Behaviour and the Brain 2 Practice Exam
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When two neighboring cells in your brain are active at the same time, the connection between them _____, this is called _____:

  • Weakens, long-term potentiation
  • Weakens, long-term depression
  • Gets stronger, long-term depression
  • Gets stronger, long-term potentiation (correct)

    • Which description aligns with the Global Workspace Theory of consciousness?

  • Consciousness has an unlimited capacity
  • Long term memory is needed for conscious experiences
  • The conscious spotlight can 'shine' on any brain process (correct)
  • Only representations that are attended become conscious

    • What is the 'hard problem' often referred to in consciousness studies?

  • The problem that when trying to explain conscious experience in physical terms, there would always be something 'left out' of the explanation (correct)
  • The problem that it is impossible to determine whether consciousness and attention are the same thing or not
  • The problem that we do not know how neurons code perceptual experiences in the brain
  • The problem that the functions of the brain, when taken all together, would explain why we experience things the way we do

    • What does the example of 'split brain' patients exemplify?

    <p>What it shows depends on whether you believe that drawing something from memory requires consciousness</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is NOT true of mechanistic explanations?

    <p>They result in emergent properties</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are all examples of _______ methods of studying the brain.

    <p>connectional</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Stimulation studies are useful because they can provide a _____ link between brain activity and function.

    <p>causal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is true?

    <p>Top-down experiments are experiments in which the parts and/or processes of a mechanism are stimulated/disrupted to see whether there is an effect on the phenomenon that the mechanism is thought to constitute, while bottom-up experiments are experiments in which a phenomenon is manipulated to see whether that affects the parts and/or processes that are thought to constitute it.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Establishing etiological causal relevance entails

    <p>Manipulating something and establishing what the effect of that manipulation is on something else</p> Signup and view all the answers

    To follow the connections to and from a given neuron, scientists use chemical _____.

    <p>tracers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are Brodmann areas?

    <p>Regions of the cortex sensitive to specific cognitive tasks</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The person who came up with the 'Neuron doctrine' is:

    <p>Santiago Ramón y Cajal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In which cuts or views of the brain do we see both hemispheres at the same time?

    <p>Axial, sagittal, and coronal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the four functions of a neuron, in the right order from dendrite to axon?

    <p>Collecting, integrating, conducting, outputting</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When two neighboring cells in your brain are active at the same time, the connection between them _____, this is called _____:

    <p>gets stronger, long-term potentiation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Important general features of memory are that it is:

    <p>(iii), (v) and (vi)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which description fits with the Global Workspace Theory of consciousness?

    <p>Only representations that are attended become conscious.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When ordering altered states of consciousness from least likely to have (some) degree of consciousness to most likely to have (some) degree of consciousness, what would be the best order?

    <p>coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the 'hard problem'?

    <p>The problem that when trying to explain conscious experience in physical terms, there would always be something 'left out' of the explanation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does this image intend to show?

    <p>That what we experience is determined by context</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the example of 'split brain' patients show?

    <p>What it shows depends on whether you believe that drawing something from memory requires consciousness</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is NOT true of mechanistic explanations?

    <p>They result in emergent properties</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are all examples of _______ methods of studying the brain.

    <p>connectional</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Stimulation studies are useful because they can provide a _____ link between brain activity and function.

    <p>causal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is true?

    <p>Top-down experiments...</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Establishing etiological causal relevance entails

    <p>Manipulating something...</p> Signup and view all the answers

    To follow the connections to and from a given neuron, scientists use chemical _____.

    <p>tracers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are Brodmann areas?

    <p>Regions of the cortex sensitive to specific cognitive tasks</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The person who came up with the 'Neuron doctrine' is:

    <p>Santiago Ramón y Cajal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In which cuts or views of the brain do we see both hemispheres at the same time?

    <p>Axial, sagittal, and coronal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the four functions of a neuron, in the right order from dendrite to axon?

    <p>Integrating, collecting, conducting, outputting</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When two neighboring cells in your brain are active at the same time, the connection between them _____, this is called _____.

    <p>gets stronger, long-term potentiation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Important general features of memory include that it is:

    <p>(iii), (v) and (vi)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which description fits with the Global Workspace Theory of consciousness?

    <p>Only representations that are attended become conscious.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When ordering altered states of consciousness from least likely to have (some) degree of consciousness to most likely to have (some) degree of consciousness, what would be the best order?

    <p>coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is NOT true of mechanistic explanations?

    <p>They result in emergent properties</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the 'hard problem' in consciousness studies?

