Chapter 5 Flashcards
sensation
detection of physical stimuli and transmission of that info to the brain
perception
further processing of sensory information, deeper than sensation
bottom up processing
based on physical features of the stimulus–> perception
top down processing
how knowledge/expectations affect interpretation of stimuli
sensory coding
general process of translating of physical properties into neural impulses
transduction
physical energy are translated into electrochemical brain signals
how are quantitative and qualitative impulses coded differently
quantitative=rate of neurons firing, qualitative=different neural pathways
absolute threshold
minimum intensity of stimulation that must occur before you experience a sensation (you can hear it 50% of the time)`
difference threshold
smallest difference between two stimuli you can notice
signal detection theory
detecting a stimulus is subjective, depending on 1) other competing stimuli 2) judgements on ambiguous information
sensory adaptation
decrease in sensitivity to constant level of simulation
retina
surface on the back of the eyeball
rods and cones
rods=levels of light, night vision
cones=color in bright conditions
fovea
center of retina with densely packed cones
two streams of visual pathway
ventral stream (lower)=what, dorsal stream (upper)=where
binocular disparity
uses disparity between images from two eyes to determine an object’s depth when it’s close up
object constancy
brain correctly perceives objects as constant despite changing sensory details
vestibular sense
uses information from liquid in inner ear–> sense of balance
temporal coding
encoding low frequency auditory stimuli by matching firing rates of hair cells to frequency of sound waves
place coding
frequency of a sound wave is coded on different areas of basilar membrane
olfactory epithelium
thin layer of tissue with smell receptors
olfactory bulb
smell receptors bypass thalamus and transmit info directly here, located below frontal lobes
haptic sense
sense of touch
kinesthetic sense
perception of where our body is in space
two types of pain
fast fibers for immediate sharp pain and slow fibers for dull pain
