Chpt 4-6 Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

Transduction

A

Conversion of external stimulus to action potential. Specific sense receptors transduce specific stimuli.

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2
Q

Psychophysics

A

Study of how stimuli are perceived

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2
Q

Sensory Adaptation

A

Activation of senses is most when stimuli are first detected. Then, the response proceeds to decline.

Takes place on a sense receptor level. The decrease in reaction of the receptor conserves energy and attentional resources.

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3
Q

Absolute Threshold

A

Longest level of stimulus needed for NS to detect a change 50% of the time when no stimulus of that type is present.

Human error increases as stimulus magnitude decreases, moreover, sensitivity of NS

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4
Q

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

A

Smallest detectable change in stimulus, helping to distinguish smaller and weaker stimuli.

Weber’s Law: Relationship between JND and original stimulus intensity is linear

Stimulus increases as the change in stimulus magnitude in order for it to be noticeable, increases

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5
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

How we detect stimuli under certain conditions e.g. background noise

Signal-to-noise ratio: having to speak louder

Response Biases: Tendency to guess when in doubt of stimuli

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6
Q

Cross-modal Processing

A

Specific Nerve Energies:
- Sensation is determined by native of sense receptors, not stimuli.

  • Regardless of distinct stimuli energies
  • Synesthesia: a condition where people experience cross-modal sensations.
  • Alternate Explanation: A single brain region serves multiple functions
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7
Q

Synesthesia

A

A condition where people experience cross-modal sensations.

Mirror-touch: A person experiences the same sensation that another person experiences, such as touch

Lexical-gustatory Synesthesia: Words are associated with specific states or textures

Chromesthesia: Sounds trigger the experience of colour; in cases of misophonia, sounds trigger emotions

Personification: Numbers, letters, or days of the week that are attributed personality characteristics or appearance

Number-form Synesthesia: Numbers are imagined as mental maps

Spatial sequence Synesthesia: Cenain sequence of numbers, dates, or months are perceived as closer or farther in space

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8
Q

Selective Attention

A

The ability to focus on one stimulus and tune out others, controlled by the Reticular Activating System and Forebrain

Filter Theory of Attention: mental filter allowing us to attend to important stimuli

Dichotic Listening: People hear 2 different messages in each ear

Cocktail Party Effect: Ability to pick out important info from conversation not involving us

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9
Q

Inattention Blindness

A

Poor capability of detecting stimuli in plain sight when our attention is elsewhere.

Change Blindness: Failure to detect obvious change in the environment

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10
Q

Hue

A

Colour of light

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11
Q

Additive Colour Mixing vs. Subtractive Colour Mixing

A

Additive: mixing primary colours red, green, blue, producing white light

Subtractive: Mixing cyan, magenta, and yellow to produce dark colours

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12
Q

Iris

A

Coloured part of the eye that controls the amount of light entering

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13
Q

Pupil

A

Hole where light enters the eye

  • Pupillary reflection: closing of pupils decreases the amount of light entering the eye
  • Dilation: Expansion of pupil when processing complex information or due to physical attraction
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14
Q

Lens

A

Accommodates to see close/far objects

Flat: seeing distant objects
Fat: seeing close objects

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15
Q

Shape of eye

A

Myopia: causes nearsightedness due to the cornea being too steep or the eyes being too long

Hyperopia: Farsightedness due to the cornea being too flat or the eyes being too short

Presbyopia: Loss of flexibility in lens due to aging

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16
Q

Retina

A

Converts sensory info to neural info

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17
Q

Fovea

A

Part of retina with no rods or cones, where light is focused

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18
Q

Rods and Cones

A

Rodes: Help see shapes and low levels of light, assist in Dark Adaption

  • Photopigments - chemicals that change from light exposure e.g. Rhodopsin

Cones: Help us see colour, but are sensitive to detail

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19
Q

Optic Nerve

A

Ganglion cells attatching the retina to the brain.

  • Half the cells cross the optic Chiasm and the nerves enter the brain, turning into optic tracks
  • Optic Tracks: Send majority of axons to the visual part of the Thalamus, then the Primary Visual Cortex V1 (primary route of visual perception).

The rest go to the midbrain, then the superior colliculus, which plays a role in reflexes.

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20
Q

Route of visual info

A
  1. Visual info from retina > Visual thalamus > Primary Visual Cortex V1 > Parietal lobe V2 (depth perception)
  2. Visual info from retina > Visual thalamus > Primary Visual Cortex V1 > Temporal lobe V2 (processes visual info and colour)
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21
Q

Blind Spot

A

Where the optic nerve connects to the retina

  • no rodes or sense receptors because the gangion occupies its space
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22
Q

Feature Detection

A

Ability to identify objects with minimal patterns

Simple cells: Display yes-no responses to specific light orientations in specific locations

Complex Cells: Respond to specific light orientations with less restriction of location

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23
Q

Trichromatic Colour Perception Theory

A

3 kinds of cones (blue, green, red) are maximally sensitive to different wavelengths of light.

