Cog Sci 1 Midterm 1

ventral pathway

"what" pathway object recognition and form representation BOTTOM

dorsal pathway

"where" pathway process object's spatial location/relation relative to viewer and speech repetition TOP

brain imaging methods

1. CAT scan 2. MRI 3. PET scan 4. fMRI 5. MEG

2 types of brain damage study types

1. case studies (Phineas Gage) 2. lesion studies (rodents, primates studied)

Marr's 3 Levels of Analysis

1. computational theory: functional goal of visual system is to determine shape of objects 2. representation and algorithm: looking at images and breaking it down into smaller parts 3. hardware implementation: neurons

ways to categorize

1. exemplar approach 2. feature approach 3. prototype approach

2 types of neurons

1. myelinated: travels 40 tp 300 mph 2. unmyelinated: travels 2 mph (useful for pain, cold, uncomfortable feelings)

ways to study brain's electric activity

1. single cell recording 2. multiple-unit recording 3. EEG 4. ERP (event related potential)

analogy (CRUM)

4 stages of analogical reasoning: 1) comprehension of target problem 2) remembering similar source of problem for which solution is already known 3) source and target are compared and mapped 4) source problem is adapted to produce a solution to target problem

90% 10%

90% of info passes to V1 10% passes to superior colliculus

Herman Helmholtz

A German scientist who was the first to measure the speed of nervous system signals.

levels of cognitive science

Biology -> Computational Neurobiology -> Connectionism -> Computation -> Cognition and Language

Clive Wearing

British musician with 7-second memory due to damage to amygdala and hippocampus (medial temporal lobe) 30 second memory span can only recognize his wife worst case of amnesia ever known

structural neuroimaging techniques

CT and MRI

Pierre Flourens

First person to study the functions of the major sections of the brain through animals and said that not one place where all functions "live" in brain

Herman Ebbinghaus

He was a German psychologist who pioneered the experimental study of memory, and is known for his discovery of the forgetting curve and the spacing effect. He was also the first person to describe the learning curve.

Karl Lashley

He was an American psychologist and behaviorist well-remembered for his influential contributions to the study of learning and memory. His failure to find a single biological locus of memory in the rat's brain (or "engram", as he called it) suggested to him that memories were not localized to one part of the brain, but were widely distributed throughout the cerebral cortex.

in the metaphor "love is a journey", this word is the source:

Journey Target is abstract, source is concrete

semantic memory

LTM contains complex structure (network) that includes components such as concepts, rules, and words which help us understand ideas, solve problems, use language linked to limbic cortex

Wilder Penfield

Neuro-mapped somatosensory and motor cortex performed operations where brain of awake person was put under local anesthesia

2 rule based cognitive systems

SOAR (states, operator, and results) ACT-R (adaptive control of thought-rational)

2 proteins in back of retina that can determine of you can have frontal temporal dementia

TDP 43 pregranulin

hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

a body system involved in stress responses

node of ranvier

a gap in the myelin sheath of a nerve, between adjacent Schwann cells

dendrites

a neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

relational reasoning

ability to consider relations between mental representations enables abstraction from specifics to general concepts and rules inferences

exemplar approach

accumulation of already encountered experiences to form categories if you encounter something that resembles one category you assign it to that category things within category very different: sparrow vs. flamingo vs. ostrich

cortical functions

activities of the outer layer of the brain's gray matter

sensory store

aka register incoming sensory information remains very briefly before decaying and being completely lost most common senses = vision and hearing

action potnetial

all or nothing, once it hits -50mv, it fires, does not lose any energy as it moved down neuron

feedback loops with HPA axis

amygdala --> positive feedback hippocampus (regulated by cortisol) --> negative feedback

Carl Wernicke

an area of the brain (in the left temporal lobe) involved in language comprehension and expression was named for him because he discovered it

Broca's area

area in the left frontal lobe that helps you with the expression of language

lesion

area of damage in brain

long-term memory

associated with change in synaptic connections (abundance of connections)

function of temporal lobe

auditory processing, learning, emotional processing, remembering

part of brain implicated in voluntary motor control and action selection and procedural memory

basal ganglia

part of brain needed for muscle memory

basal ganglia and motor cortex

where are concepts represented in brain?

basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex

where are rules represented in brain?

basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex

concepts (CRUM)

basic structure in cognition, intertwined with categories

improving memory: mental excersizes

brain games, crossword, sudoku have not found transfer effect to real life

cortex

brain's outer layer

axon terminals

branches at the end of the axon

iconic memory

brief persistence of visual impression "streak of light"

concepts

build relationships between thoughts elements of reason constitute meaning of words and linguistic expression

chunks

capacity can be increased by grouping items into meaningful chunks 7 +- 2 chunks

extrastriate cells

cells in visual cortex

V2 cells

cells tuned to simple properties: orientation, spatial frequency, color

synaptic pasticity

changes in structure or biochemistry of synapses required for learning in nervous system

stress and myelin in hippocampus

chronic stress means more myelin producing cells less neurons than usual stronger connection with amygdala

improving memory: learn something new

cognitive reserve: learn new things to create connections so when you have brain damage you have this reserve as backup

achromatopsia

color blindness, can't perceive or recollect color in brain not eyes

synthenesia

condition where people see numbers, letters, etc as colors, sounds, tastes, etc.

axon hillock

cone shaped region of an axon where it joins the cell body area of neuron where action potentials being to propogate

improving memory: where are you

context dependent principle states that recall is better if retrieval context is similar to encoding context

Endel Tulving's model

contrasts two types of declarative memory: semantic memory and episodic memory memory is made up of STM and LTM LTM is made up of declarative and procedural memory declarative memory is made up of semantic and episodic memory

David Marr

contribution to vision science: model of vision contribution to cognitive science: levels of analysis

nucleus

control center of the cell

neurogenesis

creation of new neurons

function of frontal lobe

decision making, personality, problem solving, planning, thinking/reflecting

optic ataxia

deficit with visually guided reaching, trouble figuring out next motion step

microglia

digest parts of dead neurons 7% of glial cells "janitor"

complex cells of visual cortex

directional sensitivity located in V1, V2, V3 regions

Paul Broca

discovered area in the brain (named for him) in the left frontal lobe responsible for language production

Hubel and Weisal

discovered simple and complex cells in visual cortex in V1

two visual pathways from primary cortex

dorsal and ventral

akinetopsia is associated with

dorsal pathway

optic ataxia is associated with

dorsal pathway

V3 cells

dorsal vs. ventral V3

amygdala

emotion and fear processing

improving memory: state-dependent principal

emotional state should be the same as when studying and taking test

metacomponents

executive processes that plan, monitor, evaluate problem solving

functional neuroimaging techniques

fMRI, EEG, MEG, ERP, PET, TMS

prosopagnosia

face blindness, inability to recognize familiar faces

depolarization

first step in action potential propagation where point along axon becomes more positive

improving memory: brain foods

fish, blueberries, veggies, chocolate, coffee

unsevered brain

for vision and movement, brain uses left side of BOTH eyeballs to see left and vice versa

Roger Sperry

found that cutting corpus collosum for epileptic patients limited epilepsy to one side, buy led to hemispheric disparity

William James

founder of functionalism studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

short-term memory

functional changes in existing synaptic connection 7-30 seconds

superordinate level

general category "furniture"

cause of Alzheimer's

glial cells don't do their jobs

eustress

good stress that motivates and focuses energy

extrastriate cortex

group of functional areas in visual cortex consist of areas V3 to V5

H.M.

had epilepsy so had hippocampus removed so he could not form new memories

nocebo effect

harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm

improving memory: excersize

helps with cerebral flow larger hippocampus which means better at memory tasks

improving memory: don't worry

high stress stops neurogenesis hippocampus sensitive to cortisol

multiple unit recording

highly invasive method to check brain's electric activity, uses a larger electrode to record the activity generated by several neurons

single cell recording

highly invasive method to check brain's electric activity, a technique used in research to observe changes in voltage or current in a neuron In this technique an animal, usually anesthetized, has a microelectrode inserted into its skull and into a neuron in the area of the brain that is of interest. The electrode measures the changes in charge as the neuron reaches its action potential.

