Cognitive Neuroscience

认知神经科学
Chapter 3: A Functional Framework

1
Rong Li (李蓉)，Ph.D.
rongli1120@uestc.edu.cn

 School of Life Science and Technology,

 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Review for Chapter 2-
The brain
The parietal lobe is superior to the temporal
Which
lobe.lobe
Theisfrontal
superior to isthe
lobe temporal
anterior to lobe?
the
temporal lobe
The central sulcus separates the frontal and
What landmark separates the frontal cortex
parietal cortex areas. Another notable
from the parietal cortex?
landmark is the Sylvian fissure, defining the
location of temporal cortex

Central Sulcus

Sylvian Fissure
 Which neuron would be utilized in sending
The light blue
information neuron
to cortex on the same side as the
communicates withneuron?
the
ipsilateral cortex while
the red neuron
communicates with
contralateral cortex.
(The maroon neuron
communicates with the
spinal cord, and the
green and lavender
with the thalamus)
 The late
mammalian brain
differs in the
development of the
How does the
prefrontal cortex.
late mammalian
The lower regions,
brain differ from
such as the
that of early
brainstem, are
mammals?
considered to be
more ancient than
regions such as the
frontal cortex.
 The left hemisphere
controls the sensation
Which part of the body
from the right half of the
would the highlighted
body, the contralateral
hemisphere control?
side, meaning different
side.
 Chapter 3 A Functional Framework

“It seems that the human mind has first to construct forms independently before we can find
them in things … Knowledge cannot spring from experience alone, but only from a
comparison of the inventions of the intellect with observed fact.”
Albert Einstein (1949)
 Chapter Outline

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Classical working memory

3.0 Limited and large-capacity functions

4.0 The inner and outer senses

5.0 The central executive

6.0 Action

7.0 Consolidation of short-term events into long-term memory

8.0 Summary
 1.0 Introduction

We use a functional framework to organize a good deal of cognitive neuroscience.

While not all of the details are fixed, it combines a large body of brain and
psychological evidence into a single diagram.
 1.0 Introduction

Sensory information enters the system (left side of diagram), integrating with executive
and memory systems on the way to output -- Action -- systems (right side of diagram).

Sensory input: The senses all begin

from receptor surfaces including millions
of receptors, like the retina.

Sensory buffer: Each of the classical

senses like the vision, hearing, touch,
is believed to have a brief storage ability.

Selective attention: Has a ‘bottom-up’

and ‘top-down’ components.
 1.0 Introduction
A central goal of mind-brain science is to determine where the functions depicted on
the framework diagram are processed in the brain.
 1.0 Introduction

Some major functions of the human cortex,

color coded to show brain areas that support
their processes.

Top: a lateral view of the brain

Bottom: a medial view at the midline

Sensory information is processed in the

posterior (back) half of the cortex

Executive and motor functions occupy the

frontal half.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Located in the center of the functional framework diagram, working memory systems
interact with sensory input, executive function, inner senses, long-term memories, and
action systems

What is working memory?

Working memory can be defined as the set of
processes that allow us to store and
manipulate temporary information and carry-
out complex cognitive tasks like language
comprehension, reading, learning, or reasoning.

Working memory is a type of short-term

memory.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Located in the center of the functional framework diagram, working memory systems
interact with sensory input, executive function, inner senses, long-term memories, and
action systems

Central executive: The executive functions have

expanded to include supervisory control over all
voluntary activities.

The prefrontal executive regions are located in

front of the motor regions of the brain.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Located in the center of the functional framework diagram, working memory systems
interact with sensory input, executive function, inner senses, long-term memories, and
action systems

Working storage: is believed to involve the

medial temporal cortex and prefrontal regions.

Working storage is dynamic – i.e. it involves

active populations of neurons called cell
assemblies , which can ‘ crystallize’ into
long-term memories.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Located in the center of the functional framework diagram, working memory systems
interact with sensory input, executive function, inner senses, long-term memories, and
action systems

The ‘inner senses’: below the working memory,

two of the ‘inner senses’ are shown: verbal
rehearsal and visuospatial sketchpad.

