Cognitive Psych Unit 3

What information is present in a sound spectrogram?

frequencies of sounds and their amplitudes

What is a sound spectrogram used for

to illustrate the acoustic information present in a speech signal

What axis are frequency and time plotted on in a spectrogram

frequency is on the Y axis and time is on the X axis

How is amplitutde denoted on a sound spectrogram

it is denoted by the darkness of the frequency bands

Where in the brain is the primary auditory cortex located

it is part of the superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe

Why is it difficult to use fMRI to measure brain activity associated with hearing

the MRI scanner is noisy

How do researchers alleviate the challenge of excess noise in an MRI to measure brain activity associated with hearing

applying sparse scanning, where the scanner is turned off when the auditory stimulus is presented, and turned back on immediately after.

How are researchers able to use sparse scanning to measure brain activity associated with hearing

Because there is temporal delay associated with measuring oxygen leven changes via fMRI. The delay allows for the MRI to still measure the brain acitivy of the stimulus presented while it was off

Regarding music perception, what does the left hemisphere correlate to

rhythm perception 

Regarding music perception, what does the right hemisphere correlate to

pitch perception

Is Peretz and Coltheart (2003) model of music perception an example of a modular model or an interactive model?

a modular model derived from neuropsychological dat

______ refers to a selective deficit to music abilities.

amusia

Describe the frequency theory of pitch perception

neurons in the auditory context fire at a rate that equals the frequency of the sound.

What is the volley principle

is applied for sounds in which the frequency of the sound exceeds the ability of the neuron to maintain a firing rate that is synchronous with the sound. In this case, groups of neurons take turns firing, and together they maintain synchrony with the frequency of the sound

Describe a sound in terms of compressions and rarefactions

is vibration that occurs when air molecules collide with one another in a chain reaction from the source of the sound to the ear of the receiver. Each air molecule travels a short distance and then it collides with other air molecules. The collisions are called compressions. A collision of air molecules is followed by the spreading of air molecules (i.e., a rarefaction)

What is a compression

collisions, whereby air molecules are bunched together

What is a rarefaction 

the spreading of air molecules following a collision (compression) 

How does frequency relate to compressions and rarefactions

corresponds to how many alternating compressions and rarefactions occur during a given time period

How does amplitude relate to compressions and rarefactions

corresponds to the magnitude of air molecules involved in compressions and rarefactions

What does ipsilateral mean

“same side” information from the left ear is processed by the left hemisphere and vice versa

What does contralateral mean

“opposite sides” information from the right ear is processed by the left hemisphere and vice versa

How is auditory information processed when a sound is presented to one ear

it activates both ipsilateral and contralateral connections. It is processed by both hemispheres

How is auditory information processed when two different sounds are simultaneously presented to both ears (dichotomously)

information from the ipsilateral connection is inhibited, thus, one would perceive the sound from the right ear better in the left hemisphere

If a typical split-brain patient is presented with an “a” to the left ear and an “e” to the right ear, why won’t they be able to report the “a”?

will only be able to report the sound that arrives in the left hemisphere via the right ear (in this case the “e”) because the ipsilateral connections from the left ear to the left hemisphere are inhibited, and information cannot travel from the right hemisphere to the left hemisphere via the corpus callosum because it is severed.

When letters or words are presented simultaneously to the left ear and the right ear for free recall, people typically show better recall for the information presented to which ear?

right ear. It’s thought that this has to do with the contralateral connections from the right ear to the language center in the left hemisphere

Based on the research by Herholz et al. (2011), imagining a tune relies on connections between

the frontal lobe and the right anterior temporal lobe

How do the physical characteristics of sound, like frequency, correspond to auditory perception

frequency is highly related to pitch perception

How do the physical characteristics of sound, like amplitude, correspond to auditory perception

amplitude is highly related to loudness perception

In terms of the parabelt area of the auditory cortex, where are the starting points for what a sound is (identity)

located near the anterior and inferior parabelt area

In terms of the parabelt area of the auditory cortex, where are the starting points for where a sound is (location)

located near the posterior and superior parabelt are

Describe how duplex theory explains how we determine the location of a sound

we localize a sound source via the difference in time of the sounds arriving at each ear and the difference in intensity of the sounds arriving at each ear

Regarding the relationship between the evolution of music perception and language, there are two different viewpoints, what are they?

