Cognitive Psychology Ch 1-3: Intro And Perception

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Interactive Models

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Ongoing interplay between data-driven and concept-driven processing

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Top-Down/Concept-Driven

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Sequence of mental events is influenced by a broad pattern of knowledge and expectations

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Bottom-Up/Data-Driven

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Sequence of mental events is influenced by the pattern of incoming information

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Prosopagnosia

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A syndrome in which patients lose their ability to recognize faces and to make other fine-grained discriminations within a highly fammiliar category, even though their other visual abilities seem relatively intact.

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Restoration Effect

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A perceptual illusion in hearing, in which one "hears" sounds that are actually missing from the stiumuls presented.

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Viewpoint-dependent

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The ease or success of recognition depends on the perceiver's particular viewing angle or distance, with regard to the target object.

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Viewpoint-independent

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The ease or success of recognition does not depend on the perceiver's particular viewing angle or distance, with regard to the target object.

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Geon

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One of the basic shapes proposed as the building blocks of all complex three-dimensional forms. Take the form of cylinders, cones, blocks, and the like, and are combined to form "geon assemblies." These are then combined to produce entire objects.

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Recognition by Components (RBC)

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A model of object recognition in which a crucial role is played by geons, the basic building blocks out of which all the objects we recognize are constructed.

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Inhibitory Connections

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A link from one node, or one detector, to another, such that activation of one node decreases the activation level of the other.

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Excitatory Connections

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A link from one node, or one detector, to another, such that activation of one node activates the other.

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Distributed Representation

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No one node representing the content, and no one place where the content is stored. Instead, the content is represented via a pattern of simultaneous activity across many nodes. Those same nodes will also participate in other patterns, and so those same nodes will also be part of other distributed representations.

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Locally Represented

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Information is encoded in some small number of identifiable nodes. Are sometimes spoken of as "one idea per node" or "one content per location."

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False Alarm

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A detection even though the specified target is actually absent.

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Bigram Detectors

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A pair of letters. For example, the word "FLAT" contains the bigrams FL, LA, and AT.

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Fire

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Process by which a neuron reaches its response threshold and releases a neurotransmitter.

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Response Threshold

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The quantity of information, or quantity of activation, needed in order to trigger a response.

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Activation Level

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A measure of the current activation state for a node or detector. Activation level is increased if the node or detector receives the appropriate input from its associated nodes or detectros; activation level will be high if input has been received frequently or recently.

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Feature Net

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A system for recognizing patterns that involves a network of detectors, with detectors for features as the initial layer in the system.

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Over-Regularization Error

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One perceives or remembers a word or event as being closer to the "norm" than it really is. For example, misspelled words are read as though they were spelled correctly

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Word-Superiority Effect

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The data pattern in which research participants are more accurate and more efficient in recognizing words (and wordlike letter strings) than they are in recognizing individual letters.

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Repetition Priming

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A pattern of priming that occurs simple because a stimulus is presented a second time; processing is more efficient on the second presentation.

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Priming

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A process through which one input or cue prepares a person for an upcoming input or cue

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Mask

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A visual presentation used to interrupt the processing of another visual stimulus.

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Tachistoscope

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A device that allows the presentation of stimuli for precisely controlled amounts of time, including very brief presentations.

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Insensitivity

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A property of an experiment that makes the experiment unable to detect differences-- e.g. when performance is at ceiling leves

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Ceiling Level

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A level of performance in a task near the maximum level possible (In many tasks, this is performance near 100%).

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Feature

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One of the small set of elements out of which more complicated patterns are composed

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Parsing

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The process through which one divides an input into its appropriate elements-- for example, divides the stream of incoming speech into its constituent words.

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Figure/Ground Organization

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Perceiver determines which aspects of the stimulus belong to the central object (or "figure") and which aspects belong to the background (or "ground")

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Necker Cube

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One of the classic ambiguous figures; the figures is a two-dimensional drawing that can be perceived either as a cube viewed from above or as a cube viewed from below.

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Object Recognition

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The steps or processes through which we identify the objects we encounter in the world around us.

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Form Perception

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The process through which one sees what the basic shape, size, and position of an object are.

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Conjunction Errors

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An error in perception in which someone correctly perceives what features are present, but misperceives how the features are joined, so that a red circle and a green square might be misperceived as a red square and a green circle.

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Gamma-Band Oscillation

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A particular rhythm of firing that seems to signal in the nervous system when different parts of the visual system are all responding to the same stimulus.

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Neural Synchrony

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A pattern of firing by neurons in which neurons in one brain area fire at the same time as neurons in another area; the brain seems to use this pattern as an indication that the neurons in different areas are firing in response to the same stimulus.

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Binding Problem

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The problem of reuniting the various elements of a scene, given the fact that these elements are initially dealt with by different systems in the brain.

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Where System

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The system of visual circuits and pathways leading from the visual cortex to the parietal lobe, and especially involved in the spatial localization of objects and in the coordination of movements.

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What System

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The system of visual circuits and pathways leading from the visual cortex to the temporal lobe and especially involved in object recognition.

