5/8/2023

LECTURE 01
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE, COURSE REQUIREMENTS
THE MAKINGS OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
BEING SUCCESSFUL IN THIS COURSE (AND BEYOND)

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PSYB55: INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE | UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, SCARBOROUGH | PROF. MICHAEL SOUZA

A bit about your instructor

Dr. Michael Souza (he/him) (“SUES-uh”)
Contact information information on the syllabus
Office hour information on Quercus Announcements

MY EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

B.A. and M.A. in Psychology | Univ of California - Davis | 2002-7
Ph.D. in Psychology | Univ of California - Berkeley | 2007-10
Asst/Assoc Prof of Teaching| Univ of British Columbia | 2010-16
Assoc Prof, Teaching Stream | U Toronto Scarborough | 2016 – present

TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS

Higher-order cognition, cognitive impairment, neurorehabilitation
Curriculum development, improving student preparedness

OTHER UTSC COURSES I TEACH

PSYB57: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
PSYC50: Higher Level Cognition
PSYD59: Psychology of Gambling

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Cognitive psychology “vs.” cognitive neuroscience

Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes
“Mental processes” = aspects of cognition such as memory, attention, language, etc.

Cognitive neuroscience is focused on the biology of the mind; that is, localizing the
workings of the mind to the functions of the brain
Complementary use of various biomedical technologies (i.e., MRI)
Animal studies and human neuropsychology (patients with brain injury)
Towards a holistic understanding of neurocognitive functioning

attention object recognition

perception language

memory emotion

motor control cognitive control

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Picture: http://prefrontal.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/caret.png

The power of cognitive neuroscience:

The challenge of designing effective brain-machine interfaces

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Picture: https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/brain-computer-interface-user-types-90-characters-per-minute-with-mind-68762

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The power of cognitive neuroscience:

Challenges and opportunities

Examining the effects of various

psychoactive drugs for public policy
i.e., is the use of marijuana bad for your brain?

Mapping cognitive development to

neurological development

Rehabilitating the injured brain and

mapping its progress

Identifying biomarkers
(e.g., Alzheimer’s disease)

Picture: https://www.sasktoday.ca/central/opinion/editorial-the-cannabis-act-the-good-and-bad-4125695
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https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/news/new-oxford-neurodevelopment-consortium

READY? READY? READY?

RED RED

GREEN GREEN

BLUE YELLOW

YELLOW GREEN

GREEN BLUE

RED RED

BLUE BLUE 6

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The Stroop task

Consider the cognitive processes involved in this task…

Representing of task rule (i.e., name the ink color and not the word)
RED
Perception of color, words
Decoding of colors, word meanings
GREEN
Inhibit color word’s interference YELLOW
Select response effector (i.e., which finger do I use to answer?)
Respond GREEN
Monitor appropriateness of response, integrate feedback
BLUE
RED
BLUE

Stroop Task demo: 7

https://www.scienceworld.ca/resource/stroop-effect/

Quick syllabus review:

Course Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, you will have demonstrated an improved ability to do the following:

(1) Understand and describe why the integration of cognitive psychology and neuroscience helps to promote a
more rigorous understanding of human cognitive processes than either field alone might;

(2) Understand and describe the core elements of a range of neurocognitive tools and research designs –
including strengths/weaknesses – and to apply this knowledge to pertinent, novel research questions;

(3) Understand and describe the core tenets of major theories in various domains in cognitive neuroscience
(e.g., memory), and to consider how we might create experiments to test and evaluate these ideas;

(4) Understand how and why primary research articles are organized the way they are, and to develop and
apply strategies to effectively consume the information contained within them;

(5) Evaluate whether the conclusions reached in a research study are appropriate given how the research was
conducted (e.g., research design, neurocognitive tools employed, sample size and characteristics);

(6) Conceptualize the content units of this course (e.g., attention) as both integrative and hierarchical;

(7) Identify and articulate the value and contribution of this course to your broader program of study
(Neuroscience, Mental Health Studies, and Psychology, as appropriate).

