Weeks 4-7 Szilvia Linnert Flashcards
1
Q
Briefly mention the famous names of people in the Nature vs Nurture debate and what their position was.
A
Nature:
- Franic Galton (1874) - geniuses are born not made.
Nurture:
- Freud; Vygotsky; Skinner’s behaviourism.
Middle ground:
- Piaget/Neuroconstructivism
- The interaction between environment and genetic factors
- (Epigenetics)
2
Q
What are Gottlieb’s (1992) different views of development?
A
Predetermined development: (BLUE PRINT ANALOGY)
- Genes -> Brain Structure -> Brain function -> Experience.
Probabilistic development:
- Genes <-> Brain Structure <-> Brain function <-> Experiences.
- All interact
3
Q
What is the problem with predetermined development (blueprint analogy)?
A
In this view, MZ twins should be exactly identical - which they aren’t
4
Q
how long is the gestation period in pregnancy?
A
38 weeks
5
Q
Outline the key details of prenatal brain development.
A
First 2 weeks: Cell division
After 2 weeks: Cell specialisation begins - brain begins to develop.
Neural tube formation then begins…
6
Q
What are the key details of neural tube formation?
A
Neurulation:
- Ectoderm thickens to form the neural plate, which folds to form the neural tube.
- Regions:
Cranial: Forms the brain.
Caudal: Forms the spinal cord.
Closure:
- Begins in the middle and proceeds both cranially and caudally.
- Neural folds elevate and meet at the midline, fusing to form the neural tube.
7
Q
What do many of the structural features of the brain emerge from?
Give 3 examples
A
Constraints of the brain:
- Folded cortex from having lots of neurons.
- Pattern of gyri/sulci pulled into shape by tension of axon bundles (white matter tract).
- Hebbian Learning: Spontaneous electrical activity pre birth enables networks to form.
- (E.g., Electrical activity pre birth from the retina allows the visual pathways to form)
8
Q
When are the majority of neurons formed?
A
Prior to birth
9
Q
What are the weights of the newborn and adult brain?
A
450g Newborn
1400g Adult brain
10
Q
What brain mechanisms cause the postnatal increase in brain size?
(3)
A
Synaptogenesis
Myelination (adding fatty sheath)
Glial cell profileration
NOT neuron formation - majority formed prenatally
11
Q
Describe the curves showing the relationship between age and synapses per 100um^3 in:
- Auditory cortex
- Visual cortex
- Prefrontal cortex
Explain the changes.
A
Auditory cortex:
- Peaks at around 1000 days
Visual cortex:
- Peaks at around 600 days
Prefrontal cortex:
- Peaks at 2000 days
They all then decrease to around the 30/40.
This is because fine tuning occurs to make the brain more efficient - removing redundant synapses.
12
Q
What is plasticity? What does it lead to?
A
Experience dependent change in neuronal functioning.
Leads to increased gray matter:
- New synapses
- Dendrites
- Axon collaterals
- Glial cells
NOT NEW NEURONS!!
13
Q
Briefly state the plasticity study into juggling.
A
METHODS:
- Scanned gray matter 3 months before learning to juggle
- Then scanned 3 months later once learnt to juggle.
- Then scanned 3 months after learning to juggle.
RESULTS:
- Scan one showed an average of no % change.
- Scan two showed an average of 3% change.
- Scan 3 showed an average of ~1.5%.
Shows that plasticity occurs through learning, then fine tuning occurs once you have learnt the new skill
14
Q
What does the case study of AH show us? Explain the details of the case study too.
(had no right hemisphere)
A
AH is a case study of a 10 year old girl with no right hemisphere.
As visual information decussates, the left visual field should go right.
Instead they both projected to the left, showing plasticity reorganised her vision to her left visual cortex
Shows that the brain structure is not due solely to genetics and that organisation is a malleable process.
15
Q
What is the significance of spontaneous electrical activity in foetal development?
A
Enables networks to form intrauterine before the baby is born.
E.g., Firing of the visual system allows it’s development before the child has to begin perceiving the world.
16
Q
What do critical or sensitive periods refer to in functional brain development?
A
The time-limited opportunities for major reorganisation (via plasticity mechanisms).
17
Q
What is filial imprinting and who discovered it. What are two key points he discovered?
