Title

Neurocognition (Based on: A Neurocognitive Perspective on Current

Learning Theory and Science Instructional Strategies)

Name

Sharifah Roqaiyah Bt Syed Mud Puad

______________________________________________________________________________
WHY WE NEED TO STUDY NEUROCOGNITIVE?
A critical analysis of current philosophical perspectives suggests that older dualistic views and
those based solely on biological structuralfunctional analyses may be insufficient to explain an
active role of the learner in information processing as included in modern learning theories. An
approach emphasizing correlations and patterns in neurocognitive processing of information is
suggested.
Neubiology- Permit applications to human higher cognitive process

Definition of neurocognitive science

Neurocognitive science is a synthesis between philosophy, cognitive psychology, and the
neurosciences that promises to bring a greater theoretical coherence among these disciplines in
understanding complex human behavior.
The neurocognitive synthesis appears to be especially instructive in helping us understand the
dynamics of human active participation in learning currently labeled as constructivist.
Constructivist: Human active participation in learning
Purpose of study
1. To organize frameworks of scientific knowledge provide a particular advantage in
constructing science curricula.
2. To explore some of the common places that appears to be emerging between
constructivism and neurocognitive theory.
3. To explain the efficacy of some of newer innovations in science instruction.
Historical and epistemological isssues

1. Dualistic Explanations
Characteristic: involve non materialistic (soul) and material self that mediate our sense of
knowing, and our volition.
Weakness: unnecessary impediments to understanding the holistic dimensions of human
cognition, and introduces assumptions that preclude current scientific analyses as noted by
Flanagan (1991).
2. Neurobehavioral Correlative Models
Characteristic: generate explanations of how the brain represents experience by correlating brain
states in space and time with sensory phenomena.
Aim: To understand what parts of the brain are most active when an event is perceived and how
these various parts are integrated in spacetime.
3. StructuralFunctional Models
Characteristic: A direct correspondence between a part of the brain and some psychological
event. Simply stated, this view assumes there is a place in the brain where each psychological
event occurs.
Aim: By analyzing the brain part by part, the locus of each process should eventually be
discovered.

Summary of previous assumption: The holistic perspective suggested by a neurobehavioral

correlative approach, augmented by structuralfunctional analyses, shows increasing promise
as a framework for modern research on brain functions.

BASIC NEUROCOGNITIVE CONCEPTS

Nervous system: Senses external and internal events, and mediates adjustments by the
organism to enhance its survival
Receptors: Relay information to the central nervous system by way of numerous nerve fibers
that converge on the spinal cord where they ascend to the brain
Central nervous system (CNS): Consists of complex networks of nerve cells or neurons.
Neurons: Contain a central cell body and one or several extensions that contact other neurons,
thus forming a complex web of interacting cells. The neurons in the brain receive nerve
signals from the periphery and may respond by transmitting the signal to other neurons within
the network.

Some Fundamental Principles of Neurobiology Applied to Human Cognition

1. Modular Organization.
The nervous system, consisting of a mass of interconnected nerve cells, is organized as modules.
A module is a specialized region of the CNS that serves a particular function.

2. Regional Specialized Functions.

Each brain hemispheres give different function that gave rise to differentiation of cortical
functions that increased efficiency of information processing.
3. Stratification and Neural Network Theory.
The central nervous system (CNS) is stratified, forming a layered or laminated organization. The
lamination increases in complexity and in number of different strata (within the tissues) with
increasing distance from the periphery.

4. Hierarchical Crosslinked Organization.

The nervous system is organized functionally into hierarchical units, but not strictly hierarchical,
since higher order units (as in the surface layers of the brain) are dynamically crosslinked to

lower units (deeper in the brain) by nerve fibers that carry information in both directions. There
are mutual influences between the higher more complex information processing centers and
lower ones.
5. Plasticity.
It follows from the preceding item, that the further from the periphery that an operation occurs in
the CNS, the greater the representational plasticity and complexity. That is, higher brain centers
are more plastic and diversified in responding than more peripheral centers.
Plasticity: Flexibility in responding and adapting to novel situation.
6. Parallel and Serial Processing.
Processing
Characteristi

Parallel
Function

responses and yield a sense of holism.

simultaneously

to

create

Serial
rapid Give us multiple option

7. Control Mechanisms.
Expansion of network theory: The central nervous system is reciprocally connected by nerve
tracts interconnecting the various centers, and stabilized by forward-directed and feedback
control mechanisms.
8. Functional Stability.
CNS function is stabilized through internal checks and balances, a process of homeostasis
spanning a range of mechanisms from chemical signals (e.g., hormones), to nerve signals
generated by complex neuronal assemblages.
9. Reactive and Proactive Processes.
The brain is not simply a passive responder to input (reactive) but also interactive and adaptive
(proactive). Proactive functions allow the organism to respond dynamically to sensation by
transforming and shaping sensory input. Simultaneously, existing information structures in the
CNS are reorganized to make them more compatible with the input. This increases the
responsiveness and stability of the organism in a given environment and provides a biological
explanation for the psychological processes of assimilation and accommodation.
10. Patterns and Correlations.
As a generalized model, two concepts will be used to characterize the foregoing CNS activities:
(1) patterns, an ordered set of elements or activities in space and time, especially those that

