Neuroscience: Evidence for Multiple Codes
Participants in a study on cognitive tasks may be affected by the researcher's expectations,
but these factors are unlikely to similarly influence the results of neuropsychological
research. Direct manipulation of brain functions would be necessary to replicate the
experimenters' expectations regarding specific perceptual or cognitive functions and fulfill
their anticipations. However, this research does not eradicate experimenters' biases about
where to look for lesions or the deficits that result from them.
Left Brain or Right Brain: Where Is Information Manipulated?
Some researchers have continued the long tradition of studying patterns of brain injuries and
relating them to cognitive deficits. Researchers found that the right hemisphere appears to
represent and manipulate visuospatial knowledge in a manner similar to perception. In
contrast, the left hemisphere appears to be more competent in representing and manipulating
verbal and other symbol-based knowledge. For example, the word “text” as a verb did not
exist just a few years ago. Today it exists and most people know what it means, that is,
sending a text message. Recent neuropsychological studies on mental rotation in both animals
and humans show that both hemispheres may be partially responsible for task performance.
Two Kinds of Images: Visual versus Spatial
By examining visual images, researchers have discovered that they can actually be stored in
different formats in the mind, depending on the type of image in question. Spatial images
refer to images that represent spatial features such as depth dimensions, distances, and
orientations. For example, one man had lesions in the right and left temporo-occipital regions,
the right temporal lobe, and the right inferior frontal lobe. The lesions imply a possible
impairment of the ability to represent and manipulate both visual and spatial images.
Despite his injuries, he was able to successfully copy several images. However, he could not
link verbal labels to the represented objects. He performed very poorly when asked to
respond verbally to questions that required visual imagery, such as those related to color or
shape. Surprisingly, its ability to perform various types of spatial imaging was not affected.
Investigators compared the brain processes associated with visual perception with the brain
processes associated with visual images. If visual imagery were analogous to visual
perception, during tasks involving visual imagery, there would be analogous elevations of
ERPs in the occipital region. In one condition, participants were asked to read a list of
concrete words (e.g., cat) and those in the other condition were asked to read a comparable
list of concrete words and to imagine the objects while reading. Each word was presented for
200 milliseconds. ERPs were recorded at different sites in the occipital lobe and temporal
lobe regions.
The ERPs were similar in both during the first 450 milliseconds. After this time, however,
participants in the imaginal condition showed greater neural activity in the occipital lobe than
participants in the non-imaginal condition. Recognizing objects by name and answering
questions about object characteristics taps into propositional and symbolic knowledge about
the represented objects, and the ability to manipulate the orientation or size of images,
imaginal and analogical knowledge about objects.
Spatial Cognition and Cognitive Maps
Studies that have involved the way we represent pictorial knowledge are based on what we
have perceived by looking at and then imagining visual stimulus. Other research suggests that
we can form imaginary maps based only on our physical interactions and navigation through
our physical environment. Spatial cognition is concerned with the organization and use of
knowledge about objects and actions in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space.
Cognitive maps are internal representations of our physical environment, focusing
particularly on spatial relationships.
Of Rats, Bees, Pigeons, and Humans
Some of the earliest work on cognitive maps was done by Edward Tolman. In one study,
researchers were interested in the ability of rats to learn a maze. The rats were divided into
three groups: In the first the rats had to learn the maze. His reward was food. Over time, they
learned to navigate the maze without making mistakes. The rats in the second group did not
receive any reinforcement to successfully reach the end. Although their performance
improved over time, they continued to make more errors than the reinforced group. The third
group received no reward for 10 days. However, on the 11th, food was placed for the first
time. With just one reinforcement, these rats' learning improved dramatically. According to
Tolman, the rats were learning a cognitive map, an internal representation of the maze.
Thanks to this argument, Tolman became one of the first cognitive theorists.
Decades later, even very simple creatures seemed capable of forming some cognitive maps.
For example, bees can not only form imaginary maps to reach food sources, but they can also
use a somewhat symbolic way to communicate that information to other bees. In addition to
bees, carrier pigeons are characterized by their excellent cognitive maps. These birds are
known for their ability to return home from distant places. There has been extensive research
into how pigeons form these maps.
The left hippocampus plays a critical role in map formation. When the left hippocampus is
injured, the pigeons' ability to return to their homes is affected. However, injuring any part of
the hippocampus already affects search performance. The left hippocampus is also crucial for
the perception of landmarks within the environment. Other research suggests that the right
hippocampus is involved in sensitivity to global features of the environment. The
hippocampus is also involved in the formation of cognitive maps in humans.
