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Questions and Answers
What is cognitive neuroscience?
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Why did research on the mind experience a roller-coaster ride?
Why did research on the mind experience a roller-coaster ride?
How is information transmitted in the nervous system?
How is information transmitted in the nervous system?
What are neural networks and their role in cognition?
What are neural networks and their role in cognition?
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Who used a staining technique involving silver nitrate to study brain tissue?
Who used a staining technique involving silver nitrate to study brain tissue?
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What did Ramon y Cajal use to study tissue from the brains of newborn animals?
What did Ramon y Cajal use to study tissue from the brains of newborn animals?
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What did Cajal's discovery of individual units called neurons form the basis of?
What did Cajal's discovery of individual units called neurons form the basis of?
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What do dendrites do in a neuron?
What do dendrites do in a neuron?
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What did Cajal conclude about the connection between neurons?
What did Cajal conclude about the connection between neurons?
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What do neurons form in the nervous system?
What do neurons form in the nervous system?
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Apart from brain neurons, what else picks up information from the environment?
Apart from brain neurons, what else picks up information from the environment?
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What did Cajal's ideas of individual neurons, synapses, and neural circuits contribute to?
What did Cajal's ideas of individual neurons, synapses, and neural circuits contribute to?
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What did Cajal's discoveries earn him?
What did Cajal's discoveries earn him?
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What was determined later, after Cajal described the structure of individual neurons and their relationships?
What was determined later, after Cajal described the structure of individual neurons and their relationships?
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What is cognitive neuroscience?
What is cognitive neuroscience?
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What does the concept of 'levels of analysis' involve?
What does the concept of 'levels of analysis' involve?
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What analogy is used to explain levels of analysis?
What analogy is used to explain levels of analysis?
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How is the concept of 'levels of analysis' applied to cognition?
How is the concept of 'levels of analysis' applied to cognition?
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At what levels can the physiological study of cognition be conducted?
At what levels can the physiological study of cognition be conducted?
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What example is used to illustrate the behavioral description and the corresponding physiological processes?
What example is used to illustrate the behavioral description and the corresponding physiological processes?
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What does the chapter emphasize about studying any phenomenon?
What does the chapter emphasize about studying any phenomenon?
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What will the book describe research in cognition at?
What will the book describe research in cognition at?
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What is considered in the description of physiology?
What is considered in the description of physiology?
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At what levels are the physiological processes involved in perception and memory described?
At what levels are the physiological processes involved in perception and memory described?
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What do neurons within the brain do?
What do neurons within the brain do?
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What does understanding the physiological basis for perception, memory, and thought involve?
What does understanding the physiological basis for perception, memory, and thought involve?
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What did Sir Edgar Adrian's experiments reveal about the rate of nerve firing?
What did Sir Edgar Adrian's experiments reveal about the rate of nerve firing?
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What did Adrian's research lay the foundation for understanding?
What did Adrian's research lay the foundation for understanding?
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What did Adrian rule out regarding action potentials for different qualities?
What did Adrian rule out regarding action potentials for different qualities?
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What does the principle of neural representation state?
What does the principle of neural representation state?
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What did researchers in the 1960s begin focusing on recording from?
What did researchers in the 1960s begin focusing on recording from?
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What did research on single neurons in the brain find about stimuli and neural firing?
What did research on single neurons in the brain find about stimuli and neural firing?
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What did researchers find about neurons at higher levels of the visual system?
What did researchers find about neurons at higher levels of the visual system?
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What do different qualities of stimuli and aspects of experience activate in the brain?
What do different qualities of stimuli and aspects of experience activate in the brain?
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What did researchers find about cognition and neural representation across different domains?
What did researchers find about cognition and neural representation across different domains?
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What is the relationship between the intensity of stimulation and the magnitude of an experience?
What is the relationship between the intensity of stimulation and the magnitude of an experience?
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What did Adrian's work lead to the question of?
What did Adrian's work lead to the question of?
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What did researchers find about the firing of neurons in the primary visual receiving area?
What did researchers find about the firing of neurons in the primary visual receiving area?
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What is the resting potential of a neuron?
What is the resting potential of a neuron?
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What is the difference in charge between the inside and outside of the neuron when the receptor is stimulated?
What is the difference in charge between the inside and outside of the neuron when the receptor is stimulated?
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How long does the action potential, which transmits information throughout the nervous system, last?