enhance adaptation for survival, and favor dynamic adjustment to or control of the environment
(2) correlations, the concomitant variation of two or more CNS events in time.
A PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON COGNITION AND LEARNING
Complex cognition, of the kind that most typically characterizes us as human beings,
undoubtedly involves a much more elaborate system of information processing. These are
undoubtedly related to complex networks of interacting neurons.
Dynamics of Knowledge Construction in Science Learning
Schemata are ideational networks including, for example, declarative and procedural
representations of experience. From a neurocognitive perspective, these are interlinked neuronal
networks that are assembled through experience and serve as the framework for building
additional linkages during new learning.
Function of schemata:
1. Perceive new experience to construct new meanings.
2. Modify new information to enhance incorporation of new information.
3. Schemata activated in the context of new situation and permit active reconstruction of the
knowledge.
Information processing involves parallel as well as serial processing of sensory input. Learning
science through hands-on and manipulative experiences, in conjunction with group learning
processes, afford a rich matrix of information that encourages simultaneous as well as serial
information processing.
Information Processing and Adaptation
Meaningful learning, moreover, promotes adaptation. Since these schemes of neuronal activity
are used in the processing of information, it is not surprising that humans build linkages between
existing conceptions and new ones. The newer models suggest that prior conceptions are
activated simultaneously with new sensory input, and that analysis of sensory input is mediated
by synthesis with prior existing conceptions. That is, prior knowledge structures are mobilized to
provide the context for parsing sensory input into identifiable components.
Relevancy and Autonomy

Because of this self-regulatory process, learning tasks must be relevant to the learner, and
facilitate a more successful adaptation to her/his physical and social environment. Sustained and
lasting learning occurs when the learners are allowed sufficient autonomy to formulate a learning
strategy that reflects their unique approach to information processing and problem solving.
Reconstruction during Recall
The dynamics of information processing that occur during construction of new knowledge are
mirrored in a reconstruction process that occurs during information recall.

IMPORTANT!!!
AN INTEGRATIVE PERSPECTIVE
Aim: To integrate cognitive psychology, philosophy, and neurocognitive data into a more coherent
explanation supporting current science education reform.

Active Information Processing

The active role of the learner in constructing representations of experience is compatible

with some current neurocognitive data showing that knowledge is built by a dynamic

process of linking or integrating new information with preexisting neural networks.

Whereas rote learning is much closer to a process of conditioning, meaningful learning
employs existing schemes of neuronal activity to reconstruct networks and link newly

acquired information within networks of preexisting knowledge.

Thus, recall of experience, as with initial representation, is a dynamic process of
reassembling information by activating sensory centers, among others, that initially were
involved during information construction.

Information Processing and Problem Solving

A stronger network connection, and the possibility of accessing information elements

more efficiently through multiple access routes, undoubtedly enhances stability and

applicability of the available information.

This greater plasticity, and likely larger repertoire of information processing strategies,
can yield more creative solutions and more divergent solving pathways in reaching a

solution to a problem.
Theoretically, multimodal learning activities intended to enhance abstract learning should
be related to previously learned conceptions and operations to build upon preexisting

neuronal network assemblages.

Likewise, multimodal learning provides visuotactile sensory representations that can act
as the organizing centers for more abstract representations to be developed. In other
words, concrete representations provide the initial fragments of meaning in the CNS to

which more complex abstract representations can become linked, and perhaps modeled.
During laboratory and other exploratory learning environments, students should be
encouraged to generate schemes of information processing that involve as rich a diversity
of modalities and their representations as feasible. This active construction of information
processing schemes, and representation of experiences using a diversity of internal
sources of ideation, may enhance creativity and promote learner-centered discovery of
unique ways of solving problems.

Proactive Information Processing

The CNS has outward-directed connections that modulate and shape incoming
information in an anticipatory manner, it is to be expected that information that is most
compatible with the learners prior conceptions will be most readily processed along

input channels into the higher brain centers.

If the learning environment promotes disequilibration and gradual adjustment by the
learner, this can be beneficial to reorganizing and extending neural networks to better
represent sensory experience.

Self-Regulation during Learning

The CNS is in a constant state of outward-directed and feedback signaling, the system is
organized to be self-regulatory as explained previously. The CNS has the capacity to
integrate its activity by monitoring the status of its component parts (modules) and

adjusting their activity to maximize information processing.

Such a coordination of the learning environment with internal checks and balances
improves the coherence of information processing, reduces imbalances between internal
evaluative mechanisms and those presented externally, and thus contributes to
homeostasis (balanced operation of the CNS).

Plasticity and Idiosyncrasy of Construction

The remarkable complexity of nerve networks, coupled with the findings that modular
functions can be activated simultaneously in many different combinations, provides a
biological explanation for the remarkable uniqueness and creativity expressed by

humans.
Constructivist theory recognizes that each individual acquires novel ways of processing
information and in representing experiences that must be taken into account during

instruction.
These unique patterns of representation also bear witness to the plasticity of the CNS in

representing experience.
Neural networks with the capacity to self-regulate activity are expected to produce these
varied representations.

SUMMARY

Meaningful learning, as opposed to conditioned learning, involves higher cortical centers

that include interconnected networks of neurons. These networks may be the

neurocognitive equivalents of schemata in psychology.

Active involvement by the learner maximizes activation of schemata, encourages the
work of transforming them, and motivates the learner to enlarge ideational networks,
especially when the tasks are perceived as being facilitatory for problem solving and

promoting adaptation to the environment.

Multimodal learning promotes more stable schema formation by simultaneously
activating different cortical modules and enhancing linkages among the networks.