mbb1 stuff

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

mental representations

contents in the mind that stand for some object, event, or state of affairs

Turing test

A test proposed by Alan Turing in which a machine would be judged "intelligent" if the software could use conversation to fool a human into thinking it was talking with a person instead of a machine.

Chinese Room Argument

An argument against the Turing test (and functionalism) that contends that computers are merely syntax-manipulating devices and have no grasp of semantics and the meaning of what they do.

semantic network

represents knowledge in a hierarchal system of relationships between concepts and their properties expressed propositionally

Shepard and Metzler

mental rotation

Collins and Quillian

Concepts are coded in propositional form expressing relationships and properties

learning

a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

sensitisation

Temporary state of heightened attention and responsibility that accompanies sudden and surprising events.

habituation

a gradual reduction in the strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation

conditioning

the process of learning associations

during conditioning

Neutral stimulus NS + Unconditioned stimulus UCS \= Unconditioned response UCR

before conditioning

unconditioned stimulus; unconditioned response

after conditioning

conditioned stimulus; conditioned response

stimulus generalization

the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

watson and rayner

Little Albert experiment

skinner box

A small enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response that is systematically recorded while the consequences of the response are controlled.

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

positive reinfrocement

add something nice to increase a behavior

negative reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli.

positive reinforcer

any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response

negative reinforcer

any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

partial reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time

punishment

any event or object that, when following a response, makes that response less likely to happen again

positive punishment

adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior

response cost

punishment by loss of reinforcers

negative punishment

taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behavior

positive punisher

adding a stimulus to decrease behavior

negative punisher

removing a stimulus to decrease a behavior

contingency

relationship between the behaviour and the punisher which must be clear

continuity

the punisher must follow the behaviour swiftly

consistency

the punisher needs occur for every occurrence of the behaviour

antecedent

a thing or event that existed before or logically precedes another

behaviour

Any observable action made by a living person

consequence

the result of an action

latent learning

learning that remains hidden until its application becomes useful

Albert Bandura

Bobo doll experiment

social cognitive learning theory

learning by observing the behavior of another person, called a model

memory

the ability to store and retrieve information over time

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model

A model for describing memory in which there are three distinguishable kinds of memory (sensory, short term, long term) through which info passes in a sequential way as it is processed.

sensory memory

A type of storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less.

short term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

attention

focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events

overt attention

shifting attention from one place to another by moving the eyes

covert attention

shifting attention from one place to another while keeping the eyes stationary

saccades

quick eye movements from one fixation point to another

attentional capture

occurs when attention is attracted by the motion of an object or stimulus

salience

the quality of being noticeable

attentional capture

Occurs when stimulus salience causes an involuntary shift of attention.

Binding problem

Problem with feature detection theory regarding how all of different aspects of feature detection are assembled together and related to a single object. This problem is solved by visual attention.

Feature Integration Theory (FIT)

the theory that the brain solves the binding problem by selectively attending to one object and ignoring any others

illusory conjunction

a perceptual mistake where features from multiple objects are incorrectly combined

rostral/anterior

front of brain

Caudal/posterior

back of brain

dorsal/superior

top of brain

ventral/inferior

bottom of brain

lateral

side of brain

medial

toward the midline

corpus callosum

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

contralateral connections

Right side of cortex is connected to the left side of the body and vice versa.

Homotopic

connects corresponding regions of the two hemispheres

Heterotopic

Communicates to different brain regions

Ipsilateral

on the same side of the body

Callosotomy

Surgical disconnection of the corpus callosum

Forebrain

cerebrum, thalamus, hypothalamus

Midbrain

Tectum and tegmentum

Hindbrain

pons, medulla, cerebellum, oblongata

Telencephalon - cerebral cortex

subdivision of the forebrain and consists of the limbic system, basal ganglia and cerebral cortex

Telencephalon: Basal Ganglia

caudate, putamen, globus pallidus

Limbic system

hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, basal ganglia

Soma (cell body)

contains nucleus

Dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

Axon

A threadlike extension of a neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.

myelin sheath

a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next

Axon terminal buttons

release chemicals during a synapse

Action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Membrane potential

voltage across a membrane

Polarised

Membrane with a potential difference across it.

Hyperpolarised

The condition of a membrane that is more highly polarised than the usual resting state. The resting potential is lower than usual.

Depolarised

Describes the membrane of a nerve cell when there is no difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the membrane

refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

resting membrane potential

the electrical charge of a neuron when it is not active

hyperpolarized

when the membrane potential is more negative

Rate Law of Action Potentials

firing rate of a neuron and number of neurons firing represent intensity of impulse

all or none law

principle that the action potential in a neuron does not vary in strength; the neuron either fires at full strength or it does not fire at all

Terminal button

axon terminal containing synaptic vesicles

Synaptic cleft

a gap into which neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal

Pre synaptic neuron

The neuron that sends the impulse

Post synaptic neuron

neuron that receives the signal

Synaptic vesicles

saclike structures found inside the synaptic knob containing chemicals

microtubles

long strands such a spindle fibers that move chromosomes

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers

Neurotransmitter reuptake

after neurotransmitter excites or inhibits a receptor it separates from the receptor, ending the message and is reabsorbed by the axon that released it

excitatory neurotransmitter

neurotransmitter that causes the receiving cell to fire

Glutamate

excitatory neurotransmitter

inhibitory neurotransmitter

neurotransmitter that causes the receiving cell to stop firing

GABA

inhibitory neurotransmitter

neural integration

the ability of your neurons to process information, store and recall it, and make decisions