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Bad Girl's MCAT Club > Behavioral Sciences 2: Sensation and Perception > Flashcards

Behavioral Sciences 2: Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

sensation

A

the conversion/transduction of physical, electromagnetic, auditory, and other info from the internal and external environment into electrical signals in the nervous system

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2
Q

perception

A

the processing of sensory info to make sense of its significance

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3
Q

distal stimuli

A

stimuli that originate outside of the body

ex. campfire

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4
Q

proximal stimuli

A

stimuli that interact directly with and affect the sensory receptors and inform the observer about distal stimuli

ex. light, heat

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5
Q

absolute threshold

A

the minimum of stimulus energy that is needed to activate a sensory system

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6
Q

threshold of conscious perception

A

the minimum of stimulus energy that will create a signal large enough in size and long enough in duration to be brought into awareness

stimulus does not reach higher-order brain region

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7
Q

subliminal perception

A

the perception of a stimulus below a given threshold

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8
Q

difference threshold / just-noticeable difference

A

the minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli before one can perceive this difference

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9
Q

Weber’s law

A

the jnd for a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus, and this ratio is constant over most of the range of possible stimuli

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10
Q

signal detection theory

A

perception of stimuli can be affected by nonsensory factors like memory, motives, expectations

changes in our perception of the same stimuli depending on both internal and external context

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11
Q

fusiform gyrus

A

a part of the visual system in the brain, and plays a role in high level visual processing and recognition

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12
Q

response bias

A

the tendency of subjects to systematically respond to a stimulus in a particular way due to nonsensory factors

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13
Q

adaption

A

decrease in response to a stimulus over time

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14
Q

dilator pupillae

A

muscle in the iris which opens the pupil under sympathetic stimulation

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15
Q

constrictor pupillae

A

muscle in the iris that constricts the pupil under parasympathetic stimulation

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16
Q

accommodation

A

contraction of eye muscles that pulls on the suspensory ligaments and changes the shape of the lens

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17
Q

duplexity/duplicity theory of vision

A

theory that states that the retina contains two kinds of photoreceptors: those for light-dark detection (rods) and those for color (cones)

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18
Q

rhodopsin

A

pigment in rods that allows for sensation of light and dark

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19
Q

visual pathway in eye

A

rods/cones -> bipolar cells -> ganglion cells -> horizontal cells -> amacrine cells -> optic nerve

the more convergence, the less details from the photoreceptor cells retained

less cones converge than rods, so color vision is more sensitive to fine detail

horizontal/amacrine cells accentuate slight differences in each bipolar cell - increase contrasts

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20
Q

visual pathway from eye to brain

A

each eye’s right visual field projects onto left half of its retina

all fibers corresponding to right visual field from both eyes project into the left side of the brain

goes to visual cortex in occipital lobe and inputs at superior colliculus

eye -> optic nerve -> optic chiasm -> optic tracts -> LGN -> visual cortex

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21
Q

optic chasm

A

location where fibers from the nasal retinas of both eyes cross paths

carry info from temporal fields

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22
Q

lateral geniculate nucleus

A

nucleus in the thalamus that assess visual inputs

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23
Q

parallel processing

A

the ability to simultaneously analyze and combine info regarding color, shape, motion and compare to our memories to determine what’s being seen

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24
Q

parvocellular cells

A

cells that detect shape

high spatial resolution - allow fine detail

low temporal resolution - can only work with stationary/slow objects

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25
Q

magnocellular cells

A

cells that detect motion

low spatial resolution - no fine detail

high temporal resolution - allow for motion sensing

26
Q

outer ear

A

pinna (auricle), external auditory canal, tympanic membrane

27
Q

tympanic membrane

A

part of the outer ear

vibrates at a higher rate for high frequency sounds

louder sounds have greater intensity; higher amplitude

28
Q

middle ear

A

malleus, incus, stapes

connects to nasal cavity through Eustachian tube

29
Q

inner ear

A

bony labyrinth within a membranous labyrinth

30
Q

membranous labyrinth

A

consists of cochlea, utricle and saccule, semicircular canal

filled with K+ - rich endolymph

31
Q

cochlea

A

part of the ear that detects sound

divided into 3 parts that run the entire length - scala vestibuli, scala tympani

middle filled with endolymph - has organ of Corti, basilar membrane, tectorial membrane

