BBB - Chapter 1 Introducing Cognitive Neuroscience

Penfield procedure

A surgical procedure used to remove an epilepsy focus while the patient remains conscious so important brain functions can be monitored.

Cognition

The set of higher mental processes involved in thinking, perceiving, remembering, imagining, speaking, acting and planning.

Cognitive neuroscience

The study of how cognitive processes are implemented by brain mechanisms.

Mind–body problem

The question of how physical brain activity gives rise to mental experiences such as thoughts, emotions and sensations.

Penfield stimulation

Electrical stimulation of the brain that produces mental experiences rather than a sensation of the brain itself being stimulated.

Phrenology

The discredited theory that personality and cognitive abilities can be inferred from the shape of the skull.

Information processing

An approach that describes cognition as a series of stages through which information is transformed.

Cognitive processes

Mental operations involved in thinking, perceiving, remembering and other forms of cognition.

Dualism

The view that the mind and body are separate substances.

Dual aspect theory

The view that mind and body are different ways of describing the same underlying reality.

Reductionism

The view that mental processes can ultimately be explained entirely in physical or biological terms.

Modularity

The idea that specific cognitive functions are carried out by specialized cognitive systems or brain regions.

Domain specificity

The idea that a cognitive process or brain region is dedicated to processing one particular type of information.

Interactivity

The principle that later stages of processing can influence earlier stages before processing is complete.

Top-down processing

The influence of higher-level cognitive processes on lower-level processing.

Bottom-up processing

The flow of information from simple features to more complex representations.

Parallel processing

The simultaneous processing of multiple sources of information.

Neural network models

Computational models in which cognition emerges from interactions between many interconnected nodes.

Nodes

The basic processing units of a neural network that respond to activity from other nodes.

Spatial resolution

The precision with which the location of brain activity can be measured.

Temporal resolution

The precision with which the timing of brain activity can be measured.

Functional specialization

The principle that different brain regions are specialized for different functions.

Cognitive neuropsychology

The study of brain-damaged patients to understand the organization of normal cognition.

Connectome

A complete map of neural connections within the brain.

Graph theory

A mathematical method used to analyze patterns of connectivity within a network.

Recording methods

Methods that measure brain activity without directly altering it.

Stimulation methods

Methods that directly influence brain activity to investigate its role in cognition.

Invasiveness

The extent to which a method physically interferes with the body or brain.

Structural imaging methods

Methods that provide detailed images of brain anatomy and structure.

Non-invasive brain imaging

Brain imaging techniques that study the brain without surgery or direct access to brain tissue.

Effects of brain damage

Evidence for the brain–mind relationship based on cognitive changes following damage to specific brain regions.

Effects of drugs on the brain

Evidence for the brain–mind relationship based on changes in cognition caused by substances that affect the brain.

Network approach

The view that cognition emerges from interactions among multiple interconnected brain regions.

Functional integration

The idea that cognitive functions arise through cooperation between different brain regions.

Theories in cognitive neuroscience

Explanations that predict and account for patterns of data to explain how cognition is implemented by the brain.

Limit of brain mapping

The limitation that brain-mapping methods can identify where cognition occurs but not fully explain how it occurs.