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Quick syllabus review:

Lecture, the textbook and the course website
Lectures
You are expected to watch all lectures, as you are
responsible for all material presented

Required textbook
Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R.B. & Mangun, G.R. (2018).
Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind
(5th edition). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
(ISBN-13: 978-0-393-60317-0)

Previous editions of textbook are not OK

Course website
Quercus for important announcements, PDFs of
the lecture slides, exam marks, etc.

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Picture: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/webad.aspx?id=4294978503

Quick syllabus review:

Course requirements
Midterm Examination I (27% of course grade)
To be scheduled by the Registrar
(covers first four lectures)
Practice questions will
Midterm Examination II (33% of course grade)
be made available
To be scheduled by the Registrar
for each lecture
(covers next four lectures)

Final Examination (40% of course grade)

Scheduled during the Final exam period
Covers all lectures, post-Midterm 2 textbook readings, and
one journal article (to be assigned later in the course)

o Multiple-choice and short-answer

o Lecture (2/3-3/4) > textbook (1/4-1/3) weighting
o Demonstrating foundational knowledge of core
ideas, theories and supporting research
o Applying your knowledge of theories and
methods, (and the like) to novel situations

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Picture: https://ose.utsc.utoronto.ca/ose/uploads/image_uploads/get_started-373_1404910763.jpg

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Quick syllabus review:

Other housekeeping pieces
I expect you to understand and follow
the policies set forth in the syllabus
(when in doubt, check the syllabus)

I hope that you will connect with me if

you have questions/concerns about the
course or your future
o Virtual office hours

I expect you to behave with integrity for

the assessments

I expect you to be responsible in the

event you are unable to write an exam

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LECTURE 01
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE, COURSE REQUIREMENTS
THE MAKINGS OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
BEING SUCCESSFUL IN THIS COURSE (AND BEYOND)

12
PSYB55: INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE | UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, SCARBOROUGH | PROF. MICHAEL SOUZA

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Lecture objectives
 To describe the value and inherent challenges of the cognitive approach
of studying the mind;

 To describe how and why localization of function became an important

way of thinking in neuroscience;

 To articulate multiple, clear examples where localization of function (LoF)

appears to accurately describe brain function;

 To describe the concepts of cortical networks and hierarchy in the brain,

and how they make the LoF idea more sophisticated;

 To articulate why it is fair to characterize cognitive neuroscience as a

heavily interdisciplinary field, and to provide multiple examples to that
effect.

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The big challenge

Stimulus/ Response/
input output

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Method of inquiry: Introspection (via structuralism)

William Wundt
1832-1920

Edward Titchener
1867-1927

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Picture: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oWoczdsPMpY/hqdefault.jpg

Method of inquiry: Behaviorism

Psychology is the science of behavior

The mind is unobservable, should not be a target of scientific inquiry
Value placed on associative learning, forms of conditioning
Detailed analyses of behavioural accuracy, reaction time (RT)

Often referred to as the “dark ages” of psychology

B.F. Skinner John Watson

1904-1990 1878-1958
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

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Method of inquiry: Cognitivism

The “Cognitive Revolution” rejected the notion that
only behavior should be subject to study

Developing complex models of cognition

Serial and parallel processing
Parallel distributed processing (1986)

James McClelland
1948 - present

David Rumelhart
1942 - 2011

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Some lessons from what we’ve learned about cognition

Usage and utility
Cognitive resources appear to be limited
Cognition is important for functioning well in the world

Variability
There are within-subject differences in cognitive functioning
There are between-subject differences in cognitive functioning

Flexibility
Cognitive abilities often change, for better and for worse, with development and/or dysfunction
Most cognitive abilities are malleable, at least to some degree

…but what gives rise to cognition??

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Picture: https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7712/17892462450_4b0efb8c99_b.jpg

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An early role for the brain: the Edwin Smith papyrus

Earliest record of medical treatment for

traumatic injury
2500-3000 BC (Egyptian)
48 cases, some brain-related
Treatment of brain swelling after traumatic
brain injury (TBI)
Hinted at localization of function (LoF)

Picture: http://schatz.sju.edu/neuro/nphistory/nphistory.html
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Smith_Papyrus

Tracking down the seat of the mind

Ancient Egypt
“Cardiac hypothesis” (i.e., Aristotle)
For mummification, brain was removed because
heart was thought to be the seat of intelligence

Alcamaeon of Croton (490-430 B.C.)