One viewpoint is that our ability to perceive music provided us with an evolutionary advantage. The other viewpoint is that our ability to perceive music did not provide us with an evolutionary advantage

What is the key difference between the two viewpoints of music perception with regard to the human species’ acquisition of language

The key difference is in regard to whether music perception preceded language abilities or whether music perception came after language. If it preceded language, it would have value for facilitating the aquistion of language. If it came after, it may not have produced an evolutionary advantage 

Describe the McGurk Illusion

occurs when one watches a speaker produce “ga” while the auditory signal corresponds to “ba.” Perceivers often report hearing “da.”

With respect to auditory perception, what does the McGurk illusion illustrate

It appears that the perceiver integrates visual and auditory information as the place of articulation for “da” is between “ga” and “ba”

How does TMS interact with the effect of the McGurk Illusion

TMS to a multi-sensory area in the temporal lobe (i.e., superior temporal sulcus) decreases the effect

Describe the relationship between the vocal chords and the phonetic feature of voicing (voiced)

When a phoneme is voiced, the vocal cords are closed during its articulation. As the airflow is emitted, it passes through the closed vocal chords and causes them to vibrate

Describe the relationship between the vocal chords and the phonetic feature of voicing (unvoiced)

when a phoneme is unvoiced, the vocal chords are pulled completely apart so that they do not vibrate when airflow is emitted

Give an example of two different phonemes that only differ in terms of voicing.

Examples of minimal pairs that only differ in terms of voicing are /d/ vs. /t/,

/z/ vs. /s/,

and /b/ and /p/.

What is a phoneme

the smallest sound in a language that makes a difference in that language

what is a phone

the smallest sound that makes a difference in some language

What is an example of a phoneme and phone

the /p/ in “spit” is a different sound than the /p/ in “pit”. The /p/ in “pit” is aspirated whereas the /p/ in “spit” is unaspirated.The phonetic feature of aspiration does not make a difference in English, but it does ion Arabic. Thus, these two /p/s are different phones because they are two different sounds that make a difference in some language (i.e., Arabic). They are different phonemes in Arabic but they are part of the same phoneme class in English.

How can two different phonemes interact with phones

Two different phonemes are always different phones

How can two different phones interact with phonemes

two different phones may or may not be two different phonemes

Data from semantic dementia patients has implicated the ______ as an important region for semantic memory for music.

right anterior temporal lobe

TMS over the _____ will likely interfere with one’s ability to identify a speaker from their voice.

right superior temporal sulcus

What is coarticulation?

the idea that the pronunciation of phonemes depends upon their phonemic

environment

What is categorical perception

refers to the idea that perception of phonemes occurs as distinct categories rather than as continuous variations of sounds. In addition, phonemes are categorized with little awareness of the differences among them (e.g., [ph] v. [p]).

Describe a phoneme identification task and how it relates to categorical  perception 

In a phoneme identification task, where the voice onset time (VOT) of the initial phoneme varies from early (“ba”) to late (“pa”), subjects will assign the initial phoneme to its respective category practically 100% of the time. This occurs even for intermediate VOTs that are close to a phoneme category boundary. People keep categorizing sounds as a “ba” until a certain point on the VOT spectrum, and then they will switch categories at some distinct point, practically 100% of the time

Describe a phone identification task and how it relates to categorical perception

in a phone discrimination task, where subjects decide if two phones are the same or different, subjects will be at chance in determining that two different phones are different when they belong to the same category. In contrast, if the two phones cross category boundaries, then discrimination accuracy is near 100%.

What is embodied cognition

refers to the idea that cognition (e.g., semantic memory) directly relies on sensory and perceptual systems

Give one example of a finding that supports embodied cognition

when one reads the word lick areas in the motor cortex related to licking become activated. Thus, understanding lick may involve the recruiting of the motor areas involved in licking.

Describe the Ganong (1980) experiment

Ganong (1980) presented participants with experimentally manipulated spoken phoneme sequences. On each trial, participants decided if they heard a /d/ or a /t/ as the initial phoneme. The trials varied by the early or late voice onset time (VOT) and what phonemes (“ash” or “ask”) followed the original phoneme (/D/ or /T/).

