Exam 1 Flashcards
Conscious sensory experience =
Perception
Often identified with elementary processes that occur at the begining of a sensory system
Sensation (also see structuralism)
A sequence of steps leading from the envrironment to perception of a stimulus, recognition of the stimulus, and action with reguard to the stimulus
perceptual process
The stimulus “out there” in the external envrionment
Distal stimulus
The stimulus on the receptors. In vision, this would be the image on the retina
Proximal stimulus
What Principle states that stimuli and responses created by stimuli are transformed, or changed between the environmental stimulus and perception. An example is when light reflected from a tree a person is looking at is transformed at it is focused in the eye’s optical system
Principle of Transformation
= Stimuli and responses created by stimuli are changed between the environmental stimulus and perception
What Principle is the second principle of perception. It emphasizes that an image that has been transformed from light is then represented as something in the person’s eyes. For example, an image of a tree is transformed into the image on the retina, and this image represents the tree in the person’s eyes.
Principle of Representation
= Everything a person perceives is based not on direct contact with stimuli, but on representations of stimuli that are formed on the receptors and on the activity in the person’s nervous system
Cells specialized to respond to envriomental energy, with each sensory system’s receptors specailized to respond to a specific type of energy
Sensory receptors
In the senses, the transformation of envrionmental energy into electrical energy. For exaple, the retinal receptors transduce light energy into electrical energy.
Transduction
Operations that transform electrical signals within a network of neurons or that transform the response of individual neurons
Neural processing
Area of the cerebral corten that first receives most of the signals initiated by a sense’s receptors
Primary receiving area
The primary receiving area for vision
Occipital cortex
The primary receiving area for hearing
Temporal lobe
The 2mm-thick layer that covers the surface of the brain and contains the machinery for creating perception, as well as for other functionc, such as language, memory, and thinking
Cerebral cortex
A lobe at the back of the cortex that is the site of the cortical receiving area for vision
Occipital lobe
A lobe one the side of the corten that is the site of the cortical receiving area for hearing and the termination point for the ventral, or WHAT, stream for the visual processing. A number of areas in this lobe, such as the fusiform face area and the extrastriate body area, serve fuctions related to perceiving and recognizing objects
Temporal lobe
A lobe at the top of the cortex that is the site of the cortical recieving area for touch and is the termination point of the doral (WHERE or HOW) stream for visual processing
Parietal lobe
Receiving signals from all of the senses, what lobe plays an important role in perceptions that involove the coordination of info received through 2 or more senses. It also serves functionc such as language, thought, memory, and motor functioning
Frontal lobe
The ability to place an object in a category that gives it meaning
Recognition
- for ex. recognizing a perticular red object as a tomato
The inability to recognize objects
Visual object agnosia
Motor activites in response to a stimulus
Action
Any info that the perceiver brings to a situation
Knowledge
-also see Top-down processing
Rat-man demonstration
The demonstration in which presentation of a “ratlike” or “manlike” picture influences an observer’s perception of a second picture, which can be interpreted either as a rat or as a man. This demonstration illistrates an effect of top-down processing on perception
Placing objects into categories, such as “tree,” “bird,” “car”
Categorize
Processing that is based on the info on the receptors (based on incoming data)
Bottom-up processing
AKA data-based processing
Processing that starts with the analysis of high-level info, such as knowledge a person brings to a situation (based on prior knowledge)
Top-down processing
AKA kowledge-based processing
Enhanced sensitivity to vertically and horizontally orientated visual stimuli compared to obliquely orientated (slanted) stimuli. This effect has been demonstrated by meaning both perception and neural responding
Oblique effect
The relationship between stimuli and behavioral responses, where behavioral responses can be perception, recognition, or action
Stimulus-behavior relationship
Traditionally, this term refers to the quatitative methods for measuring the relationship between properties of the stimulus and the subject’s experience. In this book, all methods that are used to determine the relationship between stimuli and perception will be broadly referred to as this method
Psychophysics
The narrowest spacing of a grooved surface on the skin for which orientation can be accurately judged
Grating acuity
-also see 2-point threshold
The relationship between stimuli and physiological responses
Stimulus-psychology relationship
Relationship between physiological responses and behavioral responses
Physiology-behavior relationship
The smallest stimulus level that can just be detected
Absolute threshold
The minimum stimulus energy necessary for an observer to detect a stimulus
Thresholds
The methods of limits, adjustments, and constant stimuli, described by Fechner, that are used for measuring thresholds
Classical psychological methods
a psychophysical procedure for determining the sensory threshold by gradually increasing or decreasing the magnitude of the stimulus presented in discrete steps. That is, a stimulus of a given intensity is presented to a participant; if it is perceived, a stimulus of lower intensity is presented on the next trial, until the stimulus can no longer be detected. If it is not perceived, a stimulus of higher intensity is presented, until the stimulus is detected. The threshold is the average of the stimulus values at which there is a detection-response transition (from yes to no, or vice versa)
Method of limits
a psychophysical procedure for determining the sensory threshold by randomly presenting several stimuli known to be close to the threshold. The threshold is the stimulus value that was detected 50% of the time
Method of constant stimuli
- AKA constant stimulus method; method of right and wrong cases
a psychophysical technique in which the participant adjusts a variable stimulus to match a constant or standard. For example, the observer is shown a standard visual stimulus of a specific intensity and is asked to adjust a comparison stimulus to match the brightness of the standard.
