Research methods in cognitive neuroscience Flashcards
Thoughts = processes
Thoughts involve multiple mental steps
Thoughts take time
Cognitive processing is not instantaneous
Thoughts occur in the brain
Neural activity underlies cognition
Thoughts lead to behaviour
Observable actions are outcomes of mental processes
Simple RT
Perceive stimulus → Press button
Choice RT
Perceive stimulus → Decide → Press button
Difference
Isolates the decision-making time (50ms)
Interventions
Drugs, practice, brain stimulation, sleep, stress
Individual Differences
Age, personality, disorders, brain injury
Stimulus Factors
Task difficulty, type, similarity, number of options
Dissociation
Specific deficit, not general impairment
Double dissociation
Two patients with opposite impairments—proves separate systems
Purpose
Understand which brain areas are necessary for specific functions
Small/unique samples
Results may not generalise
No pre-injury data
Can’t compare before and after
Atypical brains
May have been different even pre-injury
Brain reorganisation
Other areas may compensate for loss
Single-cell recordings
Measure activity of individual neurons
EEG
Overall electrical brain activity
ERP (Event-Related Potentials)
Time-locked brain responses to specific events