What did Ganong 1980 manipulate 

There were 2 IVs. One IV pertained to the phonemes that occurred after the initial phoneme (/æ∫/, /æsk/ - meaning “ash” and “ask” respectively). The other IV was the voice onset time (VOT) of the initial phoneme, and there were six levels ranging from an early VOT (i.e., a perfect /d/) to a very late VOT (i.e., a perfect /t/).

What were the results of the Ganong 1980 experiment

Ganong found that early VOTs were associated /d/ and late VOTs were associated with /t/ regardless of the subsequent phonemes. However, for intermediate VOT values, there was a word bias. Subjects were more likely to report a /d/ when the initial phoneme was followed by “ash”, and more likely to report a /t/ when the initial phoneme was followed by “ask.”

What did Ganong 1980 measure

the reports of participants of whether or not they heard “d” or “t”

What is the trace model of auditory phoneme and word perception

consists of representations for phonetic features (e.g., voicing), phonemes (e.g., /d/, /t/, etc.), and words (e.g., dash, task, etc.). When one hears a word, the phonetic features associated with it become activated, and they send activation to the phoneme level. The activity at the phoneme level feeds up the word level but also down to the feature level reinforcing the features that are present in the stimulus. The activation of word representations feeds down to reinforce representations at the phoneme level.

How does the experiment by Ganong relate to the trace model of auditory phoneme and word perception

if one hears an initial phoneme that has an intermediate VOT (somewhere between a perfect /d/ and a perfect/t/), but the subsequent phonemic context is “ash”, then the representation for “dash” will become activated and that activation will reinforce the activation of the /d/ (which will in turn inhibit /t/). Thus, the receiver will be more likely to hear /d/ in this case. However, if the subsequent phonemic context is “ask”, then the representation for “task” will become activated and that activation will reinforce the activation of the /t/ (which will in turn inhibit /d/). Because there are no word level representations for “dask” and “tash” the alternative phonemes in each case will not be strengthened from activity occurring at the word level.

According to James (1890), _____ is the taking of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thoughts… It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.

(James) attention

According to Ward (2019) ______ is the interface between the external environment and internal states

(Ward) Attention

Visual sensory memory is associated with visual persistence activity of which structures?

rods, cones, ganglion cells, and V1

What do phenomena such as inattentional blindness, change blindness, and attentional blink demonstrate?

Attention is a limited capacity resource.

What is negative priming?

occurs when a stimulus that was ignored on Trial 1 (e.g., a dog) takes longer to respond to on Trial 2 than if it was not previously ignored. As discussed in class, this negative priming occurs for semantically related items (e.g., a if a cat is ignored on Trial 1 and a dog is responded to on Trial 2) as well. Note that the semantic effect is reduced relative to the standard effect.

Consider a visual search task in which a person searches for a K in a field of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 distracters where the distracters are either very similar (visually) to the target or visually dissimilar. When the target is located, a button is pressed on the keyboard. Reaction time (RT) is the difference in time between when the display occurs and the button is pressed. What do the RT data look like as a function of the number of distracters and the similarity between the target and distracters?

The number of distractors has a small and nonsignificant effect on RT when the distractors are visually dissimilar (e.g., O), and the number of distracters has a large and significant effect when the distractors are visually similar (e.g., R).

Consider a visual search task in which a person searches for a K in a field of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 distracters where the distracters are either very similar (visually) to the target or visually dissimilar. When the target is located, a button is pressed on the keyboard. What type of searches are implicated in these conditions.

automatic parallel search is used to locate the target in the dissimilar condition, and an attention demanding serial search is required in the similar condition.

What is habituation

the tendency for attention to a stimulus to decrease over time.

What is the reticular activating system (RAS)

consists of a network of neurons that extends from the brain stem to the outer cortex

What is the reticular activating system (RAS) involved in

alerting and arousal

Describe the phenomenon of inhibition of return.

