Cognitive Science key Concepts Midterm

Chapter 1: 

Interdisciplinary: the study of multiple concepts as one 

The big 6: Philosophy, computer science, psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, anthropology

Information processing: an approach that aims to explain how information is encoded into memory 

Representation: represent information about the world around us 

• Bearer: a computational structure or state that realizes a mental representation

• Content: refers to the “what” that a mental representation stands for

• Referent: a real-world object or property that a representation stands for

• Grounding: the capacity to interact autonomously with that world of objects, events, actions, properties and states that their symbols are systematically interpretable 

• Interpretability: the degree to which a human can predict the outcome of a model or understand the reasons behind its decisions

Computation: act on, manipulate, and transform information 

• Input: the information that is received by the brain 

• Processing: the active manipulation and transformation within the mind 

• Output: the result of a computation, or the information that is conscious to a person  

Chapter 2:

The Mind/Body Problem: the philosophical question of how our mental experience relate to the physical states of our brain 

Dualism: idea that the mind and body are distinct entities 

The Interaction Problem: challenge of explaining how a non-physical mind (mental states) can causally interact with a physical body (brain activity) if they are considered to be two separate entities 

Monism: idea that the mind and body are one and the same, or different manifestations of the same reality 

Multiple Realizability: the phenomenon of one cognitive kind or process being actually or possibly realized by more than one relevantly different physical realizer 

Functionalism: describes mental states by what they do, not what they are made of 

Behaviorism: theory that focuses on observable behavior and environmental stimuli

Conditioning: learning process where an organism develops an association between two stimuli

Latent Learning: process of acquiring information without any immediate reinforcement or obvious behavioral change 

Cognitive Map: a mental representation of physical environment

Chapter 3: 

Brain Structure basics

• Forebrain (including cerebral cortex) 

  • Frontal lobe: executive functions like planning, decision making, and personality

  • Parietal lobe: processing sensory information

  • Temporal lobe: hearing, language comprehension, and memory

  • Occipital lobe: visual processing

• Midbrain 

• Hindbrain (including cerebellum and brainstem)

Lesion-deficit method: research approach where scientists study patients with brain damage (lesions) to identify which brain regions are associated with specific cognitive functions by correlating the location of the lesion with the observed behavioral deficits  

Aphasia: language disorder where a person has difficulties with understanding and producing spoken or written language

MRI and fMRI

• MRI: primary neuroimaging technique used to study brain activity during cognitive tasks 

• Brain imaging technique that measures brain activity during specific tasks 

BOLD signal: “blood oxygen level dependent” signal measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging 

Functional Specialization: the concept that different areas of the brain are dedicated to specific cognitive functions 

Plasticity: the brain's ability to change and adapt its structure and function in response to new experiences, learning, or environmental stimuli 

Connectome: a comprehensive map of all neural connections within the brain 

Corpus Callosum: a crucial structure that enables communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain 

Contralateral Organization: the arrangement where one side of the brain primarily controls the opposite side of the body 

Split Brain: a condition where the corpus callosum, the bundle of nerve fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brian, is severed, effectively isolating the left and right brain from each other

Chapter 4: 

Computation: the approach of studying the mind and its cognitive processes by using computational models and simulations 

Formal Systems: an abstract, rule based structure used to model cognitive processes, typically employing a set of symbols, axioms, and inference rules to represent and manipulate information 

Stimulation vs. Instantiation 

• Stimulation: techniques or activities designed to actively engage and enhance cognitive functions like memory, attention, reasoning, and perception 

• Instantiation: the process of bringing a general concept or idea to life by applying it to a specific, concrete example 

Levels of analysis: Computational, Algorithmic, Implementational

• Computational the highest level of understanding a cognitive process, focusing on the problem that needs to be solved, the goal of the computation, and why it is important to solve that specific problem 

• Algorithmic: the level of explanation that focuses on the specific steps, procedures, or algorithms used to solve a cognitive problem 

• Implementational: the level of explanation that focuses on the physical mechanisms and neural structures within the brain that actually carry out a cognitive process 

Multiple Realizability: refers to the idea that a single mental state or cognitive process can be implemented by various different physical systems 

Chapter 5: 

Mental Representations: internal symbols that represent external objects, events, or concepts 

Semantic Properties: the meaningful characteristics of a mental representation, essentially describing the meaning or conceptual content associated with a particular idea, object, or concept, allowing us to understand and interpret information within a cognitive system

Concepts: mental representations of categories or ideas 

Propositions: the smallest units of meaning that express a complete thought, acting as a statement that can be evaluated as true or false 

Mental Maps: a cognitive representation, essentially a mental model, that an individual uses to store and navigate information about the relative locations and attributes of things in their environment

Mental Imagery: ability to create and experience sensory perceptions without external stimuli 

Aphantasia: a condition where individuals lack the ability to voluntarily generate mental images 

Mental Rotation: the cognitive ability to mentally imagine an object being rotated in space  

Analog Representation: mental model where information is stored in a format that directly mirrors the structure of the real world 

• Continuous nature  

Digital Representation: a mental representation that is structured in a discrete, binary manner 

• Discrete nature 

• Symbolic representation

Approximate Number System: a mental system that allows humans and animals to estimate quantities without relying on symbolic numbers or language

Weber’s Law: the “just noticeable difference” between two stimuli is a constant proportion of the intensity of the original stimulus

Subitizing System: the cognitive mechanism that allows individuals to rapidly and accurately perceive the number of objects in a small set without needing to count them 

Successor Function: refers to the fundamental concept that every number has a unique “next” number

Chapter 6: 

Halting Problem: refers to the theoretical concept, derived from computer science, that there can be no definitive algorithm to determine whether a given cognitive process will eventually reach a conclusion or if it will become stuck in an endless loop

Turing Machine: a mathematical model that has been used by cognitive scientists to understand the human mind  

Automatic Machine: a theoretical model of the mind that operates on information without conscious awareness or effort

Determinacy Condition: condition that determines whether a system is determinate or indeterminate

Church-Turing Thesis: a fundamental principle in computer science that helps explain how the brain might work 

Multiple Realizability: the phenomenon of one cognitive kind or process being actually or possibly realized by more than one relevantly different physical realizer 

Turing Test: a thought experiment that measures a machine’s ability to think like a human 

Frame Problem: occurs when an AI system is unable to correctly identify the relevant information in a given situation

Searle’s Room: a thought experiment devised by philosopher John Searle, where a person inside a room follows rules to manipulate Chinese characters without understanding their meaning 

• Simply processing symbols according to rules does not equate to genuine understanding, thus challenging the idea that a computer program 

Complexity Problem: the challenge of explaining how simple neural mechanisms within the brain can give rise to intricate and multifaceted cognitive abilities like decision making, language understanding, and reasoning