Kognityvinės Funkcijos - www.Kristalai.eu

Cognitive functions

Cognitive functions are the mental processes that enable us to perform any task, from the simplest to the most complex. They encompass a variety of mental abilities, including memory, attention, perception, and executive functions. These processes allow us to make sense of the world, focus on important information, store and recall experiences, and make decisions. This article explores how memories are formed and retrieved, and discusses the processes involved in concentration, understanding, and decision-making.

Memory Systems

Memory is a cognitive function that allows us to encode, store, and retrieve information. It is essential for learning, adapting to new situations, and forming our identity.

Memory Formation

Memory formation involves several basic processes:

  • Coding: The transformation of sensory input into a form that can be stored. This involves perceiving information through our senses and converting it into neural codes.
  • Consolidation: The stabilization of a memory trace after initial acquisition. This process strengthens the memory, making it more resistant to disruption.
  • Storage: The retention of encoded information over time. Memories are stored in different regions of the brain, depending on their type.
  • Recovery: The accessibility of stored information and its bringing into conscious awareness when needed.

Memory Types

Memory is not a single unit, but consists of several systems:

Sensory Memory

  • Definition: The shortest-term memory element, lasting only milliseconds to seconds.
  • Function: Allows individuals to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus is discontinued.
  • Types:
    • Iconic Memory: Visual sensory memory.
    • Eco Memory: Auditory sensory memory.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

  • Definition: A temporary storage system capable of holding a limited amount of information for a short period of time (about 20–30 seconds).
  • Capacity: Traditionally considered to be 7±2 elements, although more recent research suggests there may be fewer.
  • Function: Allows for active manipulation and repetition of information.

Working Memory

An extension of short-term memory, working memory involves the processing and manipulation of information stored in STM.

  • Components (Based on Baddeley model):
    • Central Executor: Focuses attention and coordinates activities.
    • Phonological Loop: Processes verbal and auditory information.
    • Visuospatial Sketchpad: Manages visual and spatial information.
    • Episodic Buffer: Integrates information across domains, providing a sense of time.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

  • Definition: Continuous storage of information over an extended period of time.
  • Types:
    • Explicit (Declarative) Memory: Conscious memories of facts and events.
    • Semantic Memory: General knowledge about the world.
    • Episodic Memory: Personal experiences and specific events.
    • Implicit (Non-declarative) Memory: Unconscious memories that influence behavior.
    • Procedural Memory: Skills and tasks.
    • Priming: A protrusion that influences the response to stimuli.
    • Classical Conditionality: Learned associations.

Memory Recovery

Recovery signals and strategies are essential for the availability of stored information:

  • Remembrance: Retrieving information without cues (e.g., essay tests).
  • Recognition: Identifying prior learning information with signals (e.g., multiple choice tests).
  • Retraining: Faster learning of previously learned information.

Factors Affecting Memory

  • Attention: Necessary for encoding; divided attention can disrupt memory formation.
  • Emotions: Emotional stimulation can enhance memory consolidation through the interaction of the amygdala with the hippocampus.
  • Context: Memories are more easily retrieved in a context similar to the one in which they were encoded (context-dependent memory).
  • State Dependent Memory: Information learned in a certain state (e.g., mood) is more easily retrieved while in the same state.
  • Disturbances: New information can interfere with the retrieval of old information and vice versa.

Attention, Perception, and Executive Functions

Attention

Attention is a cognitive process that allows us to selectively focus on one aspect of the environment while ignoring others.

Attention Types

  • Selective Attention: Focuses on a specific stimulus, filtering out others.
  • Divided Attention: Processing multiple stimuli simultaneously.
  • Attention Passed: Maintaining concentration over a long period of time.
  • Alternating Attention: Shifting attention between tasks that require different cognitive demands.

Attention Theories

  • Broadbent Filter Model: Suggests that a selective filter allows certain information to pass through, based on physical properties.
  • Treisman Attenuation Theory: Suggests that unheard messages are attenuated but not completely filtered.
  • Resource Allocation Theory: Attention is a limited resource that is divided between tasks.

Perception

Perception is the process of organizing, interpreting, and consciously experiencing sensory information.

Stages of Perception

  • Sensation: Detection of external stimuli through sensory receptors.
  • Transduction: Conversion of sensory stimuli into neural signals.
  • Perception: Interpreting sensory information to understand the environment.

Principles of Perception Organization

According to Gestalt psychology:

  • Figure-Earth Relationship: Separating an object from its background.
  • Proximity: Grouping elements that are close to each other.
  • Similarity: Grouping similar items.
  • Continuity: Perception of continuous patterns.
  • Completion: Addressing gaps to create a complete object.

Top-Bottom and Bottom-Side Processing

  • Bottom-Side Processing: Creating a perception from discrete sensory input.
  • Top-Down Processing: Using pre-existing knowledge to interpret sensory information.

Executive Functions

Executive functions are high-level cognitive processes that allow for precise direction of behavior.

Components of Executive Functions

  • Working Memory: Information storage and manipulation.
  • Cognitive Flexibility: Adaptation to new rules or requirements.
  • Inhibitor Control: Inhibition of impulsive responses.
  • Planning and Organizing: Setting goals and determining the best way to achieve them.

The Neural Basis of Executive Functions

  • Anterior Prefrontal Lobe: The main area of ​​involvement, especially the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe.
  • Anterior Cingulate Lobe: Involvement in error detection and attention.
  • Orbitofrontal Lobe: Involved in decision making and processes rewards.

Decision Making Processes

  • Heuristics and Biases: Mental shorthand that can lead to systematic errors.
  • Availability Heuristics: An estimate of probability based on how easily examples come to mind.
  • Similarity Heuristics: Probability assessment based on similarity to the prototype.
  • Two-Way Process Theory:
    • System 1: Fast, automatic, intuitive thinking.
    • System 2: Slow, deliberate, analytical thinking.

Cognitive functions are essential to our daily lives, influencing how we perceive the world, focus, remember experiences, and make decisions. Understanding these processes provides insights into human behavior and can inform strategies for improving learning, memory, and problem-solving skills.

Literature

  1. Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81–97.
  2. Baddeley, AD, & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–89). Academic Press.
  3. Craik, FI, Govoni, R., Naveh-Benjamin, M., & Anderson, ND (1996). The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125(2), 159–180.
  4. McGaugh, J. L. (2004). The amygdala modulates the consolidation of memories of emotionally arousing experiences. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27, 1–28.
  5. Godden, DR, & Baddeley, AD (1975). Context-dependent memory in two natural environments: on land and underwater. British Journal of Psychology, 66(3), 325–331.
  6. Eich, E., & Metcalfe, J. (1989). Mood dependent memory for internal versus external events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15(3), 443–455.
  7. Underwood, B. J. (1957). Interference and forgetting. Psychological Review, 64(1), 49–60.
  8. Broadbent, D. E. (1958). Perception and CommunicationPergamon Press.
  9. Treisman, A. M. (1964). Verbal cues, language, and meaning in selective attention. The American Journal of Psychology, 77(2), 206–219.
  10. Kahneman, D. (1973). Attention and Effort. Prentice-Hall.
  11. Wertheimer, M. (1923). Laws of organization in perceptual forms. Psychological research, 4(1), 301–350.
  12. Gregory, R. L. (1970). The Intelligent EyeWeidenfeld & Nicolson.
  13. Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168.
  14. Stuss, DT, & Knight, RT (Eds.). (2013). Principles of Frontal Lobe Function (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
  15. Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124–1131.
  16. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

    ← Previous article Next topic→

    Back to top

    Return to the blog