ITCS > ITCS Key Terms > Flashcards

ITCS Key Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

What is an association?

A

A learned link between events, stimuli, responses, or ideas

Example: bell → food

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2
Q

Define a stimulus.

A

Any internal or external input that can affect an organism’s behavior or mental state.

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3
Q

What is a response?

A

An organism’s observable or internal reaction to a stimulus.

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4
Q

What is classical conditioning?

A

Learning by association between stimuli (Pavlov: bell + food → salivation)

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5
Q

What is instrumental conditioning?

A

Learning by consequences: behaviors are shaped by reinforcement or punishment (Skinner).

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6
Q

Define a symbol.

A

A discrete token that stands for something and can be manipulated by formal rules.

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7
Q

What is symbol manipulation?

A

The rule-governed transformation of symbols based on their form, not meaning.

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8
Q

What are representations?

A

Internal states or structures that carry information about the world (objects, events, relations).

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9
Q

Define cognition.

A

The set of mental processes involved in perception, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making.

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10
Q

What is computation?

A

The mechanical, rule-based manipulation of symbols (or information) independent of meaning.

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11
Q

What is cognitive psychology?

A

The study of mental processes using experimental and computational methods.

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12
Q

Define cognitive neuroscience.

A

The study of the neural basis of cognition, linking mental processes to brain structures and activity.

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13
Q

What is artificial intelligence?

A

The attempt to model or create systems that perform cognitive tasks (e.g., reasoning, learning, perception).

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14
Q

What is a Turing Machine?

A

An abstract computational device that defines what it means to compute via rule-based symbol manipulation.

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15
Q

Define a circular causal system.

A

A system where components mutually influence each other over time (output feeds back as input).

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16
Q

What is informational feedback?

A

Information about a system’s output that is fed back to modify future behavior or processing.

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17
Q

What is a psychon?

A

A hypothetical basic unit of mental processing proposed in early cognitive and information-processing theories.

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18
Q

Define a perceptron.

A

A simple artificial neuron model that computes a weighted sum of inputs and outputs a binary decision.

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19
Q

What is a model in cognitive psychology?

A

A simplified theoretical or computational representation of a cognitive process used to explain or predict behavior.

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20
Q

What is phrenology?

A

A discredited 19th-century theory claiming mental traits could be read from skull shape.

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21
Q

What is the localizationist view on the brain?

A

The view that specific cognitive functions are tied to specific brain regions.

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22
Q

Define a lesion.

A

Damage to brain tissue, used to infer function by observing resulting deficits.

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23
Q

What is the holistic view on the brain?

A

The view that cognitive functions arise from distributed brain activity, not single localized areas.

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24
Q

What is a dendrite?

A

A neuron extension that receives incoming signals from other neurons.

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25
Define an **axon**.
A neuron extension that transmits electrical signals to other cells.
26
What is a **synapse**?
The junction where one neuron communicates with another via chemical or electrical signals.
27
What is **cytoarchitectonics**?
The study of brain areas based on cellular structure and organization (e.g., Brodmann areas).
28
Define a **neuron**.
A specialized nerve cell that processes and transmits information electrically and chemically.
29
What is a **glial cell**?
A support cell that maintains neurons by providing insulation, nutrients, and protection.
30
What is **myelin**?
A fatty insulating sheath around axons that speeds up neural signal transmission.
31
What does **CT** stand for?
Computed Tomography ## Footnote An imaging technique using X-rays to produce structural images of the brain.
32
What does **PET** stand for?
Positron Emission Tomography ## Footnote An imaging method that measures metabolic activity using radioactive tracers.
33
What does **MRI** stand for?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ## Footnote A technique using magnetic fields to produce high-resolution structural images.
34
What is **fMRI**?
Functional MRI: an MRI-based method measuring brain activity indirectly via blood oxygenation (BOLD signal).
35
What does **EEG** stand for?
Electroencephalography ## Footnote A method that records electrical brain activity from the scalp with high temporal resolution.
36
What is **TMS**?
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: a technique that uses magnetic pulses to temporarily disrupt or stimulate brain regions.
37
What is the function of the **temporal lobe**?
Involved in auditory processing, memory, and language comprehension.
38
What is the role of the **frontal lobe**?
Associated with planning, decision-making, motor control, and executive functions.
39
What is the primary responsibility of the **occipital lobe**?
Primarily responsible for visual processing.
40
What does the **parietal lobe** involve?
Involved in spatial processing, attention, and sensory integration.
41
Define **agnosia**.
A disorder of recognition in which perception is intact but meaning cannot be assigned.
42
What is **short-term memory**?
A limited-capacity system that temporarily holds information for seconds (≈ 7±2 items, classically).
43
Define **long-term memory**.
A high-capacity system for durable storage of information over minutes to a lifetime.
44
What is **attention**?
The cognitive process that selects and prioritizes information for further processing.
45
What is **rehearsal**?
The repetition or mental refreshing of information to maintain it in memory or encode it into LTM.
46
What is a **Fodorian module**?
A domain-specific, fast, automatic, and informationally encapsulated processing system.
47
Define **declarative knowledge**.
Explicit knowledge of facts and events (“knowing that”).
48
What is **procedural knowledge**?
Implicit knowledge of skills and actions (“knowing how”).
49
What is a **concept**?
A mental representation that captures what is common to a set of entities.
50
Define a **category**.
A grouping of entities treated as equivalent for cognitive purposes.
51
What is a **semantic network**?
A representational system where concepts are nodes connected by meaningful relations.
52
What is a **node**?
A unit representing a concept or entity in a network.
53
What is a **link** in a semantic network?
A relation between nodes (e.g., is-a, part-of).
54
What is a **script**?
A structured representation of a stereotypical sequence of events.
55
What is a **production**?
A condition–action rule (“IF condition, THEN action”) used in symbolic cognition.
56
What is a **cognitive architecture**?
A general framework specifying the basic components and processes of cognition.
57
Define **connectionist architecture**.
A cognitive model based on networks of simple units whose behavior emerges from weighted connections.
58
What is a **frame**?
A structured knowledge representation with slots and values describing typical situations or objects.
59
What is a **unit** in an artificial network?
A simple processing element (analogous to a neuron) that activates based on inputs.
60
What is a **connection** in neural networks?
A link between units through which activation is transmitted.
61
What is the **weight of connection**?
A numerical value that determines the strength and influence of a connection.
62
What is an **input vector**?
A set of values representing inputs to a network at a given time.
63
What is an **output vector**?
A set of values representing the network’s response or decision.
64
Define **distributed representations**.
Representations where information is encoded across patterns of activity over many units.
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