Foundational Concept 6A! Flashcards

Sensory Processing, Vision, Hearing, Other Senses, Perception

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1
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

A weight lifter is just able to tell the difference between 100 and 125 pounds. According to Weber’s law, the lifter would notice a difference between:
1. 125 and 150 pounds
2. 5 and 6 pounds
3. 25 and 35 pounds
4. 225 and 275 pounds

Why?

A

3) 25 and 35 pounds

Weber’s law posits that thresholds are proportional. 100 to 125 pounds is a 25% increase. 25 and 35 pounds is a 40% increase while the rest are under 25%

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2
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

A man is at a party with his wife. There is loud music in the background and the location is crowded. While listening to the music he hears what he believes to be his wife’s laughter and turns around to investigate. The man is exhibiting:
1. Feature detection
2. Bottom-up processing
3. Vestibular sense
4. Signal Detection

A

4) Signal Detection

Signal detection is the ability to discern a specific noise within a field of many noises.

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3
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

A woman is at a restaurant and orders a spicy entrée. After the first bite, she experiences burning in her mouth and becomes concerned that her food is too hot for her. The next few bites are similarly uncomfortable, but after a while the spiciness seems to subside somewhat, and by the end of the meal, she doesn’t notice the spice level. The end of the meal experience is best described as:
1. Adaptation
2. Signal detection
3. A difference threshold
4. Pain perception

Why?

A

1) Adaptation

Experiencing the stimulus multiple times renders the stimulus barely perceptable - adaptation.

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4
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Which sensory receptors send signals in respond to tissue damage?
1. Chemoreceptors
2. Nociceptors
3. Osmoreceptors
4. Photoreceptors

What are each of the sensory receptors responsible for?

A

2) Nociceptors

Chemoreceptors respond to chemicals - volatile, aerolised, and dissolved. Nociceptors respond to pain. Osmoreceptors respond to changes in blood osmolarity. Photoreceptors respond to light.

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5
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Which part of the eye is responsible for gathering and focusing light?
1. Cornea
2. Pupil
3. Iris
4. Retina

What are the responsibilites of the other options?

A

1) Cornea

The iris and pupil are responsible for regulating the amount of light coming into the eye but not in focusing it. The retina tranduces light into electrical signals.

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6
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

A man is looking for change to do laundry. He decides to look under the seats of his car. He uses a flashlight but is still unable to get more than an obscured look at the space below. There are various items such as wrappers and papers, but the man sees the glint of silver from an object laying flat and determines it to be a coin. To make this determination, this man used:
1. Signal detection
2. Sensory adaptation
3. Feature detection
4. Kinesthetic sense

A

3) Feature Detection

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7
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Upon which part of the eye are images projected and transduced into electrical signals?
1. Cornea
2. Pupil
3. Retina
4. Lens

A

4) Retina

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8
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

The ability to sense stimuli against one’s own skin is known as:
1. Somatosensation
2. Kinesthetic sense
3. Vestibular sense
4. Chemoreception

Define the other options

A

1) Somatosensation

Kinesthetic sense is the ability to tell where one’s body is in space. Vestibular sense is the detection of linear and rotational acceleration in the middle ear. Chemoreception is the sensing of chemicals in the environment

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9
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Which of the following is not a taste modality?
1. Sweet
2. Floral
3. Savory
4. Bitter

A

2) Floral

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10
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Which of the following best describes the difference between endolymph and perilymph?
1. Endolymph is found in the vestibule, while perilymph is found in the cochlea
2. Endolymph is found in the cochlea, while perilymph is found in the vestibule
3. Endolymph is found in the membranous labyrinth, while perilymph is found in the bony labyrinth
4. Endolymph is found in the bony labyrinth, while perilymph is found in the membranous labyrinth

What are endolymph and perilymph?

A

3) Endolymph is found in the membranous labyrinth, while perilymph is found in the bony labyrinth

Endolymph is the potassium-rich fluid that bathes the hair cells of the inner ear, which are found in within the membranous labyrinth. Perilymph is found in the space between the membranous labyrinth and the bony labyrinth

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11
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Chemicals that compel behaviour after binding with chemoreceptors are known as:
1. Pheromones
2. Olfactory Receptors
3. Somatostimuli
4. Papillae

A

1) Pheromones

Pheremones are volatile chemicales given off by organisms that bind with olfactory chemoreceptors and influence behaviour.

