The Brain From Inside Out Flashcards
(29 cards)
Explain how the good enough and precision brain work
Good enough- networks of neurons with stronger operating characteristics, that allow any situation to be deemed known
Precision- majority of plastic neurons that help redefine events (learning)
In the preconfigured brain, learning is a…?
Matching process, in which preexisting neuronal patterns acquire meaning with experience, which requires grounding in action
Explain: brains do not process information: they create it
The brain interacts with the outside world through actions, and through those interactions derives meaning/information
Why is causation difficult to comprehend in the brain?
The brain is a self-organized, complex system where events “emerge” from the interaction of elements, not linear causation
The process of updating predictions of the world is…?
Perception
How do growing axons know which to innervate? Explain via spindle-shaped oscillatory patterns
During infancy, the spindle oscillation binds together neuronal groups that are coactivated in sensory cortical areas as a result of simultaneous muscular movement
What is a neuronal cell assembly?
A population of neurons upstream, whether directly synapsed together or not, that lead to a discharge of their target neuron within 10-30ms of each other. This window is needed for the downstream reader to integrate the incoming signals
Explain, cognition depends on prior action-based experiences of the world
Action based experiences lead to internally generated sequences being able to test “what if” scenarios and anticipate consequences
How does the hippocampus interact with thalamocortical loops?
The hippocampus generates sequential neuronal activity to organize thalamocortical activity into orderly trajectories (allowing memory and planning)
How is dead-reckoning navigation and episodic memory related?
They require self-referencing and travel through time and space
how are allocentric/map based navigation and semantic memories similar?
Both require exploration and lead to explicit knowledge, not tied to a self-referencing
Describe the role of interneurons
Route excitatory information at correct time and target direction
Neural networks fall within certain frequency bands of oscillation, how do those lead to brain states?
Neighboring frequency bands within the same neuronal network are typically associated with different brain states and com- pete with each other
How do slow oscillations effect fast?
widespread slow oscil- lations modulate faster local events
What is the relationship between neural network size and frequency of oscillation
Higher frequen- cy oscillations are confined to a small neuro- nal space, whereas very large networks are recruited during slow oscillations
What is the relationship between synchrony and integration of neural inputs?
Integration of information requires “synchrony” of the convergent inputs. Synchrony is defined by the temporal window within which some trace of an earlier event is retained, which then alters the response to a subsequent event.
How do oscillation effect perception?
The systems level implica- tion of these oscillation-gating functions is
that perception is not a continuous event but is subject to the cyclic changes of the net- works processing the input
What are the two ways to create neuronal sequences?
Changing environmental or proprioceptive stimuli
Internally driven self-organized patterning
How do oscillations coordinate sender and receiver neuron activity?
They temporally coordinate the activity of sender and receiver populations to ensure proper timing
What does active sensing mean?
A motor command informs the sensory system via a corollary charge adjusting the sensor
Describe the reader sender relationship between the hippocampus and neocortex
The hippocampus (reader) initiates transfer of neuronal messages via theta phase control of neocortical networks. Hippocampal theta oscillations can bias gamma oscillations at neocortical locations, leading to neocortical messages contained in gamma waves arriving at the hippocampus in the best phase of theta cycle to absorb the info. During sleep this happens in reverse
What is the call up hypothesis of information exchange?
Information transfer in the brain is initiated by slow oscillations produced by the receiver. The sender thus delivers info during sensitive phases
Describe the interaction between internal and external mechanisms in neural trajectories
Internal self-organized networks are periodically disrupted or influenced by external stimuli
What is the difference in information flow direction between encoding and recall?
During encoding- outside in to neocortex to hippocampus
Recall- hippocampus to neocortex
