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Cognitive Test 1
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| introspection | the process through which you "look within" to observe and record the contents of your own mental life. |
| behaviorist theory | broad principles concerned with how behavior changes in response to different configurations of stimuli (including stimuli often called "rewards" and "punishments"). in its early days, behaviorist theory sought to avoid mentalistic terms. |
| transcendental method | a type of theorizing first proposed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. to use this method, you first observe the effects or consequences of a process and then ask, What must the process have been in order to bring about these effects? |
| working memory | the storage system in which information is held while that information is being worked on. indications are that working memory is a system, not a single entity, and that information is held here via active processes, not via some sort of passive storage |
| span test | a procedure used for measuring working memory's holding capacity |
| working-memory system | system of mental resources used for holding information in an easily accessible form. The central executive is the heart of this system, and the executive relies on low-level assistants, including the visuospatial buffer and the articulatory rehearsal loo |
| central executive | the director of the working-memory system. the component of the system needed for any interpretation or analysis |
| articulatory rehearsal loop | one of the low-level assistants of the working-memory system. draws on subvocalized (covert) speech, which serves to create a record in the phonological buffer. materials in the buffer then fade, but they can be refreshed by another cycle of covert speech |
| subvocalization | covert speech, in which you go through the motions of speaking, or perhaps form a detailed motor plan for speech movements, but without making any sound |
| phonological buffer | a passive storage device that is part of the articulatory rehearsal loop. it serves as part of the mechanism ordinarily needed for hearing. in memory rehearsal, it is loaded by means of subvocalization |
| concurrent articulation task | a requirement that someone speak or mime speech while doing another task. these procedures occupy the muscles and control mechanisms needed for speech, preventing the person from using these resources for subvocalization |
| cognitive neuroscience | the study of the biological basis for cognitive functioning |
| anarthria | a disorder characterized by an inability to control the muscles needed for ordinary speech. |
| neuropsychology | the branch of psychology concerned with the relation between various forms of brain dysfunction and various aspects of mental functioning. |
| capgras syndrome | A relatively rare disorder, in which the afflicted person recognizes the people in his or her world but denies that they are who they appear to be. Instead, the person insists, these familiar individuals are well-disguised impostors. |
| neuroimaging technique | A method for examining either the structure or the activation pattern within a living brain. |
| amygdala | An almond-shaped structure in the limbic system that plays a central role in emotion and in the evaluation of stimuli. |
| prefrontal cortex | The outer surface of the frontmost part of the brain. crucial for the planning of complex or novel behaviors, so this brain area is often mentioned as one of the main sites underlying the brain's executive functions. |
| hindbrain | One of the three main structures (along with the forebrain and the midbrain) of the brain; the hindbrain sits atop the spinal cord and includes several structures crucial for controlling key life functions. |
| cerebellum | The largest area of the hindbrain, crucial for the coordination of bodily movements and balance. |
| midbrain | One of the three main structures of the brain; plays an important role in coordinating movements, and it contains structures that serve as relay stations for information arriving from the sensory organs. |
| forebrain | One of the three main structures (along with the hindbrain and the midbrain) of the brain; plays a crucial role in supporting intellectual functioning. |
| cortex | The outermost surface of an organ in the body; psychologists are most commonly interested in the brain's. |
| convolutions | The wrinkles visible in the cortex that allow the enormous surface area of the human brain to be stuffed into the relatively small volume of the skull. |
| longitudinal fissure | The separation dividing the brain's left cerebral hemisphere from the right. |
| cerebral hemisphere | One of the two hemispherical brain structures -- one on the left side, one on the right -- that constitute the major part of the forebrain in mammals. |
| frontal lobe | The lobe of the brain in each cerebral hemisphere that includes the prefrontal area and the primary motor projection area. |
| central fissure | The separation dividing the frontal lobes on each side of the brain from the parietal lobes. |
| parietal lobe | The lobe in each cerebral hemisphere that lies between the occipital and frontal lobes and includes some of the primary sensory projection areas, as well as circuits that are crucial for the control of attention. |
