Lesson 2:

COGNITION IN THE BRAIN: THE ANATOMY

COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND MECHANISMS OF THE BRAIN

• The nervous system is the basis for our

COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE ability to perceive, adapt to, and interact
– is the field of study linking the brain and other with the world around us.
aspects • It is highly complex part of human that
of the nervous system to cognitive processing coordinates its actions and sensory
and information by transmitting signals to
ultimately to behavior. and from different parts of the body.
• It detects environmental changes that
• The brain is the organ in our body that impact the body, then works in tandem
most directly with the endocrine system to respond to
controls our thoughts, emotions, and such events.
motivations.

• It is the central organ of the human

nervous system, and with the spinal
cord makes up the central nervous
system.

• Localization of functions refers to the

specific areas of the brain that control
specific skills or behaviors.

Early Role of Cognitive Neuroscience

Karl Spencer Lashley brashly challenged the

behaviorist view that the human brain is a
passive organ merely responding to
environmental contingencies outside the
individual. Instead, Lashley considered the
brain to be an active, dynamic organizer of
behavior.

Donald Hebb proposed the concept

of cell assemblies as the basis for
learning in the brain. Cell assemblies are
coordinated neural structures that develop
through frequent stimulation. They develop
over time as the ability of one neuron to
stimulate firing in a connected neuron
increases.