Cognitive neuroscience 50326 225849422 2008-07-15T18:08:14Z Cooper24 1877529 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225820212 by [[Special:Contributions/123.237.121.132|123.237.121.132]] ([[User talk:123.237.121.132|talk]]) {{citations missing|date=September 2007}} '''Cognitive neuroscience''' is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological mechanisms underlying [[cognition]], with a specific focus on the neural substrates of mental processes and their behavioral manifestations. It addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by the [[neural circuitry]]. Cognitive neuroscience is a branch of both [[psychology]] and [[neuroscience]], unifying and overlapping with several sub-disciplines such as [[cognitive psychology]], [[psychobiology]] and [[neurobiology]]. Before the advent of [[fMRI]], cognitive neuroscience was called [[psychophysiology|cognitive psychophysiology]]. Cognitive neuroscientists have a background in [[experimental psychology]] or neurobiology, but may spring from disciplines such as [[psychiatry]], [[neurology]], [[physics]], [[linguistics]] and [[mathematics]]. Methods employed in cognitive neuroscience include experimental paradigms from [[psychophysics]] and [[cognitive psychology]], [[functional neuroimaging]], [[electrophysiology|electrophysiological]] studies of neural systems and, increasingly, [[cognitive genomics]] and [[behavioral genetics]]. Clinical studies in [[psychopathology]] in patients with [[cognitive deficits]] constitute an important aspect of cognitive neuroscience. The main theoretical approaches are [[computational neuroscience]] and the more traditional, descriptive [[cognitive psychology]] theories such as [[psychometrics]]. ==Scientific roots== [[Image:Phrenology-journal.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A page from the ''American Phrenological Journal'']] ===Phrenology=== {{main|Phrenology}} The first roots of cognitive neuroscience lie in phrenology, which was a [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] theory that claimed that behavior could be determined by the shape of the [[scalp]]. In the early 19th century, [[Franz Joseph Gall]] and [[J. G. Spurzheim]] believed that the [[human brain]] was localized into approximately 35 different sections. In his book, ''The Anatomy and Physiology of the Nervous System in General, and of the Brain in Particular'', Gall claimed that a larger bump in one of these areas meant that that area of the brain was used more frequently by that person. This theory gained significant public attention, leading to the publication of phrenology journals and the creation of phrenometers, which measured the bumps on a human subject's head. ===Aggregate field=== [[Pierre Flourens]], a [[France|French]] experimental psychologist, was one of many scientists that challenged the views of the phrenologists. Through his study of living [[rabbits]] and [[Columbidae|pigeons]], he discovered that [[lesions]] to particular areas of the brain produced no discernible change in behavior. He proposed the theory that the brain is an aggregate field, meaning that different areas of the brain participated in behavior. ===Later localizationists=== Studies performed in Europe by scientists such as [[John Hughlings Jackson]] caused the localizationist view to re-emerge as the primary view of behavior. Jackson studied patients with [[brain damage]], particularly those with [[epilepsy]]. He discovered that the epileptic patients often made the same [[clonus|clonic]] and tonic movements of muscle during their seizures, leading Jackson to believe that they must be occurring in the same place every time. Jackson proposed a topographic map of the brain, which was critical to future understanding of the [[brain lobes]]. [[Image:BrocasAreaSmall.png|thumb|left|200px|Broca's area and Wernicke's area.]] In 1861, French neurologist [[Paul Broca]] came across a man who was able to understand language but unable to speak. The man could only produce the sound "tan". It was later discovered that the man had damage to an area of his left frontal lobe now known as [[Broca's area]]. [[Carl Wernicke]], a [[Germany|German]] neurologist, found a similar patient, except that this patent could speak fluently but non-sensibly. The patient has been a victim of a [[stroke]], and could not understand spoken or written language. This patient had a lesion in the area where the left parietal and temporal lobes meet, now known as [[Wernicke's area]]. These cases strongly supported the localizationists views, because a lesion caused a specific behavioral change in both of these patients. In 1870, German physicians [[Eduard Hitzig]] and [[Gustav Fritsch]] published their findings about the behavior of animals. Hitzig and Fritsch ran an electrical current through the [[cerebral cortex]] of a [[dog]], causing the dog to produce characteristic movements based on where the current was applied. Since different areas produced different movements, the physicians concluded that behavior was rooted at the cellular level. German neuroanatomist [[Korbinian Brodmann]] used tissue staining techniques developed by [[Franz Nissl]] to see the different types of cells in the brain. Though this study, Brodmann concluded in 1909 that the human brain consisted of fifty-two distinct areas, now named [[Brodmann area]]s. Many of Brodmann's