cognitive psych test 1 study guide - lectures 1 & 2

3 periods of history of cog psych

• introspection - late 1800s

• behaviorism - early to mid 1900s

• cognitive revolution - 1950s to today

introspection

• proposed by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener

• observing your own thoughts when learning to describe and record mental experiences

• problems: some thoughts are unconscious, hard to objectively test claims, problems with replication

behaviorism

• John B Watson

• focused only on behavior and how it responds to stimuli (more measurable than introspection)

• problems: different stimuli → same behavior, same stimuli → different behavior, behaviors often have a mental cause

cognitive revolution

• transcendental method developed by Immanuel Kant

• inference to the best explanation

• reasoning backwards to identify causes of certain patterns of data

according to David Marr, 3 levels of analysis used to describe cognitive phenomena (or any information-processing task)

• computation

• representation and algorithm

• hardware implementation

computation

what the device is able to do and what goals it’s trying to accomplish

representation and algorithm

what rules does the device follow in order for it to work

hardware implementation

how can the representation and algorithm be realized on a physical level

cash register example - computation

the ability to do arithmetic and compute how much items cost in total → master theory of addition

cash register example - representation and algorithm

can choose to use arabic numerals for representation of symbols and basic adding rules with carrying a sum that exceeds 9 for the algorithm

cash register example - hardware implementation

are the digits implemented as positions on a 10-notch wheel or as binary coded decimal numbers implemented in the electrical states of digital logic circuitry (how the numbers are physically shown on the register)

what are the brain’s 3 primary functions

• creating a sensory reality

• integrating information

• producing a motor output

significance of sea slug example

they digest their brain when they don’t need to move

four cortical lobes

frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital

frontal lobe

motor, executive functions like thinking and decision making 

parietal lobe

somatosensory, spatial information

occipital lobe

vision

surface characteristics of cerebral cortex

• bumps called gyri

• valleys called sucli

• major valleys called fissures (separate the lobes)

global characteristics of cerebral cortex

• hemispheres

• commissures that connect the hemispheres

• largest commissure is corpus callosum

primary/projection areas

map where certain cortical structures correspond to certain body parts, locations in space, or pitch and volume (size is prop to importance)

association areas

regions in the brain that integrate and process info from motor and sensory areas (but activity from other senses can change activity in even primary areas)

apraxia

problems with movement

agnosia

problems with identifying objects

aphasia

problems with language

neglect syndrome

ignoring half of the visual field

prefrontal damage

problems with planning and making decisions, often act impulsively

dorsal stream (occipital lobe)

where/how; spatial info

ventral stream (occipital)

what; identifies objects and aspects of objects

subcortical structures

• basal ganglia

• thalamus

• hypothalamus

• amygdala

• hippocampus

basal ganglia

• caudate+putamen+globus pallidus

• voluntary movements

• procedural learning

• habit learning

• cognition

thalamus

relay station for sensory info

hypothalamus

motivated behaviors like eating, drinking, sexual activity

amygdala

emotional processing

hippocampus

memory processing

transcranial magnetic stimulation (tms)

• uses a magnetic pulse to briefly disrupt a function in a targeted brain area

• strengths: non-invasive, minimal side effects, causal evidence, good temporal resolution, okay spatial resolution

• weaknesses: expensive, not available everywhere, people with seizures or schizophrenia can’t use it

electrical encephalography (eeg)

• electrode cap records change in voltage at scalp

• strengths: excellent temporal resolution, non-invasive, wide variety of uses

• weaknesses: poor spatial resolution, sensitive to noise/movement, can’t go too deep into the brain

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

• measures relative volume of oxygenated blood

• strengths: good spatial resolution, non-invasive, wide range of applications

• weaknesses: temporal resolution is only okay, expensive and time-consuming, susceptible to noise/movement

positron emission tomography (pet)

• uses radioactive tracers (isotopes) to visualize and assess metabolic activity in body

• strengths: highly sensitive → can detect early signs of disease, functional imaging

• weaknesses: temporal and spatial resolution is only okay, radiation exposure, high cost and time

fusiform face area (ffa)

• ventral stream, temporal lobe

• activation when recognizing faces, no activation when recognizing houses

parahippocampal place area (ppa)

• ventral stream, temporal lobe

• activation when recognizing houses, no activation when recognizing faces

neuron

cells that communicate through electrochemical signals to produce sensation, perception, thoughts, and behavior

glial cells

• massive support system of cells

• do not use electrochemical signals

• guide development of nervous system

• repair damage

• controls nutrient flow

• electrical insulation speeds up signal transmission

white matter

• lighter-colored interior of cerebral cortex

• packed with fatty myelin that surrounds axons and speeds up action potential

gray matter

• form outer layers of cortex

• consists of cell bodies

action potential

electrical signal that a neuron sends along the axon; all or nothing response

synapse

tiny gap that separates one neuron from another

what happens at a synapse

neurons communicate across them by releasing electrochemical neurotransmitters that produce an electrical effect in the next neuron