A
The process by which young animals learn to recognise their parent.
Konrad Lorenz:
- He found that it happens between 15h - 3 days depending on when a parental figure is presented.
- Movement is crucial = they need to follow you to imprint.
18
Q
What are the two main features of critical and sensitive periods as stated by Lorenz’s findings?
A
- Learning takes place within a limited window.
- But opportunity can be extended in lack of experience. - This learning is hard to reverse by later experinces.
- Chick imprinted to one object can generalise to similar objects (shape or colour).
- Preference can be changed after sensitive periods (e.g., if mother dies)
19
Q
What are two possible explanations for critical and sensitive periods?
A
- Genetically programmed synaptogenesis (readies brain for learning), followed by reduced plasticity - so that learning is then ‘fosslised’.
- Closure of window could be initiated by learning itself/an environmental cue.
- (e.g., particular gene plays a role in filial imprinting, it is switched off after exposure).
20
Q
What are the empiricist and nativist views on innate knowledge?
A
Empiricism: Newborn mind is a blank slate.
Nativist: We are born with some knowledge.
21
Q
What is the more modern view on innate knowledge?
A
There is an innate readiness to learn (e.g., imprinting).
AND
There is some knowledge or behaviour that arises in the absence of appropriate experience.
(Preferences of sweet taste or visual patterns)
22
Q
Describe the study into the development of cat visual cortex.
A
METHODS:
- Two cats, one reared in dark and one which was developed in a usual environment (exposed to light).
- Imaged both at 14, 21 and 45 days to see differences in development of their visual cortex.
RESULTS:
- 14 days and 21 days there was no difference in their cortex, showing that they didn’t need visual experience to form cortex.
- 45 days there was a difference.
- Normal developed cat showed orientations bars developing as well as colour preference.
- Dark -reared cat’s cortex regressed back to 14 day state.
(See slide 22 of ‘The Developing Brain’ lecture)
23
Q
What do prenatal ultrasounds show us? What is it used for?
A
Structural features:
- Different types of tissue (skull, grey matter, white matter, CSF fluid) as they all have different physical properties.
- Used to create STATIC maps
24
Q
What are the two main methods for imaging prenatal brain development?
A
Prenatal ultrasound and Prenatal MRI
25
What is the preferential looking paradigm?
A research method used to understand the perceptions and interests of infants and non-verbal individuals.
Involves presenting two stimuli side-by-side (images, videos, objects).
Researchers track how long the participant looks at each stimulus.
Longer looking times at one stimulus suggest greater interest or understanding.
26
What are the potential problems of using fMRI on infants?
Infants won't perform tasks (which is what fMRI usually requires to measure brain activation).
It's very hard to make infants lay still.
27
What are the two main functional neuroscience measures that can be used with infants and young children? Give two example methods for each.
Electrophysiological response:
- EEG or ERP
Haemodynaic response (brain blood supply):
- fMRI
- fNIRS
28
What are the benefits of infant EEG?
Allow quick installation that isn't distressing to infants.
Can use infant friendly stimuli.
More breaks during the study (not as intense as MRI)
29
What is the difference between infant and adult ERP's?
Some adult ERP peaks are present in infants but delayed.
E.g., Visual ERPs:
- N1 which is N170 in adults is N290 in infants.
30
What is Nc in infant ERPs and why is it significant?
It is only present in infants and toddlers.
Nc = Negative central peak:
- Typically peaks between 300-700ms after stimulus onset.
- Reflects attention.
- Larger peak reflect higher attention.
(E.g., there is a higher peak for Nc when mothers face is presented compared to a strangers face).
31
What are the problems with using fMRI in infants?
Give example(s) of recent attempts to make it more usable with infants.
Highly sensitive to motion artifacts and infants move quite a lot.
Loud, restrictive environment - again not ideal for children.
Recent attempts:
- Custom headphones
- Adjustable 32-channel coil.
32
What is fNIRS? Briefly explain it.
functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
It measures BOLD signal by using the near infrared spectrum of light (~800nm).
Skin, tissue, and bone are mostly transparent to NIR light
Hb and deoxyHb absorb NIR, therefore allowing the measurement of BOLD response.
Measures the concentration changes of oxyHb and deoxyHb related to brain activity
33
What are the pros and cons of fNIRS?
| P:2 C:3
Pros:
- Portable.
