cog psy

inferior

blood oxygen level-dependent contrast; this is the signal measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

processing directly influenced by environmental stimuli; see top-down processing

a study in which several patients with similar cognitive impairments are tested; this allows consideration of individual data and of variation across individuals

a groove or furrow in the surface of the brain

the notion that symptoms that often co-occur have a common origin

stimulus processing that is influenced by factors such as the individual’s past experience and expectations

a technique in which magnetic pulses briefly disrupt the functioning of a given brain area. It is often claimed that it creates a short-lived “lesion”. More accurately

an approach that aims to understand human cognition by combining information from behaviour and the brain

an approach that aims to understand human cognition by the study of behaviour; a broader definition also includes the study of brain activity and structure

a comprehensive framework for understanding human cognition in the form of a computer program

models in computational cognitive science consisting of interconnected networks of simple units or nodes; the networks exhibit learning through experience and specific items of knowledge are distributed across numerous units

an approach in which several methods with different strengths and limitations are used to address a given issue

this involves constructing computer programs that simulate or mimic human cognitive processes

the situation in experimental research in which the experimenter’s behaviour is uninfluenced by the participant’s behaviour

situated at the side of the brain

damage within the brain resulting from injury or disease; it typically affects a restricted area

a non-invasive brain-scanning technique based on recording the magnetic fields generated by brain activity; it has good spatial and temporal resolution

the assumption that the cognitive system consists of many fairly independent or separate modules or processors

a form of statistical analysis based on combining the findings from numerous studies on a given research topic

processing in which two or more cognitive processes occur at the same time

situated in the middle of the brain

the findings with a given experimental task or paradigm are not replicated even when apparently very similar tasks or paradigms are used

processing in which one process is completed before the next one starts; see parallel processing

an invasive technique for studying brain function

this involves developing computer programs that produce intelligent outcomes

the finding that certain symptoms or performance impairments are consistently found together in numerous brain-damaged patients

a learning mechanism in connectionist models based on comparing actual responses to correct ones

superior

the finding that some brain-damaged individuals have intact performance on one task but poor performance on another task

the applicability (or otherwise) of the findings of laboratory studies to everyday settings

recording the brain’s electrical potentials through a series of scalp electrodes

this is a form of functional magnetic resonance imaging in which patterns of brain activity associated with specific events (e.g.

the pattern of electroencephalograph (EEG) activity obtained by averaging the brain responses to the same stimulus (or very similar stimuli) presented repeatedly

the assumption that each brain area or region is specialised for a specific function (e.g.

a brain-scanning technique based on the detection of positrons; it has reasonable spatial resolution but poor temporal resolution

towards the back of the brain

“If ... then” or condition-action rules in which the action is carried out whenever the appropriate condition is present

these consist of very large numbers of “if ... then” production rules and a working memory containing information

as applied to functional neuroimaging, it involves arguing backwards from a pattern of brain activation to the presence of a given cognitive process

anterior

the administration of transcranial magnetic stimulation several times in rapid succession

severe problems in the comprehension and/or production of language caused by brain damage

using computer-based analyses of patterns of brain activity to work out which stimulus an individual is processing

the ability to repeat a previous experiment and obtain the same (or similar) findings

a technique based on imaging blood oxygenation using an MRI machine; it provides information about the location and time course of brain processes

prominent elevated areas or ridge on the brain’s surface (“gyri” is the plural)

retinal cells providing the output signal from the retina

the notion that there is mapping between receptor cells in the retina and points on the surface of the visual cortex

the region of the retina in which light influences the activity of a particular neuron

reduction of activity in one neuron caused by activity in a neighbouring neuron

a brain-damaged condition in which motion perception is severely impaired even though stationary objects are perceived reasonably well

a condition caused by brain damage in which there is very limited colour perception but form and motion perception are relatively intact

the issue of integrating different types of information to produce coherent visual perception

visual or spatial coding of objects relative to each other; see egocentric coding

the part of the visual processing system most involved in visually guided action

visual or spatial coding dependent on the position of the observer’s body; see allocentric coding

the part of the visual processing system involved in object perception and recognition and the formation of perceptual representations

a condition in which there are severe problems in shape perception (what an object is) but reasonable ability to produce accurate visually guided actions

a condition in which there are problems with making visually guided movements in spite of reasonably intact visual perception

a deficiency in colour vision in which one of the three cone classesis missing

the illusory perception of the complementary colour to the one that has just been fixated; green is the complementary colour to red and blue is complementary to yellow

a source of light illuminating a surface or object

the tendency for an object to be perceived as having the same colour under widely varying viewing conditions