Verbal rehearsal： is now thought to be another

term for inner speech.

Visuospatial sketchpad: refers to our ability

temporarily to hold visual and spatial information

These inner senses interact constantly with the

long-term stores, shown in gray boxes on the
bottom of the diagram.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Located in the center of the functional framework diagram, working memory systems
interact with sensory input, executive function, inner senses, long-term memories, and
action systems

Long-term memories are represented by the

horizontal row of boxes along the bottom.

These are the brain stores for

autobiographical memory, various kinds of
knowledge, and practiced skills.

Once these memory types are stored, they

are not conscious.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Output functions include the central executive, action planning, and motor
output, shown on the right side of the diagram.

Can our brains control

all our body movements?

The physiological systems have

long been known to be autonomous
from voluntary control.

The autonomic nervous system is

anatomically separate from the
voluntary motor system, which is under
frontal control.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Only a fleeting moment … the story of Clive Wearing, a rising young musician in
Britain who was suddenly struck with a rare type of brain damage.

In 1985, a viral infection destroyed regions of Clive

Wearing’s brain, including both of his hippocampi. He
was still able play the piano and conduct musical
pieces that he knew before the injury, but could no
longer learn new conscious events.

Wearing retains conscious events for only 10-20

seconds, living in an eternal present.

His case has revealed the role of the hippocampi in

memory consolidation.

Read more about Clive Wearing …

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting2007/09/24/070924fa_fact_sacks
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Only a fleeting moment … the story of Clive Wearing, a rising young musician in
Britain who was suddenly struck with a rare type of brain damage.

Watch Clive and Deborah Wearing on youtube …

Part 1a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmkiMlvLKto

Part 2d
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKxr08GEE54
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Only a fleeting moment … the hippocampi are critical to memory consolidation

The two hippocampi, one in each cerebral hemisphere

The red bulbs at the tips of the hippocampi are the

amygdala, which play a fundamental role in emotion
processing and emotional memory. Surrounding areas
of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) also play important
roles in memory.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

The case of Henry M. (HM) -- bilateral surgical removal of the hippocampi

The most scientific studied memory patient is HM, who

had both hippocampi removed in a surgery to relieve his
epilepsy when he was a young man.

The epilepsy symptoms ended, but HM had severe

amnesia: he was unable to store new memories of his
conscious life experiences (autobiographical memory),
however he could learn new skills showing that his
procedural memory formation was intact.

HM’s hippocampal damage. Upper: a coronal (i.e. crown-shaped) view of HM’s brain, a
vertical section from ear to ear. Notice how it compares to the normal brain section on the
bottom. The two arrows on the bottom side show where the hippocampi are located. In
HM’s brain we can only see black areas. Those cavities have filled with fluid, and appear
dark on the brain scan. Source : Hodges and Graham, 2001.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

The case of HM -- bilateral surgical removal of the hippocampi

Read and see more about HM …”The Day His World

Stood Still”

https://brainconnection.brainhq.com/2019/01/25/t
he-day-his-world-stood-still/

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=henry+m
olaison&docid=608018690371379750&mid=1DD
1778B81DABDEC1A3C1DD1778B81DABDEC1
A3C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
A view of the brain shows the regions
removed by surgery for HM.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

Understanding Clive Wearing in the functional framework diagram

The case of Clive Wearing has

provided evidence for the role of
the hippocampi -- and the medial
temporal lobe where they are
located -- in memory. Most
functions are spared, however he
has lost the ability to encode and
retrieve conscious experiences.

How medial temporal lobe (MTL) damage can be viewed in the functional framework. Notice that
most cognitive functions are spared in classic cases of medial temporal lobe damage in both
hemispheres. However, these patients have lost the ability to encode and retrieve conscious
experiences – to transfer the present moment to lasting memories and recall them again.
 2.0 Classical Working Memory

The importance of immediate memory: immediate memory is needed for even the
simplest of activities, like reading this sentence. You must be able to hold information
during the few seconds it takes to read the entire sentence in order to understand its
meaning.