Responding to an exogenously cued target location 200 ms or later after the cue will produce a slower reaction time than a control condition. In the book, this was described using an exogenous cue in a Posner cueing task. Note that RT is facilitated when targets occur less than 200 ms after the cue

Identify three of the phenomena categorized as “pseudo-neglect” in lecture

1. People dissect a line a little bit left of center. 2. People are more likely to bump into objects on the right side of their body than those on the left side of their body. 3. People are less likely to notice an actor entering from the right side of the stage

Describe how the dual task method is used to determine how much attention is needed to perform a task

In the dual task methodology, there is a primary task and a secondary task. The primary task is where conditions are manipulated, and the experimenter measures their effect via RT in a secondary task. The condition of the primary task associated with the longest RT of the secondary task is the one that requires the most attention.

Give an example of how the dual task method is used to determine how much attention is needed to perform a task

Kantowitz and colleagues (1983) had airplane pilots who were flying a flight simulator as their primary task, push a button when they heard a tone. The researchers measured RT to the tone at the takeoff, middle, and landing of the flight. They found the RT to the tone was longest in the landing condition. Thus, they concluded that landing a plane requires the most attentional resources.

Which visual pathway is most strongly associated with orienting attention away from its current focus (e.g., to respond a target)?

the ventro-dorsal pathway

What is the difference between object-based neglect and space-based neglect?

Object based neglect occurs when the left side of each object that is processed is neglected whereas space based neglect occurs when the left side of visual space as a whole is neglected.

Regarding attentional neglect, it is far more common for neglect to happen for one side of space. Which side is it

the left side of space

Regarding attentional neglect, it is far more common for neglect to happen for one side of space. (the left) why is it rare for neglect to occur on the opposite side? (the right)

the right hemisphere is dominant for processing visual spatial information. If the left hemisphere is injured, the right hemisphere has the power to compensate, but if the right hemisphere is damaged, the left hemisphere cannot compensate

Regarding the debate about whether attentional selection is best characterized by an early selection model or a late selection model, Dr. Cortese concluded that

attentional selection is flexible and can occur early or late depending on the circumstances. However, the later that one selects the more attentional resources are required.

In a TMS study by Mevorach et al. (2006), subjects responded to a larger letter (global stimulus) made up of smaller letters (local stimuli, see figure below to refresh your memory). In addition, the stimuli were manipulated so that either the small letters were made salient by alternating their colors or the large letter was made more salient by blurring the small letters. TMS was also applied to the left parietal lobe in one condition, the right parietal lobe in another condition, and in a control condition, no TMS was applied. Describe this experiment

On each trial of the Mevorach et al. (2006) study, participants named either the little letters or the big letter. Mevorach and colleagues constructed the stimuli such that either the little letters or the big letter were made more salient as described above. Thus, on every trial of the experiment, there was a salient stimulus and a nonsalient stimulus. In addition, TMS was applied to the left parietal lobe in one condition, the right parietal lobe in another condition, and there was a control condition whereby no TMS was applied

Describe the Results of the Mevorach et al 2006 TMS study 

The results showed that when subjects were naming the salient stimulus, the interference effect was greatest when TMS was applied to the right hemisphere, and when subjects were naming the nonsalient stimulus, the interference effect was largest when TMS was applied to the left hemisphere.

What do the results of the TMS study done by Mevorach et al 2006, imply

These results implicated the left parietal lobe as an area that attends to the nonsalient stimulus whereas the right parietal lobe was implicated as an area that attends to the salient stimulus.

Mevorach et al. (2006) used TMS to examine hemispheric differences in object attention. The figure below provides an example of the type of stimulus that was used in the experiment.

On each trial, a single stimulus consisting of local elements (e.g., the Ss) and a global element (the big H) was presented. Participants were instructed to name either the local elements or the global element as quickly and accurately as possible. Suppose that, on a given trial with the stimulus below, the participant was instructed to name the global element (H). (S)he would receive interference from the local elements (the Ss) because they are incongruous with the response. Mevorach et al. measured this interference by comparing the reaction time on a trial like this to one where the stimulus consisted of a

a global H with local H elements

Rees et al. (1997) instructed subjects to attend to words in a language-based task. In addition, subjects were to ignore motion in the periphery, and V5 (a key motion area) was monitored. What did they find?

