Neuroscience Terms and Concepts

Podcast Beta

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What is the primary function of the axon in a neuron?

Receive input from sensory receptors

Transmit nerve impulses toward the cell body

Carry nerve impulses away from the cell body (correct)

Support structural integrity of neurons

Which statement best describes Broca's area?

Responsible for visual perception in the occipital lobe

Linked to speech production in the brain's left frontal lobe (correct)

Involved in memory processing in the temporal lobe

Essential for controlling motor functions in the parietal lobe

What does cognitive neuroscience primarily study?

The impact of environment on brain structure

The mechanisms of neural connections only

The effects of psychological trauma on behavior

The neural mechanisms of cognition and behavior (correct)

What is the role of dendrites in a neuron?

To receive input from sensory receptors or other neurons Signup and view all the answers

Dualism, as attributed to René Descartes, suggests what about the relationship between the brain and the mind?

They are distinct and separate entities Signup and view all the answers

How does functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measure brain activity?

By measuring and localizing blood oxygen levels in the brain Signup and view all the answers

Which best describes the principle of functional specialization in the brain?

Specific brain areas are responsible for different cognitive tasks Signup and view all the answers

What is prosopagnosia commonly known as?

Face blindness Signup and view all the answers

What does a region of interest (ROI) refer to in neuroscience research?

A specific brain area designated for focus by an investigator Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of single cell recording in neuroscience?

To measure electrical activity from individual neurons Signup and view all the answers

Which condition is characterized by difficulty in recognizing objects despite intact early visual function?

Associative agnosia Signup and view all the answers

What is a key function of Wernicke's area in the brain?

Comprehending language Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)?

A method that applies a weak electrical current to change neuronal activity Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon refers to the tendency of people to remember pictures as extending beyond their edges?

Boundary extension Signup and view all the answers

In mental imagery, the depictive/analog view suggests that:

Mental images are represented like real images captured by the eyes Signup and view all the answers

What does binocular disparity help a person perceive?

Depth perception Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'figure-ground organization' refer to in visual perception?

The ability to segment a visual scene into objects and backgrounds. Signup and view all the answers

How does the time taken for mental rotation of objects relate to their angular separation?

It is directly proportional to the amount of rotation. Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'mental scanning task' imply about mental imagery?

It indicates that mental images have spatial relationships. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes 'object constancy'?

The ability to recognize objects despite variations in perspective and lighting. Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of the 'recognition by components' theory?

It suggests that object recognition is based on basic shapes known as geons. Signup and view all the answers

Which describes the process of 'phoneme restoration effect'?

The perceptual replacement of missing phonemes without awareness. Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of a monocular depth cue?

The understanding of spatial relationships with a single viewpoint. Signup and view all the answers

What best conveys the concept of 'predictive coding' in visual processing?

The brain's ability to anticipate what visual information it will receive next. Signup and view all the answers

What type of attention is influenced by voluntary effort and directs focus symbolically to a target location?

Endogenous attention Signup and view all the answers

Which theory suggests that attention causes the features of an object to be bound together for perception?

Feature integration theory Signup and view all the answers

In the context of attention, what does inattentional blindness refer to?

Failing to notice unexpected items in plain view Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between explicit and implicit attention?

Explicit leads to conscious awareness, while implicit does not Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following attention types is characterized by its direction towards an object rather than a point in space?

Object-based attention Signup and view all the answers

What is the key function of the Posner cueing task in attention research?

To reveal the movement of attention in space Signup and view all the answers

Which cue engages reflexive attention and attracts focus to a specific location?

Exogenous cue Signup and view all the answers

What does Treisman's attenuator model suggest about the processing of meaningful information?

It meets a lower threshold of processing for recognition Signup and view all the answers

What does 'transduction' refer to in the context of sensory perception?

The conversion of physical signals from the environment into neural signals. Signup and view all the answers

Which pathway is primarily responsible for identifying what an object is?

Ventral pathway Signup and view all the answers

What is 'attentional blink'?

The failure to perceive the second target in a rapid succession after the first. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary distinction between covert and overt attention?

