Chapter2 - Cognitive Psychology

If kittens are raised in an environment that contains only verticals, you would predict that most of the neurons in their visual cortex would respond best to the visual presentation of a

picket fence.

If the intensity of a stimulus that is presented to a touch receptor is increased, this tends to increase the __________ in the receptor's axon.

rate of nerve firing

It's often said that "life doesn't exist in a vacuum." However, the emptiness of ________ is critical for brain functioning.

synapses

When the axon is at rest, the inside of the neuron has a charge that is 70 millivolts more negative than the outside. This difference will continue as long as

the neuron is at rest.

Taking clay and sand to create bricks, which are then used to build modular wall panels, which are then assembled to construct tall buildings, is similar to which of the following neural concepts?

Hierarchical processing

Which part of the nervous system picks up information from the outside environment?

Receptors

Which of the following is similar to early ideas scientists had about the brain's physical properties?

A web

Which of the following is consistent with the idea of localization of function?

All of these are correct. Neurons in different areas of the brain respond best to different stimuli. Brain areas are specialized for specific functions. Specific areas of the brain serve different functions.

In which of the following body parts are neurons NOT present?

Arteries

What is the metabolic center of an individual neuron?

Cell body

Your author points out that studying the mind requires both __________ and__________ experiments.

behavioral; physiological

Neurons that respond to specific qualities of objects, such as orientation, movement, and length, are called

feature detectors.

When recording from a single neuron, stimulus intensity is represented by the

firing rate of the action potentials.

Groups of interconnected neurons are referred to as

neural circuits.

When conducting an experiment on how stimuli are represented by the firing of neurons, you notice that neurons respond differently to different faces. For example, Arthur's face causes three neurons to fire, with neuron 1 responding the most and neuron 3 responding the least. Roger's face causes three different neurons to fire, with neuron 7 responding the least and neuron 9 responding the most. Your results support __________ coding.

sparse

Sarah has experienced brain damage making it difficult for her to understand spatial layout. Which area of her brain has most likely sustained damage?

Parahippocampal place area (PPA)

What is the gap between the end of a neuron's axon and the dendrites or cell body of another neuron known as?

Synapse

The study of the physiological basis of cognition is known as

cognitive neuroscience.

The __________ lobe of the cortex receives information from all of the senses and is responsible for coordination of the senses, as well as higher cognitive functions such as thinking and problem solving.

frontal

Groups of neurons or structures that are connected within the nervous system are called__________.

neural networks