Cognitive Psychology Chpt. 1

1. observe

2. record

3. hypothesize

4. analyze

5. report

scientific method steps

cognitive psychology

the science of how the mind is organized to produce intelligent thought and how the mind is realized in the brain

intellegence

the ability to recall facts, solve problems, reason, learn and use language

1. intellectual curiosity

2. Implications for other fields

3. Practical applications

Motivations for studying cognitive psychology (3)

empiricism

position of philosophical thought that posits all knowledge comes from experience (Locke, Berkley)

nativism

position of philosophical thought that posits knowledge is innate (Descartes, Kant)

introspection

a methodology much practiced at the turn of the 20th century in Germany that attempted to analyze thought into components through self-analysis

behaviorism

theory that psychology should be concerned only with behavior and not refer to mental constructs underlying behavior

Gestalt Psychology

an approach to psychology that emphasizes principles of organization that result in holistic properties of the brain that go beyond the activity of their parts

cognitive revolution

broad movement in psychology beginning in the 1950s moving away from behaviorism and toward the scientific study of cognition

1. Research on human performance

2. computer (AI) development

3. linguistics - study of language structure

3 main influences of the cognitive revolution

information theory

abstract way of analyzing the processing of info

cognitive science

feild that attempts to integrate research efforts from psychology, philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, and AI

information processing approach

an analysis of human cognition into a set of steps for processing an abstract entity called “information”

1. no reference to the brain

2. processing of information has a highly symbolic character

3. comparable to computer processing

4. measurement of time to make decision is critical, happens in discrete stages

4 features of classic information processing approach

replicability crisis

in psychology (and other fields), finding that experimental results with a p value below .05 are not replicated with the experiment is repeated

Sternberg paradigm

an experimental procedure in which participants are first presented with a memory set consisting of a few items and then must decide whether various probe items are in the memory set

1. encode (perceive)

2. compare to memory set

3. make decision

4. generate response

4 steps of the Sternberg paradigm

dualism

a philosophical position that posits the mind and body are separate kinds of entities

cognitive neuroscience

the study of the neural basis of cognition

neuron

cell that receives and transmits signals through electrochemical activity

synapse

the gap between a terminal bouton of the axon of one neuron and a dendrite of another neuron

neurotransmitter

chemical that crosses the synapse from the axon of one neuron and alters the electric potential

dendrites

short branches attached to the soma of a neuron that form synapses with the terminal boutons of axons of other neurons; they act as an input radar system

soma

cell body of a neuron made up of cell parts and fluid

axon

long tube extending from the soma of a neuron and branching into terminal boutons that form synapses with dendrites of other neurons, provides the fixed path by which neurons communicate with each other

releasing neurotransmitters

neurons communicate by….

excitatory synapses

synapse in which the neurotransmitter released by the terminal bouton of the axon decrease the potential difference across the membrane of the dendrite of the receiving neuron

inhibitory synapses

synapse in which the neurotransmitter released by the terminal bouton of the axon increase the potential difference across the membrane of the dendrite of the receiving neuron

action potential

a sudden change in electrical potential that travels down the axon of a neuron

a. soma

b. dendrites

c. axon

d. nucleus

e.axon hillcock

f. arborizations

g. terminal boutons

h. myelin sheath

Name the parts of the neuron

a. pyramidal cell

b. cerebellar Purkinje cell

c. motor neuron

d. sensory neuron

Name the types of neurons

1. membrane potential can be more or less negative

2. rate of firing - the number of action potentials an axon transmits per second

2 quantities of neural representation of information

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

spinal cord

part of the central nervous system that carries motor messages from the brain to the muscles and sensory messages from the body to the brain

neocortex

part of the cerebral cortex and the most recently evolved portion of the brain, associated with our panda mind or Kahneman’s system 2

cerebral cortex

outer layers of the brain consisting mainly of neocortex but also other more primative structures

gyrus

outward bulge of the cerebral cortex

sulcus

an inward crease between gyri

primative

lower brain parts closer to the brain are more _______

medulla

lower brain part that maintains homeostasis

cerebellum

lower brain part that coordinates smooth movement (walking, talking, etc.)

pons

lower brain part that connects the cerebellum to the rest of the brain

midbrain

brain part that uncounsiously detects motion, orients visual and audiotory perceptions, and is associated with instincts

higher species

high brain parts only develop in …

hypothalamus

higher brain part responsible for mamilllian instincts like sex, hunger, and puberty

pituitary

higher brain part responsible for releasing hormones and thermoregulation

optic nerve

higher brain part responsible for taking in visual stimuli

cognition

all processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used (Neisser)

