Neuroscience Methods Final Exam Review

The ability to hold a limited amount of information in mind for a short period, usually about 4 items.

Storing information for long periods; technically unlimited capacity, but retrieval can be complex due to factors like forgetting or interference.

A theoretical representation that highlights the most attention-grabbing parts of a scene, helping our eyes focus on those areas first.

A neural mechanism that prioritizes specific sensory stimuli or actions for further processing, guided by attention.

A phenomenon where we fail to notice significant changes in a scene, even when we are looking directly at it.

A technique that uses electrodes placed on the scalp to measure brain electrical activity. It's non-invasive and offers excellent temporal resolution but struggles with spatial localization.

Scalp recordings of brain potentials evoked by specific events (like stimuli). They show positive or negative voltage peaks at specific time points after stimulus onset.

A functional neuroimaging method that measures brain activity based on changes in blood oxygen levels. It uses strong magnetic fields and is non-invasive, but has moderate temporal resolution.

A technique that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific brain regions. It's non-invasive, has moderate spatial resolution, and offers good temporal precision.

A neuroimaging method that uses surgically implanted electrodes to record brain electrical activity directly from the brain's surface. It's invasive but offers excellent spatial resolution.

A technique that measures the diffusion of water molecules in brain tissue. It's a type of structural MRI and helps assess brain white matter integrity.

A structural imaging technique that uses X-rays to create 3D images of the brain. It's non-invasive, relatively inexpensive, but provides less detailed images than MRI.

A functional neuroimaging method that measures brain activity by injecting radioactive tracers and detecting their distribution in the brain. It's non-invasive and offers information about brain metabolism.

A neuroimaging method that uses sensitive magnetometers to measure the magnetic fields generated by brain electrical activity. It's non-invasive and offers excellent temporal resolution.

A technique that combines structural MRI images with neuropsychological test data to identify brain regions associated with specific cognitive functions. It's used to understand the relationship between brain damage and cognitive deficits.

A neurological disorder where neurons responsible for initiating movement are disrupted, resulting in slow and difficult movement initiation.

A type of brain cell that fires both when performing an action and when observing someone else perform the same action.

A surgical procedure where the corpus callosum, the connecting bridge between the two brain hemispheres, is severed. This is usually done to treat severe epilepsy.

Physical changes in brain tissue that can be detected using imaging techniques like MRI and CT scans.

Alterations in brain activity or energy use without any visible structural damage, often investigated using fMRI, PET scans, and EEG.

The frontal lobe area critical for social skills, decision-making, and emotional control. Damage here can lead to impulsive behavior, difficulty reading social cues, and impaired Theory of Mind.

Executive functions, including working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning. Helps us switch between tasks and rules.

Inhibitory control plays a crucial role in helping us suppress unwanted actions or responses. It's like the 'brake pedal' of our brain, preventing us from blurting out inappropriate things or making poor decisions.

The part of the brain involved in error-detection, conflict monitoring, and adjusting behavior. It signals when we make mistakes or experience conflict.

A groove or valley in the surface of the cerebral cortex, giving the brain its characteristic folded appearance.

A ridge or bump on the surface of the cerebral cortex, separated by sulci.

A very deep groove in the cerebral cortex, larger than a sulcus.

A hypothesis suggesting that neurons progressively encode more complex features as information flows through the visual system, culminating in specialized neurons recognizing specific objects.

A hypothetical neuron that responds specifically to a complex object, like recognizing your grandmother.

The ability to represent and understand the mental states of others, including their beliefs, desires, and intentions.

A brain region involved in understanding the mental states of others, particularly when those states differ from reality. It's crucial for reasoning about false beliefs.

A brain region involved in reasoning about the thoughts, intentions, and desires of others. It's key for understanding social interactions.

Dopamine is released when a reward is unexpected and the amount released reflects the difference between the expected and actual reward. This difference is known as the reward prediction error (RPE).

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a brain region crucial in the reward system. It produces dopamine and sends projections to other areas involved in motivation, learning, and pleasure, including the nucleus accumbens.

The ventral striatum is a brain area that is highly involved in processing rewards and motivation. It is also active in decision-making and goal-directed behavior. It is located underneath the cerebrum, near the base of the brain.

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a key part of the ventral striatum. It plays a central role in processing reward and motivation, contributing to our desire and ability to seek out pleasurable experiences.

The ventral part of the Putamen is another part of the ventral striatum. It contributes to the reward and motivational functions of the overall ventral striatum, alongside the nucleus accumbens.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures unconscious biases related to race, gender, religion, etc. It uses reaction times to assess how strongly we associate certain concepts, and people exhibiting greater bias show stronger activation in the amygdala, an area linked with fear and rapid emotional responses to outgroups.

Individuals with stronger implicit biases tend to recruit the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to exert greater cognitive control over their responses, trying to suppress biased reactions.

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a brain wave observed in response to errors. People who regulate their implicit biases tend to show a larger ERN, indicating a heightened sensitivity to mistakes, which is a sign of greater self-awareness and self-regulation.