Simply put, cognition is the human ability to think. However, this process makes use of various information processing processes, including cognitive abilities such as attention, learning ability, perception, remembering, orientation, creativity, imagination and the like, besides mental processes such as opinions, thoughts, intentions or desires. Emotions have an important influence on thinking. Perception and conception determine the direction of thinking and thus also make up the character of a person.
What is cognition?
Simply put, cognition is the human ability to think. However, this process makes use of various processes of information processing. Cognition includes all the processes of information storage and assimilation, as well as the application of the learned or comprehended content. Knowledge and thinking make up a part of cognition, psychologically the term is used again very variously. People have been dealing with such cognitive processes for centuries, as a scientific discipline the term then found its way into experimental psychology and was first explored in more detail in the 19th century. Here, above all, the perceptual ability of humans formed an important part of the discussion, especially visual perception. In addition to the fields of psychology, biology, philosophy, neuroscience and research on artificial intelligence also became aware of cognitive processes. All of these fields make up the cognitive sciences.
Function and task
Cognition in this sense refers to all neural information processing within the brain, to all processes associated with perception, thought, and memory. Mental events are deepened by cognition, including knowledge, beliefs, attitude toward being and the world, or expectations. Cognition can occur consciously or unconsciously. For example, if a person wants to solve a mathematical formula, he uses conscious processes, but to form his own view he often uses unconscious processes. Cognitive processes have been related to a stimulus-response pattern since behaviorism. Especially the behavior in thinking processes was explored in this way and defined more precisely by processing stages. All internal perceptions belong to it, how the human being perceives his world in his subjective view, reacts to it, what he grasps, knows and sees, processes or re-constructs. Information processing processes are as much a part of cognition as how people think about themselves, their environment, what they have experienced, and what they expect from their future. More precisely, this means that not only do emotions influence cognition, but conversely, cognition also influences the emotional world. The power of cognitive abilities is limited here. Perception via the sensory organs uses information to filter and change what has been grasped until it penetrates the consciousness of the person himself. Preconceived opinions are shaped and thus do not allow conditions to be simply absorbed and stored as neutral. They are always controlled and changed by one’s own knowledge, thinking and feeling. Perception is therefore permanently transformed, processed, stored, reduced, activated or reactivated. Sometimes this can lead to complete changes of perception, e.g. in an interpretation of non-existing conditions, as it is the case under the occurrence of hallucinations. There are also impairments of cognition in thinking and learning. Thinking is based on working or short-term memory. This has a rather small capacity and is mainly there for the temporary storage of content, which can then be accessed in a short time. In this way, it is possible to grasp and comprehend the environment or, for example, a sentence that has been read. For long-term memory, the cognitive ability even proves to be manipulative. Stored contents are changed in advance and afterwards. Expectations, for example, influence the perception for what is remembered. It is similar with newly added information. Concentration, attention, and motivation are fundamentally dependent on cognitive ability and are affected by distraction, fatigue, listlessness, and similar conditions.In this context, it is not only physical properties of sensory stimuli that determine people’s perceptions and perceptions, but also internal processes in the brain. Expectations are based on specific and learned experiences. Processes of cognition and information processing are always influenced.
Diseases and complaints
Cognition disorders occur in the form of various characteristics. First and foremost as memory and retentiveness disorders, which are usually the result of mental illnesses, including depression or schizophrenia. It is similar with organic diseases in the area of the nervous system. Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, for example, lead to considerable cognitive disorders. Research results also showed that even the diet has an influence on cognitive processes and disorders. In dementia, the homocysteine level is usually elevated and the blood plasma low. The body is then often not sufficiently supplied with vitamins. Cognitive impairments are then not only found in the area of thinking and memory performance, but also have an effect on the ability to speak and learn new content. Coping with everyday situations is then often no longer possible. The ability to perceive changes completely. A restriction of cognition can also be caused by taking medication. On the one hand, this is based on the sensitivity of older people to central nervous side effects, since the entire metabolism changes with age, especially in the area of neurotransmitters. The permeability of the blood–brain barrier is increased and the effect of the drugs is faster. The drugs then reach the central nervous system more easily. Side effects then include drug-induced cognitive impairment such as impaired concentration and attention, memory problems extending into delirium, impaired consciousness and perception. Other symptoms include slower motor activity and constant restlessness. Drugs that have anticholinergic properties are particularly problematic because cholinergic neurons play an essential role in cognition and consciousness. Parkinson’s disease, for example, is treated with this drug, which can trigger further cognitive impairment, especially in the elderly.