Method of adjustment
-AKA adjustment method; error method; method of average error; method of equivalents
The minimum difference that must exist between 2 stimuli before we can tell the difference between them
Difference threshold
A psychophysical method in which the subject assigns numbers to a stimulus that are proportional to the subjective magnitude of the stimulus
Magnitude estimation
A perceptual measure of stimuli, such as light or sound, that indicates the magnitude of experience
Perceived magnitude
The time between presentation of a stimulus and an observer’s or listener’s response to the stimulus. Often used in experiements as a measure of speed of processing
Reaction time
Method of determining the relationship between stimuli and perception in which the observer describes what he or she perceives
Phenomenological report
Continuum of energy that extends from very-short-wavelength gamma rays to long-wavelength radio waves. Visible light is a narrow band within this spectrum
Electromagnetic spectrum
The structure that transmits electrical signals in the body. Key components of neurons are the cell body, dendrites, and the axon or nerve fiber
Neurons
The part of a neuron that contains the neuron’s metabolic machinery and that recieves stimulation from other neurons
Cell body
Nerve processes on the cell body that recieve stimulation from other neurons
Dendrites
The part of the neuron that conducts nerve impulses over distances
Axon
- AKA nerve fiber
In most sensory neurons, the long part of the neuron that transmits electrical impulses from one point to another
Nerve fiber
- AKA the axon
The difference in charge, between the inside and the outside of the nerve fiber when the fiber is not conducting electrical signals
Resting potential
= most nerve fibers have resting potentials of about 270 mV, which means the inside of the fiber is negative relative to the outside
Rapid increase in positive charge in a nerve fiber that travels down the fiber
Action potential
-AKA the nerve impulse
A response such as a nerve impulse, that travels all the way down teh nerve fiber without decreasinng in amplitude
Propagated response
The time period of about 1/1,000th of a second that a nerve fiber needs to recover from conducting a nerve impulse. No new nerve impulses can be generated in the fiber unti this period is over
Refractory period
Nerve firing that occurs in the absence of environmental stimulation
Spontaneous activity
Charged molecules. Sodium, potassium, and chlorine are the main ions found within nerve fibers and in the liquid that surrounds nerve fibers
Ions
Charged molecules. Sodium, potassium, and chlorine are the main ions found within nerve fibers and in the liquid that surrounds nerve fibers
Ions
A property of a membrane that refers to the ability of molecules to pass through it
Permeability
-high permeability = easy for molecules to pass through the membrane
When the inside of a neuron becomes more positive, as occurs during the initial phase of the action potential. This is often associated with the action of the excitatory neurotransmitters
Depolarization
In the axon, or nerve fiber, the decrease in negativity from 270 mV to 140 mV (at the peak of potential level) that occurs during the action potential. This increase is caused by an in flow of sodium (Na+) ions into the axon
Rising phase of the action potential
When the inside of a neuron becomes more negative. This is often associated with the action of inhibitory neurotransmitters
Hyperpolarization
In the axon, or nerve fiber, the increase in negativity from 140 mV back to 270 mV (the resting potential level) that occurs during the action potential. This increase in negativity is associated with the flow of positively charged potassium (K+) out of the axon
Falling phase of the action potential
A small space between the end of one neuron (the presynaptic neuron) and the cell body of another neuron (the postsynaptic neuron)
Synapse
A chemical stored in synaptic vesicles that is released in response to a nerve impluse and has an excitatory or inhibitory effect on another neuron
Neurotransmitters
Small area on the postsynaptic neuron that is sensitive to specific neurotransmitters
Receptor sites
The response of a nerve fiber in which the firing rate increases
Excitatory response
Occurs when a neuron’s firing rate decreases due to inhibition from another neuron
Inhibitory response
How neurons represent various characteristics of the environment
Sensory coding
-Also see: Population coding; Sparse coding; Specificity coding
The type of neural code in which different perceptions are signaled by activity in specific neurons
Specificity coding