    <p>The problem that when trying to explain conscious experience in physical terms, there would always be something 'left out' of the explanation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the example of 'split brain' patients show?

    <p>What it shows depends on whether you believe that drawing something from memory requires consciousness</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are all examples of _______ methods of studying the brain.

    <p>Connectional</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Stimulation studies are useful because they can provide a _____ link between brain activity and function.

    <p>Causal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is true?

    <p>Top-down experiments are experiments in which the parts and/or processes of a mechanism are stimulated/disrupted to see whether there is an effect on the phenomenon that the mechanism is thought to constitute.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Establishing etiological causal relevance entails

    <p>Manipulating something and establishing what the effect of that manipulation is on something else</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Lecture 1 - Introduction

    • Mechanistic explanations:
      • Are reductionist explanations
      • Do not result in emergent properties
      • Can be identified through mutual manipulability
      • Answer "how actually?" questions rather than "how possibly?" questions
    • Research methods:
      • Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are examples of correlational methods
      • Stimulation studies can provide a causal link between brain activity and function

    Lecture 2 - History and Neurons

    • Neuron doctrine:
      • Developed by Santiago Ramón y Cajal
    • Brodmann areas:
      • Regions of the cortex sensitive to specific cognitive tasks
    • Brain visualization:
      • Axial, sagittal, and coronal views of the brain are possible
    • Neuron functions:
      • Collecting, integrating, conducting, and outputting information

    Lecture 3 - Nervous System

    • Developing vertebrate brains:
      • Divided into prosencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon
    • Nervous system organization:
      • Central nervous system (CNS) includes brain and spinal cord
      • Somatic nervous system involved in voluntary movements
      • Autonomic nervous system involved in involuntary movements
    • Hypothalamus:
      • Regulatory structure involved in maintaining homeostasis through hormone secretion

    Lecture 4 - Methods

    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI):
      • Can be weighted for different tissue types (e.g., T1, T2, T2*)
      • Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to visualize neural tracts
    • Other methods:
      • Electroencephalography (EEG) measures electrical activity in the brain
      • Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measures magnetic fields generated by electrical activity
      • Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can induce virtual brain lesions

    Lecture 5 - Visual Hierarchy

    • Visual processing:
      • Light is transduced to electrical signals in the eye
      • Information is transmitted to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and then to primary visual cortex (V1)
    • Visual hierarchy:
      • Increasingly complex tuning properties arise in the visual hierarchy
      • Cortical assembly line: neurons in visual cortex are sensitive to increasingly complex features

    Lecture 6 - Perception

    • Binding problem:
      • The problem of how the brain determines which features (color, motion, shape) belong to the same object
    • Object representation:
      • "Gnostic" cells at the top of the visual hierarchy could represent objects
      • Objects could be represented by ensembles of neurons that together code for objects
    • Perceptual organization:
      • Achieved through hierarchical coding and lateral and feedback processing

    Lecture 7 - Plasticity and Memory

    • Synaptic plasticity:
      • Number of synapses in the brain decreases over time
    • Memory types:
      • Declarative memory (e.g., facts) vs. non-declarative memory (e.g., skills)
    • Long-term potentiation (LTP):
      • Strengthening of connections between neurons when active at the same time
    • Place cells:
      • Neurons that fire when an organism is located in a particular place in its environment

    Lecture 8 - Attention and Consciousness

    • Global Workspace Theory (GWT) of consciousness:
      • Conscious experience arises when information is globally broadcast to the brain
    • Altered states of consciousness:
      • Coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state (in order of least to most likely to have some degree of consciousness)
    • Hard problem of consciousness:
      • The problem of explaining why we have subjective experiences at all

    Mechanistic Explanations

    • Mechanistic explanations are reductionist and answer "how actually" questions rather than "how possibly" questions
    • They can be identified through mutual manipulability

    Methods of Studying the Brain

    • Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are examples of correlational methods
    • Stimulation studies provide a causal link between brain activity and function

    Experimental Designs

    • Top-down experiments: stimulate/disrupt parts and/or processes of a mechanism to see the effect on the phenomenon
    • Bottom-up experiments: manipulate a phenomenon to see the effect on the parts and/or processes that constitute it

    Neurons and Brain Structure

    • To follow connections to and from a given neuron, scientists use chemical tracers
    • Brodmann areas: regions of the cortex sensitive to specific cognitive tasks
    • The "Neuron doctrine" was developed by Santiago Ramón y Cajal
    • The four functions of a neuron, in order from dendrite to axon, are: collecting, integrating, conducting, and outputting

