W1.1
INTRODUCTION AND BRAIN ANATOMY
Cognitive neuroscience: Combines cognitive science (= the study of mental processes) with
neuroscience (= the study of the brain)
Cognition: A set of processes to perceive external stimuli, to extract key information, to hold
it in memory, to generate thoughts and actions and to reach desired goals
Historical sketch – Cognitive science:
- Plato and Aristotle – Where does knowledge come from?
- 19th century: Empirical evidence through experimental manipulations
- Wundt: The godfather of experimental psychology – Use of introspection to
experimentally investigate different cognitive processes
- Begin 20th century: Rise of behaviourism (= objective external stimuli are matched to
measurable behaviour – All mental activity is behavioural activity)
- Skinner: Skinner box – Operant conditioning
- Halfway 20th century: Rise of cognitivism (= psychological states affect responses to
stimuli)
- Tolman: Rats appear to learn without rewarding stimuli – Latent learning
- Rise of information theory and computers
- Cognitive models: Prediction of how sensory stimuli lead to behavioural
responses – Components are not necessarily related to physical processes in the
brain (= psychological construct)
Historical sketch – Neuroscience:
- Gall: Cognitive functions and personality traits are associated with different parts of
the cerebral cortex – Phrenology: The extend of a function of traits could be mapped
by measuring bumps on the skull – Disproven, but the idea that functions can be
localised in specific brain areas is still very popular
- Ramon y Cajal: The nervous system is made up of discrete individual
- Discovery of neurotransmitters + action potentials
Methods:
1. Convergence: Studying a theoretical concept with different paradigms – A hypothesis
that is tested with different experimental designs that all give the same results
(different designs but using the same measure) – Provides very strong empirical
evidence – Combining information from multiple studies can be done by performing a
meta-analysis
2. Complementarity: Using different methods to provide different
sorts of evidence (same design, but using different measures)
Terminology – Based on animals
- Dorsal
- Ventra
- Rostral
- Caudal
,Cross-sections:
- Coronal
- Sagittal
- Axial
Cells in the nervous system:
- Nerve cells/neurons: Propagating information by
means of electrical signals – Different shapes for
different areas in nervous systems
- Dendrites – Dendritic spines: Receives
signals
- Cell body/soma: Creates and integrates
signals
- Nucleus: Oval-shaped structure inside
the soma – Contains organelles (= specialized subunits that have
specific functions, e.g.: ribosomes, mitochondria etc.)
- Axon: Sends signals
- Axon hillock: Start of the axon, coming from the cell body
- Axon terminal: End of the axon
- Nodes of Ranvier: Gaps in the myelin sheath covering the axon
- Myelin sheath – Multiple Sclerosis – Motor and sensory issues
- Neuroglial cells: Supporting the nerve cells
- Schwann cells: Glial cells that make up the myelin sheath around the axon
Nervous system:
1. Central nervous system: Brain + Spinal cord
- Nucleus: Bundle of nerves
- Spinal cord (bottom to top):
- Coccygeal Each segment gives rise to
- Sacral peripheral nerves that innervate the
body
- Lumbar
- Thoracic Afferent signals: Entering the CNS
- Cervical
Efferent signals: Leaving the CNS
- Brainstem (bottom to top):
- Medulla oblongata: Autonomic/involuntary functions
(heart rate; blood pressure; sneezing etc.)
- Pons (‘bridge’): Sleep (paralysis); swallowing; facial
expressions etc.
- Midbrain
- Tectum (‘roof’): Superior and inferior colliculi are
involved in reflections toward visual and auditory stimuli, respectively
– Dorsal
- Tegmentum (‘floor’): Largest dopamine-producing site! – Ventral
- Reticular formation: Involved in arousal and attention – Damage may
affect the state of consciousness – Located throughout the brainstem
, -Cerebellum (‘little brain’):
- Spinocerebellum: Precise and flexible control of moving
limbs – Medial parts
- Neocerebellum: Planning of movement, higher mental
functions and time perception – Lateral parts
- Vestibulocerebellum: Maintaining balance, coordinating eye
movement while moving
- Forebrain
- Diencephalon (bottom to top):
- Hypothalamus (‘below inner room’): Hormones; homeostatic (=
stability-maintaining) functions; reproductive functions
- Thalamus (‘inner room’): Relay station of the brain
- Cerebrum:
- Limbic system
- Hippocampus (‘sea-horse’): Involved in memory; spatial processing
and the 4 F’s
- Amygdala (‘almond’): Emotional processing
- Basal ganglia: Nuclei are the putamen, caudate nucleus and globus pallidus
- Olfactive bulbs: Involved in the processing of smell – Below frontal lobe
- Cerebral cortex (‘bark’): Receives all information from the thalamus – All
lobes collaborate for complex behaviours!
1. Parietal: Somatosensory senses
2. Occipital: Visual senses
3. Frontal: Olfactory senses
4. Temporal: Auditory senses
- Corpus callosum: Thick nerve tract that connects the hemispheres –
Damage can lead to serious coordination problems or ataxia
2. Peripheral nervous system: Nervous system that is not the brain or the spinal cord –
Function = Connecting the central nervous system to limbs and organs
- Ganglion: A group of neurons and glia cells
- Dorsal root ganglion: Transmits sensory information from the body to the
central nervous system – Afferent
- Ventral root ganglion: Transmits motor information from the central
nervous system to the body – Efferent
Terms:
- Anterior: Front end
- Posterior: Rear end
- Superior: Above
- Inferior: Below
- Lateral: Side
- Medial: Mid
- Ipsilateral: On the same side
- Contralateral: On the other side
- Proximal: Close
INTRODUCTION AND BRAIN ANATOMY
Cognitive neuroscience: Combines cognitive science (= the study of mental processes) with
neuroscience (= the study of the brain)
Cognition: A set of processes to perceive external stimuli, to extract key information, to hold
it in memory, to generate thoughts and actions and to reach desired goals
Historical sketch – Cognitive science:
- Plato and Aristotle – Where does knowledge come from?