changes in visual sensitivity to colour stimuli when the illumination alters

cues to depth that require both eyes to be used together

a depth cue based on the slight disparity in the two retinal images when an observer views a scene; it is the basis for stereopsis

when two different visual stimuli are presented one to each eye

cues to depth produced by muscular contractions of the muscles around the eye; use of such cues involves kinaesthesia (also known as the muscle sense)

cues to depth that can be used by one eye

the rate of change of texture density from the front to the back of a slanting object

a depth cue based on movement in one part of the retinal image relative to another

a cue to depth based on the inward focus of the eyes with close objects

a depth cue based on changes in optical power produced by thickening of the eye’s lens when an observer focuses on close objects

a complex two-dimensional image perceived as three-dimensional when not focused on for a period of time

depth perception based on the small discrepancy in the two retinal images when a visual scene is observed (binocular disparity)

relating to the sense of touch

an illusion in which misperception of one’s own bodily sizecauses the perceived size of objects to be misjudged

objects are perceived to have a given size regardless of the size of the retinal image

perceptual processing occurring below the level of conscious awareness that can nevertheless influence behaviour

the ability to respond appropriately to visual stimuli in the absence of conscious visual experience in patients with damage to the primary visual cortex

an individual's awareness of the position and orientation of parts of their body

the finding that a face part is recognised more easily when presented in the context of a whole face rather than on its own

the ability to identify or categorise two-dimensional patterns (e.g.

the notion that the simplest possible organisation of the visual environment is perceived; proposed by the Gestaltists

the perceptual organisation of the visual field into a figure (object of central interest) and a ground (less important background)

the finding that faces are much harder to recognise when presented upside down; the effect of inversion is less marked (or absent) with other objects

the notion that adjacent regions in the visual environment having uniform visual properties (e.g.

processing that involves integrating information from an entire object (especially faces)

a condition (also known as face blindness) in which there is a severe impairment in face recognition but much less impairment of object recognition; it is often the result of brain damage (acquired prosopagnosia) but can also be due to impaired development of face-recognition mechanisms (developmental prosopagnosia)

an area that is associated with face processing; the term is somewhat misleading given that the area is also associated with processing other categories of objects

a condition found in some blind people in which they misinterpret their visual imagery as visual perception

a condition in which individuals with eye disease form vivid and detailed visual hallucinations sometimes mistaken for visual perception

representations (e.g.

within Kosslyn’s theory

perceptual experiences that appear real even though the individuals or objects perceived are not present

the point towards which someone in motion is moving; it does not appear to move

the structural pattern of light falling on the retina

the changes in the pattern of light reaching an observer when there is movement of the observer and/or aspects of the environment

properties of the optic array that remain constant even though otheraspects vary; part of Gibson’s theory

the potential uses of an object which Gibson claimed are perceived directly

an internal copy of a motor command (e.g.

the changing patterns of light on the retina produced by movement of the observer relative to the environment as well as by eye and head movements

from a driver’s perspective, the point on a road at which the direction of its inside edge appears to reverse

neurons that respond to actions whether performed by oneself or someone else; it is claimed these neurons assist in imitating (and understanding) others’ actions

failure to detect various changes (e.g.

the tendency of observers to overestimate greatly the extent to which they can detect visual changes and so avoid change blindness

failure to detect an unexpected object appearing in the visual environment

a situation in which individuals try to attend to only one source of information while ignoring other stimuli; also known as selective attention

a situation in which two tasks are performed at the same time; also known as multi-tasking

a different auditory message is presented to each ear and attention has to be directed to one message

repeating one auditory message word for word as it is presented while a second auditory message is also presented; it is a version of the dichotic listening task

allocation of attention to two (or more) non-adjacent regions of visual space

a reduced probability of visual attention returning to a recently attended location or object

attention to an object in the absence of an eye movement towards it

a disorder involving right-hemisphere damage (typically) in which theleft side of objects and/or objects presented to the left visual field are undetected; the condition resembles extinction but is more severe

a disorder of visual attention in which a stimulus presented to the side opposite the brain damage is not detected when another stimulus is presented at the same time to the side of the brain damage

the coordination of attention across two or more modalities (e.g.

