Week 1: Cognition Flashcards
What is the information processing approach?
information is received - ran through the senses - ran through processing - behavioural response
What are some criticisms of information processing?
It is too simplistic and it doesn’t account for parallel processing
What is parallel processing?
Information is processed simultaneously
What is serial processing?
Information is processed one step at a time
What is bottom up processing?
Processing started by stimuli and information is processed in your brain then processes what you know
What is top down processing?
Processing started by what you know about the stimuli and then processing the information
What is rate coding?
Coding at a greater rate because there are more neurons working together encoding information
What is temporal coding?
Neurons response to information is synchronised, more synchronised more coding
What does experimental psychology do?
Helps make psychology more empirical
What are some limitations of experimental psychology?
Low ecological and face validity
What is cognitive neuropsychology?
Looking at brain damaged patients and seeing what and where is impaired
What are some limitations of cognitive neuropsychology?
No baseline, ungeneralisable
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Studying the brain function of cognitive processing
What are some neuron facts?
There’s 80 billion neurons and 1 connects to 10,000 other neurons
What are the 5 areas of the brain?
Frontal lobe, Parietal lobe, Occipital lobe, Temporal lobe, Cerebellum
What are the 4 brain tests?
EEG, TMS, MRI, FMRI
What is an EEG?
Electro pulses into the brain from electrodes which helps measure single cell recordings of neuron activity
What does EEG stand for?
Electroencephalography
What are ERP’s?
Event-related potentials. wavelengths (electrical response) from stimulation (an event)
What are the advantages of EEG?
Good temporal resolution
What are the limitations of EEG?
Poor spatial resolution
What is a MRI?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
What does a MRI do?
Magnetic radio waves make the water molecules align and this alignment can be disrupted.
What is Diffusion Tensor Imaging?
Measuring white matter by measuring the direction of water molecules
What can Diffusion Tensor Imaging do?
It can help us study connections or the relationship to brain regions
What is a FMRI?
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
What does a FMRI do?
Measures the BOLDS, blood oxygen level dependent signal, active brain regions have higher blood oxygen level
What are the advantages of FMRI?
Great spatial resolution
What are the disadvantages of FMRI?
Poor temporal resolution
What is TMS?
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
What does TMS do?
Stimulate the brain with tiny magnetic waves that affects the brains electrical activity
What are the advantages of TMS?
Cheap, non-invasive, casual evidence
What are some disadvantages of TMS?
Potential risk to individuals of epilepsy
What are some limitations of cognitive neuroscience?
Very generalised