A similar storage process is required in

visual processing: immediate memory is
needed in order to integrate the small
fixations that occur in vision. Long eye
movements (saccades) jump from one
point to another in the visual scene. The
visual system must be able to hold this
information in order to integrate and
encode the visual image.
 3.0 Limited and Large-Capacity Functions

Even though the human brain has hundreds of billions of neurons, in some ways it has
very narrow capacity limits. The role of the hippocampal complex is one example of
the constant interplay between limited-capacity and large-capacity abilities in the brain

Limited capacity tasks Very large-capacity functions

Dual input tasks Long-term memory

Immediate memory limits Language vocabulary (+100,000
words)
Ambiguous stimuli and meanings Complex sensory and motor
(necker cube, ambiguous words) processes
Competition between various Vast number of neurons,
features in a stimulus (Stroop connections, and networks in the
task) brain
 3.0 Limited and Large-Capacity Functions

Limited capacity tasks: dual task limits, Donald Broadbent, and his research
on selective attention

Can you pay attention to someone speaking into your

right ear while another person is speaking into your left
ear? What happens to your comprehension when your
attention is divided?

Groundbreaking studies were conducted by Donald

Broadbent and others on the capacity limits of selective
attention processes.

Dual-task method is often used to study how much of our

limited capacity is taken up by a task.
 3.0 Limited and Large-Capacity Functions

Limited capacity theory of Donald Broadbent

Broadbent used a selective listening task, in which two

messages are sent simultaneously to the two ears, to
study the capacity limits of selective attention.

Broadbent proposed a ‘funnel’ image of limited capacity

functions that dramatizes the fact that our large brains
have narrow limits for selective attention, conscious
perception, and voluntary control.
3.0 Limited and Large-Capacity Functions

Why do some functions seem to be so

limited in a brain with hundreds of
billion of neurons?

Limited capacity tasks are associated

with conscious experience while large-
capacity functions are generally
unconscious.

Some scientists argue that capacity limits

are due to the role of consciousness in
combining numerous components of a very
large brain into an integrated whole.
 3.0 Limited and Large-Capacity Functions

Working Memory is the set of mental processes holding limited information

in a temporarily accessible state in service of cognition.

One way that visual working memory is assessed is by presenting visual shapes
one at a time over specific time periods. Any stimulus may be presented and re-
tested some seconds later to see if the subjects recalls the previous presentation.

Behaviorally one can assess working memory by accuracy of recall or recognition,

and by the speed of responding ( the reaction time )
 3.0 Limited and Large-Capacity Functions

Measuring working memory: ‘n-back’ tasks

Another way that visual working memory is

assessed is by presenting visual shapes one
at a time over specific time periods and asking
the subject to recall the item presented one,
two, or three slides before. This is called an ‘n-
back’ task and is very demanding.

Behavioral indicators such as accuracy and

reaction time to conduct behavioral
measurement of working memory.
 3.0 Limited and Large-Capacity Functions

Measuring working memory: ‘n-back’ tasks

What happens to our brains when

we're doing working memory?

Brain activity increases with

working memory ‘load’, which is
higher in 2- and 3-back tasks
than in 0- and 1-back tasks
 4.0 The Inner and Outer Senses

What we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell (the outer senses) initially activate
differing brain regions that then become integrated with the motor (action)
system and other brain systems and processes
 4.0 The Inner and Outer Senses

The mind’s eye, ear and voice: inner senses (for example, imagery) activate
sensory regions in the brain

a b c d

Here is an example of a brain study where activation for perceived visual

items (a) and imagined visual items (b) are quite similar. In fact, if you
subtract brain areas activated for perceived stimuli from the imagined stimuli
(c), almost no brain areas are active. The brain images are from the posterior
portion of the brain (d) in visual cortex.
 4.0 The Inner and Outer Senses

Further evidence that the inner senses (for example, ‘talking’ to yourself) use
brain processes that are very similar to those used for outer senses (such as
speaking) is provided by experiments by Gary Dell and others who found that
errors made in repeating tongue twisters were similar for inner (internally
generated) vs. outer (spoken) speech.

