Cognitive Psychology

midterm 1

cognitive psychology

the scientific study of knowledge

rationalists

believed knowledge was gained through logical analysis and contemplation. Created theories.

empiricists

believed knowledge was gained through exoerience and observation. Used experiments.

transcendental method

infers an explanation of observable facts by reasoning backward to determine the cause.

structuralism

aims to understand the mind by analyzing perceptions in parts. studies the what instead of the why.

introspection

observing and recording your own conscious thoughts and experiences, part of structuralism.

functionalism

studies how and why the mind works in the way it does. emphasis on real world experiences.

associationism

studies how events are linked and how they affect performance.

behaviourism

studies relationships between observable behaviour and environmental stimuli.

classical conditioning

the idea that a stimulus will produce a response over time if the response is rewarded/reinforced enough times

gestalt psychology

studies the idea that mental processes and behaviours cannot be understood without considering the “whole”.

schemas

mental framework that are important for interpretation and memory (gestalt psychology)

serial processing

an information processing approach that sees mental processes as computer operations, that they happen in a certain order (gestalt psychology)

neurons

signaling cells that transmit electrical and chemical messages

cell body

contains the nucleus and cellular machinery

dendrites

receive incoming chemical signals

axon

carries electrical signals to destination

axon terminals

release neurotransmitters

neurotransmitters

chemical message that is released into the post-synaptic neuron to transmit a signal

presynaptic neuron

release neurotransmitters which cross the synapse

postsynaptic neuron

receive chemical messages (neurotransmitters) from the presynaptic neuron

synapse

the space between two neurons

convergence

signals from multiple sources coming together to influence what happens to one postsynaptic neuron

divergence

one cell has synapses on multiple postsynaptic neurons, allowing branching of signals

resting potential

the charge of a neuron while not actively emitting any signals

excitatory neurotransmitter

causes depolarization (less nagative)

inhibitory neurotransmitter

causes hyperpolarization (more negative)

action potential

electrical signal that travels down the axon

threshold

the amount needed to reach in order for an action potential to fire

all or none response

action potentials only fire if the threshold is reaches, and are always the same magnitude

signal coding

how the brain processes sensory inputs

specialized cells

specific receptors that respond to certain stimuli

receptive field

area in the real world to which certain cells respond

central nervous system

made up of grey matter and white matter

grey matter

contains cell bodies, dendrites, synapses, and glial cells.

white matter

contains myelinated axons

3 areas of the central nervous system

brain, brainstem, spinal cord

3 areas of the brain

hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain

hindbrain

key life functions, balance, sound discrimination and sensory integration. located on top of the spinal cord, medulla, pons, and cerebellum

midbrain

coordinates eye movements, auditory pathway, and pain regulation

forebrain

surrounds the midbrain and most of the hindbrain, includes 2 roughly symmetrical cerebral hemispheres divided by a longitudinal fissure

cerebral cortex

approx. 80% of the brain. covered in bumps (gyri) and grooves (sulci), consists of four lobes

corpus callosum

largest of all commissural fissures that connects the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex

subcortical structures

clusters of important grey matter

thalamus

sensory relay station

hypothalamus

simple motivated behaviours (ex. eating, drinking, sex)

limbic system

consists of the amygdala and hypocampus

amygdala

center for emotional processing

hypocampus

center for learning and memory

primary motor area

in the frontal lobe, has homunculus organization for controlling all body parts

primary sensory area

made of three lobes that control sensory input

parietal lobe

primary touch receptive area (skin sensors)

temporal lobe

primary auditory receptive area

occipital lobe

primary visual receptive area

association areas

specialized subregions taking up 75% of the cerebral cortex, associated with certain functions that can cause complications when damaged

apraxia

movement disorder

agnosia

disorder with identifying objects

aphasia

language disorder

neglect syndrome

ignoring half of the visual world

prefrontal damage

problems with planning, strategic thinking, and inhibition

left hemisphere

responsible for language (vocab and grammar), most of right-handed and left-handed people, and math (exact calculations and number identification)

right hemisphere

responsible for musical ability/perception, spatial processing, language (tone, pace, metaphors), and math (estimation)

contralateral processing

perceiving info on the opposite side of the brain that it occurred in the physical world

ipsilateral processing

perceiving info on the same side as it is being received on

bilateral processing

processing info on both sides (ex visual pathway)

split brain

the result of a lesion of the corpus callosum, severs communication between the two hemispheres

capgras syndrome

firmly believing a loved one has been replaced by an imposter (result of lesion in amygdala and/or prefrontal cortex)

structural imaging methods

provide visual information about the physical properties of the tissue

neuroimaging

structural imaging method specifically for studying the brain tissues

functional imaging

reveal information about the activity of the tissue

fMRI

measures localized changes in blood oxygenation in the brain

PET scan

requires injection of radioactive glucose to see images of brain tissue

MRI

shows the structure of the brain tissues

EEG

records electrical communication in neurons

MEG

detects small magnetic fields associated with electrical signaling of neurons

TMS

magnetic pulse providing temporary lesions to help identify association areas

akinetopsia

bilateral lesions to the visual movement cortex (stop motion film-like vision)

sensation

initial detection of stimuli in the physical world

perception

processes by which we organize and make sense of sensations

pathway of light

light - cornea - lens - retina

photoreceptors

located on the retina - two types (rods and cones)

distal stimulus

a real-world object or stimulus

proximal stimulus

the image projected onto the retina

rods

type of photoreceptor that works in low light settings

cones

type of photoreceptor that focuses on colour vision and visual acuity

foveation

when our peripheral vision can see items close to the fovea more clearly than those towards the outside of the retina

eye neuron comminucation

photoreceptors - bipolar cells - ganglion cells

Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

located in the thalamus, sensory relay station

lateral inhibition

the inhibition of a cell’s neighbouring cells owing to its having been stimulated

dorsal stream

the where system, location of visual objects and guiding of actions, located in the occipital-parietal pathway

ventral stream

the what system, identification of visual objects, located in the occipital-temporal pathway

parvocellular cells

regards spatial analysis information

magnocellular cells

regards motion detection and depth perception information

figure-ground configuration

a visual perception principle where the brain separates a scene into a main focal object and everything behind it

similarity

gestalt principle where we group by like stimuli

proximity

gestalt principle where we group stimuli by closeness

good continuation

gestalt principle where we will perceive stimuli as one continuous blocked object rather than separate objects

closure

gestalt principle where we fill in the blanks to see illusionary contours

simplicity

gestalt principle where we perceive stimuli as the most basic or simple interpretation

perceptual constancy

the brain’s ability to see objects as having standard properties (size, colour, etc), even when the sensory input changes (angle, light, etc)