The connectionist model states that a piece of knowledge is represented merely by a pattern of neuronal activation rather than by meaning. There is not yet a universally accepted knowledge organization model, because each has strengths and weaknesses.
Once stored, memories eventually must be retrieved from storage. Remembering past events is not like watching a recorded video. It is, rather, a process of reconstructing what may have happened based on the details the brain chose to store and was able to recall. Recall is triggered by a retrieval cue, an environmental stimulus that prompts the brain to retrieve the memory. Evidence shows that the better the retrieval cue, the higher the chance of recalling the memory. It is important to note that the retrieval cue can also make a person reconstruct a memory improperly. Memory distortions can be produced in various ways, including varying the wording of a question. For example, merely asking someone whether a red car had left the scene of a hit-and-run can make the person recall having seen a red car during later questioning, even if there was never a red car.
Information processing in the brain is the topic of a large, ongoing body of research. Although some people are fascinated by the brain on its own merits, a growing number are looking to psychology in order to better their own study skills and cognitive performance.
Modern brain research is being done in a variety of fields. Experimental psychologists at research universities are developing theories about the social and cognitive aspects of the brain and proving these by running tests on college freshmen. Neuroscientists use imaging techniques along with visual or auditory stimuli to measure and record changes within the brain. Cognitive science is an emerging discipline that was formed to integrate brain researchers in different fields. Princeton describes it as “the field of science concerned with cognition; including parts of cognitive psychology and linguistics and computer science and cognitive neuroscience and philosophy of mind.”
Experimental psychologists typically conduct research, develop theories, publish articles, and sometimes teach. Typically, they research topics like attention, learning, memory, thinking, sensation, and perception. They use the scientific method to conduct experiments.
Experimental psychologists set up an experiment to answer a question. For instance, asking the question “what is your favorite color?” can help an experimental psychologist determine what percent of people like the color red, which can lead to inferences about how the brain handles preferences. The experimenter would pass out surveys to a large number of people, as many as he can, to get a good sample of responses. Next, the survey responses are processed and turned into raw data. Finally, the experimenter selects a statistical equation to tell him different things about the data, like whether or not his hypothesis is true!
Brain research in neurobiology laboratories consists of imaging techniques like x-rays, PET scans, MRIs, fMRIs and, in some cases, particularly in animals, angiography. 