Cognitive Neuroscience Chapter 1

Question 1

action potentials

Answer 1

The electrical signal conducted along neuronal axons by which information is conveyed from one place to another in the nervous system.

Question 2

behaviorism

Answer 2

A perspective in cognitive psychology that holds that only directly observable behavior, and not internal mental states, can be studied scientifically.

Question 3

cerebral cortex

Answer 3

The superficial gray matter of the cerebrum.

Question 4

cognition

Answer 4

“Higher-order” mental processes.

Question 5

cognitive functions

Answer 5

The set of processes that allow humans and many other animals to perceive external stimuli, to extract key information and hold it in memory, and ultimately to generate thoughts and actions that help reach desired goals.

Question 6

cognitive models

Answer 6

An explanatory framework that invokes unobserved internal states to predict how stimuli lead to actions.

Question 7

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 7

A scientific discipline that seeks to create models that explain the interrelations between brain function and cognitive functions.

Question 8

complementarity

Answer 8

The combination of data across multiple methods for measuring brain function, often to improve inferences about the nature of the generative neural processes.

Question 9

convergence

Answer 9

The combination of results across multiple experimental paradigms, often to support inferences about an unobservable internal state.

Question 10

individual differences

Answer 10

Variation in a cognitive function or other trait across people, often as can be related to a particular biological predictor.

Question 11

localization of function

Answer 11

The idea that the brain may have distinct regions that support particular cognitive functions.

Question 12

mind

Answer 12

The full spectrum of a person’s awareness (one aspect of consciousness) at any point in time, reflecting sensory percepts, as well as thoughts, feelings, goals, desires, and so on.

Question 13

nervous systems

Answer 13

The network of nerve cells throughout the body.

Question 14

neural correlates

Answer 14

A measure of brain function that covaries with the expression of a cognitive function.

Question 15

neurons

Answer 15

A cell specialized for the conduction and transmission of electrical signals in the nervous system.

Question 16

neurotransmitters

Answer 16

A chemical agent released at synapses that mediates signaling between nerve cells.

Question 17

phrenology

Answer 17

Originating in the early nineteenth century, the attempt to create maps of brain function based on the pattern of bumps and valleys on the surface of the skull.

Question 18

psychological constructs

Answer 18

A theoretical concept, often generated by converging results across experiments, that cannot be directly observed but serves to explain and unify a body of research.

Question 19

synapses

Answer 19

A specialized point of contact between the axon of a neuron (the presynaptic cell) and a target (postsynaptic) cell. Information is transferred between the presynaptic and postsynaptic cells by the release and receipt of biochemical neurotransmitters.