  • This theory doesn’t account for afterimages caused by the visual cortex processing rods and cones
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24
Q

Colour Blindness

A

Caused due to an absence of cones or brain damage

Monochromats - only one type of cone is present, and all colour vision is lost

dichromates - two cones are present

trichromats - how humans see colour

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25
Q

Opponent Processing Colour Theory

A

Colour is seen in 3 pairs of opponent cells - red/green blue/yellow black/white

Afterimages appear in complimentary colours and illustrate opponent processing

Ganglion retina cells and cells in the visual area of the thalamus that respond to red or blue don’t respond to green or yellow.

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26
Q

Blindsight

A

Blind individuals are aware of there surroundings

Bliind individuals suffer V1 damage (primary visual cortex) > Info flows to the visual association cortex, bypassing V1 because the normal pathway to visual areas is blocked > This accounts for how blind people can somewhat navigate

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27
Q

Visual Agnosia

A

Deficit in object perception, inividuals can identify shape/colour but can’t recognize object names

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28
Q

Pitch

A

Frequency of wave

Pitch increases, Frequency increases

Younger individuals are more sensitive to higher-pitch

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29
Q

Amplitude

A

Height of sound wave corresponding to loudness

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30
Q

Timbre

A

Quality/Complexity of sound
e.g. instruments

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31
Q

Ossicles

A

Malleus, Incus, Stapes or Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup.

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32
Q

Cochlea

A

Part of the inner ear that converts mechanical vibrations to neural activity.

Inner cavity of the Cochlea is filled with a thick liquid that triggers cilia with pressure, sending action potentials.

Organ of Corti/Basilar Membrane: Hair cells embedded within them where transduction occurs

Pitch Theory: The primary auditory cortex processes different tones in different areas of the basilar membrane.

Cilia at the base of the membrane are excited by high-pitch, as the cilia at the top are excited by low-pitch

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33
Q

Low-Pitch Perception

A
  1. Frequency Theory: Rate of action potential faithfully reproduces pitch up to 100Hz (max action potential)
  2. Volley Theory: Variation of frequency theory works for 100-5000Hz, slightly out of sync with each other. Therefore the overall rates contribute to 5000Hz
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34
Q

Conductive Deafness

A

Malfunctioning of the ear
e.g. failure of eardrum or ossicles

35
Q

Noise Induced Hearing Loss

A
  • Accompanied by Tinitis
  • Byproduct of loud noise is loss of sensory cells and degeneration of optic nerve
  • Most people lose hearing with age
36
Q

Gustation

A

Sense of taste

Papillae: bumps on the tongue containing numerous taste buds (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami) each separate from each other.

  • Individual receptors are weakly concentrated in certain locations
  • Any location on the tongue is slightly sensitive to all tastes
37
Q

Gustation Process

A

Odours interact with sense receptors in nasal passage. > Relayes info to Limbic System and Olfactory Cortex. > Taste receptors follow a similar process > Smell and taste converge in orbitofrontal Cortex.

38
Q

Olfaction

A

Sense of Smell

  • Parts of the limbic system, such as the amygdala, distinguish pleasant and unpleasant smells.
39
Q

Pheromones

A

Odourless chemicals that signal sexual behaviour.

40
Q

Vomeronasal Organ

A

Located between the bone between the nose and mouth in some animals, that detects pheromones

41
Q

Proprioception

A

Sense of the body position

42
Q

Vestibular Sense

A

Sense of balance

43
Q

Somatosensory System

A

Responds to stimuli applied to the skin e.g. touch, pressure, temperature, pain which are sensed by mechanoreceptors and free nerve endings

  • Nerves are unevenly distributed throughout the body
  • Touch travels faster than pain
  • Touch informs immediate surroundings and urgent matter
  • Pain signals to tend to injuries

Withdrawn Reflex: Triggered by pain e.g. pulling away from a hot stove

44
Q

Circadian Rythem

A

Changes that occur every 24 hours in our biological processes
e.g. hormone release, brain waves, body temperature, drowsiness

Disruption in the biological clock increases risk of:

  • injury/fatal accidents
  • health problems
  • obesity
  • diabetes/heart disease
44
Q

Importance of Sleep

A
  • Learning and Long-term memory formation
  • Remembering emotional memory-
  • Immune system
  • Plan, reason, and function to the best of our ability
  • Conservation of energy to reduce food intake (evolutionary perspective)
44
Q

Suprachiasmatic Nucleas

A

Location of 20,000 neurons in the hypothalamus makes us feel drowsiness at different times of the day/night.

Essentially triggers a sense of fatigue.

