Questions tagged [cognitive-neuroscience]

For questions regarding the study of the underlying neural substrates of cognition, especially those at the crossroads of psychology and neurobiology

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Research on computational models of physiological mechanisms in affective neuroscience at a biochemical level

As computational neuroscience has the mainstream on single neuron/network modelling for biochemical aspect, and computational modelling of physiological mechanism of hippocampus for analytic study of ...
Xingdong Zuo's user avatar
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Is the mind's adaptation to increased traveling speeds, physical or psychological?

When a motor vehicle increases in speed, we soon adjust to the faster pace of movement; seemingly by processing incoming information faster. Is this purely psychological, with the brain "dropping" ...
LateralFractal's user avatar
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What is the neurobiological basis of Spearman general factor of intelligence?

I found a brief intro to the genetic factor of human intelligence: "Biology of human intelligence" by J A Böök (1976). Also it is known that gyrus hipocampii is basis of STM which have role ...
ICanFeelIt's user avatar
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Can a brain be modeled as a simplified interaction of different states and their triggers?

I've long been interested in the concept of "states of mind", which influence the perception of the outside world and outlook on past, present and future. They can be thought of as "colored lenses" ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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What's the major difference between mind and brain?

I am preparing a presentation on "Mind Reading Computer", and all articles that I came across were focused on reading interpretations from brain through sensors. Articles like this clearly show a ...
Diljit PR's user avatar
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Is praying the Catholic rosary a meditation and does it enhance brain plasticity?

Futurism.com says that meditation can shape brains and increase brain plasticity and fit. Can we say that praying the Catholic rosary is a kind of meditation and does this prayer have all the benefits ...
TomR's user avatar
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Can you get sad by sniffing onions, just like you can get happy by forcing yourself to smile?

I've read about a study where they found that people who were forced to keep a smile-like face were reportedly happier than those who were forced to stay in a frown-like a face. Similarly, could ...
Probably's user avatar
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Can normal brain activity arise from no (or random) brain activity?

I wonder how stable the brain is as a dynamical system. In other words, how important the state (current activation) of the brain is for its further functioning. Would the brain recover from a state ...
danijar's user avatar
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What is the difference between "double dissociation" and simply having control and experimental groups?

According to my textbook Cognitive Psychology by E. Bruce Goldstein, a double dissociation occurs if damage to one area of the brain causes a function A to be absent while function B is present, ...
Stan Shunpike's user avatar
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2 answers
276 views

Neurosurgically grown neural link between two brains?

I guess it's possible to surgically restore neural connection after a trauma (e.g. a severed hand can be reattached if done quickly). And, from history of evolution of hominids, it seems that just by ...
Klayman's user avatar
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Are axons in the brain weighted?

Is it known whether the connection strength of synapses is important to the functioning of the brain or does just the binary existence of a synapse matter? Also, how widely do the strengths of ...
danijar's user avatar
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Does a person experience release of dopamine while doing something she/he enjoys?

I am wondering if a person would experience an increase in the level of dopamine while doing something she/he enjoys such as playing guitar or reading a book. And what are some other neurotransmitter ...
Archy Will He 何魏奇's user avatar
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2 answers
3k views

What are the neurological mechanisms for a fear of heights when atop a building, but not in a plane?

A fear of heights (or acrophobia), can be debilitating (I know it can be for me). My question is what is the neurological mechanisms that cause a fear of heights in a tall object such as a skyscraper ...
user avatar
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624 views

How does cognitive science explain distant intentionality and brain function in recipients?

Achterberg and colleagues' (2005) study, Concluded that instructions to a healer to make an intentional connection with a sensory isolated person can be correlated to changes in brain function ...
Greg McNulty's user avatar
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How often are complex networks and graph theory useful in computational neuroscience?

Complex networks and graph theory seem like they would be important for computational neuroscience, but they don't come up in the literature as often as I would expect. I'm wondering how frequently ...
Logan Collins's user avatar
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120 views

Are action potentials necessary for experience?

We know that, for example, during brain surgery, electrical stimulation in certain parts of the cortex is sufficient for experience, and result in reportable experiences in human subjects. We also ...
Justas's user avatar
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What is the state of the art research of the consciousness level for high-level cognitive activity?

