Cognitive neuroscience

Question 1

what is cognitive neuroscience

Answer 1

the study of the mind
what is mind/ what is reality

Question 2

dualism

Answer 2

mind and body are different
separate entities

Question 3

penal gland

Answer 3

centre of the brain
close to ventricles
impulses would be sent to and form ventricles from body

Question 4

what is the mind

Answer 4

• Collection of abilities to survive and thrive
• Decision making
• Consciousness
• Resasoning
• Memory
• Attention
• Cognition
• Emotionc
• Feelings
• Perception

Question 5

phrenology

Answer 5

mental abilities are processed by completely separate brain areas

Question 6

franz Joseph gall

Answer 6

phrenology
distinctive cranial and facial features - bumps / shape of the skull = different mental abilities - different sizes of subsections of the brain - different skills

Question 7

what do we know now

Answer 7

not completely separate brain areas - interact with each other - no such thing as area that’s dedicated to one thing
different nodes are important for any different mental abilities

Question 8

brocas area

Answer 8

speech

Question 9

wernickes area

Answer 9

language comprehension

Question 10

Pavlovs dog

Answer 10

• He first used a unconditioned / natural response
  
  • Food = elicits salivation
  • Then … compare with neutral stimulus ( sound) = no response
  • Then pair stimuli together = neutral and unconditioned stimulus
  • Then neural stimulus turns to conditioned stimuli
    sound = elicits salivation

Question 11

psychophysics

Answer 11

measurement of physical stimuli on the mind

Question 12

absolute threshold

Answer 12

smallest stimulus energy that can be perceived

Question 13

just noticeable difference

Answer 13

smallest change in stimulus energy that can be perceives

Question 14

webes law

Answer 14

the change in stimulus intensity that can just be noticed is a constant fraction of the stimulus intensity
applies to many stimuli and modalities (light brightness, sound intensity)

change in stimulus intensity / stimulus intensity = K

Question 15

temporal resolution

Answer 15

measure individual action potentials

Question 16

spatial resolution

Answer 16

know which neuron we are recording from

Question 17

types of excitation and inhibition

Answer 17

• Feedforward excitation
  
  • Feedforward inhibition
  • Feedback inhibition
  • Inhibitory neuroscience
  • Lateral inhibition
    Mutual inhibition

Question 18

neural activity

Answer 18

locally and between brain areas
changing every moment
giving rise to circuits that account for our perception
decisions and actions

Question 19

correlation vs causation

Answer 19

not always equal
confounding factors

Question 20

how does MRI work

Answer 20

1. atoms spin in random directions -like tops - around their individual magnetic fields
2. in magnetic field produced by MRI - atoms line up either north or south - about half the atoms of each way - few unmatched atoms
3. when ratio frequency pulse is applied - unmatched atoms spin the other way
4. when the radio frequency is turned off extra atoms return to normal position emitting energy
5. the energy sends a signal to a computer - computer uses a mathematical formula to convert the signal to an image

Question 21

what is the physiological bases of fMRI

Answer 21

There is an oversupply of oxyhaemaglobin to an active brain area

Question 22

The blood oxygen level dependent response

Answer 22

stimulus
1. neuronal activity (excitatory activity and inhibitory activity, anaesthetic influence)
2. neuromuscular coupling (metabolic signal unknown, anaesthetic influence)
3. haemodynamic response ( blood flow, blood oxygenation level, blood volume, haemltocrit)
4. detection by MRI scanner ( magnetic field strength, TR, repetition time, TE echo time, spin or gradient echo)

Question 23

BOLD signal

Answer 23

correlates more with the local field potentials (LFPs entry of synaptic information to a particular region) than with the single, multi unit activity (AP generated in that area) but this is a very delayed response

Question 24

experimental design in fMRI

Answer 24

block design
slow event related design
fast event related design
hybrid event related design

Question 25

fMRI in schizophrenic patients

Answer 25

Altered functional responses during a working memory task in the prefrontal cortex
blue = hypo activation
orange = hyperactivation

Question 26

active brain area =

Answer 26

more oxygen

Question 27

advantages of fMRI

Answer 27

hyper activation
non invasive
no exogenous ligand
poor temporal resolution

Question 28

EEG - electroencephalogram

Answer 28

activity of thousands of neurones beneath each electrode
cover whole scalp

Question 29

resolution of EEG

Answer 29

spatial resolution is poor
temporal resolution is excellent

Question 30

where does most of the signal come from in an EEG

Answer 30

most of the signal comes from the cortex

Question 31

transcranial magnetic stimulation

Answer 31

TMS coil held above the head
magnetic field
electical current generated in the skull
depending on coil shape - generate different patterns of electrical activity
double coil cone - penetrate deeper - choice of coil important

Question 32

different types of TMS

Answer 32

single pulse
repetitive stimulation

Question 33

repetitive TMS protocols

Answer 33

<1Hz = decreases activity in an area
> 1Hz = increases activity in an area
theta burst - varied and prolonged effects depending on the stimulation sequence

Question 34

motor evoked potentials

Answer 34

direct stimulation - pathway - threshold in disease
priming anticipation of movement increases tbs effect

Question 35

temporary lesions

Answer 35

short term - single pulse disrupts 1-2 cm 2 region for up to 50ms
medium term - repetitive stimulation (5Hz for 10 s ) - longer lasting and wider ranging effects
offline TMS - intense stimuli - impair function for 45min
treatment for depression??

Question 36

advantages and dis of TMS

Answer 36

very high temporal resolution
high spatial resolution
casual inferences
requires detailed hypothesis