45
Q

Recommended hours of sleep

A

Newborns: 16 hours

Post-secondary students: up to 9 hours

The majority of people need 7-10 hours.

Insufficient sleep can cause short-term effects of irritability and loss of concentration.
Long-term effects can lead to “sleep debt” (requires several nights of sleeping a few extra hours to pay off), brief hallucinations, weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes/heart problems, lower immune system

46
Q

Kleine-Levin Syndrome

A

Excessive sleep disorder

47
Q

Stages of Sleep

A

Each cycle lasts about 90 minutes

  1. Lasts 5-10 minutes. Our brain produces Theta Waves, due to the 50% lowered activity.

Theta Waves: occur 4-7 times per minute

Hypnagogic Imagery: experiences as we drift deeper into sleep and become more relaxed. Dream-like images that flit in and out of consciousness and sudden jerks of limbs are experienced.

  1. Brain waves further slow down and sleep spindles (intense bursts of electrical energy) and K-complexes (sharply rising and falling waves) are apparent under EEG.
  • brain activity decelerates
  • heart rate slows
  • body temperature decreases
  • muscles further relax
  • eye movement stops
    -65% of sleep is in stage 2

3 & 4. Occurs after 10-30 minutes, where deeper slow-wave sleep begins. Delta Waves are present.

Delta Wave: slower waves that appear 20-50% of the time in stage 3 and more than half the time in stage 4

  1. After 15-20 minutes we return to stage 2 before transitioning to REM sleep.

REM Sleep: high-frequency, low-amplitude waves, resembling those of being awake. Eyes are rigorously moving, our body is paralyzed while our brain is active.

During rem sleep, heart rate and blood pressure increase, and breathing is irregular. Rem is 20-25% of a night’s sleep. After 10-20 minutes of REM, the cycle repeats.

48
Q

REM vs NREM Dreams

A

REM: emotional and illogical

NREM: often shorter, repetitive and thought-like

49
Q

REM-Rebound

A

Amount and intensity of REM increases when deprived. Moreover, indicating REM’s importance in biological function

50
Q

Middle Ear Muscle Activity

A

A phenomenon that occurs during REM, in which muscles of the middle ear become active, almost as theyr’e assisting us to hear sounds in the dream.

51
Q

Lucid Dreams

A

Being aware that one is dreaming due to parts of the cerebral cortex associated with self-perception rev up with activity.

52
Q

REM Behaviour Disorder

A

Brain and body are active during REM, an early indicator of dementia or Parkinsons’ disease

53
Q

Sleeping Disorders

A
  • Insomnia
  • Narcolepsy
  • Sleep Apnea
  • Night Terrors
  • Sleep Walking
54
Q

Insomnia

A
  • Trouble falling asleep
  • Walking up too early
  • Waking up in the middle of the night and struggling to fall back asleep

Experienced by individuals who suffer from depression, continual pain, or other medical conditions.

Other causes include stress, relationship problems, caffeine, or day-napping

55
Q

Rebound Insomnia

A

A phenomenon of more difficulty sleeping due to long-term use of sleeping pills.

56
Q

Narcolepsy

A

Episodes of sudden sleep lasting a few seconds/minutes. Episodes are often accompanied by vivid hallucinations

Cataplexy: Experienced by some people with narcolepsy, there is a complete loss of muscle tone, causing people to fall. Cataplexy is experienced by healthy people in REM, but while still alert in those with narcolepsy.

Orexin: a hormone that triggers sudden attacks of sudden sleepiness, those with narcolepsy have brain cells that produce insufficient orexin

57
Q

Sleep Apnea

A

Blockage of the airway during sleep, causing insufficient supply of O2

  • Loud snoring
  • Short stops of breathing, waking individual up
  • No awareness of these multiple wakings
  • night sweats
  • weight gain
  • hearing loss
  • irregular heartbeat
  • risk of cognitive impairments (e.g. dementia)
58
Q

Night Terrors

A

Screaming and crying for a few minutes followed by falling into a deep sleep.

Almost exclusive to children.

59
Q

Sleepwalking

A

Happens with sleep deprivation and involves minimal activity.

Occurs during REM.

60
Q

Purpose of dreaming

A
  • processing emotional memories
  • integrating new experiences with established memories to create a mental model of the world
  • learning new strategies and ways of doing things
  • stimulating threatening events so we can better cope
  • reorganizing memories
61
Q

Freud’s Dream Protection Theory

A

Dreams are guardians of sleep. During sleep, the ego (acts as a mental censor) is less able to keep sexual and aggressive instincts repressed.

Dream-work disguises and contains sexual and aggressive impulses by transforming them into symbols that represent wish fulfillment - how we wish things could be. This is why dreams must be deciphered and interpreted.

