WK2 Physiology and Perception Paper

 Objective: Apply critical thinking skills to the concepts of higher-order cognitive

functioning to understand behavior, relationships, and everyday life through the
perspective of a Biblical worldview.

Cognition and perception work closely together. The processes that take place usually
go unnoticed as we engage in daily life. We rarely think about how we perceive our
environment and how we arrive at decisions. However, the processes are complex and
may impact our lives in meaningful ways.

Have you ever been frustrated when you keep getting the same undesirable results?
Awareness is vital as we may need to change how we process information to
experience more positive outcomes. How does this week’s information challenge you
to strengthen your critical thinking and reasoning skills?

 Read Chapter 3 & 13 in your text.

 Watch "Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Processing Khan Academy" (4:27):
 Watch "Neuroplasticity, Animation" (4:57):

Physiology & Perception Paper-

 Compose a 3-page paper describing how perception and reasoning influence

our behavior and decision-making process. Ensure the following points are
addressed:
o Write an introductory paragraph of your paper’s content and be sure to
conclude with a thesis statement (purpose for your paper.
o In your own words, explain bottom-up and top-down processing. Provide
a real-life example to illustrate each concept.
o How Does the theory of natural selection and experience-dependent
plasticity help our perception.
o Explain the Gestalt approach to problem-solving from a perceptional
perspective.
o Define functional fixedness and describe a time in your own life when
you demonstrated this term.
o Critique a time in your life when you used divergent thinking and reflect
upon the outcome. Did you “think outside the box” or brainstorm to
arrive at your decision. Please be sure to use key terms from Chapter 13
to support your answer.
 o Write a concluding paragraph summarizing the most notable takeaways
from this week’s reading and viewing materials. and any strategies that
you may apply in your life.
 Cite the textbook to support your response.

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change, or rewire, throughout a person’s life. It is the
basis of learning and brain repair after injuries.

The brain consists of billions of neurons. Neurons communicate with each other through a space
between them, called a synapse. This communication is made possible by chemical messages, or
neurotransmitters. Basically, the pre-synaptic neuron releases a neurotransmitter, which binds to,
and activates a receptor on the post-synaptic neuron. A typical neuron can have thousands of
synapses, or connections, with other neurons. Together, they form extremely complex networks that
are responsible for all brain’s functions.

Synaptic connections, as well as neurons themselves, can change over time, and this phenomenon
is called neural plasticity, or neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity is activity-driven and follows the “use it or lose it” rule: frequently used synapses are
strengthened, while rarely used connections are weakened or eliminated; new activities generate
new connections.

Changes in synaptic strength can be temporary or long-lasting depending on the intensity and
reoccurrence of the signal the synapse receives. Neurons can temporarily enhance their connections
by releasing more neurotransmitter, activating a new receptor, or modifying an existing receptor.
This is the basis of short-term memory.

Long-term memory retention requires strong or sustained activities that produce structural changes,
such as growth of new dendritic spines and synaptic connections, or even formation of new
neurons.

Structural neuroplasticity may also result in enlargement of the cortical area associated with the
increased activity, and shrinkage of areas that receive less or no activity. For example, in right-
handed people, the hand motor region on the left side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is
larger than the other side.

Neuroplastic changes can also be functional, meaning neurons may adopt a new function when they
are sufficiently stimulated. This is how the brain survives injuries, such as strokes. Healthy brain
tissues can take over the functions of the damaged area during post-stroke rehabilitation.

Some stimuli, such as stress or physical exercise, can cause certain neurons to switch from one
neurotransmitter to another, often converting them from excitatory to inhibitory or vice versa. This
neurotransmitter switching is thought to be the basis of behavioral changes induced by such stimuli.

An intriguing example of neural plasticity is the phenomenon of phantom limb sensation, in which
patients who have lost a limb through amputation can still feel the limb. For example, patients may
feel that their lost arm is being touched when their face is touched. Because incoming sensory
signals from the arms and face project to neighboring regions in the somatosensory cortex, it is
plausible that sensory inputs from the face spill over to the now inactive arm region that no longer
receives any inputs, tricking the brain’s higher centers into interpreting that the sensation comes
from the absent arm.

The plasticity of the brain is not limited by age but is much more remarkable in children as their
young brain is still developing.

