Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience Flashcards

A set of flashcards covering key concepts in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, research methods, and related topics, based on lecture notes.

The Brain

2% of body weight, Receives 20% of blood pumped from the heart, Consumes 20% of body's energy, Contains 100 billion neurons and 1,000,000 billion synapses, enabling 10^1000000 possible circuits

Science as Evolving Knowledge

A dynamic method for understanding the world that recognizes human fallibility and allows beliefs to evolve with new evidence.

Testable Predictions (Theories)

Meaningful expectations for behavior in new contexts.

Falsifiability

A theory must articulate what cannot occur under its premise; discovery of incompatible data necessitates theoretical revision.

Paradigms

Frameworks guiding research questions, methodologies, and concept definitions, influencing research perspectives.

Miasma Theory

Belief that bad air and smells cause diseases.

Psychodynamic Paradigm

Focuses on internal conflicts and childhood experiences affecting behavior.

Behaviorism

Emphasizes observable behaviors over internal thoughts.

Cognitive Paradigm

Studies internal events as causal factors in behavior, impacting the understanding of psychological processes.

Biological Paradigm

Argues that understanding cognitive processing involves biological processes such as neural activity.

Introspection

Looking inward and reporting one's own mental processes.

Case Study Methodology

In-depth examination of a single individual (often with rare conditions).

Survey-Based Research

Uses structured questionnaires for self-report data.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing behavior in a real-world setting without intervention.

Correlational Research

Examines relationships between two variables.

Experimental Research (Causal Inference)

Uses controlled conditions to test cause-and-effect relationships.

Independent Variable (IV)

The manipulated factor in experimental research.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The measured outcome in experimental research.

Introspection

Looking inward to monitor the contents of one's own mind.

Case Study Methodology

Obtaining in-depth biographical information about an individual, usually retrospectively through interviews.

Miasma theory

Disease believed to be caused by particles suspended in foul odors - miasma - emanating from rotting organic material

Origins of the behaviourists paradigm

Freud urged us to look inward and consider how the unconscious mind influenced our thoughts and behavior

Watson's Methodological behaviourism

Rejected the study of unobservable 'private' phenomena as unscientific, only publicly observable phenomena could be studied scientifically

Skinner's radical behaviourism

Broadened the definition of 'behaviour' to include 'private' events (e.g. thoughts and feelings) as legitimate scientific topics of study

Cognitive paradigm

Placed mental events and representations at the center of psychology

Biological paradigm

Seeks to explain cognition and behaviour in terms of biological processes (e.g. patterns of neural activity)

Introspection

Looking inward and reporting one's own mental processes

Case Studies

Obtaining in-depth biographical information about an individual, usually retrospectively through interviews

Survey-Based Research

Participants respond to fixed sets of questions or statements using rating scales

Naturalistic Observation

Participants are observed performing tasks without specific interventions from researchers

Correlation Research Designs

Seeks to identify relationships among variables and measure the strength of those relationships

Experimental Designs

Participants are randomly allocated to different treatment groups to draw casual inferences

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Founder of psychoanalysis. Foregrounded the role of the unconscious Id, ego, and superego

Features of science

Scientific is grounded in observation

Reliability

How repeatable or consistent a measure is

Validity

The degree to which a measure assesses the thing it is purported to assess

Is the theory general?

A scientific explanation should apply to more than just one specific case

Is the theory parsimonious?

A parsimonious theory provides the simplest possible explanation that suffices to explain all relevant observations

Uncertainty and quantitative measurement

Allows us to put a numerical value on a measurement, quantifies our uncertainty, permits objective measurement by others, allows for comparison

Illustration: dice rolling Implications: inference is uncertain

A study will produce evidence for an effect when there is no true effect to be found -- False positive rate (5%)

Paradigms in Psychology

Lenses for understanding psychological phenomena, influencing interpretation of data, research questions and methodologies

Behavioural Paradigm

Humans are blank slates shaped by environmental experiences. Behavior is a result of learning through reinforcement

Law of Effect

Behaviours followed by positive outcomes are likely to be repeated

Emerged in the 1950s-60s alongside advancements in computing.

Focus on information processing and mental representations.

Biological Paradigm

Focus on the physiological and genetic underpinnings of behaviour and cognition.

Expectation Effects: Placebo Effect

Participants feel better when they believe they are receiving treatment

Hawthorne Effect

Participants change behaviour when aware they are being observed

Stereotype Threat

Performance affected by awareness of societal stereotypes

Operational Definitions

Clarity is critical to ensure accurate measurement of psychological constructs

Lesion Studies

Historical method significant in understanding brain functions. Examines patients with brain damage.

Brain measurement: single-Neuron recording

Involves implanting electrodes into the brain to measures action potentials from individual neurons.