As the language task became more difficult, activity in v5 decreased

Rees et al. (1997) instructed subjects to attend to words in a language-based task. In addition, subjects were to ignore motion in the periphery, and V5 (a key motion area) was monitored, they found that As the language task became more difficult, activity in v5 decreased. What does this outcome suggest 

demonstrated that there is a limited capacity for information processing in the brain.

With regard to performing actions, the prefrontal cortex is strongly associated with

attention to action that includes monitoring goals, selecting information, and decision making.

Sensory-motor transformation refers to the process of

associating external objects with the body and sensory receptors so that one can act.

How does the principle of contralaterality apply to the primary motor cortex?

For the most part, the left primary motor cortex is used to control the movement of the right side of the body, and the right primary motor cortex is used to control the movement of the left side of the body.

The supplementary motor area could also be referred to as

the medial premotor cortex.

How does the lateral premotor cortex relate to movement?

The premotor cortex is involved in producing movements based on external contingencies

What is an example of how the lateral premotor cortex relates to movement?

suppose that a monkey learns to pull a handle if they see a blue light, but they should rotate the handle if they see a red light. If a lesion is made to the premotor cortex, it will disrupt this type of action. Also, using single cell recording, neurons in the premotor cortex will respond to a cue but not when a voluntary movement is made.

In a study by Gerloff et al. (1997), TMS was applied (separately) to the premotor cortex, primary motor cortex, and the supplementary motor area while the participant was performing one of three tasks. TMS to which areas disrupted performance for a complex sequence of pre-learned button presses.

TMS applied to both the primary motor cortex and the supplementary motor area disrupted performance

The anterior cingulate is associated with which process?

response competition

Describe the technique that Libet and colleagues (1999) used to assess whether we have free will to make a voluntary movement

Libet and colleagues examined this issue via EEG. Subjects were asked to make a conscious decision to flick their wrist. Using a special clock, subjects estimated the time when they decided to move. This estimate was compared to a readiness potential (RP) signal that precedes the wrist movement by about 500 ms. The idea is that if the time estimate of the conscious choice precedes the RP, then this would be indicative of free choice, but if the estimate comes after the RP, then this would be indicative that the decision to move was not voluntary.

What did Libet and collegues find in the experiment used to assess whether we have free will to make a voluntary movement

They found that the RP came before the estimate of the decision to move. Thus, they concluded that movement was not a free choice movement

In lecture, Dr. Cortese discussed different studies that examined the relationship between semantic memory and object-based action via tools. Two early studies (Beauvois, 1982; Lauro-Grotto et al., 1997) found that the functional abilities associated with objects were preserved in patients with semantic impairments. In contrast, Hodges et al., found that the ability to use tools was related to semantic impairment. Dr. Cortese offered an explanation for the discrepant results. What was it?

The studies that did not find a relationship only tested general semantic knowledge whereas the Hodges group tested semantic knowledge for the specific tools they were asked to use. Hodges et al., found that the ability to use tools was directly related to the semantic knowledge that they had for those tools.

What is ideomotor apraxia?

Patients with ideomotor apraxia can describe object-based and other actions, but they cannot actually perform these movements.

What is an example of ideomotor apraxia

Gonzalez Rothi et al. 1991’s patient knew what waving is when asked to describe it, but could not perform the action when asked to wave.

The __________ is thought to be at least partially responsible for storing memories of well-learned actions like playing a well-known tune on a guitar.

supplementary motor area (SMA)

If we look at brain regions anterior to the primary motor cortex, how are they related to action?

The more anterior regions are associated with attention to action rather than movement per se.

In terms of the supervisory attentional system (SAS) model, frontal lobe damage affects the SAS component. Perseveration and utilization are two behaviors exhibited when people have frontal lobe damage. Describe perseveration 

where the behavior continues after the task has been completed. For example, a person may continue to pound a nail with a hammer after the nail has been driven into the wood

In terms of the supervisory attentional system (SAS) model, frontal lobe damage affects the SAS component. Perseveration and utilization are two behaviors exhibited when people have frontal lobe damage. Describe utilization

refers to impulsive acting to environmental cues. In this case, a person may see a hammer and start pounding since a strong association exists between a hammer and pounding