Neuroplasticity is essential for normal brain development; it helps create functional brain circuits
and is the basis of learning. This is why acquiring a new skill, such as speaking a language or playing
a musical instrument, is much easier in childhood than in adulthood.

But changes brought about by neural plasticity can also be negative/maladaptive and have
unfortunate consequences especially if happen in childhood. Childhood traumas are more likely to
have long-lasting effects into a person’s life.

Neuroplastic changes happen all the time, but their magnitude depends on the amount of activity the
brain receives. More practice leads to more learning. Keeping the brain busy is the way to keep it
healthy and effective.

AlilaMedicalMedia.(2020).Neuroplasticity, Animation [Video], YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmEOJyWVQj4&t=3s

the difference between top-down and bottom-up processing.

what is bottom-up processing? processing basically begins with the stimulus, imagine
that we're looking at something, a banana. The banana is sitting there and it influences
what we perceive. stimulus influences what we perceive, our perception.
So, if I know absolutely nothing about something, then the stimulus or whatever it is I'm
looking at, yet I don't know anything about, I've never seen it, I don't have any
preconceived cognitive constructs about what it is I'm looking at. The stimulus
basically is influencing my perception.
So, for example let's imagine that I'm looking at a cockpit of a plane.
I'm not a pilot, so I'm not really too familiar with everything and everything kinda looks
fairly confusing. basically all the different stimuli, this stimulus, a bunch of gauges,
and this rudder-looking thing, I'm basically looking at all the different little parts of
something that is new and novel to me, and trying to comprehend what it is I'm looking
at. this is bottom-up. This is when you start with no preconceived idea of what it is that
you're looking at, and allow the stimulus to influence your perception of what it is that
you're looking at. So, bottom-up processing is data-driven, and your perception of
what it is that you're looking at directs your cognitive awareness of the object.
in contrast, top-down processing basically uses your background knowledge, to
influence perception.
example we're actually seeing are a bunch of circles, they are just a bunch of circles and
then inside the circle there are a couple of lines drawn. So, we are looking at this set of
circles, these white circles with lines drawn inside of them. We are creating this cube.
We're basically taking these lines and then putting them together in order to create a
cube. Even though the stimulus itself, which is the circles with the lines, actually doesn't
draw a cube because there are these black spaces over here, and there is absolutely
nothing in the black spaces, but our brains are basically taking this information and
using our knowledge of cubes and what they're supposed to look like, recreating a cube
despite a lack of a cube actually being present in the image.
that's top-down processing. It's using your background information, your background
knowledge, your learning, your expectations, in order to influence what it is that we're
perceiving.
in other words, it's theory-driven. We look at this and we assume that they're trying to
represent a cube, even though one's not actually drawn there, and we're using that
theory in order to shape our cognitive understanding of what it is that we're looking at.
our perception, our behavior is influenced by our expectations.

top-down processing we're using what's already in our heads in order to perceive what
it is that we're looking at,
in bottom-up processing we're using the stimulus itself in order to drive our perception.

another good example of top-down processing would be "Where's Waldo?"

So, in "Where's Waldo?", we have a mental idea of what we're trying to do, which is to
find Waldo amidst this really jumbled mess of a picture.

if we were using bottom-up processing in order to look at this we would just be seeing
a whole bunch of little people, and we wouldn't really be goal-driven, we wouldn't be
trying to do anything,
but with top-down processing we have a goal, and we're able to look through here to
find Waldo.

Khan Academy (2017). Bottom-up vs. top-down processing: Processing the Environment. MCAT [Video],
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJy5_p_LAhQ

author = {Geisler, Wilson S. and Diehl, Randy L.},

title = {A Bayesian approach to the evolution of perceptual and cognitive systems},

journal = {Cognitive Science},

volume = {27},

number = {3},

pages = {379-402},

keywords = {Natural selection, Ideal observer, Scene statistics, Color perception, Camouflage evolution},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog2703\_3},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15516709cog2703_3},

eprint = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15516709cog2703_3},

AU - Geisler, Wilson S.

AU - Diehl, Randy L.

TI - A Bayesian approach to the evolution of perceptual and cognitive systems

PT - Journal Article

DP - 2003

TA - Cognitive Science

PG - 379-402

VI - 27

IP - 3

AID - https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog2703_3 [doi]

4099 - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15516709cog2703_3

4100 - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1207/s15516709cog2703_3

SO - Cognitive Science 2003-05-01 27(3): 379-402