PSYC1020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Functional Fixedness, Neural Coding, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Document Summary
Lecture 11 cognitive neuroscience and thinking (problem solving) Sympathetic nervous system: controlled by brainstem, emotional arousal, stress, fear, fight/flight. Neuropsychology - brain legions: explains normal brain function by examining what changes when part of the brain is damaged, stroke/brain injury. Induced electrical/chemical lesions in animals: assumption, whatever changes in behaviour/cognition must rely on that part of the brain that is damaged. Population coding in primary motor cortex: primary motor cortex neurons fire for movements in a preferred direction, can measure single neuron firing to find preferred direction, can measure from many neurons (population) to decode intended direction. Functional brain imaging: pet: positron emission tomography, 1980 - late 90s, use radioactive substances injected into bloodstream fmri: functional magnetic resonance imaging, 1992 - current, measures change in blood oxygen level. Bold: blood oxygen level dependent signal: problems. Lasts for several seconds - underlying brain activity lasts for only milliseconds.
