Cognitive Neuroscience (AQA GCSE Psychology)

How the structure & function of the brain relate to behaviour & cognition

• Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of brain structure and function and how these relate to behaviour e.g. movement, impulse control and cognition e.g. memory, perception

• Cognitive neuroscience is relevant to the localisation of brain function as it seeks to ‘map out’ the brain in terms of which structures and functions can be linked to specific behaviours

• Some examples of brain structures and functions which relate to specific behaviours are:

  • The prefrontal cortex has been linked to executive functioning: lack of activity in this area can result in impulsive, possibly violent behaviour

  • The amygdala in the medial temporal lobe has been linked to emotional responses, particularly to a lack of fear in criminals and psychopaths 

• Some examples of brain structures and functions which relate to specific cognitions are:

  • The hippocampus has been linked to both memory storage and spatial navigation

  • The right prefrontal cortex has been linked to the perception of time: patients with lesions in this area have difficulty estimating how long specific tasks take

• Research into cognitive neuroscience has uncovered many useful findings, for example:

  • The serotonin hypothesis links irregular levels of this neurotransmitter to depression:

    • Antidepressant drugs known as SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) have been developed as a result of this knowledge

  • Brain-imaging techniques such as PET scans have shown which areas of a mother’s brain are active when she is bonding with her baby which can in turn help to identify possible attachment issues from birth

Research which utilises cognitive neuroscience

• Maguire et al. (2000) found that spatial navigation may be localised to the hippocampus

• Raine et al. (1997) found that executive functioning may be localised to the prefrontal cortex

• Birbaumer et al. (2005) - fMRI scans show that psychopaths show no fear when presented with fear-inducing stimuli compared to non-psychopathic participants

• Gholampour et al. (2020) -  the maternal brain is ‘hard-wired’ for  pleasurable, warm emotions (areas scanned included the nucleus accumbens which is linked to reward and the amygdala)

Evaluation of cognitive neuroscience

Strengths

• This field of research uses clinical, objective, state-of-the-art techniques which makes it high in reliability

• The applications from findings of research in this field are huge: from education to health to sport to business

Weaknesses

• Due to the very clinical nature of the research it does lack some external validity i.e. a brain scan cannot tell you the fine detail of behaviour/cognition or explain a personal experience

• Findings in this field must be treated with some caution:

  • labelling someone a ‘psychopath’ because they have a dysfunctional amygdala could be damaging to their self-esteem and relationships