2. Intro to sensation and perception

Question 1

Define sensation

Answer 1

Registering stimulation of the senses

Question 2

Define perception

Answer 2

Processing and interpreting sensory information

Question 3

Cognition

Answer 3

Using perceived information to learn, classify, comprehend

Question 4

Name the receptors and the areas of the brain that process the following…
1. Electromagnetic energy
2. Chemical composition
3. Air pressure waves
4. Tissue distortion
5. Gravity, acceleration

Answer 4

RECEPTORS:
1. Photoreceptors
2. Chemoreceptors
3. Mechanoreceptors
4. Mechanoreceptors and thermoreceptors
5. Mechanoreceptors

BRAIN AREAS:
1. Primary visual cortex
2. Gustatory cortex and olfactory cortex
3. Auditory cortex
4. Somatosensory cortex
5. Temporal cortex

Question 5

Define transduction

Answer 5

Conversion of environmental energy to nerve signals

Question 6

What is meant by bottom-up processing?

Answer 6

Perception starts with the physical characteristics of stimuli and basic sensory processes

Question 7

What were the two main concepts of Gibson’s (1950s) theory of direct perception?

Answer 7

1. Info coming from sensory receptors is enough for perception to be rich and detailed - complex mechanisms not necessary
2. Environment contains sufficient cues to provide context to aid perception (e.g. texture can indicate depth)

Question 8

Define top-down processing

Answer 8

The perceiver constructs their understanding of external stimuli based on their past experience and knowledge

Question 9

What is meant by single-cell recording?

Answer 9

Action potentials of neurons recorded with micro electrode inserted close to cell

Question 10

What does cortical recording require?

Answer 10

A section of the skull to be removed

Question 11

What is single-cell recording useful for?

Answer 11

Identifying cells which are selective for certain features

Question 12

Single neurons can be selective for a stimulus as specific as one particular ____

Answer 12

person

Question 13

Selective neurons in which part of the brain represent individuals in multiple sensory modalities?

Answer 13

Medial temporal lobe

Question 14

Animal lesioning in studies is done by knife and by neurotoxins. What are three disadvantages of this?

Answer 14

1. Ethical issues
2. Studying a faulty system (knife also cuts axons, neurotoxins only destroy nerve cells)
3. Brain changes in response to damage

Question 15

Lesions in human brains can be studied after damage from things like a stroke, trauma, road accident and boxing. What are two disadvantages to these studies?

Answer 15

1. Damage can be diffuse
2. Individual variation in damage

Question 16

What is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)?

Answer 16

Pulses of magnetic energy disrupt activity in a small part of the brain for a short period

Question 17

What two things can Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation be used to investigate?

Answer 17

1. Sensation
2. Perception

Question 18

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) over posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) disrupts what?

Answer 18

Biological motion
Disruption of upright biological motion over posterior STS (Right T6), but not over motion area of visual cortex

Question 19

What is the purpose of psychophysics?

Answer 19

Quantifying the relationship between physical stimuli and the psychological response

Question 20

What is the absolute/detection threshold?

Answer 20

Smallest stimulus intensity needed for detection (e.g. minimum conc of flavour you can taste)

Question 21

What is the difference threshold?

Answer 21

Smallest difference between two stimuli that can be detected - the ‘just-noticeable difference’ (JND) (e.g. min difference between two colours you can see)

Question 22

Autistic children show poorer performance than typically developing children for ____ ____, but not for ____ task.

Answer 22

For biological motion but not for form task

Question 23

What is meant by bi-stable perception?

Answer 23

No depth cues leads to visual ambiguity

Question 24

Introspection is a valid way to what?

Answer 24

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