Cognition and Intelligence Chapter 15 Fall 2024 PDF

Cognition and Intelligence Today’s Agenda How is human thought characterized? What is the role of the association cortex? What is cerebral asymmetry and how does it influence thinking? What is...

Cognition and Intelligence Today’s Agenda How is human thought characterized? What is the role of the association cortex? What is cerebral asymmetry and how does it influence thinking? What is intelligence?  The Nature of Thought Psychological constructs Ideas that result from a set of observations (impressions) Mental processes: thought, language, memory, emotion, and motivation Difficult to localize constructs in the brain* Cognition* Act or process of knowing or coming to know (i.e., thought process) In research, cognition usually entails the ability to pay attention to stimuli, to identify stimuli, and to plan meaningful responses to them.  Characteristics of Human Thought Language gives humans a thinking advantage* provides the brain with a way to categorize information provides a means of organizing time (e.g., Monday at 3 pm) Human predisposition to sequence movements may have encouraged language development* A critical characteristic of human motor sequencing is the ability to form novel sequences with ease Frontal lobe damage causes difficulty generating new solutions to problems* Frontal lobes are critical to organizing not only behavior but also thinking Knowledge a. social construct Check b. psychological construct The idea or set of impressions that c. basal ganglia some mental ability d. neurological basis exists as an entity is called the _____.  Cognition and the Association Cortex Association cortex* Comprised of the neocortex outside of the primary sensory and motor cortices and is tasked with producing cognition. Key difference between assoc. cortex and the primary sensory and motor cortices is the pattern of connections. Cognition and the Association Cortex Temporal association regions tend to produce cognition related to visual and auditory processing.* The parietal cortex is closely related to somatosensation and movement control. The frontal cortex coordinates information from the parietal and temporal association regions with information from subcortical regions.*  Knowledge Check The Association Cortex comprises all regions including a) True the primary sensory and motor b) False cortices and is tasked with producing cognition. Cerebral Asymmetry in Thinking* Language- and music-related areas of the left and right temporal lobes differ anatomically. The primary auditory area is larger on the right. The secondary auditory areas are larger on the left in most people. The posterior right temporal lobe is larger than the same region on the left, as is the left parietal lobe relative to the right.  Functional Asymmetry in Patients Two cases of brain damage G. H. M. M. Damage to the right parietal lobe Damage to the left parietal lobe Difficulty copying drawings, Difficulty with language, copying assembling puzzles, and navigating movements, reading, arithmetic, around familiar places and generating names of objects or animals Contrasting Parietal Lobe Injuries Functional Asymmetry in Healthy Brains Dichotic listening* Experimental procedure for simultaneously presenting a different auditory input to each ear through earphones Right-ear advantage for verbal information Left-ear advantage for musical information Visual system* Functional Asymmetry in Healthy Brains Dichotic listening* Experimental procedure for simultaneously presenting a different auditory input to each ear through earphones Right-ear advantage for verbal information Left-ear advantage for musical information Visual system* Right visual field has an advantage for language-related information. Left visual field has an advantage for nonverbal spatial information. Concept of General Intelligence What is intelligence? Scholars and researchers are still debating g factor (Charles Spearman) Although many forms of intelligence may exist, humans also have an underlying general intelligence. Brains with high or low g would have some general difference in brain architecture or neurochemistry. g is related to brain’s language processes*  Concept of General Intelligence Einstein’s brain* Average size and weight Unusually short lateral fissure Cerebral connectivity and high glia-to-neuron ratio may play important roles in intelligence. Ex: high glia-to-neuron ratio in inferior parietal cortex = high math reasoning. Certain types of intelligence can be related to differences in cell structure in localized brain regions. Convergent and Divergent Thinking (Guilford) Convergent* Divergent* Applying knowledge and Steps away from conventional reasoning skills to problem solve knowledge and reasoning skills to Form of thinking that searches for explore new, more unconventional a single answer to a question solutions to problems (such as 2 + 2 = ?) Form of thinking that searches for Measured in traditional multiple solutions to a problem (such intelligence tests as, how many ways can a pen be People with temporal and parietal used?) lobe lesions perform poorly on People with frontal lobe lesions these tests. perform poorly on these tests. Heredity and Epigenetics on Intelligence (Hebb) Intelligence A* Innate intellectual potential Highly heritable and cannot be measured directly. Intelligence B* Observed intelligence Influenced by experience and other factors during development and is measured by intelligence tests. Experience may influence intelligence by increasing the number of synapses and the number of glial cells. Heredity and Epigenetics on Intelligence Appropriate postnatal experiences can enhance development of intelligence B in people with lower-than-average intelligence A. A poor or under-resourced environment can delay the development of intelligence B in people with higher-than-average intelligence A. A person’s genes partly directs synaptic organization but also affected by epigenetic factors. Variations in experiences coupled with genetic patterns contribute to observed individual differences in quantitative and qualitative intelligence.  Knowledge Check g factor is unrelated to mental abilities, but language being a a) True key part of how it works. b) False Wrap-up How is human thought characterized? What is the role of the association cortex? What is cerebral asymmetry and how does it influence thinking? What is intelligence?