NEUR 380: Association & Cognition

Cerebral cortex

Outer gray matter layer of the brain.

Association cortex

Area for higher cognitive functions.

Primary cortex

Region for basic sensory processing.

Neocortex

Most evolved part of cerebral cortex.

Layer 1

Molecular layer with tract fibers.

Layer 2,3

External layers for intracortical communication.

Layer 4

Receives thalamic inputs via stellate cells.

Layer 5,6

Output layers with large pyramidal cells.

Synesthesia

Cross-wiring of sensory pathways.

Grapheme-color synesthesia

Seeing letters/numbers in colors.

Sound-to-color synesthesia

Colors experienced when hearing sounds.

Lexical-gustatory synesthesia

Tasting words or sounds.

Auditory-tactile synesthesia

Feeling sensations from sounds.

Time-space synesthesia

Visualizing time in spatial arrangements.

Hemispatial neglect syndrome

Neglect of stimuli opposite brain lesion.

Apraxias

Failure to respond to stimuli.

Posterior parietal cortex (PPC)

Integrates sensory information for spatial awareness.

Neuronal response enhancement

Increased firing rates with attention.

Temporal lobe association cortex

Processes auditory and visual information.

Visual agnosia

Difficulty recognizing objects visually.

Prosopagnosia

Inability to recognize faces.

Frontal lobe lobotomy

Severing frontal connections for behavioral control.

Prefrontal cortex (PFC)

Involved in goal-directed behavior.

Linguistics

Study of language and its neural networks.

Stroop task

Color-word interference cognitive experiment.

Stroop effect

Cognitive interference in color naming.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Strengthening of synaptic connections.

Long-term depression (LTD)

Weakening of synaptic connections.

Associative learning

Linking stimuli with responses.

Cognitive processes

Higher-level functions like decision-making.

Cognitive disorders

Disruptions in neural circuits affecting cognition.

Neural plasticity

Ability of synapses to change strength.