Lecture 2 Flashcards
(84 cards)
1
Q
what is neuroscience
A
multidiciplinary field combining
neuroscience
developmental psych
pedagogy (educational science)
*aims to understand how learning happens in the brain and how to create evidence based education
2
Q
psychology
A
knowledge about human behaviour and learning
3
Q
pedagogy
A
knowledge about what works in educational practice
4
Q
educational neuroscience
A
knowledge of the mechanism behind learning
5
Q
neuroscience
A
knowledge about the brain
6
Q
james et al 2010
A
learning by doing can lay the foundation and strengthen the neural systems used for visual letter recognition
7
Q
challenges in the field
A
oversimplification & misinterpretation of brain research
neuromyths
different levels of analysis
8
Q
neuromyths
A
many myths about what we know and do not know about the brain function related to learning
9
Q
neuromyths prevelance
A
approx half teachers in primary and sec education believe in neuromyths
research shows that teachers more interested in neuroscience are more likely to believe neuromyths
10
Q
different level of analysis
A
context
creating theories
new hypotheses
11
Q
key brain area
A
cortex
white matter
lobes
limbic system
12
Q
cortex
A
grey matter, outer layer, involved in higher funtions
13
Q
white matter
A
,mylenated axons for communciation
*connections
14
Q
grey matter
A
neurons cell bodies and dendrites
15
Q
gyrus
A
ridges
16
Q
sulcus
A
furrows
17
Q
frontal
A
executive function, decision making, memory
reasoning
personality
memory retrieval
18
Q
parietal
A
sensory, integration, math
19
Q
temporal
A
auditory, language, memory, hearing
20
Q
occipital
A
vision
21
Q
limbic system
A
emotion and memory
amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus
22
Q
cingulate gyrus
A
reward/punishment stimuli
error detection
emotion regulation
23
Q
basal ganglia
A
regulation of movement
habit formation, addiction
24
Q
thalamus
A
relay station
control of motion and emotions
25
hypothalamus
homeostasis
hormones
core behaviours
26
amygdala
affective appraisal
emotional loaming
27
hippocampus
ltm
spatial information
28
electricity
neurons communicate through tiny electrical signals
*direct measure of neural activity
29
blood
increased neural activity -> increased demand for oxygen and gluocse -> increased bloodflow to the active brain area
*indirect, slow measure of neural activity
30
fmri
measures blood flow
good spatial resolution
poor temporal
WHERE happens
31
eeg/erp
measures electrical signals
excellent temporal
poor spatial
WHEN happens
32
mri vs fmri
MRI = static structure of the brain (anatomy)
fMRI = dynamic function of the brain (activity over time)
33
What is the Hemodynamic Response Function (HRF)?
HRF describes how blood flow changes in the brain in response to neural activity, forming the basis of the fMRI signal.
34
What does "ERP" stand for?
Event-Related Potentials — brain responses that are the direct result of a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event.
35
What does the letter "P" or "N" in an ERP component label indicate?
P = Positive peak in electrical activity
N = Negative peak in electrical activity
36
What does the number following the P or N mean?
It represents either:
The timing in milliseconds (e.g., N100 = 100 ms after stimulus)
OR
The order of appearance (e.g., P1, N2 = first positive, second negative peak)
37
What is the typical use of ERP components?
To determine when the brain processes specific types of information and how this processing differs across conditions.
38
Why is ERP useful in neuroscience?
It provides excellent temporal resolution (<1 ms), allowing researchers to track the brain's processing sequence in real time.
39
Give an example of using ERP in an experiment.
Comparing brain responses to expected vs. unexpected words (e.g., "cat-DOG" vs. "sun-DOG") — helps detect semantic processing differences.
40
postnatal development
after birth brain dev is influenced by
- reorganziation of synapses
dendrtici arborisation (tree like stricture of dendrtires)
increased diasmeter of axons
increase in the number of glia cells
increase of myelin
41
myelination
imrpoves efficency of signal transmission
42
synaptogensis and pruning
increase then decrease in synapses - refine connections
prefrontal cortex matures last
43
___ matter decreases, ___ matter increases with age
grey
white
44
comparing children vs adults
brain structure differs
motion artifacts
task difficulty and prior knowledge vary
skull thickness affects EEG signals
45
top down networks
brain areas work in top down netowrks
sensory input
integration
executive control
plane, prepare, act
46
cognitive control needed for
managaing distractions
switching tasks
making deliberate decisions
47
learning requires (3)
effort
repition
cognitive control
48
What is the main goal of Educational Neuroscience?
A. To replace pedagogy with neuroscience
B. To apply educational theories to brain surgery
C. To align education with how the brain processes information
D. To create a new branch of psychology
C
49
Educational Neuroscience combines which three fields?
