Neuroscience, Linguistics, and Logic Lecture Flashcards

A complete set of practice questions covering neuroscience, types of aphasia, cognitive theories, musicolinguistics, and evolutionary biology based on the detailed lecture transcript.

What is the function of the corpus callosum regarding epilepsy patients in the notes?

It is a large fiber that connects the left and right hemispheres of the cortex; epilepsy patients may have it cut to control their illness.

In right-handed adults without left-handed relatives, which hemisphere is language typically concentrated in?

The left hemisphere.

What is the effect of a lack of the neurotransmitter Dopamine?

It can cause Parkinson's disease.

How does an fMRI measure brain activity according to the transcript?

It measures the parts of the brain that are active during tasks and thoughts using blood-flow change measurements.

What is the specific use of PET scans mentioned in the notes?

They use glucose (energy) use measurement to show which part of the brain is active when seeing or hearing specific objects, though they show less detail than an fMRI.

Where are mirror neurons located, and when do they fire?

They are located in the premotor cortex and supplementary motor area; they fire when someone acts or when an observer sees someone else performing an action.

What is MIT in the context of brain problem therapy?

MIT stands for Music Information Therapy, where singing is used to help people with brain problems communicate.

Define the language disorder 'Anomia'.

A specific word-finding difficulty during language production.

What is 'Neologism' in the context of aphasia?

A form of paraphasia where a word is replaced with a completely novel (new) word.

What is the purpose of the WADA Test?

It is used to determine hemispheric dominance.

Which brain region is associated with Broca's Aphasia?

The left frontal lobe.

Describe the characteristics of Wernicke's Aphasia.

Fluent speech that is not clear, syntactical but empty sentences, and problems with phonetic structure and understanding semantics.

What is the 'arcuate fasciculus'?

A bridge that connects the brain areas responsible for understanding syntax and storing pronunciation memories.

What is the 'Mental Grammar' concept?

A species-specific biological adaptation that makes it possible to understand and construct unlimited sentences in a language.

In the Mind-Body problem, what is the 'Identity Theory'?

Also known as 'Hardcore materialism,' it suggests the mind is the brain and there is a one-to-one correspondence between mental states and physical brain states.

How does 'Functionalism' define mental states?

It defines mental states by their function rather than what they are made of.

According to Jackendoff’s Modular Theory, what is the mind?

The mind is not one giant blob but a collection of specialized modules that process data and send it to a central format.

What is 'Computationalism' in the study of the mind?

The theory that the mind is a symbol-processing system where thinking is a form of calculation, similar to a Turing machine.

In 'Connectionism,' how does learning occur?

Learning happens when the connection strengths between units in artificial neural networks change.

What is the GTTM (Generative Theory of Tonal Music)?

A theory by Lerdahl and Jackendoff that outlines four structures for understanding music: Grouping structure, Metrical structure, Time-span reduction, and Prolongational reduction.

According to GTTM, what are 'Preference Rules'?

Rules that determine which structural interpretation of a melody feels more correct to the brain; the brain chooses the most natural option when rules clash.

How did Steven Pinker describe music in the context of evolution?

He called it 'auditory cheesecake,' a pleasant product of language that has no survival value.

What are 'Retinotopic Maps'?

Internal maps where the spatial arrangement of the external world is mirrored in how neurons fire in the brain.

Explain the Gestalt principle 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts'.

The idea that our brains don't just see individual dots or lines; they organize them into a meaningful whole.

What were the conclusions of Egon Brunswick’s study on Reiter schematic faces?

He found associations between apparent mood and age; character and beauty; and intelligence and energy (e.g., a higher mouth was perceived as gayer, younger, and lower intelligence).

What are 'Image Schemas' according to Johnson?

Recurrent patterns, shapes, and regularities in conceptual activities that originate from early bodily interactions, such as 'container' or 'up-down'.

What is the 'Penumbra' in conceptual semantics?

The gray areas of concepts where boundaries are not sharp and some actions fall into an unclear category.

What is a 'Meme' as defined in the notes?

A bit of cultural information that spreads through society from person to person.

In the context of evolution, what is a 'Spandrel' according to Steven Jay Gould?

A biological product that emerged from other evolutionary adaptations rather than being a direct adaptation itself.

How does the 'Faculty of Language in the Narrow sense' (FLN) differ from the 'Broad sense' (FLB)?

FLB includes systems like memory, speech, and hearing, while FLN is the unique linguistic part, specifically recursion.