MODULE 2 –

COGNITION AND BRAIN

Lecturer
Pn. Naqiah Puaad
naqiahpuaad@yahoo.com
1 017-9106090
TODAY’S TOPIC

 Understand human cognition by looking at

physiological factors
 The Mind’s Computer

 Basic
background on neurophysiology &
neuroscience
 Electricity in the Nervous System
 Neural Communication
 Neural Information Processing

 Examples of methods used to study

physiological cognition
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THE MIND’S COMPUTER

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 =
each brain appears to have 2 hemispheres
there seems to be distinct structures in these brains
each brain has a spinal cord descending from it

the overall size differences, where some brains are larger

than others

the noticeable structure differences in particular places

(for ex. The cerebellum)

in some brains the cerebral cortex is particularly smooth

and in some others there is lots of cortical folding. Why do
you think there are these differences? What is the
significance of noting differences? Do animals act in
different ways due to these differences? Does this account
for variability in behavior or intelligence???
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NEUROSCIENCE
 Field of knowledge which was started more than
100 years ago
 Purpose: to study the biochemistry of the human
body
 Earliest ideas regarding the brain
 Leornardo da Vinci- hydraulic system in the brain
 Descartes – ‘animal spirits’ in the brain controls the
movements of the body

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STUDIES OF THE HUMAN BRAIN
 Cognitive Neuroscience (a branch of
Neuroscience) attempts to study the
human brain
 The most complex object in the universe-
weighs approximately 1400gms, length =
15 cm
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 Contains trillions of cells - 10 which are

made up of networks of neurons to
produce intelligence, creativity, emotions,
consciousness,memory etc.. 8
THE BRAIN’S STRUCTURE
2 hemispheres (symmetrical)

 Brain + spinal cord = “central nervous system”

 Major parts : cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla

 “cerebrum cortex” – wrinkled surface

(permukaan berkedut). Original Latin word =
bark of a tree (kulit kayu)
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 THE BRAIN’S STRUCTURE: CORTEX
 Cerebral cortex (outside)
 3mm thick, responsible for
higher mental functions
– Frontal lobe
– Parietal lobe
– Occipital lobe
– Temporal lobe

 Two Hemispheres
– connected by
Corpus callosum
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 Receive signals from the touch
system, important for vision and
attention

associated with movement,

The four lobes orientation, recognition,

perception of stimuli

Higher functions- language, First place in cortex where

thought, memory, motor visual information is
functions processed

Associated with reasoning, associated with visual

planning, parts of speech, processing
movement, emotions, and
problem solving

Language, memory, hearing, vision 12

Associated with perception and recognition
of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech
 THE BRAIN’S STRUCTURE: SUBCORTEX
 Subcortex (Inside)
– Thalamus
– Amygdala Limbic
– Hippocampus system

 Thalamus - processing information

from senses of vision, hearing & touch
 Amygdala – emotions and emotional
memories
 Hippocampus – formation of memories
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NEURONS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF OUR
NERVOUS SYSTEM

 Neurons- cells specialized to receive and

transmit information in the nervous system
 >>100 billion neurons
 Comes in all shapes and sizes
 Communicate with each other

 Neurons run throughout our body in the nervous

system
 Provide the mechanism behind the functioning
of our senses
 Receptors = neurons specialized to receive
information from the environment
 The connections among the neurons in all the
different brain parts is what makes your brain
work.
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NEURONS

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COMPONENTS OF THE NEURON
 Main parts of a neuron: cell body, dendrites,
axon
-- Dendrites - receive signals
 Axon - fluid-filled conduit for sending signals
 Axon hillock - where the axon meets the cell body
 synapse (space- contact point for 2 neurons)

 Neurons communicate through the stimulation

of electric impulses/ signals = “action potential”

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Electricity in the nervous system

So, how do receptors change

information from the
environment into a form useful
to neurons and the brain?

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RECEPTORS AND TRANSDUCTION
 Receptors transform environmental energy
into electrical energy

 Transduction
 Changing one form of energy into another
 Environmental energy is transformed into electrical
energy
 Leads to the generation of electrical signals, called
action potentials, which have been linked to
cognition
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FIGURE:
THE EYE, SHOWING THE LOCATION OF THE RETINA LINING THE BACK OF THE EYE, AND
HOW LIGHT ENERGY ENTERS THE FRONT OF THE EYE THROUGH THE PUPIL, AND
ELECTRICITY LEAVES THE BACK, IN THE OPTIC NERVE. 19
FIGURE (P. 32)
RECORDS SHOWING ACTION POTENTIALS IN A NEURON THAT RESPONDS TO LIGHT
ENTERING THE EYE. (A) PRESENTING LIGHT CAUSES AN INCREASE IN FIRING; (B)
INCREASING THE LIGHT INTENSITY INCREASES THE RATE OF FIRING FURTHER; AND (C)
EVEN MORE LIGHT RESULTS IN A HIGH RATE OF FIRING. 20
HOW A NEURON WORKS
 Dendrites stimulated by other
neurons

 Stimulation travels from dendrites

to axon hillock Axon Hillock

 With enough stimulation, neuron

fires electricity down axon. Action
potential finally reached the end
of an axon.
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HOW NEURONS COMMUNICATE
 Neurons communicate through releasing
neurotransmitters at the synapse