Galen (129-199)
“Brain hypothesis”

Descartes (1596-1650)
Rationalism
Dualism (vs. monism)
The pineal gland
Reflexes, vision

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Picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Descartes-reflex.JPG
http://www.princeton.edu/~his291/Cartesian_Vision.html

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The brain, blood flow, and cognition

This finding turned out to be critical for the invention of fMRI, among other things
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Angelo Mosso (1846-1910)

How is the brain organized?

The neuron doctrine

Rejection of Golgi’s syncytium proposal
The synapse and neural communication

Layers of the cerebral cortex

Progression of neurodevelopment

Picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/GolgiStainedPyramidalCell.jpg/220px-GolgiStainedPyramidalCell.jpg
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http://medicine.academic.ru/pictures/medicine/831.jpg

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How is the brain organized?

Two possible theories

Aggregate field theory (i.e., Pierre Flourens)
Localization of function (LoF)

The pseudoscience of phrenology

Franz Josef Gall (1758-1828)

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How is the brain organized?

Histologically-defined regions
Brodmann’s map of the cerebral cortex
(Korbinian Brodmann, 1868-1916)

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Evidence for localization of function (1)

Paul Broca (1824-1880) Carl Wernicke (1848-1904)

A portion of the left frontal lobe A portion of the left temporal lobe
(named “Broca’s area”) (named “Wernicke’s area”)
Damage  Broca’s aphasia Damage  Wernicke’s aphasia
Non-fluent output despite Impaired comprehension despite
intact comprehension fluent output

Picture: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2001/ling001/neurology.html
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http://mindbrain.ucdavis.edu/labs/Miller/courses/npb-165-neurobiology-of-speech-perception

Evidence for localization of function (2)

John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911)

Progression of seizures to various
body parts (“Jacksonian march”)
Topographic map of cerebral cortex

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Picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/John_Hughlings_Jackson.jpg/255px-John_Hughlings_Jackson.jpg
http://higheredbcs.wiley.com/legacy/college/tortora/0470565101/hearthis_ill/pap13e_ch16_illustr_audio_mp3_am/simulations/figures/maps.jpg

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Evidence for localization of function (3)

Wilder Penfield (1891-1976) MOTOR/PREMOTOR PARIETAL

Movements Somatosensory/visual
‘Montreal procedure’ for epilepsy hallucinations
Brain mapping using electrocortical
stimulation on the brain’s surface

OCCIPITAL
Visual
hallucinations

PREFRONTAL TEMPORAL
Nothing Visual/auditory
 ‘silent cortex’ Hallucinations
Whole memories
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Picture: http://www.mcgill.ca/mcgillfirsts/1950s/

Evidence for localization of function (4)

Phineas Gage (1823-1860)

Destruction of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
Impact on emotion, personality

Picture: http://www.psych-it.com.au/Psychlopedia/article.asp?id=423
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https://cms.www.countway.harvard.edu/wp/?tag=phineas-gage

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Evidence for localization of function (5)

Patient H.M. (1926-2008)

Chronic, debilitating epilepsy
Bilateral medial temporal lobe removal
Profound anterograde amnesia

Picture: http://stuff4educators.com/web_images/hmvsnormal.jpg
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https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-inline-half/public/blogs/77741/2012/01/85023-80936.jpg?itok=qwAtproL

Evidence for localization of function (6)

Resection of the corpus callosum (callosotomy)

Eliminates cortical cross-hemispheric communication
Roger Sperry and the Nobel Prize (1981)

Picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_callosum
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http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/corpuscallosum.html

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An unfortunate application of localization of function

Gottlieb Burkhardt (1836-1907)

Six patients at Préfargier Asylum (1888)

Egas Moniz (1874-1955)

