Psych202 - Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience
Lectures 1 & 2 - Techniques (General introduction to the brain)
What is cognitive neuroscience?
The mind is generated by the brain - grand hypothesis
Neuronal patterns change from moment to moment due
to excitatory processes
Oscillation = rhythmic and/or repetitive electrical activity
generated spontaneously and in response to stimuli by
neural tissue in the central nervous system.
Cognitive neuroscience
● The study of the brain’s physiological processes that underlie the human experience
● The same topics as in psychology: Perception, Memory, Attention, Language, Emotion, Action
● Behavioural measurements - psychology methods
● Measurements of brain activity - neuroscience methods - Language of theory: Computational
modelling - complex data so requires modelling
Does a change in brain activity accompany a change in behaviour?
Brain activity = what is activated and where, during a task which areas are
interacting, how do brain frequencies change according to tasks
How does this explain how behaviour is generated by the brain?
Correlational results are not satisfactory - need to build an understanding
that is not a coincidence
In theory, there is no way to prove a prediction correct - an infinite amount of studies can be done however
a single study can prove a model wrong - this is how you make progress
The scientific method - can cause a paradigm shift
● Observations (Data)
● Explanation Model Theory
● Predictions
● Experiment
Neuroscience Basics
Overview of the brain
The cerebral cortex
● Integrates information from across the brain and is the seat of most cognitive functions
● Perception, memory, attention, planning, language, emotions, consciousness - active part in the
production
The thalamus
● Relay station in the pathways from sensory receptors to the cortex.
, ● Control over sleep, wakefulness, attention, consciousness
● Gating mechanism
The hypothalamus
● Regulates functions that are essential for maintaining the normal state of the body (homeostasis)
and reproduction. Controls hormone release
The cerebellum
● Sensorimotor control and learning; other cognitive functions such as language
Brain stem
● Connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord, carrying signals between the rest of the brain and the
body
● The upper brain stem could be where consciousness is generated
Cerebral hemispheres
● The cerebral hemispheres form the largest region of the human brain
The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres:
A single cable which allows the hemispheres to communicate - white matter tracts
Cut it = split-brain patient - essentially they can no longer communicate between
hemispheres:
Historically - Epilepsy patients
The longitudinal fissure separates the two hemispheres
A deep groove that marks the division between the left and right cerebral
hemispheres of the brain. At the bottom of the groove, the hemispheres are
connected by the corpus callosum
Four cortical lobes per hemisphere
(Looking from the left hemisphere)
Frontal lobe - Important for voluntary movement, expressive language and for
managing higher level executive functions
Parietal lobe - Processes sensory information it receives from the outside world,
mainly relating to touch, taste, and temperature
Occipital lobe - associated with visuospatial processing, distance and depth perception, color
determination, object and face recognition, and memory formation
Temporal lobe - commonly associated with processing auditory information and with the encoding of
memory
Grooves and Ridges of Cortex
● Ridges are called gyri.
● Grooves are called sulci.
● A gyrus is surrounded by two sulci.
● A very deep sulcus is called a fissure.
Major Fissures, Sulci, and Gyri
● The parietal lobe integrates information from the eyes and esat
● Frontal lobe involved with tension
● Tucked in the sylvian fissure is the auditory cortex
Lectures 1 & 2 - Techniques (General introduction to the brain)
What is cognitive neuroscience?
The mind is generated by the brain - grand hypothesis
Neuronal patterns change from moment to moment due
to excitatory processes
Oscillation = rhythmic and/or repetitive electrical activity
generated spontaneously and in response to stimuli by
neural tissue in the central nervous system.
Cognitive neuroscience
● The study of the brain’s physiological processes that underlie the human experience
● The same topics as in psychology: Perception, Memory, Attention, Language, Emotion, Action
● Behavioural measurements - psychology methods
● Measurements of brain activity - neuroscience methods - Language of theory: Computational
modelling - complex data so requires modelling
Does a change in brain activity accompany a change in behaviour?
Brain activity = what is activated and where, during a task which areas are
interacting, how do brain frequencies change according to tasks
How does this explain how behaviour is generated by the brain?
Correlational results are not satisfactory - need to build an understanding
that is not a coincidence
In theory, there is no way to prove a prediction correct - an infinite amount of studies can be done however
a single study can prove a model wrong - this is how you make progress
The scientific method - can cause a paradigm shift
● Observations (Data)
● Explanation Model Theory
● Predictions
● Experiment
Neuroscience Basics
Overview of the brain
The cerebral cortex
● Integrates information from across the brain and is the seat of most cognitive functions
● Perception, memory, attention, planning, language, emotions, consciousness - active part in the
production
The thalamus
● Relay station in the pathways from sensory receptors to the cortex.
, ● Control over sleep, wakefulness, attention, consciousness
● Gating mechanism
The hypothalamus
● Regulates functions that are essential for maintaining the normal state of the body (homeostasis)
and reproduction. Controls hormone release
The cerebellum
● Sensorimotor control and learning; other cognitive functions such as language
Brain stem
● Connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord, carrying signals between the rest of the brain and the
body
● The upper brain stem could be where consciousness is generated
Cerebral hemispheres
● The cerebral hemispheres form the largest region of the human brain
The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres:
A single cable which allows the hemispheres to communicate - white matter tracts
Cut it = split-brain patient - essentially they can no longer communicate between
hemispheres:
Historically - Epilepsy patients
The longitudinal fissure separates the two hemispheres
A deep groove that marks the division between the left and right cerebral
hemispheres of the brain. At the bottom of the groove, the hemispheres are
connected by the corpus callosum
Four cortical lobes per hemisphere
(Looking from the left hemisphere)
Frontal lobe - Important for voluntary movement, expressive language and for
managing higher level executive functions
Parietal lobe - Processes sensory information it receives from the outside world,
mainly relating to touch, taste, and temperature
Occipital lobe - associated with visuospatial processing, distance and depth perception, color
determination, object and face recognition, and memory formation
Temporal lobe - commonly associated with processing auditory information and with the encoding of
memory
Grooves and Ridges of Cortex
● Ridges are called gyri.
● Grooves are called sulci.
● A gyrus is surrounded by two sulci.
● A very deep sulcus is called a fissure.
Major Fissures, Sulci, and Gyri
● The parietal lobe integrates information from the eyes and esat
● Frontal lobe involved with tension
● Tucked in the sylvian fissure is the auditory cortex
