Cognitive neuroscience facts for kids

Cognitive neuroscience is a cool science field. It studies how your brain works when you think, learn, and remember things. It looks at the tiny connections in your brain called neurons. These connections help you do all sorts of mental tasks.

This field tries to answer big questions. For example, how do brain circuits control what you think or do? It's a mix of neuroscience (the study of the brain) and psychology (the study of the mind). It also uses ideas from cognitive science and biology.

The brain's parts are very important here. Neurons are key because they help us understand thinking from a brain perspective. Different parts of the cerebral cortex (the outer layer of your brain) also play a big role.

What is Cognitive Neuroscience?

Cognitive neuroscience explores the amazing link between your brain and your mind. It helps us understand how your brain lets you learn new things. It also shows how you can remember facts or make decisions.

How Your Brain Helps You Think

Your brain is like a super powerful computer. It has billions of tiny cells called neurons. These neurons talk to each other through electrical and chemical signals. This communication creates all your thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Cognitive neuroscientists study these signals. They want to know which parts of the brain are active when you do different tasks. For example, which part lights up when you solve a math problem? Or when you recognize a friend's face?

Tools and Methods Scientists Use

Scientists use many cool tools to study the brain. They want to see how it works when we think.

• Brain Scans: Tools like fMRI let scientists see brain activity. They can see which brain areas use more blood when you do a task. This shows where the brain is working hardest.
• EEG: EEG uses small sensors placed on your head. These sensors measure electrical signals from your brain. It helps scientists see how fast your brain reacts to things.
• Eye-tracking: This method tracks where your eyes look. It helps understand what you pay attention to.
• Studying Brain Injuries: Sometimes, people have brain injuries. Scientists can learn a lot by studying how these injuries affect thinking. For example, if an injury to one part of the brain causes memory problems, it tells us that part is important for memory.

* Damage to areas like Wernicke's area (in the left temporal lobe) can affect language. * Damage to Broca's area (near the frontal lobe) can also affect speech. * By comparing these brains to healthy ones, scientists learn how different parts work.

• Studying Brain Development: A special part of this field looks at how brains grow. It studies how thinking skills change as kids get older. This helps us understand how our brains develop over time.

What Do Cognitive Neuroscientists Study?

This field covers many interesting topics about your brain and mind:

• Attention: How your brain focuses on one thing and ignores others.
• Brain Development: How your thinking skills change as you grow.
• Consciousness: What it means to be aware and awake.
• Creativity: How your brain comes up with new ideas.
• Decision-making: How you choose between different options.
• Emotions: How your brain creates feelings like happiness or sadness.
• Intelligence: How your brain helps you learn and solve problems.
• Language: How you understand and use words.
• Learning: How your brain gains new knowledge and skills.
• Memory: How you store and recall information.
• Perception: How your brain makes sense of what you see, hear, and feel.
• Social cognition: How your brain helps you understand other people.

Images for kids

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  Timeline showing major developments in science that led to the emergence of the field cognitive neuroscience.

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  A page from the American Phrenological Journal

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  ARTMAP overview

See also