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Magnocellular Cells

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Cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus specialized for the perception of motion and depth.

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Parvocellular Cells

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Cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus specialized for the perception of patterns.

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M Cells

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Specialized cells within the optic nerve that provide the input for the magnocellular cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus.

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P Cells

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Specialized cells within the optic nerve that provide the input for the parvocellular cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus.

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Serial Processing

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A system in which only one step happens at a time (and so the steps go on in a series).

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Parallel Processing

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A system in which many steps are going on at the same time.

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Center-Surround Cells

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A neuron in the visual system that has a "donut-shaped" receptive field; stimulation in the center of the receptive field has one effect on the cell, whereas stimulation in the surrounding ring has the opposite effect.

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Receptive Field

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The portion of the visual field to which a cell within the visual system responds. If the appropriately shaped stimulus appears in the appropriate position, the cell's firing rate will change. The cell's firing rate will not change if the stimulus is of the wrong form or is in the wrong position.

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All-Or-None Law

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The principle stating that a neuron or detector either fires completely or does not fire at all; no intermediate responses are possible.

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Threshold

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The activity level at which a cell or detector responds, or "fires."

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Postsynaptic Membrane

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The cell membrane of the neuron "receiving" information across the synapse.

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Presynaptic Membrane

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The cell membrane of the neuron "sending" information across the synapse.

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Synapse

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The area that includes the presynaptic membrane of one neuron, the postsynaptic memrane of another neuron, and the tiny gap between them. THe presynaptic membrane releases a small amount of neurotransmitter that drifts across the gap and stimulates the postsynaptic membrane.

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Neurotransmitter

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One of the chemicals released by neurons in order to stimulate adjacent neurons.

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Axon

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The part of a neuron that transmits a signal to another location.

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Cell Body

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The area of the cell containting the nucleus and the metabolic machinery that sustains the cell.

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Dendrites

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The part of a neuron that usually detects the incoming signal.

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Neuron

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An individual cell within the nervous system.

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Single-cell Recording

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A technique for recording the moment-by-moment activation level of an individual neuron, within a healthy, normally functioning brain.

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Edge Enhancement

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A process created by lateral inhibition in which the neurons in the visual system give exaggerated responses to edges of surfaces.

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Lateral Inhibition

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A pattern in which cells, when stimulated, inhibit the activity of neighboring cells. In the visual system, lateral inhibition in the optic nerve creates edge enhancement.

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Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

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An important way station in the thalamus that is the first destination for visual information sent from the eyeball to the brain.

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Optic Nerve

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The bundle of nerve fibers, formed from the retina's' ganglion cells, that carries information from the eyeball to the brain.

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Ganglion Cell

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A neuron in the eye. The ganglion cells receive their input from the bipolar cells, and then the axons of the ganglion cells gather together to form the optic nerve, carrying information back to the lateral geniculate nucleus.

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Bipolar Cell

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A neuron in the eye. Bipolar cells receive their input from the photoreceptors and transmit their output to the retinal ganglion cells.

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Fovea

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The center of the retina; when one looks at an object, one is lining up that object with the fovea.

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Acuity

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The ability to discern fine detail.

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Rod

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A photoreceptor that is sensitive to very low light levels, but that is unable to discriminate hues, and that has relatively poor acuity.

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Photoreceptor

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A cell that is on the retina that responds directly to the incoming light; photoreceptors are of two kinds: rods and cones.

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Retina

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The light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eyeball.

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Lens

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The transparent tissue located near the fron of each eye that plays an important role in focusing the incoming light. Muscles control the degree of curvature of the lens, allowing the eye to form a sharp image on the retina.

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Cornea

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The transparent tissue at the front of each eye that plays an important role in focusing the incoming light.

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Cone

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A photoreceptor that is able to discriminate hues, and that has high acuity. Cones are concentrated on the retina's fovea and become less frequent in the visual periphery.

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Prefrontal Area

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The frontmost part of the frontal lobe, crucial for planning and the organization of behavior.

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Aphasia

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A disruption to language capacities, often caused by brain damage.

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Neglect Syndrome

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A pattern of symptoms in which patients ignore all inputs coming from one side of space. Patients with this syndrome put only one of their arms into their jackets, eat food from only one half of their plates, read from only one half of words, and so on.

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Agnosia

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A disturbance in a person's ability to identify familiar objects.

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Apraxia

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A disturbance in the initiation or organization of voluntary action.

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Association Cortex

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The traditional name for the portion of the human cortex outside of the primary motor and primary sensory projection areas.

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Contralateral Control

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A pattern in which the left half of the brain controls the right half of the body, and the right half of the brain controls the left half of the body.

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Primary Motor Projection Area

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The strip of tissue, located at the rear of the frontal lobe, that is the departure point for nerve cells that send their signals to lower portions of the brain and spinal cord, which ultimately result in muscle movement.

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Primary Sensory Projection Area

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The main points of arrival in the cortex for information arriving from the eyes, ears, and other sense organs.

