Chapter 1

Question 0

Perception

Answer 0

The later steps in the perceptual process whereby the initial sensory signals are used to represent objects and events so they can be identified, stored, and used in thought and action

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The initial steps in the perceptual process, physical features in the environment are converted into electrochemical signals

Question 2

Distal stimulus

Answer 2

The perceived object or event in the world

Question 3

Proximal stimulus

Answer 3

A physical phenomenon evoked by a distal stimulus that impinges on the specialized cells of a sense

Question 4

Top down information

Answer 4

An observers knowledge, expectations, and goals, which can affect perception.

Question 5

Bottom up information

Answer 5

The information contained in neural signals from receptors

Question 6

Transduction

Answer 6

The transformation of a physical stimulus into neural signals

Question 7

Neural code

Answer 7

A patters of neural signals that carries information about a stimulus and can serve as a representation of that stimulus

Question 8

Psychophysics

Answer 8

A field of study concerned with relating psychological experience to physical stimuli

Question 9

Neuron doctrine

Answer 9

The principle that perception depends on the combined activity of many specialized neurons, each of which respond to specific aspects of a stimulus

Question 10

Depolarization

Answer 10

Part of the sequence of events of an action potential, during which an inflow of positively charged ions causes the membrane potential to become markedly more positive.

Question 11

Refractory period

Answer 11

Following an action potential, a brief period during which a new action potential cannot be initiated

Question 12

Firing rate

Answer 12

The rate at which a neuron produces action potentials; usually expressed in terms of spikes per second

Question 13

Baseline firing rate

Answer 13

A neurons low rate of spontaneous firing at fairly random intervals in the absence of any stimulus

Question 14

Synapse

Answer 14

A tiny gap between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite or cell body of another neuron

Question 15

Presynaptic membrane

Answer 15

The membrane at the axon terminal of a neuron producing an action potential

Question 16

Post synaptic membrane

Answer 16

The membrane of the dendrite or cell body receiving a neural signal

Question 17

Synaptic vesicles

Answer 17

Within axon terminals, tiny sacs that contain neurotransmitter molecules

Question 18

Excitatory neurotransmitters

Answer 18

Neurotransmitters that have an excitatory effect on the postsynaptic neuron, increasing the probability that an action potential will be initiated

Question 19

Inhibitory neurotransmitters

Answer 19

Neurotransmitters that have an inhibitory effect on the postsynaptic neuron, decreasing the probability that an action potential will be initiated

Question 20

Excitatory postsynaptic potential

Answer 20

The effect of an excitatory neurotransmitter, making the postsynaptic neuron’s membrane potential more positive

Question 21

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential

Answer 21

The effect of an inhibitory neurotransmitter, making the postsynaptic neuron’s membrane potential more negative

Question 22

Corpus callosum

Answer 22

The large bundle of axons that constitutes the two cerebral hemispheres

Question 23

Gyrus

Answer 23

An elongated bump on the surface of the cerebral hemispheres

Question 24

Suculus

Answer 24

An indentation between the gyri on the surface of the two cerebral hemispheres

Question 25

Cerebral cortex

Answer 25

Outermost layer of the cerebral hemispheres; 2-4 mm thick consisting mostly of gray matter (neural cell bodies)

Question 26

Gray matter

Answer 26

The cell bodies of neuron’s make up the cerebral cortex

Question 27

White matter

Answer 27

The myelin-covered axons of cortical neurons, making up the interior parts of the cerebral hemispheres

Question 28

Thalamus

Answer 28

The most important subcortical structure involved in perception; most neural signals pass through the thalamus on their paths from the sensory organs to the cortex ( not olfaction)

Question 29

Dissociation

Answer 29

A pattern of brain damage and impaired function in which damage to some specific brain region is associated with some specific function but not with impairment with another function

Question 30

Double dissociation

Answer 30

Book page 18

Question 31

Functional neuroimaging

Answer 31

An array of techniques for measuring brain activity of healthy volunteers carrying out carefully designed tasks

Question 32

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Answer 32

A functional neuroimaging technique based on measurement of the change in blood flow associated with brain activity. Using a radioactive substance introduced into the blood

Question 33

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 33

A functional neuroimaging technique based on measurement of the changes in blood oxygenation associated with brain activity

Question 34

Absolute threshold

Answer 34

The minimum intensity of a physical stimulus that can just be detected by an observer

Question 35

Method of adjustment

Answer 35

A behavioral method used in psychophysical experiments; the participant observes a stimulus and adjusts a knob that directly controls the intensity of the stimulus

Question 36

Method of constant stimuli

Answer 36

A behavioral method used in psychophysical experiments; the participant is presented with a fixed set of stimuli covering a range of intensities that are presented repeatedly in random order, and the participant must indicate whether or not each stimulus was detected

Question 37

Psychometric function

Answer 37

A curve that relates a measure of perceptual experience to the intensity of a physical stimulus.

Question 38

Staircase method

Answer 38

A behavioral method used in psychophysical experiments the participant is presented with a stimulus and indicates whether it was detecte, based on that response, the next stimulus is either one step up or one step down in intensity.

Question 39

Difference threshold

Answer 39

The minimum difference between two stimuli that allows an observer to perceive that the two stimuli are different

Question 40

Weber’s law

Answer 40

A statement of relationship between the intensity of a standard stimulus and the size of the just noticeable difference

Question 41

Psychophysical scaling

Answer 41

The process of measuring how changes in stimulus intensity relate to changes in the perceived intensity

Question 42

Fechner’s law

Answer 42

A statement of how the perceived intensity of a stimulus changes as its physical intensity changes

Question 43

Magnitude estimation

Answer 43

A behavioral method used in psychophysical experiments to estimate perceived intensity directly; the experimenter assigns an arbitrary number to represent the intensity of a standard stimulus, then the participant assigns numbers to other stimuli to indicate their perceived intensity relative to the standard.

Question 44

Noise

Answer 44

In the study of neural activity, slight random variation in the number of action potentials produced by neurons in response to a fixed sensory stimulus

Question 45

Signal detection theory

Answer 45

A framework for measuring how people make decisions based on noisy perceptive evidence