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Non-invasive technique measuring electrical activity in the brain.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Imaging technique that provides detailed brain structure images.

EEG (Electroencephalography)

Electrodes placed on the scalp, typically using a cap with around 64 sensors.

reveals

Brain activity related to sleep, alertness, and arousal through oscillatory brain waves.

Alpha Activity

Oscillations of 8-12 Hz increased when relaxed or sleepy; suppressed during alertness.

Delta Waves

Slow waves associated with deep sleep.

Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)

Reflect brain activity related to specific stimuli. Averages EEG data post-stimulus over multiple trials to represent processing stages.

fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

Measures changes in blood oxygen levels, indicating brain activation.

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Allows for the detection of small electrical currents generated by neurons in the brain

EEG detects

Small electrical signal changes that represent brain activity in real- time

Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)

Brain activity changes linked to auditory processing

The aim of function MRI

Investigate brain function associated with a specific task

Brain measurement is NOT mind-reading

A critical aspect to remember about brain measurement techniques is that brain measurement is not mind reading

Independent variable

Used in scientific experimentation

Dependent variable

What we measure and relates to brain activity e.g. EEG

Reverse inference

Using the dependent variable or brain activity observations deduce about the independent variable

Brain plasticity

The capability of the brain to alter its functional organisation as a result of experience

Neurogenesis and synaptogenesis

Generation of new neurons and synapses (connections)

Spreading activation model

Share connections with neurons that represent related concepts

Synaptogenesis

Generation of new synapses: brain connections

Learning and memory

Long-term potentiation (LTP) Change in the structure of synapses to give stronger signal from pre- synaptic to post-synaptic neuron

Donald Hebb, 1949

Neurons that fire together wire together

Development of Connections

Infants make clumsy movements as they observe their actions and learn from feedback

Brain Organization

Homunculus Organization Primary sensory and motor cortices display this mapping, where the cortex size represents body sensitivity or motor control

Recovery from Injury Following brain injuries, recovery often involves rewiring o

Without Rehabilitation: Area representing the hand in the motor cortex shrinks due to lack of use

Dramatic Case of Reorganization

Primary visual cortex in blind people activates during braille reading, indicating significant reorganization

Cerebrum

Posterior to primary motor cortex and responsible for language, memory, attention

Frontal lobe

Executive functions Reasoning, planning, problem-solving Inhibitory control Working memory

Parietal lobe

Linking vision to action Represents spatial location of objects around us for guiding actions

Occipital lobe

All visual perception Different regions process shape, colour, orientation, motion

Temporal lobe

Perception of sound Language comprehension (Wernicke's area), Limbic system (amygdala and hippocampus

Amygdala

Fear and arousal o Responds to threat/danger (snakes, spiders, angry/fearful faces) o Fear/learning phobias?

Hippocampus

Learning and memory Forming new episodic memories Damage causes anterograde amnesia (cant form new memories of events)

Corpus callosum

Neuron connections between the left and right hemisphere Allows brain communication between hemispheres

Phineas Gage

Important role of frontal lobe for

Broca's aphasia

Speech. Slow and non-fluent Difficulty finding appropriate words (anomia)

Wilder Penfield

Stimulated the brain with electrical probes while the patients were conscious, during surgery for epilepsy

Brainstem- Medulla

Autonomic nervous system functions Control heart-rate, respiration, regulation of blood pressure, body temperature Reflex centres for coughing, sneezing, swallowing, vomiting

"locked-in" syndrome

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or motor neuron disease Loss of motor neurons to spinal cord

Cerebellum

Hind brain (Latin for little brain) Sense of balance and co-ordination of complex movement Motor learning - fine adjustment of movement based on feedback

"Motor Programs" for movement

Movements planned and 'programmed' in the brain before initiation, like a computer program (theory from 1960's)

Sense of agency

When feedback matches predictions from planned actions Brain automatically links sensory events and own-actions to infer causality Sense that my action caused that event

Dendrites

Unique to neurons Receives signals - input zone Many per neuron, receives input from many other neurons

Axon

Unique to neurons Sends signals - output from axon hillock at cell body to axon terminals

Axon terminals

Terminal boutons/buttons Form synapses with other neurons Secrete neurotransmitters to send signals across synapses to other neurons

The myelin of axons

Oligodendrocytes form myelin sheath by wrapping around the axon Essential for efficient communication, for propagation of signals along axon

Synapses

Synapses Axon terminals (neuron 1) to dendrites (neuron 2) 100 billion neurons, each with 10,000 synapses, 1,000 trillion connections

Neuron signals = action potential

Electrical signal pulse travels along the axon Fixed size - either on or off, signal or no-signal

Membrane potential

Difference in the electrical charge (voltage) between inside and outside cell, across cell membrane wall