Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...

Cognitivism

Cognitivism

Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process information is...

Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...

Concepts and Prototypes

Concepts and Prototypes

The human nervous system handles vast amounts of information by translating sensory stimuli into neural impulses, which the brain processes, creating thoughts expressed through language or stored as memories. The brain also synthesizes information from emotions and memories, which significantly influence thoughts and behaviors. This intricate process creates a comprehensive mental picture.
The brain organizes this information using concepts, which are mental categories grouping linguistic data,...

Cognition and Behavior

Cognition and Behavior

Social psychology examines the complex interplay between individual mental processes and social interactions. Historically, the field was divided into two domains: social behavior and social cognition. Researchers focusing on social behavior analyzed actions within social contexts, such as conformity, aggression, or cooperation. Meanwhile, social cognition researchers investigated how people perceive, interpret, and mentally represent their social environments. However, modern perspectives no...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Do people recover from the impact of COVID-19 social isolation? Social connectivity and negative affective bias.

Psychological medicine·2024

Same author

Neurocognition in stimulant addiction: commentary on Kendrick et al (2021).

Psychoradiology·2024

Same author

Brain Signatures During Reward Anticipation Predict Persistent Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·2021

Same author

Flexible versus Fixed Spatial Self-Ordered Response Sequencing: Effects of Inactivation and Neurochemical Modulation of Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2021

Same author

COVID-19 induced social isolation; implications for understanding social cognition in mental health.

Psychological medicine·2020

Same author

Dissociable dopaminergic and pavlovian influences in goal-trackers and sign-trackers on a model of compulsive checking in OCD.

Psychopharmacology·2020

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Using Pharmacological Manipulation and High-precision Radio Telemetry to Study the Spatial Cognition in Free-ranging Animals

Using Pharmacological Manipulation and High-precision Radio Telemetry to Study the Spatial Cognition in Free-ranging Animals

Published on: November 6, 2016

Translating cognition from animals to humans.

J F Keeler¹, T W Robbins

¹Dept. of Expt. Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK. jfk28@cam.ac.uk

Biochemical Pharmacology

|January 12, 2011

Summary

Translational research uses animal models to study cognitive deficits in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Validated methods, including back-translation, ensure animal models accurately predict human therapeutic drug effects for cognitive impairments.

More Related Videos

Decoding Natural Behavior from Neuroethological Embedding

Decoding Natural Behavior from Neuroethological Embedding

Published on: October 3, 2025

A Comparative Approach for Quantitative Cell Counting Studies in Widely Different Mammalian Brains

A Comparative Approach for Quantitative Cell Counting Studies in Widely Different Mammalian Brains

Published on: January 16, 2026

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Using Pharmacological Manipulation and High-precision Radio Telemetry to Study the Spatial Cognition in Free-ranging Animals

Using Pharmacological Manipulation and High-precision Radio Telemetry to Study the Spatial Cognition in Free-ranging Animals

Published on: November 6, 2016

Decoding Natural Behavior from Neuroethological Embedding

Decoding Natural Behavior from Neuroethological Embedding

Published on: October 3, 2025

A Comparative Approach for Quantitative Cell Counting Studies in Widely Different Mammalian Brains

A Comparative Approach for Quantitative Cell Counting Studies in Widely Different Mammalian Brains

Published on: January 16, 2026

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Pharmacology
Cognitive Science

Background:

Cognitive symptoms are prevalent in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders like Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and depression.
Cognition encompasses perception, attention, memory, executive function, language, and social cognition, all of which can be impaired in clinical conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the feasibility of using animal models and advanced techniques to study human cognition.
To emphasize the importance of validating translational methods for optimizing the translation of experimental research to clinical applications.

Main Methods:

Utilizing appropriate animal models with techniques like computer-controlled tests (e.g., touch-screens) to assess cognitive functions.
Employing test batteries to profile cognitive function, identifying impaired and preserved aspects in disorders.
Validating translational methods through common theoretical principles, psychological manipulation comparisons, and homologous neural circuitry or pharmacological action comparisons.

Main Results:

Animal models can effectively replicate many aspects of human cognition, aiding in the study of cognitive disorders.
The validation of translational methods, including back-translation, is crucial for ensuring the predictive validity of animal models for drug efficacy.
Appropriate selection of behavioral tests and manipulations (genetic, neurodevelopmental, neurotoxic, pharmacological) is key for simulating neural substrates and cognitive impairments.

Conclusions:

Animal models, when appropriately chosen and validated, are essential tools for understanding and treating cognitive deficits in clinical disorders.
Back-translation and rigorous validation ensure that findings from animal models are relevant to human conditions and therapeutic development.
Optimizing animal models for cognitive research requires careful consideration of behavioral tests and disease-relevant manipulations to predict treatment outcomes.