temporal lobe

Answer 44

-The lobe on the side of the brain that contains mechanisms responsible for language, memory, hearing, and vision.

Question 45

Visual cortex

Answer 45

-Area in the occipital lobe that receives signals from the eyes.

Question 46

Voxel

Answer 46

-Small cube-shaped areas in the brain used in the analysis of data from brain scanning experiments.

Question 47

Wernicke’s area

Answer 47

-Area in the temporal lobe associated with understanding language. Damage to this area causes Wernicke’s aphasia.