introduction to sensation and perception Flashcards
Lecture 2/22
define sensation
registering stimulation of the senses
define perception
processing and interpreting sensory information
define cognition
using perceived information to learn, classify and comprehend
fundamental concepts - electromagnetic energy
links to eyes
photoreceptors
primary visual cortex
fundamental concepts - chemical composition
links to tongue and nose
chemoreceptors
gustatory cortex and olfactory cortex
fundamental concepts - air pressure waves
links to ears
mechanoreceptors
auditory cortex
fundamental concepts - tissue distortion
links to touch/ nerves
mechanoreceptors and thermoreceptors
somatosensory cortex
fundamental concepts - gravity and acceleration
links to body/ movement
e.g. handstand
mechanoreceptors
temporal cortex
define transduction
conversion of environmental energy to nerve signals
feedback reception
a top down process - going backwards through the sections below. (not via thalamus for smell)
environmental stimulus, receptors, intermediate neurons, thalamus neuron,
primary visual cortex, secondary associative cortex, higher cortex
bottom up processing
perception starts with the physical characteristics of stimuli and basic sensory processes
e.g. feature detectors
gibson - direct perception 1950
links to bottom up processing
the information coming from sensory receptors is enough for perception to be rich and detained - complex mechanisms are not necessary
the environment contains sufficient cues to provide context to aid perception
e.g. texture can indicate depth
direct perception
gibson 1950s
gibson 1950
direct perception
top down processing
the perceiver constructs their understanding of external stimuli based on their past experience and knowledge
gregory 1966
links to top down processing
“perception is not determined simply by stimulus patterns; rather it is a dynamic searching for the best interpretation of the available data”
how do we investigate sensation and perception
- straining
- single cell recordings = electrophysiology
- functional magnetic resonance imaging = FMRI
- Lesion studies e.g. phineas cage
- event-related potential (ERP) from electroencephalogram (EEG)
- Optical imaging / near infa-red spectroscopy (NIRS)
- psychophysics
- illusions and introsception
- computational modelling