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Introduction to Neuroscience & Behavior > Exam 2 > Flashcards

Exam 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the basic features of all sensory systems? (5)

A

1) sensory receptor cells
2) transduction
3) neural pathways that carry sensory information to other brain regions
4) a primary cortical area that receives the sensory information
5) higher cortical areas that give rise to sensory perception

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2
Q

What are the sensory receptor cells of the visual system?

A

photoreceptors

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3
Q

What are examples of sensory perception within the visual system?

A

color, shape, and location

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4
Q

What is the primary cortical area of the visual system?

A

primary visual cortex

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5
Q

Transduction

A

conversion of the physical energy into activity of neurons

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6
Q

What wavelength does the human visual system respond to?

A

visible light

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7
Q

Pupil (2)

A
  • an opening for light
  • constricts and dilates
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8
Q

Cornea

A

controls entering light

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9
Q

Lens

A

bend the light

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10
Q

What are structures within the eye that focus the light?

A

cornea and lens

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11
Q

Optic Disk (2)

A
  • where your optic nerves converge to exit the eye and into the brain
  • blind spot
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12
Q

Why is the optic disk a blind spot?

A

there are not photoreceptors to detect light rays

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13
Q

Photoreceptors (2)

A
  • sensory neurons that detect light
  • located at the back of the retina
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14
Q

What are the types of photoreceptors? (2)

A
  • rods
  • cones
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15
Q

What type of neural connections do rods have?

A

convergent connections

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16
Q

What type of neural connections do cones have?

A

one-to-one connections

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17
Q

What are the color sensitive cones? (3)

A
  • blue cone
  • green cone
  • red cone
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18
Q

What happens when light hits a photoreceptor?

A

it becomes hyperpolarized

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19
Q

What occurs in photoreceptors in the dark?

A

they are active and inhibit activity of the ON bipolar cells

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20
Q

What occurs in photoreceptors in the light?

A

they are inhibited and no longer inhibit the ON bipolar cells so they become active

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21
Q

Horizontal Cells (2)

A
  • play a role in lateral inhibition
  • important in detecting edges
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22
Q

Amacrine Cells (2)

A
  • receive input from bipolar cells
  • send input to ganglion cells allowing them to respond to images falling on regions of the retina larger than that which drive individual photoreceptors
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23
Q

Lateral Inhibition

A

the suppression of the visual responses of neighboring cells via horizontal cells

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24
Q

Optic Tract

A

carries information from the retina to three key brain regions

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25
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) (3)
- sends visual information to the primary visual cortex to give rise to perception of color, shapes, locations - has 6 layers - individual neurons in the LGN have center-surround receptive fields
26
Superior Colliculus
critical for shifting the gaze toward significant visual stimuli
27
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
the body's internal clock
28
Optic Chiasm
the crossing point of the optic nerves
29
What activates the neurons of the eye?
visual stimuli
30
Receptive Field
the visual stimuli that the neuron responds to
31
What do retinal ganglion cells have?
center surround receptive fields
32
On-center Receptive Field
cells most strongly activated when center of the receptive field is illuminated and surround is dark
33
Off-center Receptive Field
cells most strongly activated when center of the receptive field is dark and surround is illuminated
34
What happens when light falls on a region of the retina outside the neuron's receptive field? (2)
- the neuron does not respond - it simply fires at a constant background rate
35
What happens when light falls within the center of the receptive field? (2)
- the neuron fires at its maximal rate - neuron has an 'on-center' receptive field
36
What happens when light hits both the on and off center receptive field?
the inputs cancel each other out because there is both excitation and inhibition
37
Why does the LGN have 6 layers?
helps relay different types of information
38
What are the main types of neurons within the LGN? (2)
- parvocellular neurons - magnocellular neurons
39
Parvocellular Neurons (2)
- small and sensitive to color - more capable of discriminating fine details
40
Magnocellular Neurons
- large so cannot provide finely detailed or colored information - essential for detecting changes in luminance and performing visual search tasks and detecting edges
41
What type of information is processed at the primary visual cortex?
crude information
42
Where in the primary cortex does most visual and auditory information from the LGN go?
the 4th layer
43
Which layer of the primary cortex sends visual and auditory inputs back to the LGN? (2)
- the 6th layer - the corticogeniculate pathway
44
What is the purpose of the dorsal and ventral streams?
they serve as a place for visual and auditory information to be moved along to distinct higher-order visual and auditory areas
45
Dorsal Stream (2)
- processes the object location - features that tell us where it is
46
Ventral Stream (2)
- processes details of its color shape - features that describe "what" it is
47
How are neurons organized within the visual cortex?
in columns with similar receptive fields
48
Orientation Columns
neurons within one column of the cortex all respond to lines of the same orientation
49
Ocular Dominance Columns
perpendicular to the orientation columns are alternating columns of neurons that receive input mostly from the left versus right eye
50
What are functional issues of the sensory system? (4)
- depth perception - faces - blindness and blindsight - synesthesia
51
Depth Perception
our ability to perceive which objects are closer or further away
52
Fusiform Face Area
plays a roles in face perception
53
Scotoma
the blind part of the visual field
54
Blindness
can occur from damage to any one of the various parts of the visual system
55
Blindsight
allows some individuals without visual awareness to nevertheless detect simple attributes of a stimulus such as its location
56
Synesthesia
a rare condition involving a blending of sensory experience
57
What are the sensory receptor cells of the auditory system?
hair cells
58
What is the neural pathway within the auditory system? (7)
1) cochlea 2) auditory nerve 3) cochlear nucleus in the medulla 4) superior olive in the pons 5) inferior Colliculus in the midbrain 6) medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus 7) auditory cortex
59
What is the primary cortical area of the auditory system?
auditory cortex
60
What are examples of sensory perception within the auditory system? (2)
- music - language
61
What are the 3 steps that allow sound waves to cause fluid to vibrate inside the cochlea? (3)
1) Sound waves cause vibrations of the eardrum 2) The vibrating eardrum cause ossicles to vibrate 3) The ossicles transmit the vibrations to the fluid in the cochlea
62
What to the oscillations of fluid in the cochlea cause? (2)
1) the cilia of the hair cells bend press against the tectorial membrane 2) when the hair cells bend, K+ ions pass through the cell membrane depolarizing the cell 3) the hair cell fires and voltage gated calcium channels open to release its neurotransmitter to activate the auditory nerve 4) impulses then pass from the auditory nerve to the brain
63
Where to neuron signals travel to after reaching the medulla? (2)
- superior olive in the pons - inferior colliculus in the midbrain
64
How do we localize sound? (2)
- interaural timing difference - interaural intensity difference
65
Interaural Timing Difference
the difference in timing for a sound to reach the left v. right ear if coming from left and vice versa
66
Interaural Intensity Difference
the difference in intensity of a sound when it reaches left vs right ear if coming from left and vice versa
67
Tonotopical Organization
cells that respond to sounds of different frequencies (low to high pitches sounds) are located in different places
68
What are the categories of hearing loss? (3)
- conductive hearing loss - sensorineuronal hearing loss - central hearing loss
69
Conductive Hearing Loss
prevention of sound waves reaching ear drum or vibration of eardrum moving along ossicles
70
Sensorineuronal Hearing Loss
dysfunction or disruption of hair cells, cochlea or auditory nerve functioning
71
Central Hearing Loss
damage to any part of auditory pathway from brainstem to cortex

Introduction to Neuroscience & Behavior (4 decks)

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