-also see: Distributed representation
A highly specific type of neuron that fires in response to a specific stimulus, such as a person’s grandmother
Grandmother cell
The idea that a particular object is represented by the firing of a relatively small number of neurons
Sparse coding
Representation of a particular object or quality by the pattern of firing of a large number of neurons
Population coding
Belief that different mental faculties could be mapped onto different brain areas based on the bumps and contours on a person’s skull
Phrenology
The idea that specific areas of the cortex are specialised to respond to specific types of stimuli
Modularity
A structure that processes info about specific behavior or perceptual quality. Often identified as a structure that contains a large proportion of neurons that respond selectively to a particular quality, such as the fusiform face area, which contains many neurons that respond selectively to faces
Module
An area in the frontal lobe that is important for language pereception and production. One effect of damage is difficulty in speaking
Broca’s area
An area in the temporal lobe involved in speech perception. Damage to this area causes aphasia, which is characterizes by difficulty in understanding speech
Wernicke’s area
The study of the behavioral effects of brain damage in humans
Neuropsychology
Procedures that make it possible to visualize areas os teh human brain that are activated by different types of stimuli, tasks, or behaviours. The most common technique used in perception research is functional magnetc resonance imaging (fMRI)
Brain imaging
Procedures that make it possible to visualize areas os teh human brain that are activated by different types of stimuli, tasks, or behaviours
Brain imaging
The most common brain imaging technique used in perception research
functional magnetc resonance imaging (fMRI)
Brain scannign technique that makes it possible to create images of structures within the brain
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
A brain imaging technique that indicates brain activty in awake, behaving organisms. The image occurs when the response to a magnetic field changes in respose to changes in blood flow in the brain
functional magnetc resonance imaging (fMRI)
Occurs when a stimulus causes neural activity in a number of different areas of the brain, so the activity is distributed across the brain
Distributed representation
The “road map” of fibers connecting different areas of the brain
Structural connectivity
The “road map” of fibers connecting different areas of the brain
Structural connectivity
Neural connectivity between 2 areas of the brain that are activated when carrying out a specific function
Functional connectivity
fMRI measured as a person is engaged in a specific task
task-related fMRI
The signal recorded usubg functional magnetic resonance imaging when the brain is not involved in a specific task
resting-state fMRI
A method in which which fMRI is used to dtermine functional connectivity
Resting-state functional connectivity
A method in which which fMRI is used to dtermine functional connectivity
Resting-state functional connectivity
A method in which which fMRI is used to dtermine functional connectivity
Resting-state functional connectivity
Laction on the brain that is involved in carrying out a specific task and which is used a reference point when measuring resting-state functional connectivity
Seed location
Resting-state fMRI measured at a loction other than the seed location
Test loaction
One of the most famous problems in science: How do physical processes such as nerve impulses or sodium and potassium molecules flowing across membranes (the body part of the problem) become transformed into the richness of perceptual experience (the mind part of the problem)?
mind-body problem
For light energy, the distance between one peak of a light wave and the next peak
Wavelength
The band of electromagnetic energy that activates the visual system and that, therefore, can be percieved.
Visible light
= for humans, is between 400-700 nM
The eyeball and its contents, which include focusing elements, the retina, and suporting structures
Eyes
The opening through which light reflected from objects in the environment enters the eye
Pupil
The transparent focusing element of the eye that is the first structure through which light passes as it enters the eye. This is the eye’s major focusing element
Cornea
The transparent focusign element of the eye through which light passes after passing through the cornes and the aqueous humor. This change in shape to focus at different distances is called accomodation.
