The cognitive Approach - Cognitive Neuroscience Flashcards
Cognitive Neuroscience
Cognitive and biological processes can be integrated, leading to a discipline known as cognitive neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of brain structures, mechanisms, processes and chemistry that are responsible for thought processes. It aims to explore the neurobiological basis of thought processes and disorders.
Cognitive neuroscience has emerged with improvements in technology such as Position Emission Tomography (PET) and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). They have been used to locate different types of memory in different areas of the brain, for instance episodic memories are in the hippocampus, semantic memories are in the temporal lobe, and procedural memories are in the cerebellum. This has led to more effective treatments for memory disorders.
Advantages of Cognitive Neuroscience
+ Cognitive Neuroscience is more scientific and objective when conducting research studies than the cognitive approach.
+ Cognitive neuroscience takes account of both nature and nurture. It has demonstrated the brain’s plasticity throughout life supporting the role of life experience in shaping the brain. This also demonstrates that biology is not destiny and so is a form of soft determinism.
+ Cognitive neuroscience has provided neurobiological basis of certain psychological disorders (e.g. role of the parahippocampal gyrus in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) resulting in the development of new therapeutics and removing blame and stigma from the patient.
+ Cognitive Neuroscience can be used for early identification of cognitive problems prior to observable behaviour. This has provided potential for early intervention
Disadvantages of Cognitive neuroscience
4) The cognitive approach can be criticised for its use of theoretical computer models. This is because such models over simplify the behaviour being examined and reduce it down to simple steps/processes that could be regarded as reductionist or mechanistic. The role of emotion is also lacking and overlooked when using theoretical models (-)
- There have been some potentially unethical uses of cognitive neuroscience.For example, the controversial use of mind mapping for lie detection in courts.
5) The cognitive approach can be criticised because it is not accurate to compare humans to computers. Computers are objects that are mechanistic and have no free will, whereas humans have free will and are alive! To compare humans to computers seems inaccurate as there are so many differences that exist between them, and we must be aware of this when applying cognitive neuroscience to human thinking (-)
Maguire (2000) - A study of Taxi drivers’ brains
- Maguire wanted to investigate if brain anatomy was predetermined, or whether the brain is susceptible to plastic changes, in response to environmental stimulation, (driving a taxi)
- Taxi drivers undergo extensive training, known as ‘The Knowledge’ and therefore make an ideal for sample for the study of spatial navigation.
- The aim was to examine whether structural changes could be detected in the brain of people with extensive experience of spatial navigation.
- 32 healthy males (average age of 44) were investigated and split into two groups
- One group were 16 licensed male London taxi drivers (worked in the job for at least 18 months) and the second group were 16 males in a control group who had never driven taxis.
- MRI scans of their brain were taken and analysed.
- The results from the MRI scans showed that the right posterior hippocampus in the brain of the taxi drivers’ was larger than the control group; and this was related to the length of time the taxi driver had been in the job.
- The longer they had been a taxi driver, the larger the right posterior hippocampus. This part of the brain is responsible for storing visual representations of the environment and this links to the fact that taxi drivers have to navigate around the streets of London.
- This demand in knowledge resulted in a physical change in the brain which was identified by the MRI scan.
- A positive correlation was found between the amount of time spent as a taxi driver and volume in the right posterior hippocampus
Advantages of Maguire study
1) An advantage of the study by Maguire is that is supports the key aspects of cognitive neuroscience which combines both cognitive and biological factors to help explain internal thought processes. The study uses MRI brain scanning to investigate the hippocampus area of the brain. The study also emphasises how the brain is “like a muscle” and the more an area of the brain is used or exercised, the larger it becomes (+)
3) There is research evidence to support the idea that the right posterior hippocampus is involved in spatial awareness. Previous rodent and monkey studies have found the (posterior) hippocampus to be involved in spatial navigation. Such an involvement may also be true for the posterior part of the hippocampus in birds and rats. Therefore it seems that the right posterior hippocampus is responsible for spatial awareness in humans and animals, and the functionality of the brain is similar across many species (+)
Disadvantages of Maguire Study
2) A disadvantage of the research study is that it only investigated males which means the study lacks ecological validity and the results cannot be generalised to females. Individual differences is an important factor to consider when examining the brain and cognitive functions, and every brain is different. (-)
3) Didn’t allocate samples randomly. Study is therefore invalid
4) Cultural bias as they only tested London Taxi drivers
5) Only done the experiment 1 time so lacks validity, and doesn’t investigate the long term effects, like does the hippocampus reduce in size after they’ve stopped becoming a taxi driver
