Chapter 2

Question 1

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 1

the study of the neural basis of cognition

Question 2

Levels of Analysis

Answer 2

the idea that a topic can be understood by studying it on a number of levels of a system
- topic can be understood in a number of different ways

• can study physiology of cognition ranging from brain structures to the chemicals within the brain

Question 3

Nerve Net Theory

Answer 3

signals can be transmitted throughout the net in all directions

Question 4

Neurons: Basic Principles

Answer 4

• the brain appears to be a static tissue with no moving parts, looks solid
• to understand the connection between the mind and the brain -> need to look at Neurons

Question 5

Neurons

Answer 5

specialized cells that transmit and receive signals in the nervous system
- small units within the brain

Question 6

Early Concept of Neurons

Answer 6

• with an unaided eye -> cannot see the small units within the brain
• 19th century - stained tissue and used microscopes to discover the Nerve Network

Question 7

Nerve Network

Answer 7

an network of continuously interconnected nerve fibres
- continous - connected pathways with no stops

Question 8

Why was it seen as Continous

Answer 8

microscope did not resolve small details so it appeared continuous

Question 9

Camillo Golgi

Answer 9

• developed staining technique
• used slice of brain tissue and immersed it in silver nitrate
• 1% of cells were stained so they stood out
• all cells were compeltley stained so it was possible to see their structure

Question 10

Ramon y Cajal

Answer 10

used the golgi technique
studied brain tissue of infant animals
found that the infant brain had smaller density than adults

*discovery of the smaller brain -> led to idea that the nerve network was not continous - but made up of individual units that were connected

Question 11

Neuron Doctrine

Answer 11

the idea that individual units called neurons transmit signals in the nervous system, and that these cells are not continous as stated in nerve net theory

Question 12

Cell Body

Answer 12

• contains mechanisms that keep the cell alive
• metabolic centre of the neuron

*in some - body and dendrites associated with it receive info from other neurons

Question 13

Dendrites

Answer 13

structures that extend out from the cell body and receive signals from other neurons

Question 14

Axon

Answer 14

receives signal from cell body and transmits the signal towards the end of the axon

Question 15

Synapse

Answer 15

space between the end of an axon and the cell body or dendrites of another cell

Question 16

Neural Circuit

Answer 16

groups of interconnected neurons responsible for neural processing

Question 17

Receptors

Answer 17

specialized neural structures to respond to environment stimuli
- ex. light, mechanical stimulation, chemical stimulation

Question 18

Edgar Adrian

Answer 18

1920s - recorded electrical signal from a single sensory neuron

Question 19

Recording Electrode

Answer 19

thin glass or metal probe used to record electrical signal from a single neuron

Question 19

Microelectrode

Answer 19

small wire used to record electrical signals from a single neuron

Question 20

Reference Electrode

Answer 20

used in conjunction with recording electrode to measure the difference in chare between them

placed in area where signal remains constant
so any difference in chare reflects events happening near the top of the recording electrode

Question 21

How Do Action Potential Determine Different Qualities

Answer 21

different qualities of stimuli and aspects of experience activate different neurons and areas in the brain

Question 22

Representation by Neural Firing

Answer 22

• the mind creates representations of the world so we can act within it and achieve our goals

Question 23

Principle of Neural Representation

Answer 23

all our experiences are based on representations in the nervous system

Question 24

2 Important Findings in Early Neural Representation

Answer 24

1. neurons in high-level areas of the visual system fire in response to complex stimuli like geometric patterns and faces 2. specific stimuli cause neuron firing in different areas across the entire cortex - not jsut one area responding for vision *large brain areas involved in cognition -ex. not just one memory area, or one vision area - began to realize that neural representation invovles a wide net in the brain -> led researchers to new approaches of discovering how these structures are connected

Question 25

Cat Study

Answer 25

showed them visual stimuli determined which stimuli caused specific neurons to fire FOUND: each neuron in visual area responded to a specific type of stimulation

Question 26

Feature Detectors

Answer 26

neurons that respond to specific visual features