- More tolerant of movement.
Cons:
- fNIRS has lower spatial resolution (usually used on specific regions)
- Only the surface of the cortex can be imaged.
- Often only a few sensors are used above a certain brain area.
34
What is an emotion?
A state associated with stimuli that are rewarding or punishing.
The associated stimuli often have inherent survival value but they can also be learned.
35
What do emotions play a key role for guiding?
Social Behaviour/Social decision making
36
What is Capgras syndrome? How can this be tested?
It is when a person believes that their loved once have been replaced by a identical looking imposter or body double.
Consciously recognise the person but lack emotional response to them.
We have a higher GSR to those we love because of the emotional response.
In Capgras syndrome, there is no significant difference in GSR in strangers or loved ones
37
What are the neural substrates of emotion processing?
Amygdala: learning & memory, fear conditioning.
Insula: disgust & interoception.
Orbitofrontal cortex: current appraisal of emotional stimuli.
Anterior cingulate: Pain, response evaluation & bodily aspects of emotion.
Ventral striatum: Reward.
38
Summarise information about the amygdala.
It is a bilaterally represented, small mass of grey matter in the tip of the left and right temporal lobes.
It receives a lot of sensory input and is suggested to be the central nucleus of fear/fear conditioning.
Close to the hippocampus so likely that they interact.
Important for learning and storing the emotional value of stimuli.
39
Briefly outline the study into the role of the amygdala in fear conditioning in mice.
Mice in a skinners box and are exposed to a tone linked to shock.
Control mice learn the association.
Lesion mice BEFORE learning do NOT learn the conditioned response.
Lesion mice AFTER learning forget the conditioned response - lose the learned emotional value.
Both Lesions still elicit the fear response to shock but not to the conditioned stimulus - shows the role of storing the emotion of fear, not the response
40
Outline the LaBar et al. (1998) study into amygdala and fear in humans.
METHODS:
- Measured the fMRI and GSR.
- Taught participants to associate visual cue with an electric shock.
RESULTS:
- fMRI showed Amygdala activation during the learning process.
- GSR correlated with amygdala activation
41
Describe the double dissociation results from Bechara et al. (1995) in the role of amygdala and hippocampus in fear.
Patients with amygdala damage:
- No conditioned GSR
- Can recall associations (learn it and verbally describe it)
Patients with hippocampal damage:
- Conditioned GSR present
- Cannot recall the association.
Shows that the associations are stored in:
- Amygdala (conditioned fear response)
- Hippocampus (declarative memory of response)
42
Outline the results of Adolphs et al. (1994) and Morris et al. (1996) into the amygdala and its impact on expression recognition of faces.
They found that damage to the amygdala inhibits the ability to recognise fear in others.
Participants could recognise all emotions apart from fearful ones.
43
What are the two routes to the amygdala, explain them.
Fast:
- Goes from eyes, to LGN and straight to amygdala.
- Doesn't require conscious awarness.
Slow:
- Goes through LGN to visual cortex, then to amygdala via visual pathway.
- Requires conscious awareness.
44
Outline the Ohman & Soares (1994) study into the amygdala. What does it provide evidence for?
| Hint - spiders & snakes
METHODS:
- Images of spiders and snakes are subliminally presented to participants with spider or snake phobias.
RESULTS:
- Participants did not report seeing the images.
- SCR was measured so there was an emotional reaction.
Shows that the fast route that circumnavigates conscious attention exists.
45
# (Slow Route of emotional processing)
What did the Tamietto et al. (2012) study into amygdala find?
Used fMRI and found that the amygdala was activated by fearful expression in patients with visual cortex damage.
Shows that if the slow route cannot happen (damaged visual cortex) that the amygdala can still be activated.
46
Describe the findings of Morris et al (1998) into the amygdala's ability to lead to enhanced activity in other brain areas.
Increased activation in:
Visual cortex
Hypothalamus
Anterior cingulate
Orbitofrontal cortex
Affects autonomic system to generate fight or flight response.
Suggests that the amygdala is a hub for the fear circuit, not the centre.
47
Briefly describe the Baxter & Murray (2002) findings about the amygdala.
| (what it codes in terms of associations)
It is involved in learning positive associations (e.g., certain food is hidden under a shape).