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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A technique in which a series of strong magnetic pulses at a specific location on the scalp cause temporary disruption in the brain region directly underneath this scalp area.

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Localization of Function

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The research endeavor of determining what specific job is performed by a particular region of the brain.

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BOLD

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(Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent)
A measure of how much oxygen the brain's hemoglobin is carrying in specific parts of the brain; this provides a quantitative basis for comparing activity levels in different brain areas.

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Binocular Rivalry

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A pattern that arises when the input to one eye cannot be integrated with the input to the other eye. In this circumstanceonly one eye's in, the person tends to be aware of only one eye's input at a time.

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Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA)

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A brain area apparently specialized for the perception of places.

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Fusiform Face Area (FFA)

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A brain area apparently specialized for the perception of faces.

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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

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A neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields to construct a detailed three-dimensional representation of the activity levels in different areas of the brain at a particular moment in time.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

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A neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields (created by radio waves) to construct a detailed three-dimensional representation of brain tissue. Like CT scans, MRI scans reveal the brain's anatomy, but they are much more precise than CT scans.

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Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

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A neuroimaging technique that determines how much glucose (the brain's fuel) is being used by specific areas of the brain at a particular moment in time.

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Computerized Axial Tomography

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CT scanning; A neuroimaging technique that uses X-rays to construct a precise three-dimensional image of the brain's anatomy.

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Lesion

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A specific area of tissue damage.

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Corpus Callosum

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The largest of the commissures linking the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

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Commissure

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One of the thick bundles of fibers via which information is sent back and forth between the two cerebral hemispheres.

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Hippocampus

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A structure in the temporal lobe that is involved in long-term memory and spatial memory.

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Limbic System

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A set of brain structures including the amygdala, hippocampus, mammillary bodies, and parts of the thalamus. The limbic system is believed to be involved in the control of emotional behavior and motivation, and it also plays a key role in learning and memory.

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Hypothalamus

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A small structure at the base of the forebrain that plays a vital role in the control of motivated behaviors such as eating, drinking, and sexual activity.

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Thalamus

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A part of the lower portion of the forebrain that serves as a major relay and integration center for sensory information.

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Subcortical

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Beneath the surface of the brain (i.e. underneath the cortex)

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Occipital Lobe

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The rearmnost lobe in each cerebral hemisphere, which includes the primary visual projection area.

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Temporal Lobe

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The lobe of the cortex lying inward and down from the temples. The temporal lobe in each cerebral hemisphere includes the primary auditory projection area, Wernicke's area, and, subcortically, the amygdala and hippocampus.

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Parietal Lobe

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The lobe in each cerebral hemisphere that lies between the occipital and frontal lobes and includes some of the primary sensory projection area, as well as circuits that are crucial for the control of attention.

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Central Fissure

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The separation dividing the frontal lobes on each side of the brain from the parietal lobes.

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Frontal Lobe

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The lobe in each cerebral hemisphere that includes the prefrontal area and the primary motor projection area.

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Cerebral Hemisphere

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One of the two hemispherical brain structures-- one on the left side, one on the right-- that comprise the major part of the forebrain in mammals.

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Cerebral Hemisphere

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One of the two hemispherical brain structures- one on the left side, one on the right- that comprise the major part of the forebrain in mammals.

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Longitudinal Fissure

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The separation dividing the brain's left cerebral hemisphere from the right

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Convolutions

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The wrinkles visible in the cortex that allow the enormous surface area of the human brain to be stuffed into the relatively small volume of the skull.

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Cortex

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The outermost surface of the brain.

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Forebrain

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One of the three main structures of the brain; the forebrain plays a crucial role in supporting intellectual functioning.

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Midbrain

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One of the three main structures of the brain; the midbrain plays an important role in coordinating movements, and it also contains structures that serve as "relay" stations for information arriving from the sensory organs

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Cerebellum

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The largest area of hindbrain, crucial for the coordination of bodily movements and balance.

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Hindbrain

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One of the three main structures of the brain; the hindbrain sits atop the spinal cord and includes several structures crucial for controlling key life functions.

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Concurrent Articulation

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Try to remember something using the articulatory rehearsal loop while speaking at the same time (can't).

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Amygdala

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An almond-shaped structure in the limbic system that plays a central role in emotion and in the evaluation of stimuli.

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Neuroimaging Technique

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A method for examining either the structure or the activation pattern within a living brain.

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Capgras Syndrome

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A rare disorder, resulting from specific forms of brain damage, in which the afflicted person recognizes the people in his or her world, but denies that they are who they appear to be. Instead, the person insists, these familiar individuals are well-disguised impostors.

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Cognitive Neuroscience

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The study of the biological basis for cognitive functioning.

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Neuropsychology

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The branch of psychology concerned with the relation between various forms of mental functioning. Neuropsychologists study, for example, amnesia, agnosia, and aphasia.

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Anarthria

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A disorder characterized by an inability to control the muscles needed for ordinary speech. They cannot speak, although other aspects of language functioning are unimpaired.