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12
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Prolonged vitamin B deficiency can be associated with the subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord. Patients with this disease have difficulty walking because they lose the ability to feel where their feet are in space. This represents a loss of:
1. Vestibular sense
2. Kinesthetic sense
3. Parallel processing
4. Feature detection

A

2) Kinesthetic Sense

Proprioception refers to the ability to tell where body parts are in three-dimensional. The sensors for which are found predominantly om the muscles and joints. Loss of vestibular sense would also cause difficulty walking but this would be due to a sense of dizziness or vertigo, not an inability to feel one’s feet.

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13
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

A person proofreading a paper reads over a long, misspelled word in which an “e” is replaced with an “o”. The person does not recognise the error and reads the word as correct. Which of the following could explain why the proofreader read the word as a correct?
1. Parallel processing
2. Feature detection
3. Top-down processing
4. Bottom-up processing

A

3) Top-down processing

The proofreader used expectations and recognition, which led to missing a detail.

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14
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

A corporate logo uses five unconnected angles equally spaced in a circular fashion. When viewed, it appears to be a star. Which of the following is the logo artist using to create a complete pattern to viewers?
1. Bottom-up processing
2. Top-down processing
3. Gate theory
4. Gesalt principles

A

4) Gesalt Principles

Geslat principles are the basis for many optical illusions and include the tendancy of people to see continuity even when lines are connected. Specifically, this logo appears to rely on the law of closure to create one complete star from five non-touching angles.

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15
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

A patient comes in with a tumour of the pituitary gland, which grows upwards into the optic chiasm and causes a visual field defect. The most likely defect from compression of the optic chiasm is:
1. Complete blindness in one eye
2. Loss of the upper visual fields in both eyes
3. Loss of the nasal visual fields in both eyes
4. Loss of the temporal visual fields in both eyes

How does the lens play into this?

A

4) Loss of the temporal visual fields in both eyes

The optic chiasm houses the crossing fibers from each optic nerve. Specificallt, the fibers coming from the nasal half of the retina in each eye cross in the chiasm to join the optic chiasm to join the optic tract on the opposite side. The lens of the eye causes inversion, so images on the nasal half of the retina actually originate in the temporal visual field.

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16
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Sensation

What is the more appropriate term?

A

The conversion of information from the internal and external environment into electrical signals in the nervous system.

Transduction

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17
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Perception

A

The processing of sensory information to make sense of its significance

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18
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Sensory Receptor

List seven common sensory receptors

A

Nerves that respond to stimuli and trigger electrical signals

Photoreceptors, hair cells, nociceptors, thermoreceptors, osmoreceptors, olfactory receptors, and taste receptors

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19
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Definition and Function: Sensory Ganglia

A

Collections of cell bodies outside of the CNS that synaptically relay signals between neurons

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20
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Projection Areas

A

Areas of the brain that further analyse specific sensory signals

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21
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Threshold

Name three key threshold levels

A

The minimum stimulus that is needed to cause a change in signal transfuction

Absolute threshold, threshold of conscious perception, difference threshold

22
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Absolute Threshold

A

The minimum of stimulus energy that is needed to activate a sensory system

23
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Threshold of Conscious Perception

A

The minimum of stimulus energy that will create a signal large enough in size and duration to be brought to awareness

24
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Difference Threshold

What is the alternative name?

A

The minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli before one can percieve the difference

Just-noticiable difference (jnd)

25
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Weber’s Law

A

The jnd for a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus, and that this proportion is constant over most of the range of possible stimuli

26
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Signal Detection Theory

How does this relate to response bias?

A

The effects of nonsensory factors, such as experiences, motives, and expectations, on the perception of stimuli

In a signal detection experiment, a stimulus may or may not be given, and the subject is asked to state whether or not the stimulus was given. There are four possible outcomes: hits, misses, false alarms, or correct negatives.