Everybody knows situations where activities requiring concentration and high level consciousness can over time become a "background" task. For example: you read a text aloud but think about other ...
J. Doe's user avatar
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Efficiency of multitasking depending on task difficulty

How does the efficiency of multi-tasking differ by task type? My understanding is that multitasking impairs efficiency for cognitively challenging tasks. Does this apply to trivial tasks as well?
user16520's user avatar
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What are the advantages of 2AFC in a psychophysical discrimination task?

As far as I understand. In the task of Two alternative forced choice (2AFC), given two possible stimuli, $S1$ or $S2$, the subject has to decide weather he\she (it) saw the sequence $(S1,S2)$ or the ...
user135172's user avatar
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What are the cognitive effects of increasing testosterone levels in men?

I've recently became interested in the effects if testosterone on the cognitive function in men, but cannot find much hard scientific evidence on the subject. What are the cognitive effects of ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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What is the maximum size of content the human eye can focus upon?

What is the maximum size of content the human eye can focus upon on a computer screen? Is there a general equation that gives this size as a measure of distance from the screen etc.? What is the ...
user avatar
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490 views

Can ESP and out-of-body phenomena be understood as a form of dreaming or hallucination?

Currently reading about psychedelic experiences, and it is noted in Wikipedia that: Level 4 psychedelic experience Strong hallucinations, i.e. objects morphing into other objects. ...
Jossie's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is there any evidence for the cell assembly?

What is a cell assembly? In Principles of Neural Science Eric Kandel, and colleagues wrote: After this strengthening has occurred, a group of three neurons that are strongly coupled by excitatory ...
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1 answer
141 views

How to get anatomical masks?

I recently read a paper called "An automated labeling system for subdividing the human cerebral cortex on MRI scans into gyral based regions". I want to use the ...
Shawn's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is consciousness a sub product of the brain or is there a duality? [duplicate]

I am trying to understand what consciousness is, based on my basic knowledge of our senses, artificial intelligence (computer vision, specifically) and some philosophy. Here's my reasoning: As far as ...
Tarek's user avatar
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1 answer
165 views

How does the brain know whether or not it comprehends a novel concept?

There seem to be at least two kinds of confusion regarding novel concepts. In one, the brain simply can't form an abstract model from whatever information is being presented. It's where you can't "...
MackTuesday's user avatar
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1 answer
46 views

Is doubting a claim more taxing in terms of energy spent by the brain?

I was at a conference some time ago in a university near my city, a Neurologist was part of the various talks held there, and in his words: "There is a, let's call it Neuro-Psychologic ...
P.T. Meyer's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
334 views

How exactly does transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) work?

The method of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) involves the flow of electric charge from a positive electrode to a negative one. This method is not exactly a stimulation method because ...
Fil's user avatar
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1 answer
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Success rates or reviews of Brain Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT), and number of sessions needed on average

Brain Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT), introduced by hypnotherapist Terrence Watts in 2011, is a brand new form of therapy. Hence, my internet search doesn't seem to give me any idea of how ...
Mathmath's user avatar
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1 answer
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What are there neuroanatomical mappings of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task?

I know that the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task is used to diagnose various mental disfunctions such as schizophrenia and drug addiction. However, has it been specified what brain regions or structures ...
Seanny123's user avatar
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How does chronic stress improve memory processes?

There seems to be more information on the detrimental effects of stress on memory. There is evidence to the contrary. Stress effects on memory: an update and integration. Schwabe L, et al doi: 10....
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2 answers
197 views

Gestalt Principles of Perception

I have studied that Gestalt Principles are principles/laws of human perception that describe how humans group similar elements, recognize patterns, and simplify complex images when we perceive objects....
AJAY AJAY's user avatar
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2 answers
959 views

Can drugs cause positive reinforcement for undesirable tasks?

For this example, I will use alcohol as an example drug, since it's legal and increases dopamine. Can drinking alcohol when performing unpleasant tasks, such as homework, cleaning, or laundry confuse ...
Daniel Grover's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
490 views

During body-scan ('sweeping') meditation, what does brain-imaging (e.g. fMRI) look like?