How long does the action potential, which transmits information throughout the nervous system, last?
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What happens to the height and shape of action potentials as they travel down the axon?
What happens to the height and shape of action potentials as they travel down the axon?
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What occurs when action potentials reach the synapse at the end of the axon?
What occurs when action potentials reach the synapse at the end of the axon?
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What was crucial for making the extremely small electrical signals generated by neurons visible?
What was crucial for making the extremely small electrical signals generated by neurons visible?
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What is the charge inside the axon when the receptor is stimulated?
What is the charge inside the axon when the receptor is stimulated?
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What is the role of the reference electrode in recording electrical signals from a single neuron?
What is the role of the reference electrode in recording electrical signals from a single neuron?
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What did Edgar Adrian record in the 1920s using microelectrodes?
What did Edgar Adrian record in the 1920s using microelectrodes?
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What is the charge difference between the recording and reference electrodes displayed on the computer screen?
What is the charge difference between the recording and reference electrodes displayed on the computer screen?
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What is the charge of the resting potential of a neuron compared to the outside?
What is the charge of the resting potential of a neuron compared to the outside?
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What is the space at the end of the axon where a neurotransmitter is released?
What is the space at the end of the axon where a neurotransmitter is released?
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Study Notes
Neural Representation and Cognition: A Historical Overview
- Sir Edgar Adrian conducted experiments to relate nerve firing to stimuli in the environment and people’s experience.
- Adrian found that the rate of nerve firing increased with stimulus intensity, indicating a connection between nerve firing and experience.
- The intensity of stimulation is related to the magnitude of an experience, such as feeling pressure on the skin or experiencing the brightness of light.
- Adrian's research laid the foundation for understanding how the magnitude and quality of experience are represented in neural firing.
- Adrian's work led to the question of how the quality of experience is represented in neural firing, which was further investigated in subsequent research.
- Adrian ruled out the possibility that action potentials for different qualities might look different, as he found that all action potentials have the same height and shape.
- Different qualities of stimuli and aspects of experience activate different neurons and areas in the brain, indicating that different aspects of experience are represented in different areas of the brain.
- The principle of neural representation states that everything a person experiences is based on representations in the person’s nervous system.
- In the 1960s, researchers began focusing on recording from single neurons in the primary visual receiving area, leading to the question of what makes neurons fire.
- Research on single neurons in the brain found that many neurons at higher levels of the visual system fire to complex stimuli like geometrical patterns and faces.
- Specific stimuli cause neural firing distributed across many areas of the cortex, showing that cognition is not created only in the primary visual receiving area, but in many different areas of the brain.
- Similar results were found for other cognitions beyond vision, indicating that neural representation is a fundamental aspect of cognition across different domains.
Recording Electrical Signals from Neurons
- In the 1920s, Edgar Adrian recorded electrical signals from single sensory neurons using microelectrodes.
- Modern physiologists use metal microelectrodes to record electrical signals from single neurons.
- The setup for recording from a single neuron involves a recording electrode inside the neuron and a reference electrode located at a distance.
- The difference in charge between the recording and reference electrodes is displayed on a computer screen.
- The resting potential of a neuron is 270 millivolts, and it has a charge that is 70 mV more negative inside than outside.
- When the neuron's receptor is stimulated, a nerve impulse is transmitted down the axon, causing the charge inside the axon to rise to 140 millivolts compared to the outside.
- The action potential, which is the mechanism by which information is transmitted throughout the nervous system, lasts about 1 millisecond.
- Action potentials are ideal for sending signals over a distance because they travel down the axon without changing their height or shape.
- When action potentials reach the synapse at the end of the axon, a neurotransmitter is released, enabling the signal to be transmitted across the gap to another neuron.
- Adrian's recording of electrical signals from single neurons led to other discoveries, including the finding that each action potential travels all the way down the axon without changing its height or shape.
- The development of electronic amplifiers in the 1920s was crucial for making the extremely small electrical signals generated by neurons visible.
- The synapse at the end of the axon is the space where a neurotransmitter is released, allowing the signal to be transmitted across the gap to another neuron.
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Description
"Neural Representation and Cognition: Historical Overview Quiz" Test your knowledge of the historical developments in neural representation and cognition with this quiz. Explore the pioneering work of Sir Edgar Adrian, the recording of electrical signals from neurons, and the fundamental principles of neural representation.