Chapter 1: Introduction

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

The ability to detect a stimulus and, perhaps, to turn that detection into a private experience.

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

The act of giving meaning to a detected sensation.

Question 3

qualia

Answer 3

In philosophy, private conscious experiences of sensation or perception.

Question 4

dualism

Answer 4

The idea that the mind has an existence separate from the material world of the body.

Question 5

materialism

Answer 5

The idea that the only thing that exists is matter, and that all things, including the mind and consciousness, are the results of interaction between bits of matter.

Question 6

panpsychism

Answer 6

The idea that the mind exists as a property of all matter – that is, that all matter has consciousness.

Question 7

psychophysics

Answer 7

The science of defining quantitative relationships between physical and psychological (subjective) events.

Question 8

two-point touch threshold

Answer 8

The minimum distance at which two stimuli (e.g. two simultaneous touches) are just perceptible as separate.

Question 9

just noticeable difference (JND) -or- difference threshold

Answer 9

The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli, or the minimum change in a stimulus that enables it to be correctly judged as different from a reference stimulus.

Question 10

Weber fraction

Answer 10

The constant of proportionality in Weber’s law.

Question 11

Weber’s law

Answer 11

The principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the just noticeable difference (JND) is a constant fraction of the comparison stimulus.

Question 12

Fechner’s law

Answer 12

A principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the magnitude of subjective sensation increases proportionally to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity.

Question 13

absolute threshold

Answer 13

The minimum amount of stimulation necessary for a person to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.

Question 14

method of constant stimuli

Answer 14

A psychophysical method in which many stimuli, ranging from rarely to almost always perceivable (or rarely to almost always perceivably different from a reference stimulus), are presented one at a time. Participants repsond to each presentation: “yes/no,” “same/different,” and so on.

Question 15

method of limits

Answer 15

A psycholophysical method in which the particular dimension of a stimulus, or the difference between two stimuli, is varied incrementally until the participant responds differently.

Question 16

method of adjustment

Answer 16

A method of limits in which the subject controls the change in the stimulus.

Question 17

magnitude estimation

Answer 17

A psychophysical method in which the participants assigns values according to perceived magnitudes of the stimuli

Question 18

Steven’s power law

Answer 18

A principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the magnitude of subjective sensation is proportional to the stimulus magnitude raised to an exponent.

Question 19

cross-modality matching

Answer 19

The ability to match the intensities of sensations that come from different sensory modalities. The ability allows insight into sensory differences. For example, a listener might adjust the brightness of a light until it matches the loudness of a tone.

Question 20

supertaster

Answer 20

Supertasters are those individuals who experience the most intense taste sensations; for some stimuli, they are dramatically more intense than for medium tasters or nontasters. Supertasters also tend to experience more intense oral burn and oral touch sensations.

Question 21

signal detection theory

Answer 21

A psychophysical theory that quantifies the response of an observer to the presentation of a signal in the presence of noise. Measures obtained from a series of presentations are sensitivity (d’) and criterion of the observer.

Question 22

criterion

Answer 22

In signal detection theory, an internal threshold that is set by the observer. If the internal response is above criterion, the observer gives one response (e.g., “yes, I hear that”). Below criterion, the observer gives another response (e.g., “no, I hear nothing”).

Question 23

sensitivity

Answer 23

In signal detection theory, a value that defines the ease with which an observer can tell the difference between the presence and absence of a stimulus or the difference between stimulus 1 and stimulus 2.

Question 24

receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve

Answer 24

In studies of signal detection, the graphical plot of the hit rate as a function of the false-alarm rate. If these are the same, points fall on the diagonal, indicating that the observer cannot tell the difference between the presence and absence of the signal. As the observer’s sensitivity increases, the curve bows upward toward the upper left corner, That point represents a perfect ability to distinguish signal from noise (100% hits, 0% false alarms).

Question 25

sine waves

Answer 25

A simple, smoothly changing oscillation that repeats across space. Higher frequency sine waves have more oscillations and lower frequencies have fewer oscillations over a given distance. 1. In hearing, a waveform for which variation as a function of time is a sine function. Also called pure tone. 2. In vision, a pattern for which variation in a property like brightness or color as a function of space is a sine function.

Question 26

wavelength

Answer 26

The distance required for one full cycle of oscillation for a sine wave.

