Cog Psych 2

What is cognitive neuroscience?

The study of the physiological basis of cognition.

What did the nerve net theory propose?

That the nervous system was a continuous network rather than separate individual cells.

What did Camillo Golgi contribute to the study of the brain?

He developed a silver nitrate staining technique that allowed individual brain cells to be seen.

What did Santiago Ramon y Cajal conclude about the structure of the nervous system?

The brain is made up of individual cells called neurons that are not physically continuous with one another.

What is the neuron doctrine?

The idea that individual neurons transmit signals in the nervous system and are separate from one another.

What is the main function of the cell body?

It is the metabolic center of the neuron and keeps the cell alive.

What is the main function of dendrites?

They receive signals from other neurons.

What is the main function of an axon?

It transmits signals away from the neuron to other neurons.

What is a synapse?

The gap between the end of one neuron's axon and the dendrites or cell body of another neuron.

What are neural circuits?

Groups of interconnected neurons.

What are receptors?

Specialized neurons that pick up information from the environment, such as information detected by the eye, ear, or skin.

What is the resting potential of an axon?

Approximately -70 mV.

What is an action potential?

The electrical signal triggered when a neuron reaches threshold, which travels down the axon.

What happens to the height and shape of an action potential as it travels down the axon?

It travels without changing its height or shape.

What is a neurotransmitter?

A chemical released when an action potential reaches the synapse that can be picked up by another neuron.

What did Edgar Adrian discover about neural firing and stimulus intensity?

Increasing stimulus intensity increased the rate of neural firing while the height and shape of the individual signals remained the same.

How is stimulus intensity represented by neural firing?

Primarily through the rate of neuronal firing; stronger stimulation produces a higher firing rate.

A neuron changes from -70 mV to -80 mV. What type of potential is occurring?

Hyperpolarization.

A neuron changes from -50 mV to +40 mV. What type of potential is occurring?

Depolarization.

What does repolarization refer to?

The process of a neuron's charge returning toward its resting state after depolarization.

A bright light produces a faster rate of neuronal firing than a dim light. What principle does this demonstrate?

Stimulus intensity is represented by the rate of neuronal firing.

What is specificity coding?

The idea that a particular object is represented by a specialized neuron that responds only to that object.

Why is specificity coding considered unlikely?

It would require an enormous number of highly specialized neurons to represent all possible objects and experiences.

What is population coding?

Representing an object through the pattern of firing across a large number of neurons.

What is sparse coding?

Representing an object through the pattern of firing across a small number of neurons, with a particular neuron able to respond to more than one stimulus.

What is the key difference between population coding and sparse coding?

Population coding uses a large number of neurons, while sparse coding uses a small number of neurons.

A different single neuron responds to each different object. Which type of coding does this describe?

Specificity coding.

Many neurons fire together when you see one person's face, while a different large group fires when you see another person's face. Which type of coding does this describe?

Population coding.

A small group of neurons produces one pattern for a backpack and another small group produces a different pattern for a laptop. Which type of coding does this describe?

Sparse coding.

What is localization of function?

The idea that specific functions are served by specific areas of the brain.

What is neuropsychology?

The study of the behavior of people with brain damage.

What is the occipital lobe primarily associated with?

Vision.

What does contralateral processing mean in relation to vision?

Information from one side of the visual field is processed primarily by the opposite side of the brain.

What is the temporal lobe associated with in this chapter?

Hearing and the auditory cortex.

What is the parietal lobe associated with?

The somatosensory cortex and perception of touch, pressure, and pain.

What is the frontal lobe associated with?

Coordinating information from the senses and higher-order cognitive functions such as thinking and problem solving.

What is prosopagnosia?

The inability to recognize faces, including one's own face.

What brain damage is associated with prosopagnosia?

Damage to the lower-right portion of the temporal lobe.

What is a double dissociation?

A pattern in which damage affecting one function leaves another function intact, while damage in another person produces the opposite pattern.

What does a double dissociation demonstrate?

That two functions can depend on different mechanisms that operate independently of one another.

Why is finding a double dissociation useful for studying localization of function?

It provides evidence that two abilities are supported by different brain mechanisms.

What did Tsao's 2006 research find?

About 97% of neurons in a small area of a monkey's lower temporal lobe responded to pictures of human faces but not other objects.

What brain area is associated with Tsao's face-responsive neurons?

The fusiform face area.

What does MRI show?

The structure of the brain.

What is a major limitation of MRI for studying cognition?

It shows brain structure but does not indicate neural activity.

What does fMRI measure in relation to cognition?

Changes associated with brain activity during cognitive tasks.

Why does blood flow increase in an active brain area during a cognitive task?

Active brain areas require increased blood flow, which can be detected through changes involving hemoglobin.

What is the fusiform face area (FFA) associated with?

Processing faces.

What impairment can result from damage associated with the FFA?

Prosopagnosia, or difficulty recognizing faces.

What is the parahippocampal place area (PPA) associated with?

Perceiving pictures representing indoor and outdoor scenes.

What is the extrastriate body area associated with?

Perceiving pictures of bodies and body parts, excluding faces.

What are feature detectors?

Neurons that respond to specific features of a stimulus, such as its shape or orientation.

A neuron responds to the shape of a notebook while another responds to its orientation. What type of neurons are these?

Feature detectors.

What is distributed representation?

The idea that a particular cognitive function can involve activity across many brain structures.

How does distributed representation relate to localization of function?

Individual brain areas can have specialized roles while complex cognitive functions involve activity across multiple brain structures.

You see a dog and activity occurs in the frontal, occipital, and temporal lobes. What does this illustrate?

Distributed representation.

The cerebellum becomes active while coordinating a balancing pose. What does this illustrate?

Localization of function.

Why can localization and distributed representation both be true?

Specific brain regions can specialize in particular functions while complex cognition requires multiple regions working together.

Why does seeing a rolling red ball involve distributed brain activity?

The brain must process multiple qualities of the ball, including its shape, color, movement, and location, using multiple neural systems.

What cognitive functions is the precuneus associated with?

Self-referential processing, theory of mind, episodic memory retrieval, episodic foresight, and autobiographical memory.

What cognitive processes is the insula associated with?

Addictive behaviors, emotion processing and arousal, decision-making, awareness of bodily states, and pain processing.

What processes is the anterior cingulate cortex associated with?

Affective processing, reward, cognitive control and reappraisal, emotion regulation, and conditioned learning.