lesion to _____ causes anterograde amnesia

hippocampus

part of brain needed for episodic memory

hippocampus

grandmother neuron

hypothetical neuron that represents a complex but specific concept or object

types of sensory memory

iconic memory and echoic memory

retinographic organization

images go through thalamus (sensory gateway) which contains LGN LGN makes everything you see into component parts info from eyes → retina → optic nerve → LGN in thalamus → LGN processes info → optic radiation → primary visual cortex → extrastriate cortex → dorsal and ventral pathways

performance processes

implement commands of metacomponents

anterograde amnesia

inability to crease new memories subsequent to disruptive event

amusia

inability to recall familiar music

retrograde amnesia

inability to remember past events that occurred before the one that caused amnesia

afantasia

inability to see the world/think in images

permanent structure

includes basic memory stores likened to computer being operated by programmer at remote console

optic chiasm

info from left visual field of left eye goes through this structure into right hemisphere of brain

chronograph

instrument capable of recording short durations and rapid changes

perception

interpretation or understanding of sensory experiences

CAT scan (now CT scan- computerized tomography scan)

invasive multiple x-rays to construct 3D image

PET scan (positron emission tomography)

invasive technique that uses a radioactive drug (tracer) to show how tissues and organs are functioning medium temporal resolution high spacial resolution

knowledge-aquisition components

involved in gaining new knowledge

aphasia

language loss

left hemisphere function

language processesing

putamen

large subcortical structure, part of the basal ganglia

myelin sheath

layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next

Franz Gall

led to hypothesis that various functions are localized in particular physical structures phrenology looked at how people with big eyes could memorize easily

where are propositions represented in brain?

left hemisphere

contralateral

left hemisphere processes what is seem on right right processes left left hemisphere in charge of language and speech

where are analogies represented in brain?

left prefrontal cortex

Where is Wernicke's area located?

left temporal lobe

stress and prefrontal cortex

less control and inhibition of stress response more cortisol loss is prefrontal cortex function lower concentration, decision making, working memory

IPSP (inhibitory postsynaptic potential)

less likely to generate action potential

chronic stress leads to

less neurogenesis and lower cognitive performance

physiology

life processes and functions

control processes

likened to programs the programmer can write at console which specify what the computer is to do

part of brain needed for semantic memory

limbic cortex

Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal

stress on hippocampal function

lower long term potentiation in hippocampus less dendritic length and less branching in hippocampus less ability to inhibit cortisol secretion

EPSP (exitatory postsynaptic potential)

makes postsyn, neuron more likely to fire action potential

long-term store

material retained over long period of time information transferred/consolidated from short-term memory to here

hyperpolarization

membrane potential becomes more negative, under -70

procedural memory

memory contained within learned skills or modifiable cognitive operations associated with basal ganglia and motor cortex

declarative memory

memory that is directly accessible to conscious recollection facts and events

episodic memory

memory that stores occurrences of events that are part of a series of events (each is a distinct event) mediated by hippocampus

three kinds of mental processes involved in thinking

metacomponents, performance processes, knowledge-acquisition components

epigenetics

modifying gene expression changes in mother's DNA led to changes in babies

in-utero transmission

moms can transmit stress to fetus while in womb

environment's impact on stress (licking and grooming)

more LG = more comfortable in new environment, more receptors for cortisol in hippocampus so more inhibition of stress response less LG = more cortisol

prototype approach

most central member of category different culturally/geographically more flexible than feature because if you remove a feature, category still makes sense

akinetopsia

motion blindness, damage of MT region flipbook with missing pages

right hemisphere function

movement on left side of body

models of memory

multicomponent model of working memory multi-store model of memory Tulving's model of memory

neuron

nerve cell

electric stimulation

neurons stimulated and resulting behavior is studied, used for Parkinson's disease

elaboration

new information is linked to associations already in long-term store

Kim Peek

no left/right hemisphere --> all one thing born without corpus callosum remeberd 98% of everything vs normal 45%

