pnb 2xa3 midterm 1

Cognition

Cognition

Mental actions/ processes of acquiring knowledge & understanding, through thought, experience & senses

Patient HM

Hippocampi removed, destroyed the ability to form new memories

Introspectionism

Examination of one's conscious thoughts & feelings. Doesn't help w unconscious thoughts. Claims often untestable/ unattainable. Ex. claim that my head hurts more than yours cant be tested

Wund & Titchener

Concluded only way to study thoughts was through meticulously trained introspection

Behaviorist Movement/ Behaviorism

Concerned w how behavior changes in response to diff stimuli . rewards/punishments. Behaviorists sought to avoid mentalistic terms (terms for processes/ representations of mind)

Transcendental Method (Kant)

determine underlying causes that lead to observed effects

Begin w observable facts & work backwards

Asks how observations come about & what must be underlying cause that led to these effects

Watson

Behaviorist focused on baby behaviour. Conscious experience subjective, unreliable & unverifiable. Not necessary to refer to psych processes to understand behaviour

Edward Tolman

Argued that learning involved acquisition of knowledge. Researched rats' use of cognitive maps. 10 days in maze, no food, roaming (learning map). 11th day, food added, rats immediately found food bc of cog map

Skinner

Behaviorist, developed theory of operant conditioning by training rats & pigeons. learning of voluntary behaviours and their consequences to guide goal directed behaviour. Theoretical constructs are meaningful to extent they can be observed

Chomsky

Developmental theorist, argued for creativity of language. Believed language innate, we understand & produce sentences we've never encountered before. Creativity demanded theorizing

Broadbent

Use comp sci language as model for cognition

Response Time (RT)

Time (ms) for a person to respond to an event

Cognitive Neuroscience

Understanding a person's mental functioning through the study of the brain & nervous system

Clinical Neuropsychology

Study of brain functions using damage/illness disruptions as a data source

Neuroimaging Techniques

Non-invasive methods to examine structure/activation within living brain

Prefrontal Cortex

The cortex of the frontal lobe. Planning of complex & novel behaviors (brain's executive functions)

Hindbrain

Connects brain to spinal cord. Controls life functions

Cerebellum

Controls coordination of body movements & balance, sound discrimination, spatial reasoning & coordinated sensory input

Midbrain

Coordinates movements & relays info from ears to forebrain for processing & interpretation

Forebrain

Contains cortex, frontal, parietal, occipital & temporal lobes

Hypothalamus

Control of motivated behaviours (eating, drinking & sexual activity)

Thalamus

Relay & integration center for sensory info

Amygdala

Almond-shaped, in limbic system. Emotion & evaluation of stimuli

Hippocampus

Long-term memory & spatial memory

Cortex

Outermost surface of brain

Convolutions

Gyri & sulci that increase surface area of brain

Longitudinal Fissure

Deepest groove, separates cerebral hemispheres

Central Fissure

Separates frontal & parietal lobes

Lateral Fissure

Separates frontal & temporal lobes (A.K.A Sylvian fissure)

Cerebral Hemisphere

2 Sides of forebrain (left & right)

Frontal Lobes

In front of Central Sulcus Fissure & above lateral fissure. Prefrontal cortex & primary motor projection area

Parietal Lobes

Behind central fissure. Primary sensory projection & areas for control of attention

Occipital Lobes

Rearmost lobe. Primary visual projection area

Temporal Lobes

Under lateral fissure. Primary auditory projection area, Wernicke's area & subcortically, amygdala & hippocampus

Subcortical Structures

Pieces of brain under cortex, Limbic system, thalamus & hypothalamus

Limbic System

Amygdala, hippocampus & parts of thalamus. Controls emotional behaviour, & motivation. Role in learning & memory

Commissure

Fibers that connect & send info between 2 cerebral hemispheres

Corpus Callosum

Largest commissure

Lesion

Area of brain tissue damage

Neuroimaging Techniques

Non-invasive methods for studying structure/activation of living brain areas

CT Scan

X-rays to make precise 3D images of brain anatomy

PET Scan

Determines glucose usage in specific areas of brain at a moment of time

MRI Scan

Magnetic fields create a detailed 3D representation of brain tissue

fMRI Scan

Measures oxygen use in specific area of brain at moment in time, using magnetic fields

EEG

Recording voltage at scalp that reflect activity in brain underneath

Event-Related-Potentials (ERP)

Changes in EEG voltage before, during & after stimulus. Measured & averaged over many trials

Fusiform Face Area

Brain area specialized for perception of faces

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulations (TMS)

