Neuroscience and Brain Functions
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Questions and Answers

What is the primary function of the brain?

  • Housing sensory organs
  • Facilitating cognitive activities (correct)
  • Regulating hormonal levels
  • Controlling muscle movements

    • What is the approximate number of neurons in the brain?

  • 50 billion
  • 200 billion
  • 10 billion
  • 100 billion (correct)

    • Which lobe of the brain is primarily responsible for visual perception?

  • Parietal lobe
  • Frontal lobe
  • Temporal lobe
  • Occipital lobe (correct)

    • Which functions are primarily associated with the parietal lobe?

    <p>Somatic sensations and spatial awareness</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main component of the central nervous system?

    <p>Brain and spinal cord</p> Signup and view all the answers

    At what stage of life is brain plasticity most pronounced?

    <p>Early neonatal phase</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which structure of the brain is involved in controlling movement and personal traits?

    <p>Frontal lobe</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which lobes are primarily associated with language centers?

    <p>Frontal and temporal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What process facilitates the transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory?

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

    Which characteristic is NOT associated with long-term memory?

    <p>Limited capacity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the three memory systems outlined in the HIP model?

    <p>Sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which form of memory involves recalling specific events and life experiences?

    <p>Episodic memory</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What distinguishes declarative memory from procedural memory?

    <p>Declarative memory can be verbally articulated, while procedural memory cannot.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of memory refers to skills and tasks that become routine over time?

    <p>Procedural memory</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of neuroscience in relation to memory?

    <p>Studying brain structure and function</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do psychology and neuroscience view the relationship between mind and brain?

    <p>They explore the interaction between mental processes and brain structures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which paradigm allows for understanding the mind as an emergent property of an individual system?

    <p>Complexity paradigm</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does the environment play in brain development according to the content?

    <p>It influences synaptic combinations and cognitive development.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characterizes a critical period in development?

    <p>A time when the brain is highly susceptible to environmental influences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What consequence might result from a lack of stimulation during a critical period?

    <p>Irreversible damage to developmental progress.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which finding is associated with René Spitz's studies?

    <p>Maternal deprivation negatively affects child development.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How did past beliefs about brain plasticity differ from current understanding?

    <p>Earlier theories claimed the brain's plasticity ends after childhood.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do recent studies reveal about adult brain plasticity?

    <p>Some areas still exhibit plasticity, although to a lesser extent.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the concept of perception based on?

    <p>The integration of sensory data with past experiences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to the Gestalt theory, how is perception organized?

    <p>Based on structured wholes rather than isolated parts.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do the principles of Gestalt explain?

    <p>How stimuli are organized into structured figures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What conclusion did Hirst and Kalmar draw about divided attention during their studies?

    <p>Attention can be successfully allocated to different tasks simultaneously.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the functionalist perspective, how does personality relate to perception?

    <p>It alters the threshold and recognition times of stimuli.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the view of the cognitive perspective on perception?

    <p>It involves complex responses based on information processing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does attention distribution change when tasks involve different skills?

    <p>Attention is distributed more effectively across tasks.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which task receives the most cognitive resources in a dual-task scenario?

    <p>Primary task</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does attention act as in cognitive processes?

    <p>An active filter that selects relevant information.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of attention in contemporary cognitive models?

    <p>It facilitates the selection between conflicting cognitive processes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What distinguishes selective attention from divided attention?

    <p>Divided attention allows the handling of numerous tasks at once.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the metaphor used to describe attention in cognitive psychology?

    <p>A spotlight that illuminates chosen targets.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Tim Shallice's attentional model suggest?

    <p>Attention automatically selects cognitive processes based on their relevance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does experience play in perception, according to Bruner?

    <p>It shapes the recognition and interpretation of stimuli.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How were consciousness processes studied in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

    <p>Using systematic introspection by subjects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the main criticism of the introspective method by behaviorists?

    <p>It lacked the ability to provide objective, verifiable data.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What phenomenon helped reignite interest in the study of consciousness in the 1960s?

    <p>Research on divided brain patients.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to Freud, how are repressed memories processed?

    <p>They remain dormant until triggered by an event.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do contemporary models conceive of consciousness?

    <p>As an active control system of mental operations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which phase does the sensory register (RS) represent in the HIP model?

    <p>Immediate reception of sensory input.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What defines the function of short-term memory (STM) in the HIP model?

    <p>It has a limited capacity for retention.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Freud's iceberg analogy represent concerning consciousness?

    <p>The unconscious is more substantial and hidden than consciousness.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which concept is central to the multi-component model of memory?

    <p>Different types of memory components retain various stimulus aspects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of the HIP (Human Information Processing) model on memory?