End of Cause synaptic Release of molecules

Action
Presynaptic vesicles to = neurotransmitters
Potential
neuron open

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NEUROTRANSMITTERS
 Neurotransmitters are the
messengers that travel
between one brain cell and
another.
 They are chemical signals
(which include dopamine,
acetylcholine and
serotonin), that neurons use
to talk to each other, which
is what makes your brain
work.
 They help determine how
you feel, think and act. 23
HOW NEURONS PROCESS INFORMATION
 Neurons process information
by interacting with each
other.
 Interactions take place at
the synapses where one
neuron releases its
neurotransmitter onto other
neuron (neural processing
occurs)
 Neural processing –
accomplished by neural
circuits ( groups of
interconnected neurons)
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HOW NEURONS ARE ORGANIZED
 By Function
 Neurons in different areas respond best to
different kinds of stimuli.
 Specific areas of the brain serve different
functions
 The property of different functions being
found in different brain areas 
Localisation of Function
 Modules= brain areas that specialize for
specific functions 25
EVIDENCE FOR MODULES &
SPECIALIZED FUNCTIONS
 Inferotemporal cortex
 Function: perception
 Damage to area: have difficulty
to recognize objects.
 E.g prospagnosia (cannot
recognize familiar faces)
 Medial temporal (MT) area
 Function: perception of visual
movement
 Damage to area: affects motion
perception
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 E.g motion agnosia (moving objects
appeared to be frozen)
 EVIDENCE FOR MODULES &
SPECIALISED FUNCTIONS
Wernicke’s
area
- Damage
results in
Wernicke’s
aphasia

Broca’s area
- Damage
results in
Broca’s
aphasia

 Aphasia- difficulty in using language/symbols 27

of communication
BROCA’S APHASIA
 Broca’s Aphasia (Speech affected)
 Patient understands but cannot answer
appropriately spoken or written speech
 Inability to process language. Speech is not fluent

Eg. : – Why, yes…Thursday, er, er, er, no, er,

Firday…Bar-bara…wife…and, oh,
car…drive…purnpike…you know…rest
and…teevee (Gardner, 1975)

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WERNICKE’S APHASIA
 Wernicke’s
Aphasia
(Comprehension/Understanding affected)
 Patient cannot understand spoken or written
speech
 Patient unable to understand any commands /
questions
 Speech is fluent but disorganized
 Eg. : Boy, I’m sweating, I’m awful nervous,
you know, once in a while I get caught up, I
can’t mention the tarripoi, a month ago, quite a
little, I’ve done a lot well. I impose a lot, while,
on the other hand, you know what I mean, I 29
have to run around, look it over, trebbin and
all that sort of stuff (Gardner, 1975)
EXAMPLES OF METHODS TO STUDY
PHYSIOLOGICAL COGNITION

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TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING THE
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN

 Single unit recording

 Event-related potentials

 Brain imaging

– PET
– fMRI
 Brain lesion

 Neuropsychology

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SINGLE UNIT RECORDING
 Helps to understand what’s going on in a single
neuron
 Typically done with non-humans

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FIGURE (P. 46)
HOW ATTENTION AFFECTS THE
FIRING OF SINGLE NEURONS
- AN EVIDENCE FROM SINGLE-UNIT
RECORDING TECHNIQUE

(A) WHEN A MONKEY IS LOOKING AT THE

X AND IS NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE
FLASHING LIGHT THAT IS OFF TO THE
SIDE, A NEURON IN THE CORTEX FIRES
SLOWLY;

(B) WHEN THE MONKEY PAYS ATTENTION

TO THE LIGHT (WHILE STILL LOOKING AT
THE X) FIRING OF THE NEURON
INCREASES.

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EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS (ERP)
 Record response of
many thousand neurons
to stimulus / event
 Recorded with
electrodes placed on
scalp
 Can tell us when and
where activity is
occurring

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SEMANTICS VS. SYNTAX
 Physiological distinction in ERP (Osterhut et al., 1997):

 The N400 wave of the ERP is affected by semantics. It becomes

larger (dark line) when the meaning of a word does not fit the rest
of the sentence. (b) The P600 wave of the ERP is affected by 35
syntax. It becomes larger (dark line) when syntax is incorrect.
 BRAIN IMAGING – PET
 Positron emission tomography (PET)
 Inject patient with radioactive
tracers
 Sent to brain through blood flow
 Able to detect blood flow by tracing
the radioactivity to specific modules
of the brain
 Measures blood flow to Modules:
Modules – > blood = > activation
 Eg. Reading – activates the visual
cortex
 PET scans tells us where and when
brain activity happens

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BRAIN IMAGING – FMRI
 fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
 Also based on blood flow
 No radioactive elements
 Hemoglobin, which carries Oxygen in the blood contains a
ferrous molecules (magnetic properties)
 Presenting magnetic fields to the brain causes the
hemoglobin molecules to line up like tiny magnets
 Principle - oxygen-rich blood is an index of brain activity
 Measure the activity in the part of the brain that is active

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BRAIN LESIONING
 Brain Lesioning – removal of a portion of
the brain
 Case of patient HM
 Severe epileptic seizures(penyakit sawan)
 Surgically removed hippocampus
&“surrounding areas” in attempt to stop
his severe epileptic.
 Operation did reduce HM’s seizures, but
HM lost ability to form new memories.
 Role of hippocampus in formation of new
memories
 Operation never repeated 39
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
 Study of behavioral effects of brain damaged
humans
 Brain damaged (e.g caused by accidents/ stroke
etc) caused the disruption in blood supply to an
area of the brain
 E.g double dissociations – situations in which one
function is absent while another is present in one
person and that opposite can also occur in other
person

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TABLES (P. 51)
TABLE 2.2A: DOUBLE DISSOCIATION: TWO BROKEN TVS
TABLE 2.2B: DOUBLE DISSOCIATION: TWO PEOPLE WITH BRAIN DAMAGE
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READINGS FOR THIS LECTURE:

 Cognitive Psychology textbook by Goldstein -

Chapter 2 (p.23-53)

 Participate in COGLAB – Brain Asymmetry (p.21)

 Create a Concept Map/ Mindmap of Chapter 2

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THANK YOU!

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