Covert attention is not observable, while overt attention is observable. Signup and view all the answers

What is the basis of Broadbent's filter model?

Information is filtered based on early stimulus characteristics. Signup and view all the answers

What describes the process of 'unconscious inference'?

Educated guessing based on visual clues without awareness. Signup and view all the answers

How does the 'biased competition model of attention' work?

Stimuli compete within the same receptive field and attention biases them. Signup and view all the answers

What does 'dichotic listening' involve?

Listening to one message while trying to block out another channel. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Neurons and Their Components

Axon: Transmits nerve impulses away from the neuron's cell body towards other neurons' dendrites.
Dendrites: Branchlike structures that receive input from sensory receptors or other neurons.
Soma (Cell Body): Contains the nucleus and metabolic machinery of the neuron, receiving inputs.

Brain Areas and Their Functions

Broca's Area: Located in the left frontal lobe, essential for speech production.
Wernicke's Area: Situated in the left temporal lobe, crucial for language comprehension.
Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex:
- Occipital Lobe: Focused on visual perception.
- Temporal Lobe: Involved in complex perception, memory, and language.
- Parietal Lobe: Important for action control.
- Frontal Lobe: Engaged in thinking, planning, and decision-making.

Brain Function and Research Techniques

Cognitive Neuroscience: Examines the neural mechanisms behind cognition and behavior.
Neuropsychology: Studies behavior changes due to brain damage.
Neurotransmitters: Chemicals that facilitate communication between neurons.
Glial Cells: Supportive non-neuronal brain cells aiding neurons structurally and functionally.

Research and Measurement Methods

Electroencephalography (EEG): Measures electrical activity in the brain via scalp electrodes.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): Localizes brain activity by measuring blood oxygen levels.
Event-Related Potential (ERP): Captures time-locked EEG waveforms in response to stimuli.
Single Cell Recording: Measures electrical activity from individual neurons.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): Alters brain activity to observe effects on behavior.

Psychological Concepts and Conditions

Dualism: Proposed by René Descartes, suggests a distinction between mind (non-physical) and body (physical).
Materialism: Posits that the mind arises entirely from brain processes.
Prosopagnosia: Difficulty in recognizing faces, often referred to as face blindness.
Spatial Neglect: Failure to process one side of the visual field post-brain injury.

Perception and Cognition

Mental Imagery: Creating mental images without direct environmental input.
Top-Down Processing: Interpretation of sensory input influenced by prior knowledge and expectations.
Bottom-Up Processing: Perception driven purely by sensory input.
Object Constancy: Recognizing objects despite changes in perspective or lighting.

Attention and Visual Processing

Attentional Blink: Inability to notice the second of two rapidly presented targets.
Change Blindness: Inability to detect large changes in a visual scene.
Dichotic Listening: Task focusing on filtering out one audio stream while listening to another.
Feature Integration Theory: Proposes that focused attention binds features of an object into a coherent perception.

Visual Cues and Depth Perception

Binocular Depth Cues: Require both eyes to support depth perception.
Monocular Depth Cues: Use one eye to derive three-dimensional understanding.
Binocular Disparity: Difference between the images seen by each eye, greater for closer objects.
Predictive Coding: Brain's capacity to anticipate expected sensory input.

Cognitive Mechanisms

Unconscious Inference: Making educated guesses based on visual clues without awareness.
Holistic Processing of Faces: Recognizing faces as whole entities rather than individual features.
Object Segmentation: Differentiating elements of a scene into different objects and backgrounds.

Learning and Memory Tasks

Mental Rotation: The time taken to mentally rotate and match images is proportional to the degree of rotation.
Mental Scanning Task: Time to mentally scan between two points is related to the distance, similar to physical movement.
Phoneme Restoration Effect: Missing sounds in speech can be perceptually filled in without conscious awareness.

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Description

Test your knowledge on key terms in neuroscience including axons, Broca's area, and cognitive neuroscience. This quiz will cover the fundamental components of neurons and their roles in behavior and cognition. Perfect for students diving into the study of the brain and its functions.