BCS 111 Final Exam Flashcards
Cognition
the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses
Parts of a neuron
Soma - contains the cell nucleus
Axon - conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body
Axon terminal - nerve impulse release
Dendrites - receive action potentials
Myelin sheath - help electrical impulse travel faster/more efficient
Nodes of Ranvier - facilitate rapid conduction
How neurons communicate
via electrical events called ‘action potentials’ and chemical neurotransmitters
Independent variable
the part of the experiment that is being changed on purpose to test the results of that change
Dependent variable
variable affected by the change, what is measured
Parts of the visual system
Retina - containing cells that are sensitive to light and trigger nerve impulses
Optic nerve - transmits impulses to the brain from the retina
Optic chiasma - point where the two optic nerves cross over each other
Optic tract - relays information
Visual cortex - receives and processes sensory nerve impulses
Parietal lobe
processes sensory information regarding the location of parts of the body as well as processing language
Occipital lobe
visual processing center
Frontal lobe
involved with motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior
Temporal lobe
primary auditory perception
Sensation
a physical feeling or perception resulting from something that happens to or comes into contact with the body
Perception
the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses
Rods
- less intense light
- no color vision
- low acuity
Cones
- intense light
- color vision
- high acuity
Bipolar cells
two sets of processes; can synapse with either rods or cones
Ganglion cells
neuron located near the inner surface of the retina; receives visual information from photoreceptors
Attention
selection process for an external or internal event which has to be maintained at a certain level of awareness
Working memory
the part of short-term memory that is concerned with immediate conscious perceptual and linguistic processing
Short-term memory
- limited capacity (roughly 7 items at a time)
- limited duration
- encoding
Long-term memory
intended for storage of information over a long period of time; unlimited amount of information almost indefinitely
Neglect syndrome
failure to attend to the side opposite of the brain lesion
Automatic processes
used when a task is simple or similar and tends to be rapid
Controlled processes
involves conscious, alert awareness and mental effort in which the individual actively focuses their attention on achieving a particular goal
Feature binding
the integration of different stimulus properties as an object