Week 4 [What is Cognitive Neuroscience]

Question 1

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 1

A field of study that examines the relationship between cognitive processes (e.g., thinking, memory, perception) and brain function.

Question 2

Cardio-centrism

Answer 2

The outdated theory that the heart is the center of thought and emotion.

Question 3

Encephalo-centrism

Answer 3

The belief that the brain is the center of cognitive functions and mental processes.

Question 4

Cranial Nerves

Answer 4

Twelve pairs of nerves that originate in the brain and are responsible for sensory and motor functions in the head and neck.

Question 5

Phrenology

Answer 5

An outdated theory that the shape and bumps of the skull could determine personality traits and intellectual abilities.

Question 6

Localizationism

Answer 6

The theory that specific mental functions are localized to specific areas of the brain.

Question 7

Aggregate Field

Answer 7

An older theory that mental functions are distributed across the entire brain, rather than localized to specific regions.

Question 8

Reticular Theory

Answer 8

The theory that the nervous system is a continuous network of fibers, rather than a collection of discrete neurons.

Question 9

Neuron Doctrine

Answer 9

The theory that the nervous system is made up of individual neurons, which communicate with each other across synapses.

Question 10

Synapse

Answer 10

The junction between two neurons where signals are transmitted from one to another.

Question 11

Neurotransmitters

Answer 11

Chemical substances that transmit signals across synapses between neurons.

Question 12

Homunculi

Answer 12

Maps or representations of the body in the brain, particularly in the sensory and motor cortices.