the mistaken perception that sounds are coming from their apparent source (as in ventriloquism)

attention to a given spatial location determined by “automatic” processes

attention to a stimulus controlled by intentions or goal-directed mechanisms

the finding that brain activation when tasks A and B are performed at the same time is less than the sum of the brain activation when tasks A and B are performed separately

the slowing of the response to the second of two stimuli when presented close together in time

a small area within the retina in the centre in the field of vision where visual acuity is greatest

performing two or more tasks at the same time by switching rapidly between them

a sensory store that holds visual information for approximately 1,000 milliseconds following the offset of a visual stimulus

a sensory store that holds auditory information for approximately 2 seconds

stored units formed from integrating smaller pieces of information

a modality-free

a component of working memory; it is essentially passive and stores integrated information briefly

component of working memory in which speech-based information is processed and stored and subvocal articulation occurs

a component of working memory used to process visual and spatial information and to store this information briefly

rapid repetition of a simple sound (e.g.

the finding that immediate serial recall of verbal material is reduced when the items sound similar

the finding that verbal memory span decreases when longer words are presented

according to Logie

according to Logie, the part of the visuo-spatial sketchpad dealing with spatial and movement information

processes that organise and coordinate the functioning of the cognitive system to achieve current goals

a task on which participants have to name the ink colours in which colour words are printed; performance is slowed when the to-be-named colour (e.g.

a condition in which damage to the frontal lobes causes impairments to the central executive component of working memory

a limited-capacity system used in the processing and brief holding of information

an assessment of how much information can be processed and stored at the same time; individuals with high capacity have higher intelligence and more attentional control

the largest number of sentences read for comprehension from which an individual can recall all the final words over 50% of the time

the maximum number of items (arithmetical questions + words) for which an individual can recall all the words more than 50% of the time

the ability to use knowledge

memory that involves conscious recollection of information

memory that does not depend on conscious recollection

this characterises memory traces that are distinct or different from other memory traces stored in long-term memory

the finding that long-term memory is enhanced when some of the learning period is devoted to retrieving to-be-learned information rather than simply studying it

participants on this task respond as rapidly as possible to stimuli typically presented in a repeating sequence; it is used to assess implicit learning

on learning tasks

it forms part of the basal ganglia and is located in the upper part of the brainstem and the inferior part of the cerebral hemispheres

a progressive disorder involving damage to the basal ganglia (including the striatum); the symptoms include muscle rigidity

a measure of forgetting introduced by Ebbinghaus in which the number of trials for relearning is compared against the number for original learning

disruption of memory for previously learned information by other learning or processing occurring during the retention interval

disruption of memory by previous learning (often of similar material)

motivated forgetting of traumatic or other threatening events (especially from childhood)

childhood traumatic memories forgotten for several years and then remembered in adult life

reduced long-term memory caused by instructions to forget information that had been presented for learning

the notion that retrieval depends on the overlap between the information available at retrieval and the information in the memory trace

a basic process within the brain involved in establishing long-term memories; this process lasts several hours or more and newly formed memories are fragile

this is a new process of consolidation occurring when a previously formed memory trace is reactivated; it allows that memory trace to be updated

impaired ability of amnesic patients to remember information and events from the time period prior to the onset of amnesia

non-verbal reasoning ability applied to novel problems

the process by which information contained in external stimuli is transformed into a representation that can be stored within the memory system

learning complex information without conscious awareness of what has been learned

a condition caused by brain damage in which there is severe impairment of long-term memory (mostly declarative memory)

amnesia (impaired long-term memory) caused by chronic alcoholism

reduced capacity for new learning (and subsequent remembering) after the onset of amnesia

a form of long-term memory that involves knowing something is the case; it involves conscious recollection and includes memory for facts (semantic memory) and events (episodic memory); sometimes known as explicit memory

forms of long-term memory that influence behaviour but do not involve conscious recollection (e.g.

facilitating the processing of (and response) to a target stimulus by presenting a stimulus related to it some time beforehand

this is memory concerned with knowing how and it includes the knowledge required to perform skilled actions

a form of long-term memory consisting of general knowledge about the world

a form of long-term memory concerned with personal experiences or episodes occurring in a given place at a specific time

a condition involving damage to the anterior temporal lobes involving widespread loss of information about the meanings of words and concepts; however

the phenomenon of episodic memories changing into semantic memories over time

mental representations of categories of objects or items

disorders caused by brain damage in which semantic memory is disrupted for certain semantic categories

organised packets of information about the world

a form of schema containing information about a sequence of events (e.g.

a form of priming in which repeated presentations of a stimulus facilitates its perceptual processing

a form of priming in which there is facilitated processing of stimulus meaning

the finding that stimulus repetition often leads to reduced brain activity (typically with enhanced performance via priming)

a test of episodic memory in which previously presented to-be-remembered items are recalled in response to relevant cues

a test of episodic memory in which previously presented to-be-remembered items must be recalled in the order of presentation