ERP (event related potential)

noninvasive average of many EEG trials to factor out other brain activity and focus on a particular response measurement of electric potentials in brain in response to specific events good temporal activity low spatial resolution

MEG (magnetoencephalography)

noninvasive measures faint magnetic fields generated by electric currents from brain activity good temporal low spatial

EEG (electroencephalogram)

noninvasive imaging technique that measures gross electrical brain activity of entire brain shows brain's electrical activity by positioning electrodes over the scalp good temporal activity low spatial resolution

fMRI (functional MRI)

noninvasive measures brain activity by measuring oxygenated blood flow by comparing successive MRI scans low temporal resolution (takes short amount of time) high spacial resolution (accurate)

TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation)

noninvasive method to excite neurons in the brain, weak electric currents are induced in tissue by rapidly changing magnetic fields medium temporal low spatial

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

noninvasive soft tissue structure measured by alignment of protons within powerful magnet low temporal resolution high spatial resolution

introspection

observation of one's mental processes

where are images represented in brain?

occipital lobe

types of glial cells

oligodendroglia, astrocyte, microglia

spacial relations

ones ability to perceive the relationships of objects to each other and to oneself in space

when patients are shown "KEY" in left visual field and "RING" in right visual field what can they read?

only the word "RING" because right visual field crosses to left hemisphere where language is processed

simple cells of visual cortex

orientation detectors located in V1 (primary visual cortex)

basic level

overall perceived shape fast identification first learned most common "chair"

prefrontal cortex

part of frontal lobe responsible for thinking, planning, and language

improving memory: self-reference effect

people recall more information when they try to relate that information to themselves

V5 cells

perception of motion, integration of local motion signals into global percepts and guidance of some eye movements MT region

engram

physical location of memory

motor cortex

planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements

Wernicke's area

posterior portion of left hemisphere involved in language function

phrenology

predicting people's abilities or personality traits by measuring the bumps on their skulls, Franz Gall

exocytosis

process which allows vesicles to bind to cell wall and transport neurotransmitters out of the cell

modal memory model

proposed by Atkinson & Shiffrin distinction between permanent, structural features of the system and control processes that can be readily modified pr reprogrammed at the will of the subject

multicomponent model of working memory

proposed by Baddeley and Hitch 1. perceived sounds of speech: phonological loop 2. visual and spacial information: visuospatial sketchpad 3. attention control system: central executive which supervises and integrated information from first two and info from long-term store

oligodendroglia

provide insulin (myelin) to neurons majority (76%) of glial cells produce myelin sheath central nervous system

Eric Kandel

provided evidence for involvement of Hebbian learning mechanisms at synapses in a type of slug using classical conditioning

Phineas Gage

railroad worker who survived a severe brain injury that dramatically changed his personality and behavior; case played a role in the development of the understanding of the localization of brain function, damage to frontal cortex

superior colliculus

receives visual sensory input key area in "10" or "unconscious" visual pathway

temporal resolution

refers to the accuracy with which one can measure when an event is occurring

spatial resolution

refers to the accuracy with which one can measure where an event is occurring

invasiveness

refers to whether or not equipment is located internally or externally better temporal/spacial resolution means higher invasiveness

Wiliam Wundt

regarded as the father of psychology established first psychology research lab

hippocampus

region in temporal lobe associated with memory

occipital lobe

region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information

parietal lobe

region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch

thalamus

relay center through which sensory nerves transmit signals from the spinal cord and brainstem on the way to the cerebral cortex

Ungerleider and Mishkin (1982)

removing a money's temporal lobe made it difficult to identify an object removing a monkey's parietal lobe made it difficult to determine an object's location found what and where pathways

rehearsing

repeating information needed only temporarily

Elizabeth Loftus

said memory is maleable (eyewitness studies)

