Chapter 2 – Cognitive Neuroscience – Flashcards

The charge that is transmitted down the axon when the neuron's receptor is stimulated. Also called the nerve impulse. "All or nothing"

Also called nerve fibers. Long processes that transmit signals to other neurons.

A technique which makes it possible to determine which areas of the brains of humans are activated by different cognitions.

An area in the left frontal lobe that is specialized for producing language.

The metabolic center of the neuron that contains mechanisms to keep the cell alive.

A wrinkled layer of tissue about 3mm thick that covers the brain that serves most of the cognitive function.

The study of the physiological basis of cognition

Branches that come from the cell body of the neuron to receive signals from other neurons.

A technique based on the detection of how water diffuses along the length of nerve fibers.

The idea that specific cognitive functions activate many areas of the brain.

Damage to one area of the brain causes function A to be absent while function B is present and damage to another area causes function B to be absent while function A is present.

An area of the brain activated by pictures of bodies and parts of bodies

Neurons in the visual area of the cortex which respond to a specific type of stimulation presented to a small area of the retina, they respond to stimuli such as orientation, movement, and length.

the section of the brain that receives signals from all of the senses and is responsible for coordination of the senses as well as higher cognitive functions like thinking and problem solving.

A technique that has enabled researchers to determine how various types of cognition activate different areas of the brain that takes advantage of an increase in iron presence when blood flow increases in an area of the brain.

the area in the brain activated by faces and exists in the fusiform gyrus on the under side of the temporal lobe. When damage, prosopagnosia is caused.

Progression from lower to higher areas of the brain that begins with neurons that receive simple stimuli and send the signals to higher areas of the brain that then combine and interact further and create neurons that respond to even more complex stimuli.

The idea that a topic can be studied in a number of different ways, with each approach contributing its own dimension to our understanding.

Specific functions are served by specific areas of the brain.

A technique which made it possible to create images of structures within the brain from the 1980s

Small shafts of hollow glass filled with a conductive salt solution that can pick up electrical signals at the electrode tip and conduct these signals back to a recording device.

Also called axons. Long processes that transmit signals to other neurons.

The charge that is transmitted down the axon when the neuron's receptor is stimulated. Also called the action potential. "All or nothing"

A continuous system without stops or turns within the brain discovered in the 19th century when anatomists applied special stains to brain tissue. It allows uninterrupted signals throughout the network.

Groups of specific, interconnected neurons that then group together.

Groups o neurons or structures that are connected together.

Everything a person experiences is based not on direct contact with stimuli, but on representations in the person's nervous system.

Individual units that are the basic building blocks of the brain which create and transmit information about what we experience and know.

The idea that individual cells transmit signals in the nervous system, and that these cells are not continuous with other cells as proposed by nerve net theory.

the study of the behavior of people with brain damage.

The chemicals released when the action potential reaches the synapse at the end of the axon that makes it possible for the signal to be transmitted across the synapse.

The portion of the brain where the visual cortex is located. Damage caused here can cause blindness.

An area of the brain activated while perceiving pictures representing indoor and outdoor scenes. It processes information about spatial layout

The area of the brain that contains the somatosensory cortex.

The representation of a particular object by the pattern of firing of a large number of neurons.

An inability to recognize faces caused by damage to the temporal lobe on the lower right side of the brain.

Neurons with specialized receivers that pick up information from the environment.

An electrode with its tip inside the neuron.

An electrode with its tip some distance away so it is not affected by electrical signals.

The difference in potential between the recording and reference electrodes which stays the same (-70V) as long as there are no signals in the neuron.

The layer of neurons that lines the back of the eye.

How neurons represent various characteristics of the environment.

Representation of a particular object is represented by a pattern of firing of ONLY a small group of neurons.

The idea that an object could be represented by the firing of a specialized neuron that responds ONLY to that object.

A small gap between the end of a neuron's axon and the dendrites or cell body of another neuron.

The section of the brain that contains the auditory cortex.

The area at the back of the brain that receives signals from the eye.

Activity recorded from an fMRI that look like small cube-shaped areas of the brain about 2 or 3 mm on a side.

An area of the temporal lobe that comprehends language.