Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

cognition
The process of knowing. Cognition
includes both awareness and judgment.
cognitive
Having to do with thought, judgment,
or knowledge.
cognitive behavior therapy
A therapeutic prac-
tice that helps patients recognize and remedy dys-
functional thought patterns. One characteristic
technique is exposure and response prevention, in
which a patient with a phobia deliberately exposes
himself or herself to the feared situation, gradually
decreasing the panic response. Cognitive behavior
therapy is used to treat obsessive-compulsive disor-
der, panic disorder, and other biologically based
psychiatric illnesses, often in combination with
medication. Evidence gathered from brain scans
indicates that over time this therapy can sometimes
create actual changes in brain and neurotransmitter
function. Abbreviated CBT.
cognitive disability
A broad term used to
describe such diverse conditions as mental retarda-
tion, thought disturbances, and neurological condi-
tions that chronically affect a certain type of
perception or mental ability.
cognitive disturbance
Disruption of one’s abil-
ity to think logically.
cognitive dulling
Loss of mental faculties; diffi-
culty in thinking logically or quickly. Cognitive
dulling can occur due to a medical condition or as
a side effect of medication.
cochlear implant
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cognitive science
The study of the mind.
Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary science that
draws on many fields, including neuroscience, psy-
chology, philosophy, computer science, artificial
intelligence, and linguistics. The purpose of cogni-
tive science is to develop models that help explain
human perception, thinking, and learning with the
premise that the mind is an information processor.
This processor receives, stores, retrieves, trans-
forms, and transmits information. The information
and the corresponding information processes can
be studied as patterns.