2 types of declarative memory

semantic and episodic

Atkinson Shiffrin Model of Memory

sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory

central sulcus

separates frontal and parietal lobes

function of simple and complex cells in visual cortex

simple is orientation complex is direction

general intelligence (g)

single capacity that relates to all of the abilities involved in tasks of an intellectual nature

sovant syndrome

someone with mental disability shows exceptional skill in something

synaptic cleft

space that neurotransmitters traverse between neurons

sense receptors

specialized cells that convert physical energy in the environment or the body to electrical energy that can be transmitted as nerve impulses to the brain

propositions (CRUM)

specify all possible relationships between concepts, more representational power, "Mary has black hair"

rules (CRUM)

specify relationships between propositions, if-then structures, "If it is raining, then I need an umbrella"

feature approach

specify those characteristics of a category that are both necessary and sufficient for membership in category must match all features

astrocyte

star shaped cells that provide physical and nutritional support to neurons 17% of glial cells "mother"

long term potentiation

strengthening of synapses based on recent activity

cortisol

stress hormone that helps deal with stress higher than normal cortisol leads to tired but wired feeling

Einstein's brain

strong corpus callosum enlarged cortices many gilal cells enlarged parietal lobe thinks in images

lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

structure in the thalamus, part of the midbrain, that receives input from the retinal ganglion cells and has input and output connections to the visual cortex p-cells, m-cells, nonM-nonP ganglion cells (k-cells) 6 layers: layers 1-2 is m-cells, layers 3-6 is p-cells, in between cells is k-cells

anatomy

structure of the body

improving memory: get sleep

studies linked to more sleep = higher GPA

cognitive neuroscience

studies structures and processes underlying cognitive function

levels of categories and prototype

subordinate, basic, superordinate

subordinate level

super specific "rocking chair"

10% pathway

superior colliculus

Schwann cells

supporting cells of the peripheral nervous system responsible for the formation of myelin

lesion studies

surgical method in which a part of the animal brain is removed to study its effects on behavior or function, considered highly invasive, introducing something foreign to body

multistore model

system proposed by Atkinson & Shiffrin consists of three components: sensory store, short-term store, long-term store

cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)

takes over areas of brain tissue no longer present

mnemonic devices

technique for using associations to memorize and retrieve information

function of parietal lobe

temperature, touch, taste, sensory

functional connectivity

temporal coupling of fMRI activation among regions

lobe in brain in charge of memory formation and audio processing

temporal lobe

localization of function

temporal: memory occipital: visuals parietal: spacial processing frontal: executive functions, personality

part of brain implicated in consciousness and known as relay station of CNS

thalamus

sensory discrimination

the ability of an individual to distinguish between similar stimuli

when the word FACE is flashed to their left visual field what happens?

they cannot name what they saw, but they can draw it

when patients are shown "KEY" in left visual field and "RING" in right visual field, what happens when asked to pick up object in left visual field?

they pick up a key because right hemisphere controls movement on left side

Computational-Representational Understanding of the Mind (CRUM)

thinking can be best understood in terms of representational structures in the mind and computational procedures that operate on those structures

BOLD (blood oxygen level dependence)

this is what fMRI's pick up brain needs oxygen and glucose to function, precursor to neural activity blood --> glucose --> neural activity measures consequence of neural activity poor temporal resolution leads to lad time

somatosensory cortex

touch, pain, temperature, spatial context

consolidation

transfer from STM to LTM

echoic memory

transient auditory memory "sound of a clap"

V4 cells

tuned for orientation, spatial frequency, and color object features of intermediate complexity (simple geometric shapes)

k-cells

type of LGN cells in charge of color

m-cells

type of LGN cells in charge of motion

p-cells

type of LGN cells in charge of shape

right parietal lobe

used for numerical and spacial processing

severed brain

uses left eyeball for left vision, right for right

achromatopsia is associated with

ventral pathway

prosopagnosia is associated with

ventral pathway

prototype

version that is average type in that category formed from average values for features categorizing entity

function of occipital lobe

vision, facial processing, facial recognition

images (CRUM)

visual images complement verbal representations but don't replace them

empiricism

we derive all knowledge from our senses and our reflection on the sensations they yield

Hebbian learning

when axon of cell A is near enough to excite cell B, and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that A's efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased cells that fire together, wire together

conjunction fallacy

when people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event

structural connectivity

white matter microstructure measured by diffusion tensor imaging

short-term store

work of current moment is carried out receives info from sensory store and long-term store info kept for 30 seconds