Chapter 4 Key Terms Pt. 2 [Sensation & Perception] Flashcards
pitch
how high or low a sound is
loudness
a sound’s intensity
timbre
a listener’s experience of sound quality or resonance
cochlea
a fluid-filled tube that is the organ of auditory transduction
basilar membrane
a structure in the inner ear that undulates when vibrations from the ossicles reach the cochlear fluid
hair cells
specialized auditory receptor neurons embedded in the basilar membrane
area A1
a portion of the temporal lobe that contains the primary auditory cortex
place code
the process by which different frequencies stimulate neural signals at specific places along the basilar membrane, from which the brain determines pitch
temporal code
the cochlea registers low frequencies via the firing rate of action potentials entering the auditory nerve
haptic perception
the active exploration of the environment by touching and grasping objects with our hands {{particularly relevant to child development / recognizing things by touch}}
referred pain
feeling of pain when sensory information from internal and external areas converge on the same nerve cells in the spinal cord
gate-control theory of pain
a theory of pain perception based on the idea that signals arriving from pain receptors in the body can be stopped, or gated, by interneurons in the spinal cord via feedback from two directions {{PAG // periaqueductal grey}}
vestibular system
the three fluid-filled semicircular canals and adjacent organs located next to the cochlea in each inner ear {{important for maintaining physical balance}}
olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs)
receptor cells that initiate the sense of smell
olfactory bulb
a brain structure located above the nasal cavity beneath the frontal lobes