distinctions were very accurate, such as differentiating [[Brodmann area 17]] from [[Brodmann area 18]]. ===The neuron doctrine=== {{main|Neuron doctrine}} In the early 20th century, [[Santiago Ramón y Cajal]] and [[Camillo Golgi]] began working on the structure of the neuron. Golgi developed a [[silver staining]] method that could entirely stain several cells in a particular area, leading him to believe that neurons were directly connected with each other in one [[cytoplasm]]. Cajal challenged this view after staining areas of the brain that had less [[myelin]] and discovering that neurons were discrete cells. Cajal also discovered that cells transmit electrical signals down the neuron in one direction only. Both Golgi and Cajal won a [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] in 1906 for this work on the neuron doctrine. ==Foundation of the science== On [[September 11]], [[1956]], a large-scale meeting of [[cognitivist]]s took place at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]. [[George Armitage Miller|George A. Miller]] presented his "[[The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two]]" paper while [[Noam Chomsky]] and [[Allen Newell|Newell]] & [[Herbert Simon|Simon]] presented their findings on [[computer science]]. [[Ulric Neisser]] commented on many of the findings at this meeting in his 1967 book ''Cognitive Psychology''. The term "psychology" had been waning in the 1950s and 1960s, causing the field to be referred to as "cognitive science". Behavioralists such as Miller began to focus on the representation of language rather than general behavior. [[David Marr (psychologist)|David Marr]]'s proposal of the hierarchical representation of memory caused many psychologists to embrace the idea that mental skills required significant processing in the brain, including [[algorithm]]s. ==Cognitive neuroscience topics== *[[attention]] *[[change blindness]] *[[consciousness]] *[[decision-making]] *[[learning]] *[[memory]] *[[mirror neurons]] *[[mismatch negativity]] ==Cognitive neuroscience methods== *[[Psychophysics]] *[[Cognitive psychology]] *[[physiological psychology|Cognitive psychophysiology]] *[[Cognitive neuropsychology]] *[[Electroencephalography|EEG]] *[[Magnetoencephalography|MEG]] *[[fMRI]] *[[Positron emission tomography|PET]] *[[SPECT]] *[[Single unit recording]] ==Related WikiBooks== *[[wikibooks:Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience]] *[[wikibooks:Consciousness studies|Wikibook on consciousness]] *[[wikibooks:Neuroscience/Cognitive Neuroscience|Cognitive Neuroscience chapter]] of the [[wikibooks:Neuroscience|Neuroscience WikiBook]] ==See also== *[[Cognitive psychology]] *[[Experimental psychology]] *[[Physiological psychology|Cognitive psychophysiology]] *[[List of publications in biology#Cognitive neuroscience|Important publications in cognitive neuroscience]] *[[Affective neuroscience]] *[[Social neuroscience]] ==References == *[[Patricia Churchland|Churchland, P.S.]] & [[Terry Sejnowski|Sejnowski, T.J.]] (1992). ''[[The Computational Brain]]'', [[The MIT Press]], ISBN 0-262-03188-4. *Code, C. (1996). ''Classic Cases: Ancient & Modern Milestones in the Development of Neuropsychological Science''. In: Code, C. et al ''Classic Cases in Neuropsychology''. *[[Michael Gazzaniga|Gazzaniga, M. S.]], ''The Cognitive Neurosciences III'', (2004), [[The MIT Press]], ISBN 0-262-07254-8 *[[Michael Gazzaniga|Gazzaniga, M. S.]], Ed. (1999). ''Conversations in the Cognitive Neurosciences'', [[The MIT Press]], ISBN 0-262-57117-X. *[[George Armitage Miller|Miller, G. A.]] (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. ''Psychological Review'', 63, 81-97 *Parkin, A.J. (1996). ''Explorations in Cognitive Neuropsychology'', pp. 1-23. *Sternberg, Eliezer J. ''Are You a Machine? The Brain, the Mind and What it Means to be Human.'' Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. *{{cite book |last=Ward|first=Jamie|title=[http://www.psypress.com/ward The Student's Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience] | year=2006 | publisher=[http://www.psypress.com Psychology Press] | id=ISBN 978-1-84169-535-8}} ==Further reading== * Krill, A. L., Platek, S. M., Goetz, A. T., & Shackelford, T. K. (2007). Where evolutionary psychology meets cognitive neuroscience: A précis to evolutionary cognitive neuroscience. ''Evolutionary Psychology, 5,'' 232-256. [http://www.toddkshackelford.com/downloads/Krill-et-al-EP-2007.pdf Full text] ==External links== *[http://www.in-mind.org/issue-4/there-s-something-about-zero.html There's Something about Zero] * [http://www.cognitiveneurosciencearena.com/whatiscognitiveneuroscience.asp What Is Cognitive Neuroscience?, Jamie Ward/Psychology Press] * [http://cognet.mit.edu CogNet, The Brain and Cognitive Sciences Community Online, MIT] * [http://www.cognitiveneurosciencearena.com Cognitive Neuroscience Arena, Psychology Press] * [http://www.sfu.ca/cognitive-science/journal/2002/CUJCS-Spring_2002_%5B4%5D.pdf Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy, CUJCS, Spring 2002] {{Psychology}}{{Neuroscience}} [[Category:Neuropsychology]] [[Category:Cognitive neuroscience| ]] [[Category:Cognitive science|Neuroscience]] [[bn:বোধনমূলক স্নায়ুবিজ্ঞান]] [[de:Kognitive Neurowissenschaft]] [[id:Neurosains kognitif]] [[es:Neurociencia cognitiva]] [[fr:Neurosciences cognitives]] [[nl:Cognitieve neurowetenschap]] [[ja:認知神経科学]]