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idek Flashcards

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1
Q

Consciousness

A

our subjective awareness of ourselves & our environment

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2
Q

Cognitive neuroscience

A

interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (thinking, knowing, remembering, & communicating)

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3
Q

Dual processing

A

principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious & unconscious tracks - affects our perceptions, memory, attitudes, & other cognitions

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4
Q

Blindsight

A

condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

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5
Q

Parallel processing

A

processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem at the same time

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6
Q

Sequential processing

A

processing one aspect of a stimulus or problem at a time; generally used to process new information or solve difficult problems

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7
Q

Sleep

A

periodic, natural loss of consciousness - distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation

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8
Q

Circadian rhythm

A

our biological clock; regular body rhythms (for example, of temperature & wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle

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9
Q

Sleep Cycle

A

Cycle through distinct sleep stages every 90 minutes or so while sleeping

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10
Q

NREM sleep

A

non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep

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11
Q

Alpha waves

A

relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

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12
Q

NREM (Stage) 1

A

Very brief & light (easy to wake up)

Hallucinations

Hypnagogic sensations

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13
Q

Hallucinations

A

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

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14
Q

Hypnagogic sensations:

A

bizarre experiences, such as jerking or a feeling of falling or floating weightlessly, while transitioning to sleep (also called hypnic sensations)

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15
Q

NREM (Stage) 2

A

Lasts around 20 minutes, deeper than NREM 1 (but can still be awakened easily)

Sleep spindles

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16
Q

Sleep spindles

A

bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity associated with memory processing

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17
Q

NREM (Stage) 3

A

Deep sleep, lasts for roughly 30 minutes, but gets shorter as the night goes on through each cycle

Delta waves

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18
Q

Delta waves

A

large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

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19
Q

REM sleep

A

rapid eye movement; recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur; also known as paradoxical sleep, because muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active

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20
Q

REM rebound

A

tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

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21
Q

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

A

pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm; in response to light, the SCN adjusts melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness

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22
Q

Sleep debt

A

total sleep lost

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23
Q

Function of Sleep

A

Protected ancestors from predators
Restores the body and brain
Consolidates memories
Feed creative thinking
Supports growth
Conserves energy

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24
Q

Impact of Sleep Loss

A

Decrease cognitive performance at work and school
Affect mood - angrier and more conflict prone
Affects appetite and weight maintenance
Suppress the immune system
Slows reaction time

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25
Q

Sensation

A

process by which our sensory receptors & nervous system receive & represent stimulus energies from our environment

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26
Q

Perception

A

process by which our brain organizes & interprets sensory information, enabling us to recognize objects & events as meaningful
People with prosopagnosia, their brain can perceive all other aspects - hair, physique, gait - but cannot make sense of the face

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27
Q

Bottom-up processing

A

information processing that begins with the sensory receptors & works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information (also called feature detection)

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28
Q

Top-down processing

A

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience & expectations

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29
Q

Transduction

A

conversion of one form of energy into another; in sensation, the transforming of physical energy, such as sights, sounds, & smells, into neural impulses the brain can interpret

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30
Q

Absolute threshold

A

minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

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31
Q

Signal detection theory

A

theory predicting how & when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise); assumes there is no single absolute threshold & that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, & alertness

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32
Q

Subliminal

A

stimuli that falls below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

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33
Q

Difference threshold

A

minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time (also known as just noticeable difference [jnd])

34
Q

Weber’s law

A

principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)
Percentage varies depends on the stimulus - two objects must differ in weight by 2% to notice a change

35
Q

Sensory adaptation

A

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

36
Q

Wavelength

A

distance from the peak of one light wave to the peak of the next

37
Q

Hue

A

dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light (color that we see)
Short wavelength = high frequency (bluish colors)
Long wavelength = low frequency (reddish colors)
Medium wavelength = medium frequency (greenish colors)

38
Q

Intensity

A

amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness

39
Q

Cornea

A

eye’s clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil & lens, bends light to help focus

40
Q

Pupil

A

adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

41
Q

Iris

A

ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil & controls the size of the pupil opening (dilates or constricts the pupil to let in more or less light; also responds to mood)

42
Q

Lens

A

transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

43
Q

Accommodation

A

process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus images of near or far objects on the retina

44
Q

Retina

A

light-sensitive back inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods & cones plus layers of neurons that begin the process of visual information

45
Q

Rods

A

retinal receptors that detect black, white, & gray, & are sensitive to movement; rods are necessary for peripheral & twilight vision, when cones don’t respond, 120 million rods

46
Q

Cones

A

retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina & that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; cones detect fine detail & give rise to color sensations, 6 million cones