- 19th century: Empirical evidence through experimental manipulations
- Wundt: The godfather of experimental psychology – Use of introspection to
experimentally investigate different cognitive processes
- Begin 20th century: Rise of behaviourism (= objective external stimuli are matched to
measurable behaviour – All mental activity is behavioural activity)
- Skinner: Skinner box – Operant conditioning
- Halfway 20th century: Rise of cognitivism (= psychological states affect responses to
stimuli)
- Tolman: Rats appear to learn without rewarding stimuli – Latent learning
- Rise of information theory and computers
- Cognitive models: Prediction of how sensory stimuli lead to behavioural
responses – Components are not necessarily related to physical processes in the
brain (= psychological construct)
Historical sketch – Neuroscience:
- Gall: Cognitive functions and personality traits are associated with different parts of
the cerebral cortex – Phrenology: The extend of a function of traits could be mapped
by measuring bumps on the skull – Disproven, but the idea that functions can be
localised in specific brain areas is still very popular
- Ramon y Cajal: The nervous system is made up of discrete individual
- Discovery of neurotransmitters + action potentials
Methods:
1. Convergence: Studying a theoretical concept with different paradigms – A hypothesis
that is tested with different experimental designs that all give the same results
(different designs but using the same measure) – Provides very strong empirical
evidence – Combining information from multiple studies can be done by performing a
meta-analysis
2. Complementarity: Using different methods to provide different
sorts of evidence (same design, but using different measures)
Terminology – Based on animals
- Dorsal
- Ventra
- Rostral
- Caudal
,Cross-sections:
- Coronal
- Sagittal
- Axial
Cells in the nervous system:
- Nerve cells/neurons: Propagating information by
means of electrical signals – Different shapes for
different areas in nervous systems
- Dendrites – Dendritic spines: Receives
signals
- Cell body/soma: Creates and integrates
signals
- Nucleus: Oval-shaped structure inside
the soma – Contains organelles (= specialized subunits that have
specific functions, e.g.: ribosomes, mitochondria etc.)
- Axon: Sends signals
- Axon hillock: Start of the axon, coming from the cell body
- Axon terminal: End of the axon
- Nodes of Ranvier: Gaps in the myelin sheath covering the axon
- Myelin sheath – Multiple Sclerosis – Motor and sensory issues
- Neuroglial cells: Supporting the nerve cells
- Schwann cells: Glial cells that make up the myelin sheath around the axon
Nervous system:
1. Central nervous system: Brain + Spinal cord
- Nucleus: Bundle of nerves
- Spinal cord (bottom to top):
- Coccygeal Each segment gives rise to
- Sacral peripheral nerves that innervate the
body
- Lumbar
- Thoracic Afferent signals: Entering the CNS
- Cervical
Efferent signals: Leaving the CNS
- Brainstem (bottom to top):
- Medulla oblongata: Autonomic/involuntary functions
(heart rate; blood pressure; sneezing etc.)
- Pons (‘bridge’): Sleep (paralysis); swallowing; facial
expressions etc.
- Midbrain
- Tectum (‘roof’): Superior and inferior colliculi are
involved in reflections toward visual and auditory stimuli, respectively
– Dorsal
- Tegmentum (‘floor’): Largest dopamine-producing site! – Ventral
- Reticular formation: Involved in arousal and attention – Damage may
affect the state of consciousness – Located throughout the brainstem
, -Cerebellum (‘little brain’):
- Spinocerebellum: Precise and flexible control of moving
limbs – Medial parts
- Neocerebellum: Planning of movement, higher mental
functions and time perception – Lateral parts
- Vestibulocerebellum: Maintaining balance, coordinating eye
movement while moving
- Forebrain
- Diencephalon (bottom to top):
- Hypothalamus (‘below inner room’): Hormones; homeostatic (=
stability-maintaining) functions; reproductive functions
- Thalamus (‘inner room’): Relay station of the brain
- Cerebrum:
- Limbic system
- Hippocampus (‘sea-horse’): Involved in memory; spatial processing
and the 4 F’s
- Amygdala (‘almond’): Emotional processing
- Basal ganglia: Nuclei are the putamen, caudate nucleus and globus pallidus
- Olfactive bulbs: Involved in the processing of smell – Below frontal lobe
- Cerebral cortex (‘bark’): Receives all information from the thalamus – All
lobes collaborate for complex behaviours!
1. Parietal: Somatosensory senses
2. Occipital: Visual senses
3. Frontal: Olfactory senses
4. Temporal: Auditory senses
- Corpus callosum: Thick nerve tract that connects the hemispheres –
Damage can lead to serious coordination problems or ataxia
2. Peripheral nervous system: Nervous system that is not the brain or the spinal cord –
Function = Connecting the central nervous system to limbs and organs
- Ganglion: A group of neurons and glia cells
- Dorsal root ganglion: Transmits sensory information from the body to the
central nervous system – Afferent
- Ventral root ganglion: Transmits motor information from the central
nervous system to the body – Efferent
Terms:
- Anterior: Front end
- Posterior: Rear end
- Superior: Above
- Inferior: Below
- Lateral: Side
- Medial: Mid
- Ipsilateral: On the same side
- Contralateral: On the other side
- Proximal: Close
