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Biopsychology > Exam 4 > Flashcards

Exam 4 Flashcards

1
Q

State the number of sensory systems we have and name them.

A

It is a divided topic, many agree on around 8.
- Typical 5: sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing
Added: tactile perception, nociception, and thermoception

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2
Q

Define sensation vs perception.

A

Sensation: The initial view of a stimuli that is acknowledged by the sensory system
- Example: During the school day, lights start flashing and loud noise begins to blare.

Perception: The final understanding of the initial sensation, the brain processes the meaning of the sensory information
- Example: During the school day, the fire alarm begins to go off.

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3
Q

Define the three aspects of sensory physiology (receptors, neurons, and transduction).

A
  1. Sensory Receptors: specialized structures that respond to physical stimuli by producing electrical impulses in sensory neurons
  2. Sensory Neurons: specialized neurons that carry information from sensory receptors into the CNS
  3. Sensory Transduction: structure that transforms a physical stimulus into a neural signal
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4
Q

State the initial steps of processing a stimuli.

A
  1. Distal stimuli: the initial stimuli itself (ringtone)
  2. Proximal Stimuli: how the stimuli is processed by an individual (sound waves of the ringtone)
  3. Conscious Awareness: the stimuli signal has processed within the brain
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5
Q

Define the process of sensory coding.

A

Sensory coding is the quantity and quality being transmitted via action potentials through sensory neurons
- Quantity: higher stimulus quantity results in faster rates of action potentials in sensory neurons
- Quality: how to stimulus is understood (pitch, colors, tastes)

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6
Q

Define physical vs perceived qualities of a sensory stimuli.

A

Similar to sensation vs perception
1. Physical qualities: frequency and amplitude converts into -
- Example: the blob is red, hard, and big

  1. Perceived qualities: - pitch and loudness
    • Example: the blob is a red truck
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7
Q

Define psychophysics.

A

The study of relationships between physical characteristics of a stimuli and the sensory experience produced by said stimuli
- Example: connection between noises, pitch, and a person’s ability to hear them

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8
Q

What are the basic units of sound and the process of hearing?

A
  1. Sound: the vibration of air/other medium produced by an object
  2. Amplitude/Intensity: the overall loudness/volume of a sound
  3. Frequency: the pitch of a sound; determined by the frequency of sound waves
  4. Pitch: our psychological perception of the frequency of a sound
  5. Pure tone: a sound with only one frequency; a complex sound mixes different frequencies
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9
Q

What is the purpose/function of the Pinna?

A

The pinna basically our ear, it filters and amplifies sounds by funneling from the larger area of the pinna to the smaller area of the auditory canal

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10
Q

What is the purpose/function of the ear drum?

A

Within the middle ear, the ear drum aids in auditory processes, it is the seperation between the outer and middle ear

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11
Q

What is the purpose/function of the tympanic membrane?

A

The tympanic membrane is a thin membrane stretched across the end of the auditory canal, its viribations transmits sound energy the ossicles

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12
Q

What is the purpose/function of ossicles?

A

Within the beginning of the middle ear, the ossicles are tiny bones that vibrate in accordance with the tympanic membrane which goes to the cochlea

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13
Q

What is the purpose/function of the eustchian tube?

A

Within the middle ear, the eustchian tube connects to the middle ear and the back of the mouth, which equalizes the air pressure of the middle ear with the outside world

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14
Q

What is the purpose/function of the cochlea?

A

Within the inner ear, the cochlea processes the pitch/intensity of a sound

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15
Q

What is the purpose/function of the vestibular canal?

A

Within the inner ear, the vestibular cana; is the entry point of sound energy into the cochlea, connecting to the tympanic canal

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16
Q

What is the purpose/function of the tympanic canal and helicotrema?

A

Within the inner ear, the tympanic canal and the helicotrema cover the cochlear canal (contains auditory receptors)

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17
Q

What is the purpose/function of the organ of coti?

A

Following the cochlear canal, the vibrations pass into the organ of corti which aids in sound analysis

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18
Q

What is the purpose/function of the basilar membrane?

