Cognitive Neuroscience is an aspect of Cognitive Psychology that is directed towards the study of the physiological and/or neural basis, of human cognition. Since this field of study focuses on the neural underpinnings of mental processes, it is also often coined as the study of how our brain enables our mind. Hence, Cognitive Neuroscience is a science that explores how individual neurons operate and communicate to form and forge functional neuronal interactions and cognitive representations within the human brain. An important aspect of learning about this field is the understanding of how the brain is organized functionally (often referred to as functional neuro-anatomy), so as to better understand how a particular brain area and/or neuronal system works. Another aspect that researchers wish to gain an understanding about, within this field, is the consequential behavioral damage that comes with any kind of trauma or injury caused to the brain, whether primary or secondary (Goldstein, E. B., 2014).
For the purposes of facilitating this level of understanding, a number of new and distinctive methods have been unearthed, which have commonly been referred to as methods of functional neuro-imaging. Studies and experiments that use these methods usually have Subjects performing psychological tasks, whilst these methods non-invasively examine what goes on within their neural circuits. Some of these methods of functional neuro-imaging include positron emission tomography (PET), magneto-encephalography (MEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) , and the event-related potential (ERP) technique. The findings from the research conducted within the domain of cognitive neuroscience are thus directed towards developing a basic understanding of issues that involve the brain, cognition and behavior. The field has emerged as one actively researched and pursued and has largely benefited from inter-disciplinary associations with the likes of other fields such as neurology, neuroscience, psychiatry, and physiology (Goldstein, E. B., 2014).
The inclusion of Cognitive Neuroscience within the field of Cognitive Psychology, though perplexing to many, is relevant. This is because a thorough understanding of physiological and/or neuronal processes largely help contribute to the understanding of the mind and mental functions such as learning, memory, attention, perception, reasoning, language, conceptual development, and decision making. The study of human cognition without thoroughly understanding the functional neural circuitry that goes into the facilitation of all these mental processes is incomplete (Goldstein, E. B., 2014).
For example, the understanding of how the transmission of an action potential through the axon ultimately facilitates sensation and perception is crucial to the work of a cognitive psychologist who is working on understanding if changing the intensity of a stimulus (represented by the speed of an action potential) can change the way we perceive the stimulus (Donaldson, 2017).
Edgar Adrian performed a series of experiments in the 1920s to establish the presence of electricity within nerve cells that was perpetrated by the generation of the action potential within a single neuron. The very first of these experiments was in fact an accidental discovery of the fact that messages travel within the neural network in the form of electrical impulses (Goldstein, E. B., 2014). He typically performed his experiments on animals, either by extracting a nerve from their bodies, or by sedating them in his laboratory. In his iconic experiment, Adrian had set up a nerve preparation (an optic nerve buffered with Ringer's fluid) within a series of chambers filled with highly concentrated H+ ions in solution and positive and negative electrodes. His objective was to understand how the nerve would respond to any form of physical stimulation. As per the results of the experiment, Adrian observed sound emerging from the amplifier connected to the electrodes, indicating that the nerve was responding to the sensory input it received from anything placed in its field of vision. This proved that singular neurons were capable of producing electrical discharge of when they are given any form of physical stimulus (Grandin, 1932). Edgar Adrian was awarded Nobel Prize in 1932 for this achievement (Goldstein, E. B., 2014).
The relevance and practical application of cognitive neuroscience in our everyday lives becomes most imminent when we acknowledge that our perception of anything and everything around us is a result of our nervous system processing all the sensory signals around is in a very specific way. A key point to remember in this regard is the fact that everything a person experiences when exposed to stimuli around him/her, is unique to his/her own neural systems. This is why all of our experiences are subjective. Hence, in our day-to-day existence, our perception of varying things, including that of time itself, is subjective, and incessantly dependent on how our unique nervous systems process that information. If you perceive the passing of occurrences around you as very quick, then you are likely to perceive time as something that moves very fast. On the contrary, if you are perhaps a bit more laid back, and perceive and process occurrences at a rate slower than the average rate, then you are likely to opine that time moves at a rather slow pace.
Although a lot of research has been conducted already in the field of cognitive neuroscience, particularly after the inception of functional neuro-imaging as a research method, there still remains much to be worked upon. One area that particularly needs work is that of cognitive neuro-rehabilitation, which involves the retraining of neural pathways in order to regain or improve neuro-cognitive functioning diminished by disease or trauma. The major challenge that awaits future researchers in this area is the integration of cognitive and behavioural changes observed during recovery and neuro-rehabilitation with the underlying neural systems that may have undergone cellular/molecular alterations as a result of considerable neurological insults (Stuss, D. T., 2011). While most people that undergo rehabilitation are able to regain some or most of their motor functioning, the internal neural damages remain unchanged. Future studies on how both aspects of rehabilitation may be addressed should help forward enhance the process of recovery for most people that suffer from neurological injuries.
