WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR THE EXAM!
● Brain anatomy:
○ Everything discussed during the lectures, tutorials, and WAs
○ know the location, and function if discussed
○ Structures that were not mentioned at all will not be examined
● Chapters 1,2,3,4
○ Everything discussed during the lectures, tutorials and WAs
○ Things not discussed anywhere will not be directly examined but could help
increase your understanding.
● Timo steins info
Lecture 1; ch 1 & appendix; introduction brain and cognition
Cognition: set of processes to perceive external stimuli, to extract key information and hold it
in memory, and generate thoughts and actions to reach desired goals.
- Acquire information
- Store & retrieve information
- Generate & use information
- Conscious and unconscious processes
History
Plato and aristotle already studied the nature of knowledge (~500 before Chr)
19th century: empirical evidence through experimental manipulations!
Wilhelm Wundt
used introspection to experimentally investigate cognitive processes
Beginning 20th century: rise of behaviourism
objective experimental approach: objective external stimuli are matched to
measurable behaviour. All mental activity can be reduced to behavioural activity.
> memory shaped by reward/punishment > passive
Halfway 20th century: cognitive science
Rats appear to learn without rewarding stimuli (latent learning)
Rise of computers and information theory
Psychological states affect responses to stimuli
,Cognitive models
- Predict how sensory stimuli leads to behavioural responses
- Model components are not necessarily related to physical processes in the brain
- Make use of psychological constructs
Neuroscience
How is the nervous system organised and how does it function?
History
Gall: phrenology
Cognitive functions and personality traits are associated with different parts of the cerebral
cortex. The extent of a function of trait could be mapped by measuring bumps on the skull.
2th half of 19th century: the neuron doctrine: the nervous system is made up of discrete
individual cells (neurons)
> neurons communicate via electrical impulses (action potentials) and biochemical
substances (neurotransmitters).
,Cognitive neuroscience
Ideally: address the same research question with multiple methods and research paradigms.
Principles:
Convergence: study a theoretical concept with different paradigms. (all the same
results)
Combining information from multiple studies can be done by performing a meta-analysis.
Complementarity : different methods provide different sorts of information.
Summary
1. Cognitive science seeks to understand the information processing associated with
functions like perception, memory, and decision making.
2. Neuroscience seeks to characterise the structure and function of the nervous system.
3. Cognitive neuroscience is a new discipline that applies research methods from
neuroscience to the functions and behaviors studied by cognitive science.
4. Cognitive neuroscientists use diverse research methods and experimental para-
digms to develop models of mental function and behaviour.
APPENDIX - NEUROANATOMY
Dorsal: the back
Ventral: the belly
Rostral: the beak
Caudal: the tail
Cross-sections of the brain
Coronal : separate front and back of brain
Sagittal : separate left and right of brain
Axial : horizontal (separate dorsal and ventral part of the brain)
, Nervous system
- Nerve cells (neurons)
Function: propagate information by means of electrical signals
- Neuroglial cells (glia)
● Brain anatomy:
○ Everything discussed during the lectures, tutorials, and WAs
○ know the location, and function if discussed
○ Structures that were not mentioned at all will not be examined
● Chapters 1,2,3,4
○ Everything discussed during the lectures, tutorials and WAs
○ Things not discussed anywhere will not be directly examined but could help
increase your understanding.
● Timo steins info
Lecture 1; ch 1 & appendix; introduction brain and cognition
Cognition: set of processes to perceive external stimuli, to extract key information and hold it
in memory, and generate thoughts and actions to reach desired goals.
- Acquire information
- Store & retrieve information
- Generate & use information
- Conscious and unconscious processes
History
Plato and aristotle already studied the nature of knowledge (~500 before Chr)
19th century: empirical evidence through experimental manipulations!
Wilhelm Wundt
used introspection to experimentally investigate cognitive processes
Beginning 20th century: rise of behaviourism
objective experimental approach: objective external stimuli are matched to
measurable behaviour. All mental activity can be reduced to behavioural activity.
> memory shaped by reward/punishment > passive
Halfway 20th century: cognitive science
Rats appear to learn without rewarding stimuli (latent learning)
Rise of computers and information theory
Psychological states affect responses to stimuli
,Cognitive models
- Predict how sensory stimuli leads to behavioural responses
- Model components are not necessarily related to physical processes in the brain
- Make use of psychological constructs
Neuroscience
How is the nervous system organised and how does it function?
History
Gall: phrenology
Cognitive functions and personality traits are associated with different parts of the cerebral
cortex. The extent of a function of trait could be mapped by measuring bumps on the skull.
2th half of 19th century: the neuron doctrine: the nervous system is made up of discrete
individual cells (neurons)
> neurons communicate via electrical impulses (action potentials) and biochemical
substances (neurotransmitters).
,Cognitive neuroscience
Ideally: address the same research question with multiple methods and research paradigms.
Principles:
Convergence: study a theoretical concept with different paradigms. (all the same
results)
Combining information from multiple studies can be done by performing a meta-analysis.
Complementarity : different methods provide different sorts of information.
Summary
1. Cognitive science seeks to understand the information processing associated with
functions like perception, memory, and decision making.
2. Neuroscience seeks to characterise the structure and function of the nervous system.
3. Cognitive neuroscience is a new discipline that applies research methods from
neuroscience to the functions and behaviors studied by cognitive science.
4. Cognitive neuroscientists use diverse research methods and experimental para-
digms to develop models of mental function and behaviour.
APPENDIX - NEUROANATOMY
Dorsal: the back
Ventral: the belly
Rostral: the beak
Caudal: the tail
Cross-sections of the brain
Coronal : separate front and back of brain
Sagittal : separate left and right of brain
Axial : horizontal (separate dorsal and ventral part of the brain)
, Nervous system
- Nerve cells (neurons)
Function: propagate information by means of electrical signals
- Neuroglial cells (glia)