Mid 1960s

cognitive psychology is born/formalized in ____

doctrine that states that the brain is made up of individual units, the ____

neuron doctrine

frequency modulation (fm) not amplitude modulation (am)

electrical energy in our neurons changes in _________ not _________

a. neocortex

b. thalamus

c. optic nerve

d. pituitary

e. hypothalamus

f. midbrain

g. pons

h. cerebellum

i. medulla

Name the brain parts

1. Occipital

2. Parietal

3. Temporal

4. Frontal

4 cortical regions of the brain

left hemisphere

hemisphere responsible for linguistic and analytic processing

right hemisphere

hemisphere responsible for perceptual and spatial processing

corpus callosum

broad band of fibers connecting the right and left hemispheres

broc’s area

area of the brain critical for speech. Damage to this area often results in errors with grammar

wernick’s area

area of the brain critical for speech. Damage to this area often results in semantic or vocabulary errors

topographic organization

principle of neural organization in which adjacent areas of the cortex process information from adjacent parts of the sensory feild

Electrocephalography (EEG)

a direct measurement of electrical activity of the brain using electrodes on the scalp. Can be used to measure various states of consciousness (ie: sleep)

Event related potentials (ERPs)

changes in electrical activity at the scalp in response to an external event as measured by EEG

Magnetencephalography (MEG)

a direct measurement of magnetic fields produced by electrical activity in the brain

Positron emission tomography (PET)

method for determining the location of neural activity by measuring metabolic activity in different regions of the brain with the use of a radioactive tracer

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

method for determining location of neural activity by measuring magnetic field produced by the iron in oxygenated blood in the brain (indirect measurement)

hemodynamic response

the flow of oxygenated blood to a region of the brain that has greater activity

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

a method for determining the function of a brain region: a magnetic field is applied to the surface of the head to disrupt the neural processing in that region

BOLD response (blood oxygen level dependent)

a measure of the amount of oxygen in the blood in fMRI studies

1. Brainstem/Midbrain - physiological brain

2. Limbic System - emotional brain

3. Cortex - rational, human brain

Brain Anatomy in Three Parts

a simple neural tube

The central nervous system of all chordates begins with…

Blastula

hollow, 3 layer ball of cells present at the beginning of human development which goes onto form the neural tube

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

The functions of the neural tube are organized similarly to which model?

Forebrain

region of the brain made up of the thalamus, hypothalamus, and pituitary that supports the 4 Fs (fight, flight, feed, fornication) and mammalian parenting

Thalamus

region of the brain with more advanced sensory processing than the midbrain telling us what and where something is

Limbic System

area of the brain referred to as our emotional brain or “monkey mind” that allows for short cuts and intuitive responses

Cortex

area of the brain referred to as our rational, human brain or “panda mind” that supports high level perception and cognitive processing

Occipital Lobe

cortical region of the brain responsible for visual perception (color, motion, texture)

Parietal Lobe

cortical region of the brain responsible for touch (pressure and pain) and spatial orientation

Temporal lobe

cortical region of the brain responsible for hearing (speech/language) and memory

Frontal lobe

cortical region in which the frontal area is responsible for executive functioning (problem solving, planning) and the back area is responsible for movement

ENIGMA

The German WWII cipher coding device was called the ______ machine

1850s

When did Donders complete his reaction-time experiment?

Alan Turning

What was the name of the British Mathematician who broke the German U-Boat code?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

A neural imaging technique that involves measuring the brain tissue’s water content by measuring hydrogen density using magnetism, which depicts brain structures well

Advantages and disadvantages of MRI/fMRI

Advantages: best for spatial resolution and studying complex multi-step takss

Disadvantages: slow so poor temporal resolution

Advantages and Disadvantages of EEG

Advantage: better at time/ temporal resolution than MRI, best for studying brief cognitive tasks

Disadvantage: not good at spatial resolution as MRI

Advantages and Disadvantages of MEG

Advantage: Equally as good at time/temporal resolution as EEG, better at spatial resolution

Disadvantage: Not as good at spatial resolution as MRI, more expensive than EEG

fMRI is less intrusive, measures over longer periods of time, and has finer temporal and spatial resolution

Why is fMRI preferred over PET?

Noematachograph

machine created by Donders to measure reaction time of cognitive tasks

Hippocrates

prominent figure from ancient Greece who found a clear correlation between structure and function

nucleus

part of the neuron that houses the DNA

axon hillock

part of the neuron where the action potential is initiated

myelin sheath

part of the neuron that provides insulation for the axon allowing action potentials to travel faster

arborizations

part of the neuron that allows for multiple inputs

terminal boutons

part of the neuron that holds neurotransmitters