Neurophysiology of Higher Cognition

Question 1

At the neuronal level, what does cognition require?

Answer 1

Extensive synaptic interactions between pyramidal cells of all neocortical association areas

Question 2

What are the four levels to language?

Answer 2

Language conceptual system -> language mediational system -> language implementation system -> spoken language

Question 3

What does the language implementation system include?

Answer 3

Wernicke’s area, arcuate fasciculus, and Broca’s area (and facial area of primary motor cortex)

Question 4

What is the language mediational system?

Answer 4

Includes areas of temporal, parietal, and frontal association areas. Relays info to the language implementation system

Question 5

What is the language conceptual system/

Answer 5

Provides concepts underlying language (rules of speech), includes ventral visual pathway for naming objects

Question 6

How are babies <6 mos language universalists? What happens from 6-9 mos?

Answer 6

<6 mos: They recognize all sounds that might be language as distinct sounds.
6-9 mos: start recognizing sounds of their native language, drop phenomes that don’t occur in their language

Question 7

What happens when kids learn a second language DURING the language acquisition phase vs adults learning a second language AFTER the language acquisition phase?

Answer 7

Activates same pathway in brain as first language

Activates an adjacent region of Broca’s area

Question 8

What are the two components of social cognition?

Answer 8

Emotion comprehension (recognition) and theory of mind

Question 9

How does emotion comprehension work?

Answer 9

Must first identify human face as something special (superior temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus), then bring in emotional component (anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, amygdala). The area of the brain that produces emotion in us recognizes it in someone else

Question 10

What facial details do we use to comprehend emotion?

Answer 10

Eyes, nose, mouth (triangle) - done by amygdala

Question 11

What are mirror neurons?

Answer 11

Play role in imitation and imitative learning - important in emotional processing. Fire when you do something AND someone else does it

Question 12

How does imitation work?

Answer 12

1. Posterior sector of superior temporal sulcus provides visual input
2. Posterior mirror neuron system identifies motor action
3. Anterior mirror neuron system identifies goal of action

Question 13

What is prosody of speech?

Answer 13

Tune and rhythm of speech that allows us to recognize emotion in speech

Question 14

What are the steps in perception of prosody?

Answer 14

1. Primary auditory cortex identifies pitch, loudness, etc
2. Right posterior superior temporal sulcus pieces together meaning
3. Frontal cortex judges emotional stimulus

Question 15

What is theory of mind?

Answer 15

Ability to understand mental states of others and appreciate how they differ from our own (recognize beliefs that lead to emotion and that different people have different beliefs)

Question 16

What is the core pathway of the theory of mind?

Answer 16

Amygdala connects to medial temporal lobes and orbitofrontal areas

Question 17

In decision making, what areas make up the stimulus encoding system?

Answer 17

Orbitofrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, striatum

Question 18

What is the stimulus encoding system?

Answer 18

Evaluates evidence available in making the decision, heavily relied on for decisions in which risks are known

Question 19

In decision making, what areas make up the action selection system?

Answer 19

Anterior cingulate cortex, decisions with ambiguous risks, learns from mistakes, encodes results

Question 20

What is the action selection system?

Answer 20

Learns and encodes subjective value of results. Is involved in error detection

Question 21

In decision making, what areas make up the expected reward system?

Answer 21

Basal ganglia, amygdala, insular cortex, intraparietal cortex

Question 22

What is the expected reward system?

Answer 22

Predicts the expected reward, heavily relied on for decision in which risks are unknown

Question 23

What part of the Expected Reward System processes social emotion?
Which part does somatosensory processing and planning/intent?

Answer 23

Insular Cortex

Intraparietal Cortex

Question 24

When the risks are explicit, what do you use?

Answer 24

Stimulus Encoding system

Question 25

When risks are iffy/unknown.. you rely on?

Answer 25

the Expected Reward system…and eventually the Action Selection system