A

Working alongside the cochlea, the basilar membrane has inner and outer hair cells
- Inner hair cells: sensory cells, receiving up to 95% of the auditory neurons, providing the majority of audio information
- Outer hair cells: increase the cochlea’s sensitivity through amplifying sound output and sharpening the frequency to peak vibration

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19
Q

Define the importance of the primary auditory complex.

A

The primary auditory complex is the first brain region to receive and process auditory innformation. This plays a crucial role in speech, language processing, and identifying fundamental sound elements such as pitch and intensity

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20
Q

What is an audiogram?

A

A visual representation of an individual’s hearing abilities across a range of frequencies

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21
Q

How does the brain begin to perceive audio?

A

The cilia within the brain regulates how the hair cells release neurotransmitters through movement

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22
Q

How do sound waves become perception?

A

Sound → Tympanic membrane → Ossicles → Cochlea → Hair cells → Auditory nerve → Brain

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23
Q

What are the basic functions of the dorsal and ventral pathways in the brain for auditory function?

A
  1. Ventral: what, object recognition and visual perception
  2. Dorsal: where and how, spatial location and movement
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24
Q

Which areas of the brain (ventral/dorsal) identify familiar vs unfamiliar environmental sounds?

A

Familiar: dorsal
Unfamiliar: ventral

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25
How is the primary auditory complex organized? Explain.
Tonotopically organized, meaning, depending on the pitch, different cortical neurons are activated - The more inner ear the pitch reaches, the higher the pitch is
26
Define the volley principle.
When a frequency is too high (pitch), a single neuron cannot be relied on. A series of neurons works together to send a ‘volley’ of signals
27
How do we process complex sounds (multiple stimuli at once)?
Fourier analysis: a mathematical method of breaking down complex noises into specific sources - Example: sitting in the living room and processing the noise of the fan, a cat purring, a radio playing, and a person speaking
28
How do we make sense of sounds in context (location, proximity, who is being addressed)?
**How** - Difference in intensity: high frequencies and sound shadow - Difference in time of arrival: low frequencies and sound delay **Within the Brain** - The brain’s neurons compare the arrival time of sound waves and determine the sound’s location
29
Explain how the brain's sensory and motor systems are contralaterally organized.
When processing auditory information, the cochlea sends information through many areas of the brain before arriving at the auditory cortex. - Typically this information is sent to the opposite hemisphere: **Contralaterally** - Occasionally, auditory information remains on the same side as the cochlea: **Ipsilateral**
30
Disorders of speech: Define broca's aphasia.
An individual with an inability to create grammatical, proper speech, though these individual's can understand another person speaking.
31
Disorders of speech: Define agraphia.
An individual with an inability to write due to impaired language center output to motor syste,s - Damaged area: angular gyrus
32
Disorders of speech: Define Wernicke's aphasia.
An individual who is able to produce grammatical sentences but they do not have any meaning/context (word salad)
33
Disorders of speech: Define dyslexia.
An individual with an impaired ability to read due to imbalanced visual inputs - Damaged areas: planum temporale equal/larger on right side, or neurons lack orderly arrangment
34
What are the steps required for the brain to process language?
1. Auditory cortex: verbal input begins here 2. Wernicke's area: interprets the meaning of the verbal input 3. Visual cortex and angular gyrus: process input from wernicke's area 4. Broca's area: when a verbal output is required, wernicke's area signals to broca's area to produce speech
35
Define mirror neurons and their connection to language.
Definition: mirror neurons fire when we complete an action as well as when we watch someone else complete the same acion Connection to language: theorized to be a precursor to the development of human language, first found in monkeys and later discovered in humans. These could explain how we emulated sound, expressions, and gestures effectively enough to create language
36
What is the funtion of photoreceptors?
Photoreceptors are specialized light-detecting cells
37
How do photoreceptors work within the retina?