I do not know how extensive body scans have been studied with brain-imaging techniques, e.g. fMRI. Body scan is a meditation technique developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It was derived from a meditation ...
Hans-Peter Stricker's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
568 views

Does taking antidepressants, anxiolytics and sleep pills significantly affect a person's intelligence?

Do antidepressants, anxiolytics and sleeping pills significantly affect the intelligence of a person, for example as expressed by the general (g) factor? Do these compounds affect the g factor each ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
120 views

Can you become "mentally" bilingual after 8?

Is it possible to learn a second language good enough to be able to think in it the same way we think in our first language after the critical language learning period?
Probably's user avatar
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1 answer
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Why do hallucinations appear in depression?

We all know the stories of people who saw a miracle in the deepist troubles like gangsters who turned to faith - or an older example could be the miracles in jail in the Bible (Acts: Peter and Paul). ...
Probably's user avatar
  • 305
4 votes
2 answers
299 views

Why neural architecture is not hardwired for N-dimensional vision but hardwired for abstract math?

In The Theoretical Minimum, in lecture 1, Leonard Susskind says that you can only visualize 3 dimentional images. (see yourself). Therefore, he says, in order to deal with N dimensions, you need to ...
Val's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
161 views

Introduction or Tutorial on Continuous EEG Collection Procedures and Initial Processing?

Are there any tutorials or introductions (specifically not slides from talks) on the very basic details of EEG data collection and processing? Things like: Discussions of reference systems (montages) ...
Doctorambient's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
86 views

What is known about the information that's passed upwards within the neocortex?

The neocortex is likely to process sparse representations in a hierarchy with information close to the raw sensor input appearing in lower levels and abstract concepts being appearing in higher levels....
danijar's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
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A subtle test for color-blindness

Is there a test method of proving a person being color-blind, without letting the test subject know, that he/she is being tested? E.g. showing the person cards with colored dots like depicted here is ...
Omnibus's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
310 views

Does long-term alcohol use permanently change one's thought processes?

Is long-term alcohol use really capable of permanently changing one's thought processes? In what ways is this possible, and through what physical changes in the brain does this occur?
user3475's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
142 views

How different is the neural activity in different individuals when they are doing the same tasks?

Today, we can measure EEG (or fMRI) in different individuals and use machine learning to predict their thinking. I want to know if the exact neural patterns (fMRI, EGG etc.) are still similar across ...
user1282369's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
51 views

What introductory textbook is available about the corticostriatal brain circuitry?

I want to understand the basal ganglia better. In particular, I want to understand the role of the corticostriatal brain circuitry for non-motor functions, including emotion and cognition. I have ...
user19735's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
816 views

Use of Botulinum toxin A (botox) to treat depression and its effect on fight/flight repsonse

Over in Health.SE, @faustus provided a couple of references to papers which suggest the use of Botulinum toxin A (BTA) - otherwise known as botox - to treat depression — Magid, et al. (2015a) and ...
Chris Rogers's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
147 views

Are human behavior and brain dynamics well described as an optimization?

A very general approach to describe the dynamics of the brain is through differential equations. Instead, one could choose a more restrictive approach and describe it as an optimization. Can we assume ...
danijar's user avatar
  • 771
4 votes
1 answer
135 views

What physical process governs which details are retained in memory?

With long term memory, there is loss of information. For example, we don't seem to retain all the details of every image we see. What is the physical process those details undergo which cause them to ...
John's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
118 views

How does an understanding of the brain explain why people experience strong emotional responses to major sporting events?

Anyone know studies or theories that explain how massive competition events between countries or parties, like the Soccer World Cup Tournament finals or Olympic Games affect our brains? Why do people ...
HectorIP's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
30 views

Gene Expression Database for Psychological Disorders

Is there a comprehensive database available online of gene expression across the brain taken from individuals with psychological conditions? Resources like the Allen Institute's Human Brain Map (link ...
Lambda's user avatar
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0 answers
133 views

in this attentional blink experiment why is the second letter visible when the lag is low but not when the lag is high

this image is from the book Consciousness and the Brain by Stanislas Dehaene the book describes the image as follows : The attentional blink illustrates the temporal limitations of conscious ...
Ayyub Shaffy's user avatar

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