Neural Basis of Cognition

By: Hajira Khan

 Cognitive Neuroscience
 Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that
is concerned with the study of the biological
processes and aspects that underlie cognition,
with a specific focus on the neural connections in
the brain which are involved in mental processes.
 It addresses the questions of how cognitive
activities are affected or controlled by neural
circuits in the brain.
 Cognitive neuroscience works by analyzing the
brain with neural imaging techniques and comparing
findings of neural imaging to behavioral data.
Cognitive Neuroscience Experiments: Phineas Gage
 Phineas Gage was a man who worked on railroad
construction in the 19th century in America. As part of his
job, Gage had to create holes in the ground using dynamite
to build a foundation for new train tracks. Part of this
process was packing the explosives with a metal rod. Still,
unfortunately for Phineas, the explosives were triggered by
this action, and the metal rod was sent through his skull at
high speed, completely entering and exiting the left side of
his brain.
 Miraculously, Phineas survived this event, despite serious
injuries, bleeding and damage to his brain. However, he
was soon considered well enough to start working again.
Cognitive Neuroscience Experiments: Phineas Gage

 Despite his physical condition improving, Gage was

profoundly psychologically changed by the incident.
Gage changed from a man observed to be polite and
hardworking to an indecisive, aggressive and rude man.
This change was so marked that Harlow, the doctor
working with him then, noted that friends and family
considered him 'No longer Gage'. The physical damage
he suffered to his brain transformed his personality
entirely:
• Harlow explicitly suggested that the injury was the
underlying cause of his radical personality shift.
 Tulving's Gold Memory Study
Another example of cognitive neuroscience research is Tulving's
'gold' memory study. This case study aimed to find a link between
different types of memories and respective activity in the brain.
Method
 Six participants were instructed to sit or lie on a sofa, close

their eyes and imagine a memory on any topic they wish. After
a minute of this, Tulving had the participants injected with a
tracer - a radioactive gold isotope that would be highlighted by
a PET scan, which intended to show Tulving which areas of the
brain were most active during the imagining of different
memories.
 Participants did this eight times.
 Tulving's Gold Memory Study
Findings
 The study showed that when semantic memories were

thought of (i.e., memories concerned with meaning) the

cerebral cortex's parietal and occipital lobes were
highlighted, but when episodic memories were thought
of (i.e., memories concerned with events) the temporal
and frontal lobes were highlighted.
Conclusion
 Tulving concluded that based on his findings and

observations, different types of memories prompted

more activity in differing brain areas.
 Practical Application of Cognitive
Neuroscience: Neurological Damage
 Neurological damage and the diagnosis and treatment
of said damage are examples of the practical
applications of cognitive neuroscience.
 Neurological damage is any damage that occurs to

the brain and nervous system, which can impact

cognition and behavior.
 Practical Application of Cognitive
Neuroscience: Neurological Damage
Examples of neurological damage include:
• Strokes affecting particular areas of the brain,

disrupting the function

• Visual agnosia, where a patient is unable to make

sense of visual information they are perceiving

• Prosopagnosia, where a patient is unable to recognize

faces despite being able to perceive them visually

• Prefrontal cortex damage, associated with impulse

control and personality expression

 NEURON
“Neurons are the fundamental unit of the nervous
system specialized to transmit information to different
parts of the body.”
 Neurons are the building blocks of the nervous system.
 They receive and transmit signals to different parts of

the body.
 This is carried out in both physical and electrical forms.
 There are several different types of neurons that

facilitate the transmission of information.

 Neuron Structure
 A neuron varies in shape and size depending on its
function and location. All neurons have three different
parts – dendrites, cell body and axon.
 Neuron Structure
Dendrites
 These are branch-like structures that receive messages from

other neurons and allow the transmission of messages to the

cell body.
Cell Body
 Each neuron has a cell body with a nucleus, Golgi body,

endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and other components.

 Neuron Structure
Axon
 Axon is a tube-like structure that carries electrical impulse

from the cell body to the axon terminals that pass the impulse
to another neuron.
 many axons are covered with a special insulating substance

called myelin, which helps them convey the nerve impulse

rapidly. Myelin is never found on dendrites.
Synapse
 It is the chemical junction between the terminal of one neuron

and the dendrites of another neuron.

 Types of Neuron
There are three different types of neurons:
Sensory Neurons
 The sensory neurons convert signals from the

external environment into corresponding

internal stimuli. The sensory inputs activate the
sensory neurons and carry sensory information
to the brain and spinal cord.
 The sensory neurons carry information from the

sensory receptor cells present throughout the

body to the brain
 Types of Neuron
Motor Neurons
 These are multipolar and are located in the

central nervous system extending their axons

outside the central nervous system . This is
the most common type of neuron and
transmits information from the brain to the
muscles of the body.
 The motor neurons transmit information from

the brain to the muscles.

 Types of Neuron
Interneurons
 They are multipolar in structure. Their axons

connect only to the nearby sensory and motor

neurons. They help in passing signals between
two neurons.
 The interneurons transmit information
between different neurons in the body.