Development of the frontal leucotomy
Work in non-human primates, humans
Nobel prize in Medicine (1949)

Walter Freeman (1895-1972)

Development of the transorbital lobotomy
Tens of thousands of patients
Ultimately a discredited practice

Picture: http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2007/07/inventing_the_lobotomy.php
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http://www.miriamposner.com/lobotomy.html

Evolution of cognitive neuropsychology

The history of neuroscience is rich with knowledge

sourced from studying patients with acquired brain injury

Alexander Luria (1902-1977)

Whole-person view of brain injury (L. Vygotsky)

A hierarchical view of brain organization

A push to explore the organization of cortical networks,

and how injury perturbs these networks

First comprehensive volume of neuropsychology

(“The Working Brain” – 1973)

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An arsenal of techniques at our disposal

Non-human studies
i.e., animal lesion studies

Structural imaging techniques

e.g., CT or structural MRI (sMRI)

Functional imaging techniques

e.g., EEG or functional MRI (fMRI)

Human patients studies

i.e., stroke or brain trauma survivors

Perturbation studies
e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

Picture: http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/what-is-functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging-fmri/
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http://www.childrenshospital.org/~/media/centers-and-services/programs/a_e/epilepsy-program/tmsvtdcscropped.ashx?h=779&w=1161&la=en

Cognitive psychology and neuroscience:

an important – and necessary – coming together

Cognitive psychology provides us with models to characterize stages of

information processing, informed by behavioral analyses, simulations, etc.

Such models can then be evaluated using a variety of neuroscientific

techniques to examine their biological plausibility

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Picture: http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/what-is-functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging-fmri/

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More specialized subfields in cognitive neuroscience

Developmental cognitive neuroscience

ex: development of “theory of mind”

Social cognitive neuroscience

ex: self-monitoring in social situations

Cultural cognitive neuroscience

ex: display rules and emotion regulation

Clinical cognitive neuroscience

ex: neurological basis of hallucinations

Rehabilitation cognitive neuroscience

ex: resumption of speech after Broca’s aphasia

…and more!

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Silbersweig et al. (1995), Nature, 378, 176-9

Lecture objectives
 To describe the value and inherent challenges of the cognitive approach
of studying the mind;

 To describe how and why localization of function became an important

way of thinking in neuroscience;

 To articulate multiple, clear examples where localization of function (LoF)

appears to accurately describe brain function;

 To describe the concepts of cortical networks and hierarchy in the brain,

and how they make the LoF idea more sophisticated;

 To articulate why it is fair to characterize cognitive neuroscience as a

heavily interdisciplinary field, and to provide multiple examples to that
effect.

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LECTURE 01
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE, COURSE REQUIREMENTS
THE MAKINGS OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
BEING SUCCESSFUL IN THIS COURSE (AND BEYOND)

37
PSYB55: INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE | UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, SCARBOROUGH | PROF. MICHAEL SOUZA

A few tips for being successful in this course

Make a feasible plan to engage the requirements of this course

When will you watch lectures? Read the textbook? Engage the practice questions?
Creating a thoughtful plan - and having the discipline to stick to it - is key

Work for mastery of content and skills

The “gist” of something is almost never adequate – aim for better
“Good enough” should be that you can explain ideas, processes, etc. in your own words out loud

Have the wisdom to proactively get feedback on your progress

Online office hours with Prof. Souza or Ivy (our Head TA) are a great resource…

Adopt a growth mindset

My job is to intrigue you, to challenge you, and to help empower you to be more capable
Substantive learning and growth takes work, time, and dedication

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M (Motivate)
What’s motivating you to do this?
MARGE!
Stories? Big picture? Make it rewarding.

A (Attend)
Good environment to focus
Thoughtful, goal-directed rests/breaks

R (Relate)
Link new learning with existing knowledge
Use visual imagery and/or concept maps

G (Generate)
Explain it aloud! If you can teach it…

E (Evaluate)
How well do I actually know this?
Recall vs. weaker memory (e.g., recognition)
Prof. Art Shimamura
1954-2020
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Picture: “The Simpsons” - Fox

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