Light energy is transduced by two types of photoreceptors w/in the retina which trigger neurons to form the optic nerve 1. Rods: perceive contrast and motion (WAY MORE OF THEM) 2. Cones: perceive detail and color
38
How do the sodium channels react differently based on light levels?
- When photoreceptors perceive light: sodium channels close, decreasing the release of glutamate - When photoreceptors perceive darkness: sodium channels open, increasing the release of glutamate
39
What is the function of the pupil, iris, cornea, lens, retina, and optic nerve in light perception?
Pupil: regulates the amount of light entering the eye Iris: by controlling the size of the pupil, it regulates the amount of light entering the eye Cornea: bends light to help the eye focus Lens: Absords and focuses incoming light to the retina Retina: A light sensitve layer, that turn the light into electrical signals through photoreceptors Optic Nerve: Also aids in changing light into electrical signals for the brain
40
How does visual information process through the eyes to the primary visual area of the cortex?
1. Retina: takes visual input 2. Optic nerves: takes written visual input from the retinas to the opposite brain region's visual area of the thalamus' 3. Primary visual area of the cortex: receives the information from the visual area of the thalamus
41
What are the functions of the dorsal and ventral pathways in terms of visual processing?
**Dorsal:** Where pathway, better at perceiving movement and spatial information (partietal region/back top) **Ventral:** What pathway, better at object identification, color vision, and perceiving detail (temporal lobes, bottom sides)
42
Define the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing.
Bottom-up: begins with raw sensory information to process the scene Top-down: using past experiences, an individual processes the scene
43
Define form vision.
Form vision is how an individual processes our surroundings - Using strict edges, light vs dark, hues and colors we create a rich perception of our surroundings
44
Define perceptual organization.
1. Identifying edges 2. Identifying regions bounded by seen edges 3. Determining what objects owns the boundaries (dog vs beed) 4. Grouping similar regions/perceptual groupings (dog, cat, rabbit = mammal) 5. Handling missing/occluded sections by determing what to fill the with.perceptual interpolation
45
What is the function of the fusiform gyrus?
A specialized area of vision, the fusiform gyrus is an expert at recognizing faces
46
Define the two recognized theories of color vision.
1. Trichromatic theory: since individuals have three types of cones, then all colors come from a combination of the cones 2. Opponent process theory: individuals have three cones, but there are four primary colors (green) **Both are deemed correct**
47
Define lateral inhibition.
A phenomenon in which neurons acitivity inhibits the acitvity of its neighbors What does this do? enhances the contrast in brightness and aids in defining an objects edge - Overworking this feature causes the: mach band illusion and the hermann grid illusion
48
How do simple and complex cells process visual information?
**Simple:** responds to a line/edge at a specific location and orientation, aligning with a particular place on the retina **Complex:** responds to the lines edge that continues to move from specific locations and orientations, as long as it maintains lose association with the retina
49
Disorders of speech: Define alexia.
An individual with an inability to read due to impaired visual input to the language centers - Damaged area: angular gyrus
50
Define the magnocellular system vs the parvocellular system.
**Overall:** two major visual pathways from the eye to the brain which each process different information **Magnocellular/dorsal:** where pathway, detects movement, location, and depth **Parvocellular/ventral:** what pathway, identifies fine details, color
51
Disorders in vision: define visual agnosia
Visual agnosia is the inability to identify objects - Damaged area: temporal cortex
52
Disorders in vision: define prosopagnosia
A individual with an inability to recognize faces, also typically is in addition to visual agnosia - Damage origins: stroke, CO2 poisoning, alzheimer's disease
53
Disorders in vision: define blindsight
An individual who can respond to visual stimuli but cannot consciosly experience/no tre perception
54
Disorders in vision: define color agnosia
An individual with an inability to see/identify color
55
Disorders in vision: define movement agnosia
An individual with an inability to detect and follow motion
56
Disorders in vision: define visual neglect
An individual with an inability to perceive half of their visual field - Damage origin: right-hemisphere stroke, occasionally left-hemisphere stroke
57
Disorders in vision: define synethesia
An individual who's sensory modalities have crosed - Example: when they see fall leaves they smell fried chicken
58
Disorders in vision: define color blindness
