Define cognition, examing simple, complex, and natural concepts.

Cognition (lat. “to know”) is the term for the mental
process, roughly akin to “thinking”.

The human thought
process has many components, some of which are as
follows:

Attention = alertness and awareness of incoming
stimuli

Memory = ability to
recall

Language = ability to produce and understand
language

Problem solving = ability to deal with life as it
is encountered

Decision making = ability to chose a plan of
action

Perception = ability to correctly recognize stimuli,
e.g. recognize a face

Information processing = ability to
assemble and understand incoming information

Simple
cognition is defined as the most basic form of thinking, such as being aware of a noise
and responding to it.  An example would be the startle response on an infant to a loud
noise.

Complex cognition involves problem solving or
decision-making requiring retrieval of earlier learned knowledge, and application of
reasoning and judgment.  Examples of complex cognition would be the ability to solve a
mathematical problem or find an address on a
roadmap.

Natural cognition is defined as any form of
thought process that appears to develop at an early stage without instruction.  An
example of natural cognition is teaching.  Children will teach each other about the
environment and expected behavior without being instructed to do
so.

Cognition impairment (deficit) has several
forms:

Global deficit of intellectual performance, i.e.
mental retardation

Specific deficit such as learning
disorders and dyslexia

Drug-induced deficits, e.g.
alcoholic intoxication

Brain
injuries

Mental
disorders

Neurologic disorder, e.g. Alzheimer’s
disease

Note:  Cognitive deficit due to neurologic disorder
is called dementia.