Amygdala activation to pleasant and unpleasant but not to neutral smells.
- Emotional responses only.
48
What are two syndromes that show the role of the amygdala in encoding the emotional value of stimuli.
Kluver-Bucy Syndrome (in monkeys):
- Tameness, emotional blunting, hyperorality (testing objects with mouth)
- Objects lost their emotional value.
Capgrass syndrome (in humans):
- Thinking loved ones have been replaced with imposters.
- Disconnect between face recognition part of brain and the emotional processing of the amygdala
49
Summarise the insula.
| (structure, location, associated emotions, perceptions involved in)
It is an island of cortex lying bilaterally underneath the temporal lobes.
Implicated in the creation of bodily feelings and associated with emotions.
- Disgust
- Interoception.
Involved in pain and taste perception.
50
What are the results of expression recognition tasks in relation to the Insula?
Those with damage cannot identify disgusted faces.
Those with healthy insula will see activation in it in response to feeling disgusted or seeing someone else disgusted.
Also activated in response to moral disgust.
51
What is interoception? Summarise it.
Monitoring the internal state of the body.
Interoceptive signals from receptors in the skin, muscles, organs are sent to the Insula along the spinal cord.
This bodily monitoring process can be conscious and unconscious.
52
Summarise the orbitofrontal cortex.
Found as the ventral layer of the frontal cortex (imagine directly above the slope of your nose, the downwards facing layer of cortex).
Is involved in computing the current value of a stimulus, emotion and memory.
Calculates how rewarding the stimulus is within the current context.
Important for social interactions, new learning and regulation of emotions.
53
Briefly summarise the results of the PET study by Small et al. (2001).
| OFC activation due to rewarding or punishing stimuli
Initially chocolate was rewarded to participants wanted to have it:
- Activity in the medial regions of the OFC = pleasant, reward
Then chocolate became less pleasant, and participants were less motivated to eat it:
- Activity in the lateral regions of the OFC = unpleasant, punishment.
54
State the results from Kringelback & Rolls (2003) into how the OFC is involved in processing social stimuli.
Lateral orbitofrontal cortex activity when participants expected a smile and were presented with an angry face.
55
Summarise the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC). (Structure + 2)
Lies above the corpus callosum on the medial surface of each hemisphere.
Dorsal region implicated with executive functions = monitoring errors and response conflicts.
Ventral region implicated in emotional processing = determining motivations and the cost and benefits of actions.
56
Outline response evaluation in the ACC. (Lesion monkey example)
Can be rewarding or punishing depending on the environment and context.
Processes the value of the action.
LESION:
- Monkeys with ACC lesion unable to adapt behaviour and therefore do not base actions based on their previous ones.
- E.g., will attempt to take food from dominant monkey (bad idea).
57
Outline the role of the ACC in bodily responses.
Processing bodily signals that characterise emotions:
- Outputs bodily responses
Lesion interrupts skin conductance response, changes in blood pressure and heart rate (fight or flight response changes)
- Inputs from the Insula.
Regulating the feelings of pain:
- fMRI activity in the ACC for physically painful stimuli.
- Activity in the ACC for watching somebody else in pain = responds to the perception of pain in others.
58
Outline the relationship between the ACC and social pain.
ACC responds to perception of pain in others BUT the response can be affected by cognitive processes.
Pain sensitive activity is modulated if the other person is perceived to "deserve" the pain.
59
Describe the Eisenberger et al. (2003) into social pain and the ACC.
Ball toss task with two confederates
METHODS:
- Inclusion condition, they were involved in game of catch
- Exclusion condition, the other two players do not pass to participant.
- Justified condition, there is a reason not to be passed.
- Asked participants about their distress:
- Not stressed
- Stressed
- Slightly distressed
- (Respectively)
RESULTS:
- Activity of ACC correlated with subjective distress.
- The justified condition shows it's not exclusion that causes it, it's the personal effect of being excluded.
60
Summarise the Ventral Striatum.
| (location, speciality)
Part of the basal ganglia:
- Dorsal striatum has sensorimotor properties (role in habit formation)
- Ventral striatum specialise in emotions.
Part of the reward-based learning loop aka 'the limbic circuit' which is a dopaminergic system linked to compulsive behaviours such as subject abuse.