Try it yourself: repeat “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” silently
to yourself as quickly as you can. Did you notice any errors? Was it difficult to
do, despite the fact that your actual tongue was not involved in repeating this
tongue twister (or was it?)
 4.0 The Inner and Outer Senses

Is there only one working memory?

Investigators are researching whether

there are working memory systems
that are specific to a sensory system
(such as vision), if there are systems
that are non-specific/executive (a
general temporary storage), or a
combination of the two.
 4.0 The Inner and Outer Senses

Recent neuroimaging studies show evidence that there are differing brain areas
that are activated during tasks that require differing types of working memory

•The executive part of Working Memory

involves the prefrontal lobe.
•The verbal part -- such as rehearsing words
silently --- involves speech areas (especially
in the dominant hemisphere), e.g., Broca’s
and Wernicke's areas.
•The visual part --- such as visual imagery to
think about how to walk from one place to
another --- seems to involve visual regions,
including the occipital lobe.
 5.0 The Central Executive

The prefrontal lobes play an important executive role in the brain. They are needed for
voluntary control over actions. Prefrontal regions also support emotional processes
and seem to be necessary to control one’s own unwanted impulses.

"The frontal lobes are the latest achievements of

the nervous system; it is only in human beings
(and great apes, to some extent) that they reach
so great a development. ... they lack the simple
and easily identifiable functions of the more
primitive parts of the cerebral cortex, the
sensory and motor areas ... but they are
overwhelmingly important.”
-- Oliver Sacks, in Goldberg 2001
The prefrontal lobes play an important executive role in the brain. They are needed for
voluntary control over actions. Prefrontal regions also support emotional processes
and seem to be necessary to control one’s own unwanted impulses.

"Thus in the famous case of Phineas Gage --- a railway

foreman who while setting an explosive charge in 1848 had a
two-foot tamping iron blown through his frontal lobes when the
charge backfired --- while there was preservation of Gage's
intelligence as well as his ability to move and talk and see,
there were other, profound changes in him. He became
reckless and improvident, impulsive, profane; he could no
longer plan or think of the future; and for those who had
known him before, "he was no longer Gage." He had lost
himself, the most central part of his being, and (as is the case
with all patients with severe damage to the frontal lobes), he
did not know it".
-- Oliver Sacks, in Goldberg 2001

Read more … ”The Strange Tale of Phineas Gage”

http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/?main=fa/phineas-gage
The Stroop Color-naming Task is commonly used to test for frontal lobe damage.

A conflict is set up between reading a

word and naming its color

The Stroop Color-naming Task reflects

executive functions. Try to name the
colors on top, and you are likely to find it
difficult. When the words are unreadable,
color naming is easier, faster, and more
accurate (bottom half). Source : Miller
and Wallis in Squire et al ., 2003.

In frontal lobe patients, the effects of

the conflict is more obviously, leading
to more errors, longer response
times, and a greater sense of
subjective difficulty
 5.0 The Central Executive

Are there different brain areas involved for voluntary vs. automatic movements? The
evidence supports the notion that movements that are automatic engage different
regions than those that require executive effort.

Dual-control systems : On the left, this brain damaged patient cannot produce a
voluntary smile. On the right, this patient can smile when presented with a funny
image. Frontal lobe damage impaired her executive control of smiling movements but
not the automatic response of a natural, spontaneous smile.
 5.0 The Central Executive

Executive attention networks in the cortex

What brain areas are active during selective attention? Posner proposed that an
executive attention network includes regions in parietal and prefrontal cortex.
 5.0 The Central Executive

Executive （ goal-directed top-down ）and spontaneous （ bottom-up ）attention

The task in ‘a’ and ‘b’ is to search for a horizontal green bar. In a, the green bar
appears to ‘pop-out’ spontaneously, while in b, finding the green bar requires effortful
search. This type of task is used to investigate brain regions involved in voluntary
attention under executive control vs. spontaneous attentional capture.
 5.0 The Central Executive

The functional diagram shows a hypothesized relationship between selective attention

and conscious events. A number of scientists believe that selective attention may be
needed for conscious sensory experiences.
 6.0 Action

The last elements of the functional diagram involve output: control of voluntary
actions. On the output side, the motor system is proposed to be structured with a
processing hierarchy beginning with general goals, influenced by emotional and
motivational input, proceeding to more specific motor plans and maps.

