Cognitive Psychology~ Neurobiology primer

What is the difference between the terms "mind" and "brain" ?

The mind is a function of behavior whereas the brain is a physical organ.

List all the levels of study in Cog-neuroscience starting the the highest functioning/most complex layer

Context, Individual differences, Experience, Emotions, Brain regions, Neural communication and Hormones

What part do neurons play in the flow of information in the brain?

Transmission, Reception and Creation of information

What are the four main components of a neuron?

Dendrites, Axon, Cell body and Synapses

What was the term given to the school of thought regarding brain information: outlined as a system of connective tissue with no hierarchy that fires continuously?

Nerve Nets

What is the term given to the school of thought regarding brain information: outlined as a system of individual cells, with hierarchy, which only connect to other specific cells?

Neuron Doctrine

True or false? the Neuron Doctrine says that all individual cells fire continuously, all the time.

False

Who founded the Neuron Doctrine?

Ramon Y Cajal

What is Proprioception?

The internal feeling of movement in the body

What is Nociception?

The feeling of pain

Who was the first person to record electrical activity at the axon level in 1920?

Edgar Adrian

What is the name given to the electrical potential of a neuron that has a negative electrical charge INSIDE the axon?

Resting

What is the name given to the electrical potential of a neuron that has a positive electrical charge INSIDE the neuron?

Action

What is the rate of firing in a neuron that is experiencing low intensity stimulus?

Slow

What is the rate of firing in a neuron that is experiencing high intensity stimulus?

rapid

Why do Neuroscientists tend to only record neurons related to touch and sight?

Because they can consciously control the stimulus

What is the part of the neuron that helps to bridge the gap and pass information on to other neurons?

Synapse

What form of "communication" happens at the synapses between two neurons?

Biochemical

What is the name for the hormones that are secreted at the synapse?

Neurotransmitters

If the mind simulates a representation of reality what must be true at the neuron level?

Everything we experience must have a representation at the neuron level

What is the name given to the neurons that respond best to a specific stimulus?

Feature detectors

Give an example of a feature detector?

Neurons in the visual cortex

Who were the two scientists that proved that different feature detectors perceive different information about features of objects. (They used cats in their study).

Hubel and Wiesel

What is the area of the brain that specifies in facial detection?

Fusiform Gyrus

What does Experience defendant plasticity mean for feature detectors?

As we progress in our experiences, we hone in our feature detectors

What is the term given to the process that perceives information in a specific order. Moving from lower to higher functioning areas in the brain?

Hierarchical Processing

What is the general trend in neural processing as stated by hierarchical processing?

Moves from low complexity to high complexity

What is the process that deals with the representation of sensory information in the neurons?

Sensory Coding

What type of coding is represented by a specific neuron that fires for its given stimulus?

Specificity

What type of coding is represented by multiple neurons firing simultaneously for its given stimulus?

Population

What type of coding is represented by a pattern of a small group of neurons firing in a circuit for its given stimulus?

Sparse

Which is the most efficient type of sensory coding?

Sparse

What directions are Superior and inferior referring to in the brain?

Above and Below

What directions are Anterior and Posterior referring to in the brain?

Front and back

What directions are Lateral and Medial referring to in the brain?

Outside and inside

What is meant by localisation of function?

That specific functions occupy specific areas in the brain

What functions occupy the frontal lobe?

Motor control, Executive control and abstract thinking

What functions occupy the parietal lobe?

Sensory cortex, attention, creativity and knowledge integration

What functions occupy the occipital lobe?

Visual cortex

What functions occupy the temporal lobe?

Memory, language and hearing

Why is the temporal lobe the least understood area of the brain?

The area appears warped/inaccurate on MRI and other brain imagery

What functions occupy the cerebellum?

Movement co-ordination, balance, rhythm and proprioception

What is the special property of the cerebellum when there is damage to other lobes/centres?

It takes over other functions in the brain when there is damage to other lobes

What functions occupy the brain stem?

Biological functions like breathing and heart rate

Give an example of process that has functions found in two different areas of the brain?

Language production and comprehension

What is the name of the area that produces language in the frontal lobe?

Brocca's area

What is the name of the area that comprehends language in the temporal lobe?

Wernicke's area