Cognitive Psychology - Essay Example

The hierarchy has been appropriately employed to describe the flow of information through several cognitive processing systems, including vision, language, and motor processes. The human visual system can be described as two successive hierarchies. Light activates rods and cones in the retina, which can be understood as the bottom of the first hierarchy. The next level includes the processing of this information in the thalamus, and the ordering concludes with information processing in the visual cortex, which starts in the occipital lobe.

The visual cortex can be considered to be its own hierarchy with five orderly components through which information flows (V1, V2, V3, V4, and V5/MT). Hierarchies are also used to describe many aspects of language. For example, the structure of all languages can be ordered in a hierarchy. In the English language, letters could be considered as objects on the lowest level, followed by a level of words and so on. Research by Okada et al. (2010) implicates a hierarchy of structures within the primary auditory cortex that are highly involved in the understanding of speech.

On a similar note, the path through which sound is physically and chemically transferred my also be considered as a hierarchy (ear lobe, to canal, to bones, etc.). Following the mechanical and primary cortical paths, information arrives at Wernicke’s area, considered to be the top of the language comprehension hierarchy. Speech production, when viewed through a hierarchy, begins with Wernicke’s area, which transfers information to Broca’s area (on the second level) before it moves on to the frontal lobe.

Additionally, the processing of motor information within the brain can be represented as a three-level hierarchical structure consisting of the spinal cord, brainstem, and the cerebral cortex/cerebellum. The ranking of the levels change according to the order of the information, with the brainstem remaining as level 2 in either direction. 2. Word Count: 310 Early interventions are a goal in the treatment of many conditions. In general, the timely identification and reaction to an ailment may minimize the discomfort of the afflicted and stop or slow the progression of the problem (although this is not always the case).

Two conditions that largely benefit from early interventions are developmental disorders and brain damage. Developmental disorders include behavioral disorders, attention disorders, and afflictions on the autistic spectrum, among others. There are several reasons that early intervention is highly sought for childhood disorders. Early ages contain critical periods for the development of many systems, including language. Attempts to treat certain aspects of these disorders will be much more difficult after the critical period has passed.

Developmental disorders may lead to secondary challenges that affect the well being of the child. Social interactions are very important during this time period, and untreated developmental problems can hold a child back in several aspects of social life, including friendships, family life, and education. Cognitive processing may be similarly affected (primarily and secondarily) without early intervention, while all secondary effects may be eliminated with immediate treatment. Brain damage is a serious condition that should always be treated as soon as possible.

Damage to certain areas of the brain and/or mass injury may lead to a variety of serious conditions, including death. The secondary afflictions that are associated with brain damage include widespread cell death due to oxygen loss, blood clots, and the loss of biological functions as well as cognitive abilities. The failure to address these potential deficits soon