| lateral fissure | The separation dividing the frontal lobes on each side of the brain from the temporal lobes. |
| temporal lobe | The lobe of the cortex lying inward and down from the temples. includes the primary auditory projection area, Wernicke's area, and, subcortically, the amygdala and hippocampus. |
| occipital lobe | The rearmost lobe in each cerebral hemisphere, and which includes the primary visual projection area. |
| subcortical | Beneath the surface (i.e., beneath the cortex). |
| thalamus | A part of the lower portion of the forebrain that serves as a major relay and integration center for sensory information. |
| hypothalamus | A small structure at the base of the forebrain that plays a vital role in the control of motivated behaviors such as eating, drinking, and sexual activity. |
| limbic system | A set of brain structures including the amygdala, hippocampus, and parts of the thalamus. it is believed to be involved in the control of emotional behavior and motivation, and it also plays a key role in learning and memory. |
| hippocampus | A structure in the temporal lobe that is involved in the creation of long-term memories and spatial memory. |
| commissure | One of the thick bundles of fibers via which information is sent back and forth between the two cerebral hemispheres. |
| corpus callosum | The largest of the commissures linking the left and right cerebral hemispheres. |
| lesion | A specific area of tissue damage. |
| computerized axial tomography (CT scanning) | A neuroimaging technique that uses X-rays to construct a precise three-dimensional image of the brain's anatomy. |
| positron emission tomography (PET scanning) | A neuroimaging technique that determines how much glucose (the brain's fuel) is being used by specific areas of the brain at a particular moment in time. |
| magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) | A neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields (created by radio waves) to construct a detailed three-dimensional representation of brain tissue. Like CT scans, reveal the brain's anatomy, but they are much more precise than CT scans. |
| functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) | A neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields to construct a detailed three-dimensional representation of the activity levels in different areas of the brain at a particular moment in time. |
| electroencephalography | A recording of voltage changes occurring at the scalp that reflect activity in the brain underneath. |
| event-related potential | Changes in an EEG in the brief period just before, during, and after an explicitly defined event, usually measured by averaging together many trials in which this event has occurred. |
| transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) | A technique in which a series of strong magnetic pulses at a specific location on the scalp causes temporary disruption in the brain region directly underneath this scalp area. |
| localization of function | The research endeavor of determining what specific job is performed by a particular region of the brain. |
| primary projection areas | Regions of the cortex that serve as the brain's receiving station for sensory information (sensory projection areas) or as a dispatching station for motor commands (motor projection areas). |
| primary motor projection areas | The strip of tissue, located at the rear of the frontal lobe, that is the departure point for nerve cells that send their signals to lower portions of the brain and spinal cord, and which ultimately result in muscle movement. |
| primary sensory projection areas | The main points of arrival in the cortex for information arriving from the eyes, ears, and other sense organs. |
| contralateral control | A pattern in which the left half of the brain controls the right half of the body, and the right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. |
| association cortex | The traditional name for the portion of the human cortex outside of the motor and sensory projection areas. |
| apraxia | A disturbance in the capacity to initiate or organize voluntary action, often caused by brain damage. |
| agnosia | A disturbance in a person's ability to identify familiar objects. |
| aphasia | A disruption to language capacities, often caused by brain damage. |
| neuron | An individual cell within the nervous system. |
| glia | type of cell in the CNS. have many functions - support of neurons, repair of neural connections, and a key role in guiding the initial development of neural connections. specialized type provides insulation for some neurons, allowing faster transmission o |
| cell body | The area of a biological cell containing the nucleus and the metabolic machinery that sustains the cell. |
| dendrites | The part of a neuron that usually detects the incoming signal. |
| axon | The part of a neuron that typically transmits a signal away from the neuron's cell body and carries the signal to another location. |
| neurotransmitter | One of the chemicals released by neurons in order to stimulate adjacent neurons. |
| synapse | The area that includes the presynaptic membrane of one neuron, the postsynaptic membrane of another neuron, and the tiny gap between them. presynaptic membrane releases a neurotransmitter that drifts across the gap and stimulates the postsynaptic membrane |