Lens
A complex network of cells that cover the inside back of the eye. These cells include the receptors, which generate an electrical signal in response to light, as well as the horizontal, bipolar, amacrine, and ganglion cells
Retina
The receptors for vision
Photoreceptors
Receptor in the retina that is responsible for vision at low levels of illumination
Rods
Receptors in the retina that are primarily responsible for vision in high levels of llumination and for colour vision and detail vision
Cones
Part of the rod and cone visual receptors that contains the light-sensitive visual pigment molecules
Outer segments
A light-sensitive molecule contained in the rod and cone outer segments. The reaction of this molecule to light results in the generation of an electrical response in the receptors
Visual pigments
Bundle of nerve fibers that carry impulses from teh retins to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and other structures. Each of these contains about 1 million ganglion cell fibers
Optic nerve
A small area in the humsn retina that contains only cone receptors. This ares is located on the line of sight, so that when a person looks at an object, the center of its image fall on it
Fovea
A small area in the humsn retina that contains only cone receptors. This ares is located on the line of sight, so that when a person looks at an object, the center of its image fall on it
Fovea
The area of the retina outside of the fovea
Peripheral retina
A clinical condition that causes degeneration of the macula, and area of the retina that includes the fovea and a small surrounding area
Macular degeneration
A retinal disease that causes a gradual loss of vision, begining in the peripheral retina
Retinitis pigmentosa
The small area where the optic nerve leaves the back of the eye. There is no visual receptors in this area, so small images falling directly on this area cannot be seen
Blind spot
In vision, bringing object located at different distances into focus by changing the shape of the lens
Accomodation
Errors that can affect the ability of the cornes and/or lens to focus incoming light onto the retina
Refractive errors
The inability of the eye to accomodate due to a hardening of the lens and a weakening of the ciliary muscles. It occurs as people get older
Presbyopia
The inability of the eye to accomodate due to a hardening of the lens and a weakening of the ciliary muscles. It occurs as people get older
Presbyopia
An inability to see distant objects clearly. AKA nearsightedness
Myopia
Myopia (nearsightedness) in which the cornea and/or the lens bends the light too much
Refractive myopia
(also see Axial Myopia)
Myopia (nearsightedness) in which the eyeball is too long
Axial Myopia
A condition causing poor vision in which people can see objects that are far away but not see near objects clearly. AKA farsightedness
Hyperopia
Change in shape of the retinal part of the visual pigment molecule that occurs when the molecule absorbs a quantum of light. This triggers the enzyme cascade that results in transduction from light energy to electrical enery in the retinal receptors
Isomerization
Visual adaptation that occurs in the dark, during which the sensitivity to light increases. This increase in sensitivity is associated with regeneration of the rod and cone visual pigments
Dark adaptation
The function that traces the time course of the increase in visual sensitivity that occurs during dark adaptation
Dark adaptation curve
The sensitivity of the eye when in the light-adapted state. Usually taken as the starting point for the dark adaptation curve because it is the sensitivity of the eye just before the lights are turned off
Light-adapted sensitivity
The sensitivity of the eye after it has completely adapted to the dark
Dark-adaptive sensitivity
A person who has a retina in which the only functioning receptors are rods
Rod monochromats
The point on the dark adaptation curve at which vision shifts from cone vision to rod vision
Rod-cone break
The change in the colour of a visual pigment that occurs when visual pigment molecules are isomerized by exposure to light
Visual pigment bleaching
Occurs after the visual pigment’s 2 components- opsin and retinal- have become separated due to the action of light. Regeneration, which occurs in the dark, involves a rejoining of these 2 components to reform the visual pigment molecule. This process depends on enzymes located in the pigment epithelium
Visual pigment regeneration
A condition in which the retins is detached from the back of the eye
Detatched retina
The sensitivity of visual receptors to different parts of the visible spectrum
Spectral sensitivity
-also see Spectral sensitivity curve
The function relating a subject’s sensitivity to light to the wavelength of the light. This curves for rod and cone vision indicate that the rods and cones are maximally sensitive at 500 nm and 560 nm, repectively
Spectral sensitivity curve
also see Purkinje shift