    <p>Memory operates similarly to computational systems.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    The Brain and its Function

    • The brain is the primary organ for cognitive activity, and the most complex biological organization known.
    • All mental processes rely on its functions.

    Composed of Neurons

    • The brain is composed of approximately 100 billion nerve cells, called neurons, which communicate with each other by forming 1,000 – 10,000 connections (synapses).

    Synapses in the Cerebral Cortex

    • There are at least 100,000 billion synapses in the cerebral cortex, constantly active.

    Function of the Cerebral Cortex

    • The cerebral cortex has various functions, including:
      • Motor control
      • Language production
      • Attention
      • Thought processing

    Structure of the Central Nervous System

    • The central nervous system (CNS) is symmetrical and composed of the brain and spinal cord.

    Brain Divisions

    • The brain is divided into cortical and subcortical structures.
    • The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes:
      • Frontal
      • Parietal
      • Occipital
      • Temporal

    Functions of the Frontal Lobe

    • The frontal lobe regulates action processing, movement control, and personality-influencing traits.

    Functions of the Parietal Lobe

    • The parietal lobe is responsible for somatic sensations, body image, and spatial localization.

    Function of the Occipital Lobe

    • The occipital lobe houses visual perception.

    Functions of the Temporal Lobe

    • The temporal lobe is tied to auditory functions, learning, memory, language, and emotions.

    Language Centers

    • Language centers are generally located in the temporal and frontal lobes, in the left hemisphere.

    Plasticity in the Central Nervous System

    • Plasticity in the CNS is the brain’s ability to modify its structures in response to external sensory stimulation, functionally adapting to the environment.

    Critical Period

    • The critical period is a phase of particular sensitivity of the CNS to external influences, characterized by the progressive tuning between the brain and the external world.

    Importance of the Critical Period

    • The absence of stimulation during the critical period can cause irreversible damage to development because many skills are acquired in this phase, and are not determined solely by genetic factors.

    Environmental Effects

    • The environment activates a series of genes that would remain latent in the absence of stimuli.

    Brain Plasticity in Adulthood

    • Research has shown that, despite some reduction, there are areas of plasticity even in the adult brain, allowing for continued learning.

    Maintaining Brain Plasticity

    • The brain remains plastic and sensitive to external input. However, inactive neural circuits tend to lose their efficiency and functionality over time. Targeted brain exercises can help maintain plasticity.

    Perception

    • Perception is a cognitive process that allows us to obtain information from the external world by integrating sensations collected by the sense organs with past experiences.

    Schools of Thought on Perception

    • Perception has been studied by major psychological schools, including:
      • Psychophysiological perspective
      • Gestalt theory
      • Functionalist approach
      • Cognitive perspective

    Attention

    • Attention is the cognitive ability to focus on relevant information and inhibit irrelevant information. It functions like a filter that selects incoming information based on interests and expectations.

    Forms of Attention

    • The two main forms are selective attention, which focuses on one task at a time, and divided attention, which allows multiple tasks to be performed concurrently.

    Attention as a Control System

    • In more recent models, attention is seen as a control system for cognitive operations, not just a filter. It intervenes in the selection between conflicting cognitive processes.

    Consciousness

    • In contemporary models, consciousness is seen as an attentional control system for mental operations, involving the functioning of the prefrontal lobes.

    Memory

    • The multi-component model suggests that memory does not store stimuli in a single trace but maintains different components, such as temporal, spatial, or frequency.

    Memory Systems

    • The HIP (Human Information Processing) model views memory as an active mental function where information is acquired, processed, coded, and then stored, similar to how a computer works.

    Memory Types

    • The two main forms of memory are episodic memory, which relates to specific events and life experiences, and semantic memory, which is a long-term storage for facts, concepts, and abstract knowledge about the world.

    Neuroscience and Memory

    • Neuroscience studies the nervous system, including the structure and function of the brain to analyze how it stores and retrieves information, investigates the neural circuits in perception, memory, and language, and analyzes how synapses enable the transfer of information.

    Relationship Between Mind and Brain

    • Neuroscience views the mind as a product of the evolution and organization of brain structures, closely linked to environmental stimuli. Psychology analyzes mental processes and human behavior, creating a dialogue between mind and body.

    The Paradigm of Complexity

    • This paradigm allows us to see the mind as an emergent property of the system-individual, not reducible solely to physical components. It considers the interaction between brain structure and external cultural influences.

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    Description

    Explore the intricacies of the brain and its functions in this quiz. Dive into the composition of neurons, synapses in the cerebral cortex, and the various roles of the brain's structures. Test your knowledge on how these elements contribute to cognitive activities.

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