T3: PSYC 309 > Methods > Flashcards

Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

Define the mind

A

The element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.

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2
Q

Who proposed dualism and what is it?

A
  • Rene Descartes
  • The mind exists separately from the body
    –> Body is ‘matter’ and therefore unthinking
    –> Physical vs nonphysical world
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3
Q

Acc to Descartes, could the mind exist without the body?

A

Yes, but the body could NOT exist without the mind

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4
Q

What is materialism?

A

The mind is entirely a product of the brain
–> no longer theres that big of a differentiation

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5
Q

Case Study: Peter Murdoch

A
  • 2013, failed to stop his car and killed ppl
  • Had an epilectic fit despite taking his meds
  • Absolved of wrongdoing since he hadn’t ‘willingly driven dangerously’

–> Would seem to support materialism

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6
Q

Case Study: Charles Whitman

A
  • 1966, shot 15 people, wounded 32, then killed himself
  • Left a note basically saying he couldn’t control his actions, requested an autopsy
  • Autopsy found a tumor in his amygdala which regulates emotion
  • But could he be considered criminally responsible?
    –> Acc to materialism, no
    –> Intuition says yes tho
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7
Q

Do we have free will?

A
  • We believe so
  • But we’re not sure we can separate it from the neural circuitry
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8
Q

Who developed an experiment to look at free will? What was it?

A

Benjamin Libet
–> Used EEG to record brain activity while subjects chose to press a key or not and when

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9
Q

What did Libet find?

A
  • Neuronal activity preceeded the urge to move by several 100ms
  • This would claim that unconscious electrical processes procede and potentially cause the conscious decisions to perform certain actions
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10
Q

What is determinism?

A

A philosophical stance claiming that unconscious electrical processes in the brain (Readiness potential) precede and potentially cause the conscious decision to perform actions

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11
Q

what is cognitive neuroscience

A

The interdisciplinary study of the neural mechanisms of cognition & behaviour

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12
Q

What is the main focus of cog neuroscience?

A

understanding the role of underlying brain networks and mechanisms
–> also link physiological and computational complexity of the brain to our behaviour and mind

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13
Q

What is functional specialization?

A

The principle that different brain areas serve different perceptual and cognitive skills, though all modules must work together constantly

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14
Q

Name the two main types of cells in the brain

A
  • Neurons
  • Glial Cells
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15
Q

Neurons

A
  • Brain cells!
  • Interconnected, receive input through dendrites
  • Made up of soma, axons and dendrites
  • Signals transmitted via electrical or chemical signals across synapses
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16
Q

Glial Cells

A

Non-neuronal cells that give structural and functional support for neurons

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17
Q

Are synapses plastic?

A
  • Yes, super
  • this means that their strength can change with learning and experience
  • changes in synapse strength are the foundation to memory formation
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18
Q

Which is more common in the brain and CNS?

A

Glial cells!
–> Brain’s connective tissue

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19
Q

What is lateralization?

A

Describes the fact that the left and right hemispheres, tho they’re physically the same, have slightly different functions

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20
Q

what is the main function of the left hemisphere?

A
  • process sensory and motor info from the right side of the body
    –> language function tends to be stronger here
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21
Q

what is the main function of the right hemisphere?

A
  • process sensory and motor info from the left side of the body
    –> visuospatial tasks tend to be stronger here
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22
Q

do the 2 hemisphers interact?

A

YES, a lot, and they do so through the corpus callosum

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23
Q

what is the corpus callosum

A

bundle of neural fibres that joins the two hemispheres

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24
Q

what happens when the CC is severed or impaired?

A

the brain’s hemispheres can’t communicate. this leads to a range of function loss in perception, speech and memory