Question 27

period

Answer 27

For hearing, the time required for a full wavelength of an acoustic sine wave to pass by a point in space.

Question 28

phase

Answer 28

A fraction of the cycle of the sine wave described in degrees (0° to 360°) or radians (0π to 2π). In hearing, phase can be used to describe fractions of a period that relate to time.

Question 29

Fourier analysis

Answer 29

A mathematical procedure by which any signal can be separated into component sine waves at different frequencies. Combining these sine waves will reproduce the original signal.

Question 30

spatial frequency

Answer 30

The number of cycles of a grating per unit of visual angle (usually specified in cycles per degree).

Question 31

cycles per degree

Answer 31

The number of pairs of dark and bright bars per degree of visual angle.

Question 32

doctrine of specific nerve energies

Answer 32

A doctrine, formulated by Johanes Muller, stating that the nature of a sensation depends on which sensory fibers are stimulated, not on how fibers are stimulated.

Question 33

cranial nerves

Answer 33

Twelve pairs of nerves (one for each side of the body) that originate in the brain stem and reach sense organs and muscles through openings in the skull.

Question 34

olfactory (I) nerves

Answer 34

The first pair of cranial nerves. The axons of the olfactory sensory neurons bundle together after passing through the cribriform plate to form the olfactory nerve, which conducts impulses from the olfactory epithelia in the nose to the olfactory bulb.

Question 35

optic (II) nerves

Answer 35

The second pair of cranial nerves, which arise from the retina and carry visual information to the thalamus ad other parts of the brain.

Question 36

vestibulocochlear (VIII) nerves

Answer 36

The eight pair of cranial nerves, which connect the iner ear with the brain, transmitting impulses concerned with hearing and spatial orientation. The vestibulocochlear nerve is composed of the cochlear nerve branch and the vestibular nerve branch.

Question 37

oculomotor (III) nerves

Answer 37

The third pair of cranial nerves, which innervate all the extrinsic muscles of the eye except the lateral rectus and the superior oblique muscles, and which innervate the elevator muscle of the upper eyelid, the ciliary muscle, and the sphincter muscle of the pupil.

Question 38

tochlear (IV) nerves

Answer 38

The fourth pair of cranial nerves, which innervate the superior oblique muscles of the eyeballs.

Question 39

abducens (VI) nerves

Answer 39

The sixth pair of cranial nerves, which innervate the lateral rectus muscle of the eyeballs.

Question 40

polysensory

Answer 40

Referring to the blending multiple sensory systems.

Question 41

vitalism

Answer 41

The idea that there is a force in life that is distinct from physical entities.

Question 42

synapse

Answer 42

The junction between neurons that permits information transfer.

Question 43

neurotransmitter

Answer 43

A chemical substance used in neuronal communication at synapses.

Question 44

neuroimaging

Answer 44

A set of methods that generate images of the structure and/or function of the brain. In may cases, these methods allow us to examine the brain in living, behaving humans.

Question 45

electroencephalography (EEG)

Answer 45

A technique that, using many electrodes on the scalp, measures electrical activity from populations of many neurons in the brain.

Question 46

event-related potential (ERP)

Answer 46

A measure of electrical activity from a subpopulation of neurons in response to particular stimuli that requires averaging many EEG recordings.

Question 47

magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Answer 47

A technique, similar to electorencephalography, that measures changes in magnetic activity across populations of many neurons in the brain.

Question 48

computed tomography (CT)

Answer 48

An imagining technology that uses X-rays to create images of slices through volumes of material (e.g., the human body).

Question 49

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Answer 49

An imaging technology that uses the responses of atoms to strong magnetic fields to form images of structures like the brain. The method can be adapted to measure activity in the brain, as well.

Question 50

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 50

A variant of magnetic resonance imaging that makes it possible to measure localized patterns of activity in the brain. Activated neurons provoke increased blood flow, which can be quantified by measuring changes in the response of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to strong magnetic fields.

Question 51

blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal

Answer 51

The ratio of oxygenated to deoxygenated hemoglobin that permits the localization of brain neurons that are most involved in a task.

Question 52

positron emission tomography (PET)

Answer 52

An imaging technology that enables us to define locations in the brain where neurons are especially active by measuring the metabolism of brain cells using safe radioactive isotopes.