    Nervous System Development

    • Developing vertebrate brains contain three main divisions: prosencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon
    • The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord
    • Humans have a somatic nervous system, used for voluntary actions like raising an arm or kicking a ball
    • The hypothalamus is a regulatory set of nuclei involved in maintaining homeostasis through hormone secretion

    Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience

    • Weighting of MRI scans: T1, T2, and T2* (sensitive to blood oxygenation)
    • Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is used to compare neural tracts between groups of people
    • EEG and MEG are used to measure brain activity with high temporal resolution
    • TMS is used to induce virtual brain lesions in humans

    Visual Hierarchy

    • Neurons in the right LGN respond to stimulation of the left visual hemifield
    • The visual hierarchy: LGN → V1 (primary visual cortex) → higher visual areas
    • Increasingly complex tuning properties arise in the visual hierarchy due to multiple neurons projecting to single neurons higher up
    • A "cortical assembly line" refers to neurons in visual cortex being sensitive to increasingly complex features

    Perception and Binding

    • The binding problem: how the brain determines which features belong to the same object
    • The brain represents objects through ensembles of neurons that together code for objects
    • Hierarchical coding and lateral/feedback processing are involved in perceptual organization
    • Figure-ground relationships and illusory surfaces are represented in higher visual areas

    Plasticity and Memory

    • The number of synapses in the brain decreases over time
    • Non-declarative memory: skills and habits, e.g. knitting
    • Place cells are neurons that fire when an organism is located in a particular place
    • Long-term potentiation: the strengthening of connections between neurons through simultaneous activity

    Attention and Consciousness

    • The Global Workspace Theory: consciousness arises from the global workspace of the brain
    • Attention is necessary for conscious experience
    • The "hard problem" of consciousness: explaining why we have subjective experiences at all
    • Split-brain patients show that consciousness can be affected by alterations to brain structure and function

    Mechanistic Explanations

    • Mechanistic explanations are reductionist and answer "how actually" questions rather than "how possibly" questions
    • They can be identified through mutual manipulability

    Methods of Studying the Brain

    • Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are examples of correlational methods
    • Stimulation studies provide a causal link between brain activity and function

    Experimental Designs

    • Top-down experiments: stimulate/disrupt parts and/or processes of a mechanism to see the effect on the phenomenon
    • Bottom-up experiments: manipulate a phenomenon to see the effect on the parts and/or processes that constitute it

    Neurons and Brain Structure

    • To follow connections to and from a given neuron, scientists use chemical tracers
    • Brodmann areas: regions of the cortex sensitive to specific cognitive tasks
    • The "Neuron doctrine" was developed by Santiago Ramón y Cajal
    • The four functions of a neuron, in order from dendrite to axon, are: collecting, integrating, conducting, and outputting

    Nervous System Development

    • Developing vertebrate brains contain three main divisions: prosencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon
    • The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord
    • Humans have a somatic nervous system, used for voluntary actions like raising an arm or kicking a ball
    • The hypothalamus is a regulatory set of nuclei involved in maintaining homeostasis through hormone secretion

    Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience

    • Weighting of MRI scans: T1, T2, and T2* (sensitive to blood oxygenation)
    • Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is used to compare neural tracts between groups of people
    • EEG and MEG are used to measure brain activity with high temporal resolution
    • TMS is used to induce virtual brain lesions in humans

    Visual Hierarchy

    • Neurons in the right LGN respond to stimulation of the left visual hemifield
    • The visual hierarchy: LGN → V1 (primary visual cortex) → higher visual areas
    • Increasingly complex tuning properties arise in the visual hierarchy due to multiple neurons projecting to single neurons higher up
    • A "cortical assembly line" refers to neurons in visual cortex being sensitive to increasingly complex features

    Perception and Binding

    • The binding problem: how the brain determines which features belong to the same object
    • The brain represents objects through ensembles of neurons that together code for objects
    • Hierarchical coding and lateral/feedback processing are involved in perceptual organization
    • Figure-ground relationships and illusory surfaces are represented in higher visual areas

    Plasticity and Memory

    • The number of synapses in the brain decreases over time
    • Non-declarative memory: skills and habits, e.g. knitting
    • Place cells are neurons that fire when an organism is located in a particular place
    • Long-term potentiation: the strengthening of connections between neurons through simultaneous activity

    Attention and Consciousness

    • The Global Workspace Theory: consciousness arises from the global workspace of the brain
    • Attention is necessary for conscious experience
    • The "hard problem" of consciousness: explaining why we have subjective experiences at all
    • Split-brain patients show that consciousness can be affected by alterations to brain structure and function

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