Week 2 - Cognitive Neuroscience Basics

Question 1

What is neuroscience?

Answer 1

study of physiological basis of cognition

Question 2

What is the ventral cognition principle?

Answer 2

most of our own experience is multidimensional

Question 3

What are neurons?

Answer 3

cells specialized for receiving and sending information of the nervous system

Question 4

What is a synapse?

Answer 4

the space between axon of a neuron and the dendrites/cell body of another

Question 5

How do neurons transmit information

Answer 5

through action potentials

Question 6

firing rate for low-intensity stimulus

Answer 6

slow firing

Question 7

firing rate for high-intensity stimulus

Answer 7

fast firing

Question 8

how can action potentials be measured?

Answer 8

through microelectrodes that pick up electrical signals
- placed on (near) axon
- active for ~1ms

Question 9

What are neurotransmitters?

Answer 9

chemicals that affect the electrical signal of the receiving neuron
- they cross the synapse and bind with receiving dendrites on other neuron

Question 10

What happens when an AP reaches the axon end?

Answer 10

the synaptic vesicles open and release NTs

Question 11

Neural representation principle

Answer 11

everything a person experiences is based on representations in that persons nervous system

Question 12

What are feature detectors?

Answer 12

neurons that are gonna respond best to specific stimuli

Question 13

Experience-dependent plasticity

Answer 13

brain structure changes with experiences

Question 14

What are the 3 ways neurons create mental responses?

Answer 14

• specifity coding
• population coding
• sparse coding

Question 15

Specifity coding

Answer 15

represent the stimulus by firing specific neurons to respond only to specific stimulus

Question 16

Population coding

Answer 16

represent the stimulus by firing pattern of large # of neurons

Question 17

Sparse coding

Answer 17

represent the stimulus by firing pattern of only small neuron groups with the majority of neurons remaining silent

Question 18

Result of damage to Broca’s area

Answer 18

language production impaired

Question 19

Location of Broca’s area

Answer 19

frontal lobe

Question 20

Result of damage to Wernicke’s area

Answer 20

language comprehension impaired

Question 21

Location of Wernicke’s area

Answer 21

temporal lobe

Question 22

Double dissociation

Answer 22

identify cognitive functions that operate independently

Question 23

sense perception of occipital lobe

Answer 23

vision

Question 24

sense perception of parietal lobe

Answer 24

touch, pain, temperature

Question 25

sense perception of temporal lobe

Answer 25

hearing, taste, smell

Question 26

What area (lobe) of the brain is responsible for the coordination of information from all senses?

Answer 26

frontal lobe

Question 27

Structural connectivity

Answer 27

brain ‘ wiring diagram’ created by axons that connect brain areas
- unique and as individual as fingerprints are

Question 28

Functional connectivity

Answer 28

how neuron groups function to support cognitive processes
- determined by amount of correlated neural activity in 2 brain areas

Question 29

How is functional connectivity determined?

Answer 29

determined by the amount of correlated neural activity in 2 brain areas

Question 30

What does DMN stand for?

Answer 30

Default Mode Network

Question 31

Default Mode Network

Answer 31

• DMN
• network of structures that are active when not involved in specific tasks
  (correlated with resting state activity) - forming the functional network

Question 32

What effects does meditation have on DMN activity

Answer 32

decreases DMN activity
- more self-detached view points