Manifest Content: details of the dream

Latent Content: true, hidden meaning of the dream

62
Q

Issues with Freud’s Dream Protection Theory

A
  1. Most dreams are sexual in nature and account for 10% of dreams we remember
  2. Many dreams don’t appear to be disguised (everyday activities)
  3. Doesn’t account for individuals with trauma who experience repetitive nightmares
63
Q

Activation-Synthesis Theory

A

Proposes dreams reflect the brain’s activation during sleep, rather than repressed unconscious wishes.

Activation:

  • REM is turned on by neurotransmitter surges of acetylcholine, which activates neurons in the pons, while serotonin and norepinephrine are shut down.
  • This decreases reflective thought, reasoning, attention, and memory.
  • The activated Pons signals to the Lateral geniculate nucleus of the Thalamus a relay for sensory info to the forebrain.

Synthesis:

The forebrain then assembles a meaningful story.

The Net result of this change is the reason for dreams.

64
Q

Neurocognitive Theory

A

Claims that dreams reflect more than just random neural impulses activated by the brain stem (pons). Dreams are supported by the brain’s default network and are a meaningful product of cognitive abilities.

65
Q

Dream Continuity Hypothesis

A

Dreams mirror circumstances, there is continuity between sleeping and waking experiences.

66
Q

Hallucinations

A

Realistic perceptual experiences in the absence of external stimuli.

Visual: occurs due to oxygen/sensory deprivation, epilepsy, fever, dementia, migraines

Auditory: occurs due to mistakenly attributing thoughts/inner speech to an external source

Auditory Verbal: psychotic individuals have more negative and less controlled hallucinations than nonpsychotic

67
Q

Out-of-body Experience (OBE)

A

Extraordinary sense of consciousness leaving the body.

Occur with drug usage, meditation, migraines, seizures, or when extremely relaxed/stressed. OBE also occurs in NDE.

Explanation: When the senses of touch and vision are scrambled, there is a disruption of our physical body’s experience

68
Q

Near-death Experiences (NDE)

A

OBE was reported by people who almost died.

Explanation: Changes in brain chemistry associated with cardiac arrest, anesthesia, and other physical trauma.

May result from massive release of endorphins in a dying brain as well as oxygen deprivation.

69
Q

Mystical Experiences

A

Last only for a few moments but leaves a lasting, lifelong impression. A sense of unity or oneness with the world is experienced. This phenomenon is associated with spirituality and religion, or social isolation.

70
Q

Hypnosis

A

Interpersonal situation in which imaginative suggestions are used to change consciousness.

Induction: the first step in hypnosis, that creates positive expectations for responses to the following suggestions.

Active-alert Induction: individuals are physically active while following relaxing hypnotic suggestions

Self-hypnosis: Suggestions are self-administered.

71
Q

Hypnosis Myths

A
  1. Hypnosis produces a trance state where “amazing” things happen
  2. Hypnotic phenomena are unique (people can experience hypnotic phenomena without hypnosis)
  3. It is a sleep-like state
  4. People are unaware of their surroundings
  5. People forget what happened during hypnosis
  6. Memory enhancement
72
Q

Past Life Regression Therapy

A

A therapeutic approach that hypnotizes and age-regresses patients to a previous life to identify the source of a present-day problem.

73
Q

Hypnosis Explanations

A

Sociocognitive Theory:

Attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and expectations about hypnosis, as well as response to waking imaginative suggestions, shape response to hypnosis.

Disassociation Theory:

Division of consciousness, in which attention is carried out without awareness. This results in a separation between personality functions that are normally well-integrated.

74
Q

Hidden Observer

A

during hypnosis, a separated consciousness is formed in an individual’s mind which is able to observe the individual

75
Q

Classical Conditioning

A

Form of learning in which animals come to respond to a previously neutral stimulus that was associated with another stimulus that elicits an autonomic response.

76
Q

Acquisition

A

Learning phase during which a conditioned response is established

77
Q

Extinction

A

Gradual reduction and eventual elimination of the conditioned response after the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the uncontrolled stimulus.

78
Q

Spontaneous Recovery

A

Sudden re-emergence of an extinct conditioned response after a delay following an extinction procedure.

79
Q

Renewal Effect

A

Sudden re-emergence of a conditioned response following extinction when an animal is returned to the environment in which the conditioned response was acquired.

80
Q

High-order Conditioning

A

Developing a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus by virtue of its association with another conditioned stimulus

81
Q

Latent Inhibition

A

Difficulty in establishing classical conditioning to a conditioned stimulus we’ve repeatedly experienced alone, that is, without the conditioned stimulus.

82
Q

Operant Conditioning

A

Learning is controlled by the consequences of the organism’s behaviour

83
Q

Law of Effect

A

Principle asserts that if a stimulus followed by a behaviour results in a reward, it is more likely to give rise to the behaviour in the future.

84
Q

Latent Learning

A

Learning that is not directly observable.