Short-term Memory or Working Memory accounts for a temporary storage system within our minds that stores information for a very short period of time that is usually unable to hold onto that information for more than a few seconds, unless it has been rehearsed and transferred to the more permanent long-term memory. Some of this information can stay in short-term memory for up to as long as a whole minute and is even transferred to long-term memory, but most of it is spontaneously lost over time. More often than not, tasks like remembering names, phone numbers and directions are decidedly difficult because of this very fickle nature of our short-term memory (Goldstein, E. B., 2014).
As mentioned above, the duration of short-term memories can be increased if the information presented is rehearsed and transferred to long-term memory by making use of rehearsal strategies. These strategies include saying the information out loud, mentally repeating it several times, or forming mnemonics that categorize the data in a very specific way. In the event that such strategies are not executed in time, short-term memories are quickly forgotten as newer events occur in our surroundings to replace them (Goldstein, E. B., 2014).
The relevance of studying short-term memory systems under the umbrella of cognitive psychology is multifold. As is known, cognitive psychology involves the scientific study of mental functions such as attention, memory and learning, all of which bear significant importance when the short-term memory systems are studied. “Attention†is all about how much we capture within our working memory, “memory†is all about retaining and retrieving the information that we perceive from our surroundings , and “learning†is all about using that information in a manner directly applicable in our day-to-day lives (Goldstein, E. B., 2014).
Experiments in working memory often involve the testing of recall and recognition. Lloyd Peterson and Margaret Peterson (1959) in the United States used the method of recall to elaborately determine the characteristics of short-term memory (Goldstein, E. B., 2014). As part of the experiment they conducted, a seating arrangement for the subject before two small lights mounted on a black box was set up. The experimenter was made to spell out a consonant syllable (that the subject had no access to) out aloud, which then had to be quickly followed up with a three-digit number (For example “T-O-M-O-R-R-O-W†followed by 205). The subject was then made to count backward by three or four from this number (205, 204, 203, 202…). On the flashing of a signal light, the subject was instructed to attempt recalling the consonant syllable that was first spelt out (T-O-M-O-R-R-O-W). On the signaling of the red light, the subject was instructed to stop counting immediately and say the letters that were given at the beginning of the trial. Each subject was tested eight times at each of the recall intervals of 3, 6, 9, 12, I5, and 18 seconds. A given consonant syllable was used only once with each subject. Responses occurring any time during the 15-second interval following the given signal for recall were recorded. A plot of the proportions of correct recalls revealed that the course of retention after a single presentation followed a statistical pattern. Forgetting, though frequent, was found to progress at differential rates among the different subjects (Peterson & Peterson, 1959).
The Petersons rightfully found in their studies that short-term retention is an important, though neglected, aspect of the learning process we encounter in our everyday lives. Perhaps the simplest example of a real-world application of exercising good short-term or working memory is remembering a list of grocery items that I’d learnt needed replenishment while making breakfast this morning. In the rush that one usually is during the morning hours, it often becomes difficult to write out an elaborate shopping list. It is in these circumstances that a good short-term memory helps us remember at least 50 per cent of what we need to buy on our way home rather than forgetting everything and having to step out again after reaching home just to shop.
During the past century, memory research has been varied and pivotal to the understanding of human cognition, by covering topics such as encoding, consolidation, retrieval, forgetting, and plasticity, among others. While the conceptual core of the area has been thoroughly covered, an article that recently triggered interest in the adaptive functions of memory, examined the role of memory in imagination and future thinking (Schacter, Addis, & Buckner, 2007). During that same year, two other studies combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with novel behavioral methods to find that there existed a prominent overlap between brain activity associated with remembering past experiences and imagining possible future experiences (Addis et al., 2007; Szpunar et al., 2007). This suggests that there exists a common ground, neurologically, between remembering and imagining. This tight linkage between remembering the past and imagining the future may well indicate a key function that memory can potentially take up predicting the future via imagined scenarios, as has already been suggested by investigators in this literature. Provided this looks like a very interesting and albeit lucrative area of research, we may be able to largely advance our knowledge of human cognition by conducting further research in this area.