Chapter 2

Question 1

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 1

Study of physiological basis of cognition

Question 2

Levels of Analysis

Answer 2

Posits that a topic can be studied in various ways, with each contribution a unique dimension

Question 3

Neurons

Answer 3

Specialized cells that create, receive, and transmit information in the nervous system

Question 4

Nerve net theory

Answer 4

Originally proposed that the brain was a continuous, highway - like system of interconnected fibres

Question 5

Neuron doctrine

Answer 5

Established that nervous system is made of individual, seperate cells that are not continuous with one another

Question 6

Cell body

Answer 6

Metabolic centre

Question 7

Dendrites

Answer 7

Recieve signals

Question 8

Axons

Answer 8

Transmit signals

Question 9

Synapse

Answer 9

Small gap between the end of an axon and the dendrite or cell body of the next neuron

Question 10

Neural circuits

Answer 10

Groups of interconnected neurons that form functional pathways

Question 11

Microelectrodes

Answer 11

used to record electrical signals from single neurons using a recording electrode and a reference electrode

Question 12

Resting potential

Answer 12

-70 millivolts (mV)

Question 13

Action potential

Answer 13

Brief electrical signal or nerve impulse that travels down an axon. All - or - nothing and size and shape of signal remains constant regardless of stimulus intensity.

Question 14

Intensity of stimulus

Answer 14

Represented by the rate of neural firing, where high intensities cause fast firing and low intensities cause slow firing

Question 15

Principle of Neural Representation

Answer 15

Everything a person experiences is based on representations in the nervous system rather than direct contact with stimuli

Question 16

Feature detectors

Answer 16

Neurons that respond to only specific stimulus qualities such as orientation, movement, and length

Question 17

Hierarchal processing

Answer 17

Describes the progression of signals from lower - level areas to higher areas that combine information to represent complex stimuli

Question 18

Sensory Coding

Answer 18

Explains how neurons represent characteristics of the enviornemnt

Question 19

Specificity Coding

Answer 19

An object is represented by the firing of a single specialized neuron (unlikely)

Question 20

Population coding

Answer 20

Representation by the pattern of firing of a large number or neurons

Question 21

Sparse coding

Answer 21

Representation by the pattern of firing in only a small group of neurons

Question 22

Neuropsychology

Answer 22

Studies the behaviour of people with brain damage to determine these locations

Question 23

Occipital lobe

Answer 23

Primary site for visual cortex; damage results in blindness

Question 24

Temporal lobe

Answer 24

Responsible for hearing (auditory cortex) and memory

Question 25

Parietal lobe

Answer 25

Contains somatosensory cortex for touch, pressure, and pain

Question 26

Frontal lobe

Answer 26

Responsible for reasoning, planning, and coordination of the senses

Question 27

Broca's area

Answer 27

Left frontal lobe; speech production

Question 28

Wernicke's area

Answer 28

Temporal lobe; speech comprehension

Question 29

Fusiform Face Area

Answer 29

Located in fusiform gyrus on underside of temporal lobe. Primary module for face perception and recognition. Also responds to emotional aspects, where someone is looking, attractiveness, and familiarity

Question 30

Prospoagnosia

Answer 30

Conditioned characterized by an inability to recognize faces

Question 31

Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA)

Answer 31

Located on underside of temporal lobe. Activated by perceiving pictures representing indoor and outdoor scenes. Emphasis on information about spatial layout. Localization of function - specific brain areas are responsible for specific cognitive tasks

Question 32

Extrastriate Body Area (EBA)

Answer 32

Located in temporal cortex. Activated by perceiving pictures of human bodies and parts of bodies. Identified through fMRI

Question 33

Double Dissociation

Answer 33

Occurs when damage to one area causes function A to absent while B is present, and damage to another area causes function B to be absent while A is present

Question 34

Structural connectivity

Answer 34

Brains "wiring diagram" (the connectome) created by nerve axon

Question 35

Functional connectivity

Answer 35

Determined by the extent to which neural activity in two brain areas is correlated