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Cognitive Psychology, Fourth Edition, Robert J. SternbergChapter 2

Chapter 2: Cognitive

Neurosciencehttp://brainexplorer.org/brain_atlas/Brainatlas_index.shtml#image

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Basic Unit of Brain: Neuron


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Neuron and Neural Impulse


Methods for the studying the human brain

•Postmortem studies

•Animal Studies

•Electrical Recordings

•Static Imaging Techniques

•Metabolic Imaging


Postmortem Studies•Identify disorder and then examine

after death– Researchers may trace a link between

an observed type of behavior and anomalies in a particular location of the brain.•Paul Broca – linked severe speech problems

to an area in the frontal lobe now called Broca’s area

•Studies of Alzheimer's victims have le to identify some of the brain structures involved in memory


– Young, Holcomb, Yazdani, Hicks & German (2004)•Found that depression is associated

with a greater number of nerve cells in the Thalamus being devoted to emotional regulation

•Supported idea that structural abnormality may lead to depression

– ¿Limitations?•Cannot be performed on the living

brain•Do no offer insights into more specific

physiological processes of the brain.


Animal Studies: In Vivo

•Monitor activity of a single neuron•Microelectrodes

are inserted into the brain of the animal to obtain single-cell recordings of the activiry of a single neuron

•Selective lesioning to observe resulting funcitonal deficits


Animal Study: Single Neuron Monitoring

•Disterhoft & Matthew (2003)– Young versus old rabbits compared in

learning of eyeblink conditioning– Hippocampal pyramidal neurons were

monitored– Typically aging animals cannot learn the

task– Metrifonate, galanthamine, and CI-1017

injected into the aging rabbits – This led aged rabbits to learn as quickly

as young controls


EEG-Human Studies

Dehaene-Lambertz, Pena, M., Christophe, & Landrieu (2004)

Examined the language abilities of infants using EEG

Electroencephalograph Research Example

EEG’s are recordings of the electrical frecuencies and intensities of the living brain, typically recorded over relatively long periods.


Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

•Radioactive material is injected or inhaled

•Participant is then scanned to produce an image of the brain’s activity


Magnetic Resonance Imaging•Strong magnetic field passed through the skull•Uses the detection of radio frequency signals

produced by displaced radio waves in a magnetic field

•Creates a detailed anatomical image of the brain


Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

•fMRI imaging takes a series of images of the brain in quick succession and then statistically analyzes the images for differences among them

•Brain areas with more blood flow have been shown to have better visibility on MRI images

•Better visibility is thought to be correlated with brain activation


fMRI in Research

•Gauthier, Skudlarski, Gore & Anderson (2000)– fMRIs demonstrate that expertise for cars and

birds uses areas involved in face recognition


Anatomy of the Brain

•Forebrain– Cerebral cortex– Basal ganglia

•Motor movement– Limbic system– Thalamus– Hypothalamus

Cognitive Psychology, Fourth Edition, Robert J. SternbergChapter 2Anatomy of the Brain


Function of Limbic System

•Emotion, motivation, memory, and learning– Controls mood and attitude– Stores highly charged emotional

memories– Controls appetite and sleep cycles

– Make us better to adapt our behaviors flexibly in response to our changing environment


Function of Limbic System


Anatomy of Limbic System

•Amygdala– Involved in anger and aggression

•Septum– Involved in anger and fear

•Hippocampus– Is important in the formation of memories– Disruption results in deficits in

declarative memory but not in procedural memory

– Korsakoff’s syndrome•Loss of memory function

Cognitive Psychology, Fourth Edition, Robert J. SternbergChapter 2Anatomy of Limbic System


Anatomy of Limbic System•Thalamus

– Relay sensory information to the cerebral cortex

– Control of sleep and walking

•Hypothalamus– Important to metabolic behaviors,

eating, drinking, sexual behaviors, and regulating emotions

Cognitive Psychology, Fourth Edition, Robert J. SternbergChapter 2Anatomy of Limbic System


Midbrain

•Location– The midbrain extends from the pons to

the lower portion of thalamus

•Reticular activating system– Controls respiration, cardiovascular

function, digestion, alertness, and sleep

Controls eye movement and coordination


Midbrain

•Brain Stem– Vital in basic attention, arousal, and

consciousness– Physicians make determination of brain

death based on the functions of the brain stem

– Physicians must determine that the brain stem has been damaged so severely that various reflexes of the head are absent for more than 12 hours

– The brain must show no electrical activity or cerebral circulation of blood.


Hindbrain

•Medulla Oblongata– Breathing, swallowing and digestion

•Pons– Relay station

•Cerebellum– Motor co-ordination, posture, and

maintaining balance.

Cognitive Psychology, Fourth Edition, Robert J. SternbergChapter 2Hindbrain


Cerebral Cortex Principles

•Contralaterality– Right side of brain controls left side of

body– Left side of brain controls right side of

body

•Corpus Callosum– Neural fibers connecting left and right

lobes– Allows communication between right

and left sides of the brain


Cerebral Cortex Principles

•Localization of function– Specific mental processes are

correlated with discrete regions of the brain

•Hemispheric Specialization– Each lobe of the brain has

specialized functions


Evidence for Specialization of Left lobe

•Wernicke’s area– Speaks fluently but nonsensically– Not coherent, contains lexical

and grammatical errors

•Broca’s area– Can understand everything said – Patient can only respond in

monosyllabic words


Split Brain Studies

•Sperry (1960 - 1998)– First to study patients with a split

corpus callosum– Two lobes function independently

•Gazzaniga (1980’s- current)– Two lobes function

complimentarily


Split Brain Methodology

•Corpus callosum severed

•Techniques used test each half-brain


Split Brain Studies Demonstrate Hemispheric

Specialization•Left Lobe

– Language functions (speech, song)

– Logical thought (writing, logic)

•Right Lobe– Spatial-relation functions – Perception of rhythm, abstract or

intuitive thought


Split Brain Demonstration

What would a split brain patient say they saw? What would a split brain patient point to with their left hand?


Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex•Frontal

– Reasoning & Planning

•Parietal– Touch, Temperature,

Pain, & Pressure

•Temporal– Auditory & Perceptual

processing

•Occipital– Visual processing


Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex

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