Questions and Answers
When two neighboring cells in your brain are active at the same time, the connection between them _____, this is called _____:
Which description aligns with the Global Workspace Theory of consciousness?
What is the 'hard problem' often referred to in consciousness studies?
What does the example of 'split brain' patients exemplify?
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What is NOT true of mechanistic explanations?
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Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are all examples of _______ methods of studying the brain.
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Stimulation studies are useful because they can provide a _____ link between brain activity and function.
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What is true?
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Establishing etiological causal relevance entails
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To follow the connections to and from a given neuron, scientists use chemical _____.
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What are Brodmann areas?
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The person who came up with the 'Neuron doctrine' is:
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In which cuts or views of the brain do we see both hemispheres at the same time?
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What are the four functions of a neuron, in the right order from dendrite to axon?
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When two neighboring cells in your brain are active at the same time, the connection between them _____, this is called _____:
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Important general features of memory are that it is:
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Which description fits with the Global Workspace Theory of consciousness?
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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?
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What is the 'hard problem'?
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What does this image intend to show?
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What does the example of 'split brain' patients show?
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What is NOT true of mechanistic explanations?
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Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are all examples of _______ methods of studying the brain.
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Stimulation studies are useful because they can provide a _____ link between brain activity and function.
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What is true?
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Establishing etiological causal relevance entails
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To follow the connections to and from a given neuron, scientists use chemical _____.
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What are Brodmann areas?
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The person who came up with the 'Neuron doctrine' is:
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In which cuts or views of the brain do we see both hemispheres at the same time?
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What are the four functions of a neuron, in the right order from dendrite to axon?
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When two neighboring cells in your brain are active at the same time, the connection between them _____, this is called _____.
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Important general features of memory include that it is:
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Which description fits with the Global Workspace Theory of consciousness?
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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?
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What is NOT true of mechanistic explanations?
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What is the 'hard problem' in consciousness studies?
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What does the example of 'split brain' patients show?
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Microelectrodes, eCog, and electroencephalography (EEG) are all examples of _______ methods of studying the brain.
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Stimulation studies are useful because they can provide a _____ link between brain activity and function.
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What is true?
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Establishing etiological causal relevance entails
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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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Practice exam with 40 questions covering cognitive neuroscience, sampling learning materials from lectures and chapters.