Strong magnetic impulses cause temporary disruption in brain region under scalp

Localization of Function

Determining job performed by specific region of brain

Primary Motor Projection Area

Rear of frontal lobe, send signals to lower portions of brains & spinal cord, results in muscle movement

Primary Sensory Projection Area

1ary arrival point for info from eyes, ears & sense organs

Contralateral Control

Left brain side controls right body, right side of brain controls left body

Association Cortex

Portion of cortex outside of motor & sensory projection areas

Apraxia

Struggle in organizing/initiating voluntary action caused by brain damage

Agnosia

Inability to identify objects/features

Unilateral Neglect Syndrome

Ignore all inputs from one side of space. Ex. only eat food from one side of plate, read blouse as "blo"

Aphasia

Disruption of language capacities caused by brain damage

Neuron

Cell in nervous system

Glial cells

support, nourish & provide insulation for neurons, most common cell type in CNS. Ensures all neurons are functioning properly & contributing to larger whole

Cell Body

Contains nucleus & metabolic machinery of cell

Dendrites

Receives signal

Axon

Transmits signal to other neurons

Neurotransmitter

Chemicals released by neurons to stimulate other neurons

Synapse

Connection between neurons

Presynaptic Membrane

Releases neurotransmitters into gap between neurons

Postsynaptic Membrane

Receives neurotransmitters from gap to continue transmitting signal

Threshold

Activity level where neuron fires

Action Potential

Change in electrical potential of neuron. Trigger further chem signal to other neurons

Myelin Sheath

Tissue formed by glial cells that insulate axons, prevent loss of signal. Gaps between myelin allows signal to jump, increases transmission speed

All-or-None Law

Action potential either goes to completion or doesnt happen. Action potential strength determined by frequency, not size

Coding

1 type of info represents diff type of info. Ex. Neurons represent ideas/thoughts

Cornea

Transparent tissue, begins focusing process

Lens

final focusing of light on retina, turns view upside down & reverse (corrected by brain)

Retina

Light-sensitive tissue at back of eye, Begins translation & processing of light to neural impulses

Photoreceptors

Translate physical light stim into neural signal relayed to brain. Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) gives nutrients to photoreceptor layer for survival

2 kinds of photoreceptors:

Rods & Cones

Rods

Low light intensity, night vision. No color & poor visual acuity. Concentrated around fovea, none in fovea. Useful in peripheral vision. 125 million. Visual sensitivity & night vision

Cones

High light intensity, day vision. Color vision & good visual acuity. Concentrated in fovea. Useful in central/concentrated vision. 6 million. Visual acuity & color vision

Acuity

Ability to see fine detail

Fovea

smaller receptive field in center of retina, highest acuity

Bipolar Cells

Type of neuron in eye, relay input from photoreceptors into output to ganglion cells

Ganglion Cells

Type of neuron in eye, receive input from bipolar cells. Axons gather, form optic nerve, carry info to LGN

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN)

Located at end of optic tract in thalamus; 1st destination for visual info from eyes

Lateral Inhibition

Cell pattern that inhibits neighbouring cells when stimulated. Edge cells only inhibited by one side, so they're more activated, causing edge enhancement.

Edge Enhancement

Neurons in visual system give enhanced response to edges/surfaces

Mach Band

Illusion where region slightly darker if next to bright region & region slightly brighter if next to dark region. Caused by lateral inhibition, contributes to edge enhancement

Single-Cell Recording

Technique for recording moment-by-moment activation level of individual neuron in healthy brain

Receptive Field

Portion of visual field to which visual system cell responds. FIring rate changes if appropriately shaped stim in appropriate position

Center-Surround Cells

Neuron in visual system w donut-shaped receptive field . Stim in middle has one effect on cell, stim in surrounding has opposite effect

Area VI

Site on occipital lobe where LGN axons 1st reach cerebral cortex. Location where info about visual world 1st reaches brain ( for 1 neural pathway)

Parallel Processing

Many steps at same time

Serial Processing

1 step at a time (in series)

What System

Visual Cortex to temporal lobe, what processing (object recognition)

Where System

VIsual Cortex to parietal lobe, where processing (object spatial & movement)

Binding Problem

Reuniting multiple elements of scene that were dealt with by diff brain systems

Neural Synchrony

Neurons in diff brain areas fire at same time. Diff brain areas firing neurons in response to same stim

Conjunction Errors

Error where person correctly perceives present features but misperceives how features are joined. Ex. red circle & green square seen as red square & green circle

Necker Cube

Ambiguous shape, 2D shape seen as 2 possible 3D cubes

Reversible (Ambiguous) Figure

Drawings that can be perceived in 1+ ways

Figure/Ground Organization

Determining central object (figure) vs background (ground)