61
Outline the role of ventral striatum in monetary reward.
fMRI showed task with greater monetary reward lead to greater activity in the VS (Knutson et al., 2001)
62
Provide an example of the role of ventral striatum in social reward.
Activity is greater when monetary reward is obtained via cooperation with another human compared to non-cooperation or computer (Rilling et al., 2002)
63
Outline the role of ventral striatum in predicted vs actual reward.
It is not involved in simple reward coding, activity is greater when the reward is better than expected.
Shows that it calculates difference between expectation and reality.
64
Briefly outline ASD and its relation to social reward.
(Autism Spectrum Disorder)
Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction.
Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities.
Symptoms are present in early childhood.
"Social brain" network is functionally/structurally different in ASD.
- including ventral striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala.
65
What is the social motivation hypothesis in ASD?
Those with ASD have deficits in representing the reward value of social stimuli.
Children with ASD do not actively attend to the social environment because they do not find it intrinsically rewarding, leading to reduced cortical specialisation.
66
Summarise the social brain hypothesis.
Humans and Primates have unusually large brains for their body size.
The brain is one of the most energy 'expensive' organs in the body.
It is suggested that the brain has evolved to deal with the complex information we are presented with in a largely social world.
Computational demands of living in large, complex societies have selected for large brains:
- Graph shows a relationship between social network size and the neocortex (90% of cerebral cortex) ratio of the brain
- (Slide 5 Lecture 6)
67
What is Social Cognition? Give examples.
It focuses on how people process, store and apply information about other people and social situations.
It is the process by which we infer, interpret, encode and decode social information and social situations.
Examples:
- Perception of emotions and facial expressions.
- Perception of eye gaze direction of others.
- Prediction of the thoughts underlying the behaviour of others.
68
Why is reading faces important? Gives examples.
Faces are not only a subject of visual perception, they are also social objects that provide information about:
- Another person's emotional states.
- Intentions (eye-gaze)
- Membership in social categories (race, gender)
- Disposition (Trustworthiness)
69
Why is there a bias for face processing?
People will preferentially identify face like patterns in objects which are clearly not faces (e.g., side of a mountain, a door bell in the right position)
This portrays how faces are important social stimuli for us and as such we perceive them a lot quicker.
70
What did Johnson et al. (1991) find in newborn face processing?
Newborns prefer face-like patterns and are sensitive to the structure of the human face.
(Method on slide 10, lecture 6)
71
What did Reid et al. (2017) find in foetal face processing?
At around 34 weeks of gestation, foetuses are more likely to engage with stimuli featuring an upright face-like configuration than one with an inverted configuration.
Therefore this shows that postnatal experience is not necessary for the emergence of preference of face-like stimuli.
72
Outline the study by Di Lorenzo et al. (2019) into facial processing at 5 months.
METHODS:
- Use 5 month olds.
- fNIRS study that imaged the cortex in areas known to be involved in face and facial expression processing in adults.
- Presented baseline stimuli of houses.
- Then presented happy faces for 5 secs, then houses for 10 secs, then fearful faces for 5.
- (long presentation due to slow haemodynamic response).
RESULTS:
- Right occipital area selectively responds to faces = the face processing network is activated at 5 months.
- No differences between happy and fearful faces = sensitivity to facial emotion immature at this age.
73
Describe the Sorce et al. (1985) facial expression processing study in 12 month olds.
Visual cliff experiment.
METHODS;
- Visual cliff table and put the child on the 'safe' side.
- Mothers displayed joy/interest or fear/anger.
- Tested to see whether infants would cross the 'cliff'.
RESULTS:
- Joy/Interest = infants crossed.
- Fear/Anger = infants didn't cross.
- No depth = infants crossed irrespectively of mother's expression.
CONCLUSION:
- By 1 year of age infants are able to process facial expressions and use them for decision making.
74
What is social referencing?
It is the use of perceiving someone else's expression to mediate your decision making (e.g., infants in visual cliff experiment)
Facial expressions regulate behaviour most clearly in contexts of uncertainty.
Caregiver's facial expression of emotion influences the infant's decision.
75
Why is eye gaze important in social cognition?
Information from the eye region is a key social cue for understanding others.