An individual who has poor or absent responses from one or more cone types, resulting in an inability to distringuish between certain colors
59
Define color constancy.
The ability to recognize the so-called natural color of an object, despite variations in brightness and wavelength of illumincation - Example: a red apple looks red on a cloudy day, sunny day, or rainy day
60
Define synesthesia
A condition in which an individual's sense will trigger an experience of another sense/concept that evokes an unrelated sensory experience
61
Define proprioception.
The sense that tells us where our limbs are in space
62
Identify the skin receptors and their functions.
1. Free nerve endings: simple processes at the ends of neuronal dendrites, detect temperature and pain 2. Encapsulated receptors: complex processes that are enclosed within the membrane, detects touch
63
Define somatosensation.
The wide range of tactile experiences including: touch, pressure, vibration, texture and perceiving temperature and pain - How? specialized recptors in the skin and other tissues
64
Define the purpose and function of the vestibular system.
Aids in maintaining balance, also provides information about the location of the head - Location: within the auditory system but linked closely with the visual system -Uses: spatial orientation, coordination,
65
State the result of discrepancies between the vestibular and visual systems and define vector motion.
When there are discrepancies, an individual can feel motion sickness and involuntary urge to pruge 'ingested neurotoxins' - Vector motion: the false feeling of motion due to visual movement
66
What are dermatomes?
Dermatomes are laterally cut sections of a person corresponding to a specific spinal nerve
67
Define feature detectors.
Mechanisms within the brain that aids in identifying, processing, and recognizing faces - Aids in emotion and facial recognition
68
What is the gate theory of pain?
A theory that pressure signals arriving in the brain trigger inibitory messages that travel down the spinal cord to close a neural 'gate' to the pain pathways
69
Define the periaqueducal gray.
A brain stem structure surrounding the cerebral ventricles containing a large number of endorphin synapses
70
What is the function periaqueductal gray for pain?
Pain releases the endorphins in the periaqueductal gray
71
Define the different types of muscles and their functions.
1. Skeletal muscles: muscles that move the body and limbs, fatigue if overused 2. Smooth muscles: muscles that produce rythmic contraction in the internal organs 3. Cardiac muscles: non-fatiguin muscles that make up the heart 4. Antagonistic muscles: muscle that produce opposite movement at a joint
72
What are the functions of the parts of the basal ganglia?
The basal ganglia uses information from the primary and secondary motor areas as well as the somatosensory cortex to integrate and smooth movements, sending output directly to the primary and supplemtary motor areas. It also sends the output to the premotor cortex through the thalamus 1. Canduate nucleus: voluntary output regulation, procedural learning 2. Putamen: motor control, coordination of executive action 3. Globus pallidus: motor output regulation, inhibition of unwanted movement
73
Disorders of the body senses: define muscular dystrophy
Muscle degeneration and extreme weakness, mostly males
74
Disorders of the body senses: define myasthenia gravis
A disorder characterized by muscle weakness caused by reduced numbers of acetylocholine receptors
75
Disorders of the body senses: define polio
A contagious virus that targets and destroys the spinal alpha motor neuros resulting in muscle weakness and paralysis
76
Disorders of the body senses: define amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Degeneration of the ACH motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain stem
77
Disorders of the body senses: define huntington's disease
A dominant mutation in the huntington gene resulting in the degeneration of the motor system and cell loss. Characterizing by disease and cognitive and emotional deficits
78
Disorders of the body senses: define multiple schlerosis (MS)
A motor disorder with many symptoms, caused by the deteriation of myelin and neuron loss in the central nervous system, reuslting in muscles weakness, tremors, pain, and impoaired coordination, urinary incotinence, and visual problems
79
Disorders of the body senses: define parkinson's disease
Motor tremors, rigidity, loss of balance and coordination, struggle in moving and specifically initiating movement - Caused by: DA neurons degenerating - Treated by: L-DOPA, DA agonists, MAO-B inhibiors and anticholinergic medications
80
How do neurons communicate through voltage-gated channels?
Neurons communicate through transmitting electrical signals/action potentials along the cell membrane
81

Biopsychology (4 decks)

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