Cognitive Chapter 2-Cognitive Neuroscience

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Action potential

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Propogated electrical potential responsible for transmitting neural information and for communication between neurones. Action potentials typically trail down a neuron's axon.

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Axon

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Part of the neuron that transmits signals from the cell body to the synapse at the end of the axon.

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Brain imaging

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Technique such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fmri) that results in images of the brain that represent brain activity. In cognitive psychology, activity is measured in response to specific cognitive tasks.

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Broca's area

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An area in the frontal lobe associated with the production of language. Damage to this area causes Broca's aphasia.

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Cell body

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Part of a cell that contains mechanisms that keep the cell alive. In some neurones, the cell body and the dendrites associated with it receive information from other neurons.

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Cerebral Cortex

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The 3mm thick outer layer of the brain that contains the mechanism responsible for higher mental functions like perception, language, thinking and problem solving.

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Cognitive neuroscience

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Field concerned with studying the neural basis of cognition.

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Dendrites

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Structures that branch out from the cell body to receive electrical signals from other neurons.

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Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

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A technique, based on detection of how water diffuses along the length of nerve fibers, for tracing nerve pathways and determining connections.

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Distributed represenation

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Occurs when a specific cognition activates many areas of the brain.

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Double dissasociaton

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A situation in which single dissociation can be demonstrated in one person and the opposite type of single dissociation an be demonstrated in another person (Person 1: function A is present, function b is damaged; Person 2: function a is damaged, function b is present)

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Extrastriate body area (EBA)

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An area int he temporal cortex that is activated by pictures of bodies and parts of bodies, but not by faces or other objects.

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Feature detectors

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Neurons that resound to specific visual features such as orientation, or the more complex features that make up environmental stimuli.

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Frontal lobe

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The lobe in the front of the brain that serves higher functions such as language,thought, memory, and motor functioning

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Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI)

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A brain imaging technique that measures how blood flow changes in response to cognitive activity.

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Fusiform face area (FFA)

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An area in the temporal lobe that contains many neurons that respond selectively to faces.

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Hierarchical processing

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Processing that occurs in a progression from lower to higher areas of the brain.

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Level of analysis

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A topic can be understood by studying it at a number of different levels of a system

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Localization of function

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Location of specific functions in specific areas of the brain. For ex, areas have been identified that are specialized to process information involved in the perception of movement, form, speech, and different aspects of memory.

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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

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Brain imaging technique that creates images of structures within the brain.

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Microelectrode

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Small wires that are used to record electrical signals from single neurons

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Nerve impulse

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AKA Action potential. An electrical response that is propagated down the length of an axon.

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Nerve net

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A network of continuously interconnected nerve fibers

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Nerve circuit

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Group of interconnected neurons that are responsible for neural processing

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Neural network

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Groups of neurons or structures that are connected together.

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Neural representation

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Everything a person experiences is based on representations in the person's nervous system.

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Neuron

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Cell that is specialized to receive and transmit information in the nervous system.

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Neuron doctrine

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The idea that individual cells called neurons transmit signals in the nervous system, and that these cells are not continuous with other cells as proposed by nerve net theory.

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Neuropsychology

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The study of the behavioural effects of brain damage in humans.

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Neurotransmitter

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Chemical that is released at the synapse in response to incoming action potentials.

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Occipital Lobe

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The lobe at the back of the brain that is devoted primarily to analyzing incoming visual information

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Parahippocampal place area (PPA)

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An area in the temporal lobe that contains neurons that are selectively activated by pictures of indoor and outdoor scenes.

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Parietal lobe

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The lobe at the top of the brain that contains mechanism responsible for sensations caused y stimulation of the skin and also some aspects of visual information.

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Population coding

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Neural representation of a stimulus by the pattern of firing of a large number of neurons.

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Prospoganosia

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Condition caused by damage to the temporal lobe that is characterized by an inability to recognize faces.

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Receptors

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Specialized neural structures that respond to environmental stimuli such as light, mechanical stimulation, or chemical stimuli.

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Recording electrode

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When used to study neural functioning, a very thin glass or metal probe that can pick up electrical signals from single neurons.

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Reference electrode

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Used in conjunction with a recording electrode to measure the difference in charge b/w the two. Generally placed where the electrical signal remains constant, so any change in charge b/w the recording and references electrodes reflect events happening near the tip of the recording electrode.

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Resting potential

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Difference in charge b/w the inside and outside of a nerve finer when the finer is at rest.

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Retina

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A network of neurons that lines the back of the eye. The transformation of light into electrical signals and the initial processing of visual information occur in the retina.

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Sensory code

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How neural firing represents various characteristics of the environment.

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Sparse coding

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Neural coding based on the pattern of activity in small groups of neurons.

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Specificity coding

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The representation of a specific stimulus by the firing of neurons that respond only to that stimulus. An example would be signalling of a person's face by the firing of a neuron that resounds only to that person's face.

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Synapse

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Space b/w the end of an axon and the cell body or dendrite of the next axon.

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Temporal Lobe

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on the side of the brain. contains mechanisms responsible for: language, memory, hearing and vision.

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Visual cortex

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Area in the occipital lobe that receives signals from the eyes.

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Voxel

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Small cube shaped areas in the brain used in the analysis of data from brain scanning experiments.

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Wernicke's area

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Area in temporal lobe associated w/understanding language.