Because:
- It distinguishes between emotions
- Establishes dyadic communication
- Orients attention to critical objects
- Gives clues about intention
76
Describe the Farroni et al, 2002 study into whether eye-gaze detection is innate or not.
METHODS:
- Newborns (within first 5 days of life).
- 4 month olds (EEG study)
- Presented with direct or averted gaze stimuli
- Response gaged.
RESULTS:
- Newborns also prefer faces with eyes open than eyes closed.
- Newborns also prefer to look at faces that engage in mutual gaze.
- 4 month olds show enhanced neural processing of direct gaze (infant N170 ERP)
77
Which part of the eye is key for gaze following?
The white of the eye is key to being able to follow gaze, as it provides contrast between pupil and the rest of the eye.
78
Describe the relationship between ASD and eye gaze detection.
They have intact perception of eye gaze (e.g., can discern where someone is looking)
However, they have difficulty in using eye gaze information to predict behaviour (They cannot infer intention in ways that might seem simple to us - slide 20, lecture 6 for example)
| (ASC = autism spectrum conditions)
79
What are the brain bases of eye gaze detection? Describe their role.
Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS)
- Activated in eye gaze detection task.
- Involved in changeable features.
- Lesion impair the ability to detect gaze direction
Fusiform Face Area:
- Activated in face identity tasks.
- Processing of unchangeable features of facial features.
**IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER**
80
Describe the Hoffman & Haxby (2000) fMRI study into the brain bases of eye-gaze detection.
METHODS:
- Two different tasks:
- EYE GAZE: presented with different faces and had to identify eye gaze and remember if it was the same or different as the last eye gaze.
- IDENTITY: presented different faces and had to remember whether the face was the same or different (didn't have to focus on gaze)
- Stimuli same, attentional task was different.
RESULTS:
- STS activated in eye gaze
- Involved in changeable features of face
- FFA activated in identify task
- Processes the unchangeable structural features of the face.
81
Outline the Pelphrey et al. (2005) study into the brain bases of eye-gaze detection in ASC.
METHODS:
- ASC and typical sample compared
- An animated face was presented.
- Target would appear and the eyes would either look at the target, or look somewhere else.
- Task was to press a button when the eyes move regardless of their location.
RESULTS:
- They found that there was STS activity for both groups.
- However, there was a difference between incongruent versus congruent trials in controls - not ASC participants.
- This shows that ASC patients were not reading the intentions of the goal direct looking so they weren't processing the difference in mental frame work of the stimuli.
82
What is empathy?
An emotional reaction to or understanding of another person's feelings.
It is the ability to infer emotional experiences.
83
What are the two components of empathy? Define them.
Affective:
- Emotionally responding to someone else's experience.
Cognitive:
- How we can understand what others are thinking or feeling.
(The cognitive understanding/theory of mind)
84
What are the theories associated with each component of empathy?
Mirroring (simulation theory):
- Affective component.
Mentalising (Theory of Mind):
- Cognitive Component.
85
What does mentalising and Theory of Mind (ToM) refer to?
The ability to infer mental states (desires, feelings) and intentions of others.
Concerned with cognitive aspects of empathy
- Reasoning about mental states.
- Attributing mental states.
86
Describe the Vollm et al (2005) study into the neural bases of empathy and ToM.
METHODS:
- Theory of Mind Condition: What will the character do next?
- Empathy Condition: What will make the main character feel better?
- Slide 26, Lecture 6 for stimuli.
RESULTS:
Empathy and ToM activated:
- Medial Prefrontal Cortex.
- Temporoparietal Junction.
- Temporal Poles.
ToM specific activity:
- Orbitofrontal Cortex
Empathy specific activity:
- Amygdala
87
What did Frith & Frith (2003) identify about the neural basis of ToM? (3 Areas and Their Roles)
Identified more widespread roles of the below areas in processing:
The Temporal Poles:
- Language and semantic memory
- Possible role: Representing/activating semantic schemas that specify current social and emotional context.
Temporoparietal Junction:
- Perception of biological motion, eye-gaze, moving mouth and living things.
- Possible role: detecting other agents.
Medial Prefrontal Cortex:
- Activated more by thinking about people than objects, about minds than physical characteristics.
- Metaphors, irony - intention needs to be derived in order to understand.
