Unit 1 - Introducing Cognitive Neuroscience

Question 1

What is cognition?

Answer 1

A variety of higher mental processes such as thinking, perceiving, imagining, speaking, acting, and planning

Question 2

What is cognitive neuroscience? What does it aim to do?

Answer 2

The bridging discipline between cognitive science and biology

Explain cognitive processes in terms of brain-based mechanisms

Question 3

What is the mind-body problem?

Answer 3

The problem of how a physical substance (brain) can give rise to our sensations, thoughts, and emotions (mind)

Question 4

What is dualism? Who believed in it? What did this person believe about science’s ability to study the mind?

Answer 4

The belief that the mind and brain are made up of different kinds of substances, although they may interact

Rene Descartes

Not possible to tap into its non-physical domain

Question 5

What is the dual-aspect theory? Who believed in it?

Answer 5

A belief that mind and brain are two different levels of explanation of the same thing, but not two different things

Spinoza and Velmans

Question 6

What is reductionism? What does it infer about psychology? What is a critique of it?

Answer 6

The belief that mind-based concepts will eventually be replaced by purely biological constructs

That it will eventually become biology

E.g., emotions will still feel like emotions, meaning that mind-based concepts will never be fully replaced

Question 7

What was Broca’s realisation in 1861? How did he conclude this?

Answer 7

That language could be localised to a particular region of the brain

From studying two brain-damaged patients

Question 7

What is phrenology? What are its main beliefs? What was it not based on?

Answer 7

A pseudoscience that stated that:

different regions of the brain perform different functions and are associated with different behaviours

the size of these regions produces distortions of the skull and correlates with individual differences in cognition and personality

Experiments or theories of cognition

Question 8

What was Lichteim’s and Wernicke’s argument about language? What was it based on?

Answer 8

That it could be subdivided into speech recognition, speech production, and conceptual knowledge

Brain damage observations

Question 8

What is cognitive neuropsychology? Is it considered part of cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 8

The study of brain-damaged patients to inform theories of normal cognition

Yes

Question 9

What are the two main steps forward of the past in terms of thinking about the mind and brain?

Answer 9

Using empirical observations

Developing models of cognition (without knowing the specific regions involved)

Question 10

What is information-processing? What does it resemble? What was it the foundation for?

Answer 10

Approach in which behaviour is described in terms of sequences of cognitive stages

Computer programs

Cognitive psychology

Question 11

What is functional specialisation?

Answer 11

The idea that different regions of the brain are specialised for different functions

Question 12

What was Fodor’s theory of modularity?

Answer 12

That cognitive processes can be divided in central systems and modules based on the type of information they can process

Question 13

What is modularity?

Answer 13

The idea that certain cognitive processes (or brain regions) are restricted in the type of information they process

Question 14

In Fodor’s theory of modularity, can cognitive systems operate in isolation of other cognitive systems?

Answer 14

Yes

Question 15

What is meant by domain specificity? How does it relate to Fodor’s cognitive systems? How could it be specified?

Answer 15

The processing of only particular type of information

Modules in Fodor’s theory are domain specific

Innately in the genetic code

Question 16

What is meant by domain independent? How does it relate to Fodor’s theory?

Answer 16

The processing of non-specific information

Central systems are domain-independent

Question 16

What are the two main critiques of Fodor’s theory?

Answer 16

Domain specificity and systems like reading cannot be innate, e.g., because reading was only recently developed

Modules are not isolated from other cognitive processes

Question 16

What is meant by interactivity?

Answer 16

The fact that later stages of processing can begin before earlier stages are complete

Question 17

What is meant by bottom-up processing?

Answer 17

Passage of information from simpler, e.g. edges, to more complex, e.g. objects

Question 18

What is parallel processing?

Answer 18

Different information being processed simultaneously

Question 18

What is meant by top-down processing? Provide an example

Answer 18

Influence of later stages on the processing of earlier stages

Memory influencing perception

Question 19

What are neural network models? What do they provide in terms of cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 19

Computational models in which information processing occurs using many interconnected nodes

Examples of ways in which the brain might implement cognitive functions

Question 20

What is a node?

Answer 20

The basic units of neural network models that are activated in response to activity in other parts of the network

Question 21

What are the three dimensions of methods of cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 21

Temporal resolution, spatial resolution, and invasiveness

Question 21

What is meant by temporal resolution?

Answer 21

The accuracy with which one can measure when an event occurs

Question 22

What is meant by spatial resolution?

Answer 22

The accuracy with which one can measure where an event is occurring

Question 23

What is the effect on reaction time to a stimulus if the same stimulus was recently presented?

Answer 23

Quicker reaction time

Question 24

What can cognitive psychology do and what it can not do?

Answer 24

May tell us the structure of information processing, but not why information processing is configured in this way

Question 24

What is meant by invasiveness?

Answer 24

Whether a method refers to equipment located internally (invasive) or externally (non-invasive)

Question 25

Is cognitive neuroscience replacing cognitive psychology? What is the relation between the two?

Answer 25

No

Cognitive psychological theories can inform theories and experiments in the neurosciences and vice versa

Question 26

How does neuroscience need cognitive psychology?

Answer 26

Neuroscience requires insights from cognitive psychology to frame appropriate research questions

Question 27

What is meant by a network in neuroscience? Which two parts of humans are seen to function as a network?

Answer 27

A dynamically changing pattern of activity over several brain regions

The mind and brain

Question 28

What is a connectome? What does it exemplify? What is it based on?

Answer 28

A comprehensive map of neural connections in the brain

The network of the brain

Structural and functional imaging techniques over thousands of people

Question 29

What is graph theory? What was it used for?

Answer 29

A mathematical technique for computing the pattern of connectivity

Deriving the human connectome

Question 30

What is the main challenge for future cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 30

To develop new ways of describing the relationship between brain structure and function

Question 31

What are three different ways of mapping brain structures to different functions?

Answer 31

1. One to one association between brain structure and function
2. Network of regions may make different contributions to a given function, and network consists of specialised units that interact
3. Network of regions may make different contributions to a given function, but the network consists of interactions between non specialised units