The most general goals are represented in more prefrontal areas and proceed
down the motor hierarchy to supplementary and premotor regions
 6.0 Action

What the brain does to push a button?

Figure shows brain regions that

become active in pushing a button
with the right hand. The lower right
panel shows a time scale marked in
seconds, and brain activity begins
several seconds before the finger
press. Notice that motor cortex is
active on the left side, opposite to
the hand that is commanded to
move (contralateral).
However, the upper right image
shows activation on the right side
( ipsilateral ) of the cerebellum,
which is required for fine motor
movements like finger presses
Source : Hulsmann et al ., 2003.
 7.0 Consolidation of short-term events into long-term memory

Long-term stores are shown in the functional framework diagram along the bottom,
ranging from perceptual memory to highly practiced habits
7.0 Consolidation of short-term events into long-term memory

If information is retained over a period of

seconds to hours, it may become permanent or
‘consolidated’. A good night’s sleep is now
known to facilitate memory consolidation.

In this way, transient, short-term memories

become consolidated into stable, long-term
memories over time.

Short term memories are subject to interference,

probably because they involve active neuronal
circuits in the brain.

Long-term memories are believed to require

protein synthesis, which increases the efficiency
of synaptic connections.
 7.0 Consolidation of short-term events into long-term memory

Long-term memory functions are widely

distributed throughout the brain. According to
the consolidation hypothesis put forward by
Fuster, memories are stored in many different
regions of the brain.

For example, perceptual memory involves

perceptual regions, while executive memory,
such as plans for future actions, engage frontal
regions .

In addition, the hippocampal neighborhood

is certainly involved with episodic memory
(memory for conscious experiences), while
subcortical areas like the basal ganglia
and cerebellum play a role in motor learning.
 Chapter Summary

A broad functional framework for cognitive neuroscience is presented, based

on widely accepted ideas from cognitive psychology
 Chapter Summary

A broad functional framework for cognitive neuroscience is presented, based

on widely accepted ideas from cognitive psychology

•Immediate memory seems to depend on the medial temporal lobe, including

the two hippocampi. Damage to these regions impairs the ability to transfer
information from the present moment to long-term storage.
 Chapter Summary

A broad functional framework for cognitive neuroscience is presented, based

on widely accepted ideas from cognitive psychology

•Immediate memory seems to depend on the medial temporal lobe, including

the two hippocampi. Damage to these regions impairs the ability to transfer
information from the present moment to long-term storage.

•The posterior half of the cortex is involved in sensory processes and probably
also in sensory-perceptual memory.
 Chapter Summary

•Immediate memory seems to depend on the medial temporal lobe, including

the two hippocampi. Damage to these regions impairs the ability to transfer
information from the present moment to long-term storage.

•The posterior half of the cortex is involved in sensory processes and probably
also in sensory-perceptual memory.

•The front half of the cortex is involved with motor and executive functions, and
probably also with long-term memory needed for those processes.
 Chapter Summary

•Selective attention has been studied for some fifty years and, in the past 15 years,
the traditional question of conscious experience has again come to the fore

•There is an ongoing debate about the meaning of terms like ‘working memory’,
‘attention’ and ‘conscious experiences’. Such debates are common in science.

While the field has made progress in understanding how these areas of cognition
interact, we have far to go before we will have a clear understanding of the dynamic
integrative and interactive processes that underlie the human condition.
Drawing exercise 1 for Chapter 3

• Label the Framework diagram in this figure

Drawing exercise 2 for Chapter 3

• Label the colored functional regions in the brain diagrams in

this figure
 Thought Questions
1. What have the cases of Clive Wearing and HM
taught us about memory?

2. What are outer senses and where are the outer

senses processed in the brain?

3. Provide examples of ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’

attention.