Boom cognitive midterm

Cognitive psychology

Dynamic process of acquiring storing manipulating and retrieving information

Information processing model

Sensory input → processing → behavioural output

Learning systems

Systems with capacity to learn show flexible human-like behaviour

Basic research

Research aimed at understanding phenomena without practical use

Basic research examples

Rhythm perception working memory joint attention

Applied research

Research aimed at solving real-world problems

Applied research examples

Cochlear implants exercise memory autism joint attention

Human factors

Applying psychological findings to system design

LLM large language model

Machine trained on data to generate human-like text

Neuroscience approach

Study brain to understand abilities

Cognitive neuroscience

Combination of cognitive psychology and neuroscience

Computational modelling

Simulating brain or behaviour

Ontology

Study of what exists

Mind-body problem

Relationship between mental events and physical brain

Dualism

Mind immaterial brain material

Monism

Only one substance exists

Physicalism

Only physical brain exists

Idealism

Only mental things exist

Neutral monism

Mind and brain are same unknown thing

Pragmatic materialism

Behaviour and mind explained by physical brain processes

Cognition vs performance

Cognition unobservable performance observable

Structuralism

Breaking cognition into basic sensations

Introspection

Controlled self-report of conscious experience

Structuralism limitations

Unreliable not replicable hard to generalize

Cortical blindness

No visual experience despite functioning eyes

Blindsight

Behavioural visual perception without awareness

Behaviourism

Focus on stimuli and responses treating mind as black box

Stimulus

Sensory input

Response

Behavioural output

Behaviourism limitations

Two simplistic cannot explain latent learning, instinct or cognitive flexibility

Function

Maps input to output

Algorithm

Rules guiding function

Binary encoding

Information coded as 1s and 0s

Flashed face distortion effect

Rapid faces appear distorted

Stroop effect

Colour naming slowed by conflicting words

Serial position effect

Better recall for beginning and end

Primacy effect

Better recall of early items

Recency effect

Better recall of late items

Experiment

Controlled test of variables

Independent variable

Manipulated variable

Dependent variable

Measured variable

Correctness

Accuracy of response

Threshold

Smallest detectable change

Reaction time

Time to respond

Speed accuracy tradeoff

Faster responses reduce accuracy

Trial

Single repetition

Central nervous system CNS

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system PNS

Nerves outside CNS

Somatic nervous system

Voluntary movement and reflexes

Autonomic nervous system

Involuntary control

Sympathetic nervous system

Fight or flight

Parasympathetic nervous system

Rest and digest

Reflex action

Spinal cord mediated response

Cerebrum

Largest brain structure

Cerebral cortex

Outer grey matter layer

Gray matter

Neuronal cell bodies

White matter

Layer of cortex made up of Axonal Nerve tracts under the Grey matter

Hippocampus

Long-term memory formation

Encephalization quotient EQ

Brain size relative to body size

Dorsal

Top of brain

Ventral

Bottom of brain

Anterior frontal

Front of brain

Posterior/caudal

Back of brain

Contralateral

Opposite side control

Gyri

Cortical folds

Sulci

Cortical grooves

Fissures

Deep grooves

Hemisphere

Left or right cerebrum

Corpus callosum

Connects hemispheres

Left hemisphere

Language dominance

Right hemisphere

Spatial processing

Occipital lobe

Vision

Temporal lobe

Hearing and object recognition

Frontal lobe

Planning and movement

Parietal lobe

Sensory processing

Exteroception

Sensing external environment by the five basic senses

Interoception

Sensing internal body

Proprioception

Limb position sensing

Nociception

Pain perception

Equilibrioception

Balance perception

Glial cells

Support and maintain neurons

Soma nucleus

Determines firing

Nodes of Ranvier

Signal jumps

Presynaptic terminal

Releases neurotransmitters

Sensory neurons

Input to CNS

Motor neurons

Output to muscles

Association neurons

Receiving info from neurons and sending info to other neurons. Neuron that receives their input and outputs to other neurons.

Neural convergence

Multiple neurons send signals to a single neuron

Specific encoding

Single neuron codes stimulus

Sparse encoding

Small group codes stimulus

Neuropsychology

Linking brain damage to behaviour

Aphasia

Language impairment from brain damage

Broca’s aphasia

Slow effortful speech

Wernicke’s aphasia

Fluent meaningless speech

Split brain

Severed corpus callosum

Neuropsychology limitations

Single cases non-isolated damage

ERP

Event-related brain response

Mismatch negativity MMN

neural response for expectation violation. (expecting one thing but not getting that thing).

EEG strength

High temporal resolution

EEG limitations

Low spatial resolution inverse problem