A. Sociology, Biology, and Medicine
B. Psychology, Pedagogy, and Neuroscience
C. Anthropology, Chemistry, and Education
D. Linguistics, Psychology, and Theology
B
50
According to research, when new knowledge is learned in school, old knowledge is usually:
A. Replaced permanently
B. Strengthened regardless of relevance
C. Inhibited, not erased
D. Destroyed to make room
C
51
The James et al. (2010) study demonstrated that ‘learning-by-doing’:
A. Delays learning
B. Weakens visual processing
C. Strengthens neural systems for letter rec
C
52
What is a major reason neuromyths persist in education?
A. Neuroscience has disproven them all
B. Teachers often rely on evidence-based practices
C. Teachers interested in neuroscience are more likely to believe them
D. Neuromyths are supported by curriculum standards
C
53
. Which is an example of a neuromyth?
A. The brain has two hemispheres
B. We only use 10% of our brain
C. The VWFA processes letters
D. The brain is plastic
B
54
Which lobe is primarily responsible for decision-making and executive functions?
A. Parietal
B. Frontal
C. Occipital
D. Temporal
B
55
Which method offers high temporal resolution but low spatial resolution?
A. fMRI
B. PET
C. ERP
D. CT
C
56
What does the BOLD signal in fMRI measure?
A. Neuron count
B. Direct electrical activity
C. Changes in blood oxygenation
D. Skull thickness
C
57
What typically happens to grey matter during adolescence?
A. It increases steadily
B. It stays the same
C. It decreases due to synaptic pruning
D. It’s replaced by white matter
C
58
he prefrontal cortex is one of the ___ areas to mature.
A. Earliest
B. Most unstable
C. Last
D. Smallest
C
59
The Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) is an example of:
A. Evolutionary design for reading
B. Cognitive decline
C. Neuronal recycling
D. Motor dysfunction
C
60
What enables us to “fight” existing brain systems to learn something new?
A. Limbic responses
B. Automatic memory
C. Cognitive control / Executive function
D. Emotional regulation
C
61
study by gogtay et all 2004 hypothesis & finding
development of grey matter is non linear
dev differs between areas
rate of dev related to function (lower level before higher level)
FINDING: dev change is non linear and differs between regions
62
mills et al 2016 dev of grey matter
gm decreases
wm increases
63
when finding differences between children and adutls what do you need to consider
1. cognitive differences
2. differences in skull thickness
3. differences in brain structure
4. differences in performance, motion etc
64
dehaene 2011
brians are not born ready to learn - neuroplasticity makes this possible
65
What is the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA)?
A part of the brain that becomes specialized for recognizing written words and letters.
66
What happens to the VWFA as we learn to read?
Increases activity during reading
Decreases activity for other kinds of visual stimuli
(Dehaene, 2011)
67
Can the VWFA’s role in reading be explained by evolution?
No — reading is too recent in human history.
68
What is the Neuronal Recycling Hypothesis?
The brain reuses existing areas (like the VWFA) for new tasks like reading.
(Dehaene, 2011)
69
Why is the VWFA suited for letter recognition?
Good at high-resolution visual shapes
Sensitive to lines and patterns
Near language-processing areas in the brain
70
What does learning to read do to the brain?
: It repurposes the VWFA to process written language.
(Dehaene-Lambertz et al., 2018)
71
: Are our brains built for reading?
No — we use systems originally evolved for other functions (like visual and motor tasks).
72
Has the brain changed much since early humans?
No — our brain is similar to that of hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago.
73
How are the brain’s motor and sensory systems organized?
Hierarchically — from simple to complex processing levels.
74
Q: What is top-down influence in the brain?
The brain often interprets new information based on what it expects to see.
75
Which brain areas are at the top of the sensory hierarchy?
Occipital lobe (seeing)
Temporal lobe (hearing)
Parietal lobe (feeling)
These connect with the frontal lobe (planning & decision-making).
76
How is the motor system hierarchical in time?
Do it now
Prepare to do it
Plan to do it later (with goals/subgoals)
77
What does it take to automate a task (like tying your shoes)?
Observing others
Getting instructions
Making mistakes
Thinking
Practicing (learning)
78
What does “learning is fighting” mean?
Learning new things often requires overriding old brain systems and reusing areas not meant for that task.
79
Q: What enables us to fight old habits and learn new things?
Cognitive control / executive functions
80
Q: What are executive functions?
Brain’s control centers for:
Managing automatic habits
Switching between tasks
Making decisions
81
: What types of thinking is the brain naturally good at?
Spotting patterns
Predicting what comes next
Recognizing familiar things
82
Q: What types of thinking are harder for the brain?
Abstract reasoning
Logical problem-solving
83
Q: What supports effective learning and thinking?
Focusing attention on relevant ideas (with help from teachers)
Low stress, curiosity, and social connection
84
Q: What kind of life does your brain prefer?
A: A calm one — low stress, meaningful social ties, and curiosity-driven activities.