top and bottom continuous with oval and round window, filled with perilymph

32
Q

utricle and saccule

A

part of the inner ear that detects linear acceleration

within the vestibule

contain modified hair cells covered with otoliths

as body accelerates, otoliths resist motion, stimulate underlying hair cells

33
Q

semicircular canals

A

part of the inner ear that detects rotational acceleration

arranged perpendicularly, ending in ampulla where hair cells are

head rotates, endolymph resists motion, bending hair cells

34
Q

auditory pathway

A

cochlea -> vestibulocochlear nerve -> MGN -> auditory

also projects to superior olive for sound localization

or to inferior colliculus

35
Q

medial geniculate nucleus

A

nucleus in the thalamus that assesses auditory input

36
Q

hair cells

A

cells that respond to mechanical stimulus

have tufts of stereocilia on top surface that move with vibrations in endolymph

movement opens ion channels -> receptor potential

37
Q

place theory

A

the locations of a hair cell on basilar membrane determine the perception of a pitch when the hair cell is vibrated

high frequency pitch - vibrations very close to oval window (base)

low frequency pitch - vibrations away from oval (apex)

cochlea is tonotopically organized - where hair cells vibrate indicate pitch of sound

38
Q

olfactory pathway

A

nasal passage -> olfactory nerve -> olfactory epithelium -> olfactory bulb -> olfactory tract -> brain

39
Q

somatosensation

A

pressure, vibration, pain, temperature

40
Q

Pacinian corpuscles

A

receptors that respond to deep pressure and vibration

41
Q

meissner corpuscles

A

receptors that respond to light touch

42
Q

merkle cells/disc

A

receptors that respond to deep pressure and texture

43
Q

ruffini endings

A

receptors that respond to stretch

44
Q

free nerve endings

A

receptors that respond to pain and temperature

45
Q

pathway of somatosensation

A

receptors -> CNS -> somatosensory cortex in parietal lobe

46
Q

two point thresholds

A

the minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli

depends on nerve density

47
Q

physiological zero

A

normal temperature of the skin to which objects are compared to determine if they feel “warm” or “cold”

48
Q

gate theory of pain

A

pain sensation is reduced when other somatosensory signals are present

49
Q

proprioception

A

kinesthetic sense

the ability to tell where one’s body is in 3D space

depends on receptors in muscles/joints

provides hand-eye coordination, balance, mobility

50
Q

bottom-up (data-driven) processing

A

recognition by parallel processing and feature detection

slower, less prone to mistakes

takes individual sensory stimuli and combines it to make a cohesive image

51
Q

top-down (conceptually-driven) processing

A

recognition by memories and expectations

recognition of whole objects and its components

quicker, more prone to mistakes

52
Q

perceptual organization

A

our ability to use top-down and bottom-up processing in tandem with all other sensory clues about an object to complete a picture/idea

53
Q

monocular depth perception

A

perception that reveals relative size, partial obscuring, the convergence of parallel lines at a distance, lighting, shadowing

54
Q

binocular depth perception

A

perception that reveals slight differences projected on the retinas

55
Q

gestalt principles

A

tools that the brain uses to infer missing parts of a picture when a picture is incomplete

56
Q

law of proximity

A

Gestalt principle that states that elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit

57
Q

law of similarity

A

Gestalt principle that states that objects that are similar are grouped together

58
Q

law of good continuation

A

Gestalt principle that states that elements that appear to follow the same pathway tend to be grouped together

59
Q

subjective contours

A

Gestalt principle that refers to the perception of nonexistent edges in figures, based on surrounding visual cues

60
Q

law of closure

A

Gestalt principle that states that when a space is enclosed by a group of lines, it is perceived as a complete or closed line

61
Q

law of Pragnanz

A

Gestalt principle that states that perceptual organization will always be as regular, simple, symmetric as possible

Bad Girl's MCAT Club (39 decks)

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