| threshold | The activity level at which a cell or detector responds, or fires. |
| fire | To respond in a discrete and specific way -- as when a neuron, after receiving a strong enough stimulus, sends a signal down its axon, which in turn causes a release of neurotransmitter from the membrane at the end of the axon. |
| action potential | A brief change in the electrical potential of an axon; the physical basis of the signal sent from one end of a neuron to the other and usually triggers a further (chemical) signal to other neurons. |
| all-or-none law | The principle stating that a neuron or detector either fires completely or does not fire at all (Graded responses are possible, however, by virtue of the fact that a neuron or detector can fire more or less frequently, and for a longer or shorter time.) |
| cornea | The transparent tissue at the front of each eye that plays an important role in focusing the incoming light. |
| lens | The transparent tissue located near the front of each eye that (together with the cornea) plays an important role in focusing the incoming light. Muscles control the degree of curvature of the lens, allowing the eye to form a sharp image on the retina. |
| retina | The light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eyeball. |
| photoreceptor | A cell on the retina that responds directly to the incoming light; two kinds: rods and cones. |
| rod | A photoreceptor that is sensitive to very low light levels but that is unable to discriminate hues and that has relatively poor acuity. |
| cone | A photoreceptor that is able to discriminate hues and that has high acuity. concentrated in the retina's fovea and become less frequent in the visual periphery. |
| acuity | The ability to discern fine detail. |
| fovea | The center of the retina and the region on the eye in which acuity is best; when you look at an object, you are lining up that object with this. |
| bipolar cell | A type of neuron in the eye. receive their input from the photoreceptors and transmit their output to the retinal ganglion cells. |
| ganglion cell | A type of neuron in the eye. receive their input from the bipolar cells, and then the axons gather together to form the optic nerve, carrying information back to the lateral geniculate nucleus. |
| optic nerve | The bundle of nerve fibers, formed from the retina's ganglion cells, that carries information from the eyeball to the brain. |
| lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) | An important way station in the thalamus that is the first destination for visual information sent from the eyeball to the brain. |
| lateral inhibition | A pattern in which cells, when stimulated, inhibit the activity of neighboring cells. In the visual system, lateral inhibition in the optic nerve creates edge enhancement. |
| edge enhancement | A process created by lateral inhibition in which the neurons in the visual system give exaggerated responses to edges of surfaces. |
| single-cell recording | A technique for recording the moment-by-moment activation level of an individual neuron within a healthy, normally functioning brain. |
| receptive field | portion of the visual field to which a cell within the visual system responds. If appropriately shaped stimulus in the appropriate position, cell's firing rate will change. will not change if the stimulus is of the wrong form or is in the wrong position. |
| center-surround cell | A neuron in the visual system that has a donut-shaped receptive field; stimulation in the center of the receptive field has one effect on the cell; stimulation in the surrounding ring has the opposite effect. |
| area V1 | The site on the occipital lobe where axons from the lateral geniculate nucleus first reach the cerebral cortex. This site is (for one neural pathway) the location at which information about the visual world first reaches the brain. |
| parallel processing | A system in which many steps are going on at the same time. Usually contrasted with serial processing. |
| serial processing | A system in which only one step happens at a time (and so the steps go on in a series). Usually contrasted with parallel processing. |
| P cells | Specialized cells within the optic nerve that provide the input for the parvocellular cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus. Often contrasted with M cells. |
| M cells | Specialized cells within the optic nerve that provide the input for the magnocellular cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus. Often contrasted with P cells. |
| parvocellular cells | Cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus specialized for the perception of patterns. Often contrasted with magnocellular cells. |
| magnocellular cells | Cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus specialized for the perception of motion and depth. Often contrasted with parvocellular cells. |
| what system | The system of visual circuits and pathways leading from the visual cortex to the temporal lobe and especially involved in object recognition. Often contrasted with the where system. |
| where system | The system of visual circuits and pathways leading from the visual cortex to the parietal lobe and especially involved in the spatial localization of objects and in the coordination of movements. Often contrasted with the what system. |