27
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Adaptation

A

The decrease in response to a stimulus over time

28
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Function: Cornea

A

Gathers and filters incoming light

29
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Function and Mechanism: Iris

A

Divides the front of the eye into the anterior and posterior chamber. Contains two muscles, the dilator and constrictor pupillae, which open and close the pupil.

30
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Function and Mechanism: Lens

A

Refracts incoming light to focus it on the retina and is held in place by suspensory ligaments connected to ciliary muscle

31
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Function and Mechanism: Ciliary Body

A

Produce aqueous humour (supplies nutrition and gives the eye its shape), which drains through the canal if Schlemm

32
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Function and Mechanism: Retina

A

Contains rods (light/dark) and cones (colour). Cones are mostly found in thr maculus and the center is the fovea, which only contains cones

33
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Synapses involving rods and cones

A

Rods and cones synapse on bipolar cells, which synapse on ganglion cells. Integration of the sifnals from ganglion cells and edge-sharpening is performed by horizontal and amacrine cells.

34
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Which three objects support the eye?

A

Vitreous, sclera, and choroid

35
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Outline the visual pathway

Function of each object

A

eye -> optic nerves -> optic chiasm -> optic tracts -> lateral geneticulate nucleus (thalamus) -(visual radiations)> visual cortex (occipital lobe)

Eye recieves visual information. Optic nerves are responsible for transmitting optical signals. Optic chiasm contains fibers crossing from the temporal visual fields of both eyes. LGN is the primary visual cortex. Visual radiations run through the temporal and parietal lobes to the visual cortex in the occipital lobe.

36
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Parallel Processing

What cells are involved in parallel processing?

A

The ability to simultaneously analyse and combine information regarding colour, shape, and motion.

Colour is detected by cones. Shape is detected by parvocellular cells (high spatial resolution, low temporal resolution). Motion is detected by magnocellular cells (low spatial resolution, high temporal resolution).

37
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Components (3) of the outer ear

What are their functions?

A

Pinna (auricle), external auditory canal, and tympanic membrane

38
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Components (5) of the middle ear

What are their functions?

A

Ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes), oval window, eustachian tube

39
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Components (10) of the inner ear

What are their functions?

A

Bony labyrinth, membranous labyrinth, perilymph, endolymph, cochlea, utricle, succule, and three semicircular canals

40
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Outline the auditory pathway

A

Cochlea -> vestibulocochlear nerve -> medial geniculate nucleus (thalamus) -> auditory cortex (temporal lobe)

41
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

What are the superior olive and inferior colliculus each involved in?

A

The superior olive localises sound and the inferior colliculus is involved in the startle reflex

42
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Outline the olfactory pathway

What is smell?

A

Olfactory chemoreceptors/nerves (olfactory epithelum) -> olfactory bulb -> olfactory tract -> higher-order brain areas e.g., limbic system.

43
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define taste and its mechanism

Define its five modalities

A

The detection of dissolved by taste buds in the papillae

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (savory)

44
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Definition of somatosensation and its four modalities

A

The combination of four touch modalities: pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature

45
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Two-Point Threshold

A

The minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli

46
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Physiological Zero

A

The normal temperature of skin to which objects are compared to determine if they feel ‘cold’ or ‘warm’.

47
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Gate Theory of Pain

A

Pain sensation is reduced when other somatosensory signals are present

48
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Proprioception

A

The ability to tell where one’s body is in three-dimensional space, also known as kinesthetic sense.

49
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Data-Driven (Bottom-Up) Processing

Name an advantage and a drawback

A

Recognition of objects by parallel processing and feature detection

It is less prone to mistakes but is slower.

50
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Conceptually Driven (Top-Down) Processing

Name an advantage and a drawback

A

Recognition of objects by memories and expectations, with little attention to detail

It is faster but more prone to mistakes

51
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Perceptual Organisation

List four key perceptions

A

The synthesis of stimuli to make sense of the world

Depth, form, motion, and constancy

52
Q

MCAT Behavioural Sciences - Sensory Processing

Define Gesalt Principles

Define six key Gesalt principles

A

The ways that the brain can infer missing parts of a picture when a picture is incomplete

Law of proximity, similarity, good continuation, closure, pragnanz, and subjective contours