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25
was severing the CC ever used?
yes, used as a last-resort treatement for epilepsy in the 1950-60s
26
what happened to patients whose CC's were severed?
= struggle with reconciling their aims and actions - would sometimes be unable to verbalize or draw based on which side they were getting info from
27
what is the brain made out of on the ousside?
thin, folded sheets of neurons = cerebral cortex
28
hwo does our brain increase its surface area
grooves (sulci) and bumps (gyri)
29
name the 4 lobes
- frontal - parietal - temporal - occipital
30
occipital lobe
visual perception
31
temporal lobe
complex perception, memory and language
32
frontal lobe
thinking, planning and decision making
33
parietal lobe
visuospatial and motor functions
34
what 2 lobes work particularly close?
parietal and frontal --> lead complex cognitive operations like memory, attention and decision making
35
cerebellum
handles movement, complex cognition, emotion and social function
36
name the main NSCI methods (6)
- neuropsychology - electrophysiology - fMRI - brain stimulation - genetic and cognitive nsci - behavioral genetics
37
break down electriphysiology (4)
- single cell recordings - electrocorticography (ECoG) - electroencephalogy (EEG) - event-related potential (ERG)
38
what are the 3 main differences between nsci methods?
- spatial resolution = WHERE neural activity occurs - temporal resolution = WHEN neural activity occurs - invasiveness = amount of impact the method has on an individual's brain
39
neuropsychology
Studies the behavioural impact of brain lesions, resulting naturally from stroke/illness or unnaturally from trauma/surgery --> ideally looks at multiple people's 'harmed' brains
40
what discoveries came from neuropsychology?
Broca's area Wernicke's area
41
Pros of neuropsychology
- allows researchers to identify brain regions required for specific functions --> helpful when treating patients
42
limitations of neuropsychology (5)
- lesions are broad and affect more than 1 area - similarly, brain damage often impairs several functions - difficult to define appropriate control groups - clinical cases are very variable - treating patients takes precedence over testing
43
what is electrophysiology
the study of direct electrical activity of neurons
44
what are single cell recordings
Small electrodes are placed placed into a network of neurons in a region of interest can pick up activity of groups and single neuron(s)
45
who won a noblel price for determining which type of stimuli neurons respond best to?
Hubel and Wiesel
46
pros of single-cell recordings
- action potentials are all-or-none so we can measure firing rates and quantify activity - a change in firing rate shows a quantifable change in neural function HIGH SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PRECISION
47
what is electrocorticography (ECoG)
- intracraneal recordings used to localize origins of seizure activity --> guide surgery to remove minimal amounts of brain tissue
48
pros and cons of ECoG
Very similar to single cell recordings - high spatial and temporal res. - incredibly invasive - patient's wellbeing is priority - very limited access
49
what is electroencephalogy (EEG)
Recording of neural activity using scalp electrodes
50
pros of EEG
- less invasive - very common, inexpensive - great temporal resolution - great for tracking different states of consiousness for sleep
51
cons of EEG
- limited spatial resolution, get an aggregate activity of millions of neurons
52
what is an ERG
event related potential --> EEG in response to a stimulus or task --> amplitude depends on how hard a task is
53
what does fMRI stand for
functional magnetic resonance imaging
54
how does fMRI work
Blood oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal increases with increased brain activity since when neurons are active they use more oxygen
55
what is the spatial unit of measurement for the fMRI?
voxel
56
pros of fMRI
- very common - noninvasive - goodish spatial resolution - great view of internal structures - great for identifying areas of future interest
57
cons of fMRI
- super expensive - not great temporal resolution - correlation vs causation issues - indirect measures, which leaves space for misinterpretation - not everyone can be scanned
58
fMRI subtraction methods
comparison of the pattern of brain activity for 2 categories of stimuli, leading to functional brain mapping
59
difference between fMRI and MRI
MRI focuses more on the different magnetic properties of different tissues to get structural info
60
two types of brain stimulation
- transcranial magnetic stimulation - transcranial direct current stimulation
61
what do brain stimulation methods do
stimulate or distrupt activity to study or determine causation of perceptual or cog functions
62
how does the TMS work
Safely temporarily disrupts brain activity using focal magnetic pulses targeted over different areas of the scalp → Use a paddle/coil that emits magnetic pulses --> induces 'virtual lessions'
63
pros of TMS
- noninvasive - good temporal resolution - can be used for both research and treatment
64
cons of TMS
- hard to look at brain areas deeper in the brain, limited to surface brain parts - low spatial precision and reach - worse temporal resolution than EEg - can cause discomfort or raise small risk of seizures
65
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
- applies a weak electrical current across the skull to modify brain activity --> increases or decreases the likelihood that neurons will fire Safe and noninvasive
66
what are genes
heritable code that dictates how our bodies develop and function. Sections on a strand of DNA
67
what is a genotype
the entire set of genes that an organism carries
68
what is a phenotype
all of an organism’s observable traits, including our susceptibility to physical or mental illness
69
behavioural genetics
field that attempts to link behaviour (phenotype) to genes (genotype) --> some cog functions are heritable --> but we must also consider environment and epigenetics
70
what does 'knock out' mean
purposely rendering a gene absent or unexpressed, to later link changed behaviour to that one gene
71
psychophysics
Observing our own sensations and perceptions to learn about our body and mind
72
what are some examples of psychophysics
- reaction time - detection (identifying sugar in ur coffee) - discrimination (recognizing its sugar) - measuring eye movement
T3: PSYC 309
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