| binding problem | The problem of reuniting the various elements of a scene, given the fact that these elements are initially dealt with by different systems in the brain. |
| neural synchrony | A pattern of firing by neurons in which neurons in one brain area fire at the same time as neurons in another area; the brain seems to use this pattern as an indication that the neurons in different areas are firing in response to the same stimulus. |
| conjunction error | An error in perception in which someone correctly perceives what features are present but misperceives how the features are joined, so that (for example) a red circle and a green square might be misperceived as a red square and a green circle. |
| form perception | The process through which people see the basic shape, size, and position of an object. |
| object recognition | The steps or processes through which people identify the objects they encounter in the world around them. |
| necker cube | One of the classic ambiguous figures; the figure is a two-dimensional drawing that can be perceived as a cube viewed from above or as a cube viewed from below. |
| figure/ground organization | The processing step in which the perceiver determines which aspects of the stimulus belong to the central object (or figure) and which aspects belong to the background (or ground). |
| bottom-up influences | The term given to effects governed by the stimulus input itself and that shape the processing of that input. Often contrasted with top-down influences. |
| top-down influences | The term given to factors arising from your knowledge and expectations, and shaping your processing of the stimulus input. |
| visual features | The constituents of a visual pattern -- vertical lines, curves, diagonals and so on -- that, together, form the overall pattern. |
| integrative agnosia | caused by a specific form of damage to the parietal lobe; people with this disorder can detect whether specific features are present in a display, but are impaired in tasks requiring them to judge how features are bound together to form complex objects |
| tachistoscope | A device that allows the presentation of stimuli for precisely controlled amounts of time, including very brief presentations. |
| mask | A visual presentation used to interrupt the processing of another visual stimulus. |
| priming | A process through which one input or cue prepares a person for an upcoming input or cue. |
| repetition priming | A pattern of priming that occurs simply because a stimulus is presented a second time; processing is more efficient on the second presentation. |
| word-superiority effect | The data pattern in which research participants are more accurate and more efficient in recognizing words (and wordlike letter strings) than they are in recognizing individual letters. |
| feature net | A system for recognizing patterns that involves a network of detectors, with detectors for features as the initial layer in the system. |
| activation level | A measure of the current status for a node or detector. it is increased if the node or detector receives the appropriate input from its associated nodes or detectors; it will be high if input has been received frequently or recently. |
| response threshold | The quantity of information, or quantity of activation, needed in order to trigger a response. |
| bigram | A pair of letters. For example, the word FLAT contains the bigrams FL, LA, and AT. |
| detector | A node within a processing network that fires primarily in response to a specific target contained within the incoming perceptual information. |
| distributed knowledge | Information stored via a distributed representation. |
| excitatory connection | A link from one node, or one detector, to another, such that activation of one node activates the other. Often contrasted with inhibitory connection. |
| inhibitory connection | A link from one node, or one detector, to another, such that activation of one node decreases the activation level of the other. Often contrasted with excitatory connection. |
| recognition by components model | A model (often referred to by its initials, RBC) of object recognition. In this model, a crucial role is played by geons, the (hypothesized) basic building blocks out of which all the objects we recognize are constructed. |
| geon | One of the basic shapes proposed as the building blocks of all complex three-dimensional forms. they take the form of cylinders, cones, blocks, etc., and they are combined to form geon assemblies. These are then combined to produce entire objects. |
| viewpoint-independent recognition | A process in which the ease or success of recognition does not depend on the perceiver's particular viewing angle or distance with regard to the target object. |
| viewpoint-dependent recognition | A process in which the ease or success of recognition depends on the perceiver's particular viewing angle or distance with regard to the target object. |
| prosopagnosia | A syndrome in which patients lose their ability to recognize faces and to make other fine-grained discriminations within a highly familiar category, even though their other visual abilities seem relatively intact. |
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