cognitions

Cognition refers to the mental processes by which information is acquired, transformed, stored, retrieved, and used to guide behavior. It encompasses perception, attention, memory, language, problem solving, reasoning, decision making, and planning.

These processes rely on representations such as mental models, schemas, and scripts, and they can operate consciously or automatically. Cognition integrates sensory input with prior knowledge to form interpretations and guide actions.

Developmentally, cognitive abilities change across the lifespan, with growth in childhood and potential decline in aging. Individual differences arise from genetics, experience, education, culture, and motivation. Cognitive performance can be affected by factors such as cognitive load, fatigue, emotion, and health.

Neuroscience links cognitive function to brain networks and regions. Working memory and executive control involve the prefrontal cortex; long-term memory relies on the hippocampus; attention engages frontoparietal networks. Researchers use behavioral experiments, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and computational modeling to study cognition.

Applications include education, human-computer interaction, and clinical assessment. Understanding cognition informs the design of tools and interfaces and supports diagnosis and treatment of cognitive disorders, such as dementia, traumatic brain injury, ADHD, and autism spectrum conditions. Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field, drawing on psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, computer science, and anthropology.