47
Q

Fovea

A

central point of focus in the retina, around which cones are clustered

48
Q

Optic nerve

A

nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

49
Q

Blind spot

A

point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there
Optic nerves cross at the optic chiasm, then pass through the visual area of the thalamus, which projects the messages to the visual cortex of the occipital lobes

50
Q

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

A

theory that the retina contains three different types of color receptors - one most sensitive to red, one to green, & one to blue - which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color (explains color blindness)

51
Q

Opponent-process theory

A

theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, & black-white) enable color vision; for example, some cells are stimulated by green & inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red & inhibited by green (explains afterimages)

52
Q

Feature detectors

A

nerve cells in the brain’s visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

53
Q

Audition

A

the sense or act of hearing

54
Q

Amplitude

A

Height of sound waves determines the loudness

55
Q

Frequency

A

number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second) - measured in hertz, determines the pitch
Short waves have high frequency (high-pitched sounds)
Long waves have low frequency (low-pitched sounds)

56
Q

Malleus/hammer, Anvil/incus, Stirrup/stapes

A

set of small bones in the middle ear, located between the eardrum & the cochlea, that concentrate the vibrations in the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

57
Q

Inner ear

A

innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, & vestibular sacs

58
Q

Cochlea

A

coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid tigger nerve impulses

59
Q

Basilar membrane

A

located in the cochlea, covered in hair cells (cilia), which bend with vibrations and trigger neural impulses to the auditory nerve

60
Q

Auditory nerve

A

interconnected axons which carry neural message to the thalamus then to the auditory cortex of the temporal lobes

61
Q

Sensorineural hearing loss

A

most common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerve; also called nerve deafness
Cannot be reversed, but hearing can be semi-restored with a cochlear implant

62
Q

Conduction hearing loss

A

less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea (bones of the middle ear)

63
Q

Place theory

A

theory that links the pitch that we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated (also called place coding)
Place theory explains how we hear high-pitched sounds but not low-pitched

64
Q

Frequency theory

A

theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense pitch (also called temporal coding)

65
Q

Volley theory

A

neural cells can alternate firing, achieving a combined frequency above 1000 waves per second

66
Q

Touch

A

our tactile sense, helps development from the moment we are born

67
Q

Touch receptors

A

theses are sensitive to pressure, warmth, cold, & pain - other skin sensations are variations of these four touch sensations

68
Q

Gate-control theory

A

theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain; the “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers, & is closed by activity in large fibers or by information coming from the brain

69
Q

Endorphin production (genetic)

A

people with red hair typically have a higher pain tolerance

70
Q

Phantom limb sensations

A

brain creates pain when there is a limb missing by misinterpreting & amplifying spontaneous CNS activity

71
Q

Memory of pain

A

we overlook pain’s duration, but our memory snapshots record pain’s peak moment & how much pain is felt at the end

72
Q

Social-cultural influences

A

Perceive more pain when others also seem to be experiencing pain

73
Q

Controlling Pain

A

Placebos can help with pain (expectation of pain relief), distraction can reduce pain (counting backward after getting a shot)

74
Q

Gustation

A

sense of taste (chemical sense); six taste sensations that have evolutionary benefits
Sweet - tells us the food is an energy source
Salty - tells us the food has essential sodium
Sour - tells us the food is potentially toxic acid
Bitter - tells us the food is potentially poisonous
Umami - tells us the food has protein to grow & repair tissues
Oleogustus - tells us the food has fats for energy, insulation, & cell growth

75
Q

Taste receptors (buds)

A

reproduce themselves every 1-2 weeks; number of taste buds decrease as you age

76
Q

Olfaction

A

sense of smell (chemical sense)

77
Q

Olfactory receptors

A

cells at the top of the nasal cavity, receive stimuli, activate axons traveling to the brain
Smell is the only sense to bypass the thalamus
Smell and memory are closely linked due to location of organs in the brain/head

78
Q

Sensory interaction

A

principle that one sense can influence another, as when smell of food influences taste
Smell + texture + taste = flavor

79
Q

Kinesthesis

A

our movement sense; our system for sensing the position & movement of individual body parts, millions of sensors in muscles, tendons, joints all over body called proprioceptors

80
Q

Vestibular sense

A

our balance sense; our sense of body movement & position that enables our sense of balance, controlled by semicircular canals and vestibular sacs

81
Q

Embodied cognition

A

influence of bodily sensations, gestures, & other states on cognitive preferences & judgements

82
Q

Synesthesia

A

stimulation of one sense triggers an experience with another
Hearing music may trigger a sense of color or taste associated with certain notes

AP Psych (14 decks)

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