1. Then: Physiological Measures . in Cognitive Neuroscience
Finish: History of Cognitive Psychology
Then: Physiological Measures in Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychology 355: Cognitive Psychology Instructor: John Miyamoto 03/29/2018: Lecture 01-4
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2. Lecture probably ends here
Outline
Finish: History of cognitive psychology
Physiological measures in cognitive neuroscience
Single cell electrical recordings
What are they?
Strengths and weaknesses of this method for researching brain function
Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)
fMRI brain scanning
What is it?
Application of fMRI scanning to human face perception
Lecture probably ends here
Overview of the History of Cognitive Psychology
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr ‘18

3. Overview of the History of Cognitive Psychology
Precursors to cognitive psychology
Aristotle, Plato – epistemology, theory of ideas and their relation to human action
Experimental psychology begins in 19th century Germany
Franciscus Donders (response time analysis, method of subtraction)
Hermann von Helmholtz (perception, unconscious inference)
Hermann Ebbinghaus (experimental study of memory)
Wilhelm Wundt (analytic introspection, analysis of conscious experience)
Behaviorist hiatus in America: roughly 1920 – 1960
During the behaviorist period ( ), cognitive psychology continued to be studied in Europe.
Revival of cognitive psychology in America (1950 – 1970)
1970 – present: Cognitive psychology plays a major role in psychology pretty much everywhere in the world
Done!
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Why Did Behaviorism Lose Its Dominance in American Psychology?

4. It takes a theory to kill a theory!
Why did behaviorism lose its hold on American psychology? ( )
Problematic results
Learning without responding: Rats that are temporarily paralyzed with atropine can learn the layout of a maze from being wheeled around the maze on a stretcher.
Learning without reinforcement: Rats that explore a maze with no reinforcements show learning of the maze when they are later rewarded for running the maze.
Behaviorist theories could not provide insightful explanations or a productive research strategy for studying obvious important behaviors such as:
Human language production and comprehension; also, language learning.
Human problem solving; human decision making.
Human attention and perception.
It takes a theory to kill a theory!
The Legitimacy of Hypothetical Constructs in Psychology
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

5. Is It Unscientific to Postulate Unobserved Processes?
Is it unscientific to postulate unobserved psychological processes in a psychological theory?
Behaviorists "Yes"
Cognitivists "No"
"It takes a theory to kill a theory" – Clyde Coombs (I'm not sure that he was the first person to state this idea in this way.)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Experimental / Modeling / Physiological Approaches to Cognitive Psychology

6. Cognitive Psychology Since 1960
Behavioral Approach: All dependent measures in a study are observed behavior.
Experimental cognitive psychology – Emphasizes the behavioral approach
Perception & Attention, Memory, Language, Reasoning & problem solving, Cognitive development
Computer modeling of cognitive processes – Usually a mixture of the behavioral and computational approach
Physiological Approach
Single-cell recordings
Neural imaging: PET, fMRI, ERP
Study effects of drugs
Modeling Approach:
Tomorrow: Some examples of behavioral approaches and neuroscience approaches to cognitive psychology.
Physiological Approach: All dependent measures in a study are measures of physiological states or physiological responses.
Hybrid Approach (Cognitive Neuroscience): The study attempts to explain behavioral responses and physiological responses, and may include computational modeling of behavior.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Summary of History

7. Cognitive Psychology Since 1960
Experimental cognitive psychology – Emphasizes the behavioral approach
Perception & Attention, Memory, Language, Reasoning & problem solving, Cognitive development
Computer modeling of cognitive processes – Usually a mixture of the behavioral and computational approach
Physiological Approach
Single-cell recordings
Neural imaging: PET, fMRI, ERP
Study effects of drugs
Tomorrow: Some examples of behavioral approaches and neuroscience approaches to cognitive psychology.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Summary of History

8. Summary
19th Century European origins of cognitive research Some research during the first half of the 20th century
1955 – 1965: Beginning of modern cognitive psychology – present: Extensive behavioral research – present: Cognitive neuroscience stimulated by new imaging techniques.
Present: Combination of behavioral, neuroscience and computational approaches.
Review of Neural Information Processing: Start with Diagram of Nerve Cell & Info Transmission
Psych 355,, Miyamoto, Spr '18

9. The Parts of a Neuron (Nerve Cell)
TOPICS
Structure of a neuron (nerve cell)
How neurons transmit information
Cell body or soma – main body of the neuron.
Dendrites –brushy projections that receive stimulation from other cells.
Axon – long projection that carries stimulation to other cells.
Terminal buttons (a.k.a. axon terminals or synaptic terminals) – End of axon where a neurochemical signal is passed to other nerve cells.
Enlarged Diagram of a Synapse
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

10. The Synapse – Point of Contact Between Two Nerve Cells
Image downloaded from Wikipedia (1/9/07):
Nice pictures of a synapse are available at: and .
Goldstein (2014), Figure 2.5, p. 30.
Information Transfer at the Synapse
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

11. Information Transmission at the Synapse
Neurotransmitters (chemicals) are transferred from one neuron to the next at a synapse.
At any synapse, the transmission is in only one direction.
One neuron is the sending neuron.
The other neuron is the receiving neuron.
Neurons can either excite or inhibit the neural actions of other neurons.
Image downloaded from Wikipedia (1/9/07):
Nice pictures of a synapse are available at: and .
Action Potentials are All-of-None
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

12. Action Potentials: Electrochemical waves that pass down the axon of a neuron.
Action potentials are all-or-nothing.
The size is the same for all action potentials.
The rate of action potentials matters. The resting rate is not zero.
Neural Information Processing: Time of Occurrence of an Action Potential (Spike)
Time 
Summary re Neural Signals
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

13. Summary re Neural Signals
Information is carried by the firing rate of a neuron, not the size of an action potential (all are of equal size).
Inputs to a neuron can increase (excite) or decrease (inhibit) the firing rate of the neuron.
The signal is transmitted from one neuron to the next by means of neurotransmitter chemicals that are passed from one neuron to another at the synapse.
Next: Strengths and Weaknesses of Different Physiological Measures
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

14. Next: Strengths and Weaknesses of Different Physiological Measures
Single-cell recordings
Event Related Potentials (ERPs)
fMRI
Psych 355,, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Single Cell Recordings

15. Single Cell Recordings
The firing rate of individual neurons is measured by means of single cell recordings.
Today it is possible to record simultaneously from a number of of individual cells.
The Friday section will discuss studies of elementary perceptual features that are based on single cell recordings in the cat nervous system.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Single Cell Recordings
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

16. Strengths and Weaknesses of Single Cell Recording Methods
Excellent spatial information – the scientist has a very good idea where the recording is located in the brain.
Excellent temporal information – the scientist knows when the neuron fires to a high level of precision.
Drawbacks
Practically difficult to record from more than a small number of cells at a given time, e.g., 15 to 20 cells simultaneously.
The method is very invasive. In humans, single-cell recordings are restricted to patients who have other reasons for undergoing brain surgery.
Event-Related Potentials (ERP’s)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

17. Event-Related Potentials (ERP’s)
Measures electrical potentials on the scalp while processing a stimulus.
Strengths and Weaknesses of ERP’s
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

18. Event-Related Potentials (ERP’s)
Strengths and weaknesses of ERP’s as research tool.
Poor spatial resolution.
Excellent temporal resolution.
Relatively non-invasive.
Sketchy understanding of the brain processes that are producing the EEG signal.
The graph shows the electrical recording at one location. Similar graphs can be made for every recording location.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

19. Thursday, 29 March, 2018: The Lecture Ended Here
Psych 355,, Miyamoto, Spr '18