- Possible role: Binding together different kinds of info: actions, agents, goals, beliefs etc.
88
What is a method of measuring ToM?
False-Belief tests:
- Other person holds belief that differs from ours & reality.
- One must decouple the state of someone's mind from the state of the world.
- Participants typically have to predict a person's behaviour based on the person's false belief whilst ignoring their true belief.
89
Outline the Sally-Anne task.
Question: Where will sally look for her ball.
Correct answer: In the basket.
Typically developed children until 4-5 years will say: In the box.
Shows they cannot yet form a representation of other persons mental states.
90
What are the criticisms of the Sally Anne tasks?
False belief tasks not only involve representing other's mental states.
They involve inhibition of own true belief and requires problem solving.
What if ToM is present earlier but this isn't a good paradigm to measure it?
91
Describe Repacholi & Gopnik's (1997) alternative method to explore ToM.
METHODS
- They used a food-request procedure on 14-18 month year olds.
- Children observed an experimenter expressing disgust as she/he tasted 1 type of food and happiness when she/he tasted another type of food.
- Then experimenter asked for some food and tested to see if the child took into account their preference.
RESULTS:
- 14 month olds: 54% gave the preferred food to the experimenter (not significant).
- 18 month olds: 92% gave the preferred food to the experimenter
CONCLUSION:
- Even 18 month olds can take into account others perspectives and preferences.
92
Describe the Kovacs, Teglas & Endress (2010) study into infants ability to process an agent's belief.
Video with methods are on slide 38, lecture 6.
- Used 7 month olds.
RESULTS:
- Surprise reaction when the outcome was not in line with the smurfs belief (but in line with the infants belief)
CONCLUSION:
- The beliefs of the agent influenced the infants looking behaviour, even though they clashed with the infant's own beliefs.
- Therefore they were able to compute the agents (smurfs) belief.
93
What are the famous examples of non-human animals having language?
Washoe the Chimp:
- Learned about 200 manual signs.
- Evidence of overgeneralisation of symbols.
Koko the Gorilla:
- Learned 1,000 signs which she was able to combine in complex ways.
Kanzi the Chimp:
- Learnt 200 symbol arbitrary lexigrams.
- Mainly communicated for food not for conversation.
94
What is the Chinese room problem? (Searle, 1980)
It is the thought experiment that shows that having syntax can seem like communication but it doesn't suffice for semantics.
In order to really use language, you have to understand the meanings or the thought contents.
95
Summarise semantic memory.
Semantic memory represents our conceptual knowledge of the world including the meaning of words and objects, and factual knowledge.
Has a central role in human cognition - it lies at the interface of language, memory and perception.
Neural bases in the temporal lobes.
96
Describe the Kutas & Hillyard (1980) study into semantics.
| Semantically appropriate or inappropriate ending
METHODS:
- Participants read sentences on the screen presented word-by-word.
- Semantically appropriate ending: 'He took a sip from the glass'
- Semantically inappropriate ending: 'He took a sip from the transmitter'
- Tested the ERP elicited by these two outcomes.
RESULTS:
- Participants anticipated the last word of the sentence.
- When the incorrect ending was presented, it elicited a much larger N400 component.
97
What is N400?
ERP component that is elicited when an outcome is different to what we expected.
Can be used to investigate semantic representations in the brain and does not depend on the presentation modality.
E.g., a sentence is ended in a random word, not the one we expected.
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What is the infant N400 useful in researching?
The development of semantic representations.
99
Detail the Parise and Csibra (2012) study into infant N400.
| ( hint - look at the ...)
METHODS:
- Audio saying 'look at the duck' plays.
- A stimulus which uncovered either a duck (congruent) was shown, or a cat (incongruent) was shown.
- Tested to see if the incongruent elicited N400.
RESULTS:
- Large N400 in incongruent image.
- 9 month old infants detect the mismatch between an object appearing from behind an occluder and a preceding label.
- Shows that infants understand the meaning of some words and that they were primed by the label.
100
What is a concept?
A cognitive structure that represents classes of things, events or ideas.
They unite qualities, occurrences and things based on the similarity of characteristics.
Organised in a network and activation of one concept will activate associated ones.
(Collins & Loftus, 1975)
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What did ERPs show about spreading activity across semantically different concepts?
