Cognitive processing is the act of acquiring new information, storing the information in our memory, and using the knowledge that is attained. This mental process is associated with our vision, attention, memory, and the unconscious processes that lead to conscious perception. The brain plays a vital role in cognitive functioning. To gain full comprehension of cognitive mental processing, it is crucial to explain the role of the brain in cognitive functioning. It is also of interest to describe Phineas Gage's accident, which made history in the both the psychological and medical field, and explain how and what the accident revealed about how brain areas support cognitive functions. (Schaffhausen, 2005) In this paper, the concept of the brain's role in cognition will be explored; the paper will discuss the accounting of Phineas Gage and his traumatic head injury, and discuss the operation of the prefrontal cortex of the brain as it applies to cognition.
Skull diagram of Phineas Gage
Phineas Gage displaying ptosis after his famous br...
gage entrance 612As it applies to cognition, the brain is a very complex tool that humankind is permanently attached to, based on the operation of this tool, it either serves us, or inhibits us.
The brain and its functions play the largest role in the way that people think, perceive, remember, and learn. In order for psychologists to come to a full understanding of cognitive functioning, it is important to first to explore the brain and how the mind work in relation to cognitive functioning. As psychologists focus their studies on human cognition and the processes that are involved, their findings lead them to the three pound gem, the brain. "This organ has enabled the human race to become the most dominant species on earth with all its many artistic, scientific, medical, and technological achievements" (Wickens, 2005 para. 1 ). The brain is one of the most...