Cognitive Neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field of study which focuses on the relation between the brain and cognitive processes such as learning, thinking, memory, emotion, and action. This field of study provides an understanding of how the behavior and mental processes are neurobiological based. Cognitive neuroscience draws on disciplines from across the sciences, such as neurology, psychology, and cognitive science in order to amalgamate a more comprehensive understanding of the cognitive processes and the neurological basis from where they emerge. Neurology studies have made several important advances within the field of cognitive neuroscience, specifically in the better understanding of memory and emotion. Neurological studies have explored the structure and functions of the different areas and neurons contained in the brain in order to better understand how these cognitive demands are met. For example, recent research findings have established the key roles that the hippocampus and its surrounding structures play in sophisticated memory related processes such as memory consolidation and recall. Neurological studies have also been important in discovering the distinct roles of the various brain regions related to the regulation of emotion, such as the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and the insula in order to gain a more holistic understanding of the affective disposition of humans. In addition to the studies on memory and emotion, neurological studies are also important to the understanding of higher level cognitive processes including language and the coordination of complex motor functions. In each of these, neurology has provided invaluable information by exploring how cognitive and process related activations are linked to specific areas of the brain with the help of technologically innovative diagnosing tools such as fMRI and EEG. Overall, the neurological studies of cognitive neuroscience have provided a comprehensive understanding of the cognitive functioning of humans and how this arises from a neurobiological basis. Such findings continue to deepen our understanding of the complexities of the cognitive mind as well as the physical mechanisms from where they emerge.