N400 was modulated by the semantic connection between the expected and presented word.
Semantically related words elicited smaller N400 compared to semantically unrelated words.
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What are features?
They are properties of, or facts about, a concept.
They are linked together via a network and allow us to generalise.
All models propose that concepts are comprised of a constellation of constituent features.
103
What are Amodal representations of semantic memory?
Amodal representations:
- Features are represented as abstract knowledge.
- Not tied to sensory or motor information.
- The are independent of input or output modality.
Brain converts association to abstract code.
104
What is an example of a model that assumed semantics to be amodal? Why?
Hierarchical model: Collins & Quinlan (1969)
Semantic memory can be accessed from multiple kinds of sensory input (spoken or written word, sight of an object etc).
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What is the problem with amodal representations of semantics?
The symbol grounding problem:
- Each word needs to be defined by other words.
- If using a lexicon, it is impossible to understand/learn new words/concepts without understanding some words/concepts in advance.
How can you learn concepts...
based on concepts...
if you have an abstract knowledge of...
...those concepts?
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What is a possible solution to the symbol grounding problem?
Grounded models of semantic memory
107
What is the symbol grounding problem?
- Each word needs to be defined by other words.
- If using a lexicon, it is impossible to understand/learn new words/concepts without understanding some words/concepts in advance.
108
What are grounded concepts/features?
Concepts not defined in terms of each other, but in terms of our experiences and interactions with the world - how we perceive them.
Concepts of 'green' and 'kick' are linked to sensory and motor experiences rather than abstract/amodal representations.
109
Describe the Chao et al. (2002) study into animals and tools in the brain.
METHODS:
- fMRI study attempting to find the neural correlates of certain categories.
- Participants were either shown an animal or a tool.
- Looked for activation linked to these.
RESULTS:
- They found category specific activity in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex.
- Object representations are not limited to a discrete area, but rather are widespread and overlapping (= grounded cognition)
- Category-related activations reflect the retrieval of information about category specific features and attributes.
110
Describe the results of Chao et al. (1999) study into answering questions referring to animals and tools.
- Category-related patterns of activation for images of animals and tools in the occipital and posterior temporal lobes
- Similar patterns of category-related activity occurred when subjects read the names of or answered questions about animals and tools.
- Shows irrespectively if you see the object or read the name of the object, there is some kind of universal representation of category specific info will be activated in response to certain objects.
111
Outline the Mahon & Caramazza (2009) study into picture naming performance.
| Animate versus inanimate
METHODS:
- Participants presented with pictures of living animate things or non-living things.
- Asked to name them.
RESULTS:
- Some patients are able to name man-made objects but not animals.
- Due to brain damage they lose part of the category specific knowledge.
CONCLUSION:
- It is possible to lose specific categories.
- This means that it is NOT random how these categories are organised in the brain (because you are able to lose specific ones).
ANDDDD...
- It's not just a visual deficit, they might not have the concept associated with the object and therefore are unable to access the semantics.
112
Describe the theory that 'category specific semantics are an emergent property'.
Categories emerge based on our experiences with their features.
Different categories of different types of characteristics.
- Animals: Sensory characteristics are more important.
- Tools/man-made objects: functional characteristics are important.
113
What are the two theories of category specificity of semantics?
They are emergent (based on experiences)
They are innate
114
Describe the evidence for category specificity being innate.
Prenatal face processing (Reid et al., 2017)
Newborns prefer biological motion (Simion, Regolin, & Bulf, 2008)
115
What is congenital blindness and what can it tell us about category specificity?
Is blindness present from birth.
Visual stimuli elicit category specific activity in the VTC in sighted individuals,
Natural sounds representing these different categories elicit similar discriminatory responses in VTC in individuals who are congenitally blind.
THEREFORE, visual areas have some sort of innate category specificity.
116
Outline the case study by Farah and Rabinowitz (2003) into Adam.
Damage to the posterior brain areas at the age of 1 day.
Selective impairment in knowledge of living things:
- Naming of pictures of living things.
- Retrieving verbal information about living things.
Could name and answer questions about inanimate objects.
CONCLUSION:
- Brain damage sustained too early for experience to have contributed to the organisation of semantic memory.
- Innate basis for the living-non living distinction in semantic memory.
