LCT8: Sensation

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

the processes by which our sense organs receive information (energy) from the environment

Question 2

Sensations are…

Answer 2

simple mindless things that happens

Question 3

Transduction

Answer 3

process through which stimuli reaching the receptors are converted into neural impulses … OR … how physical signals from the environment are changed into the neural signals sent to the brain

Question 4

Psychophysics

Answer 4

the study of the relationship between physical stimulation and subjective sensations

Question 5

Absolute threshold

Answer 5

the smallest amount of stimulation that can be detected

Question 6

Difference threshold

Answer 6

“just noticeable difference” (JND) - the smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected

Question 7

Signal Detection Theory

Answer 7

theory that focuses on making decisions about stimuli when uncertain - detecting a stimulus is jointly determined by the signal and the subject’s response criterion

Question 8

Sensory Adaptation

Answer 8

a decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation

Question 9

Basic Sensory Processes

Answer 9

• Vision
• Hearing
• Touch
• Taste
• Smell

Question 10

What kind of neural signals do the eyes transduce light waves into?

Answer 10

electro-chemical neural signals

Question 11

Where does transduction occur for our vision?

Answer 11

In the rods and cones

Question 12

Rodes and Cones

Answer 12

photoreceptor cells on the retina

Question 13

Rods

Answer 13

helps to see in low light, at night, and in peripheral vision - very sensitive, but gray-scale vision

Question 14

Cones

Answer 14

color vision - less numerous, need high light levels

Question 15

Where are the rods located?

Answer 15

outer portion of the retina

Question 16

Where are the cones located?

Answer 16

inner portion of the retina

Question 17

Ganglion Cells

Answer 17

send signals along their axons, which join to form the Optic Nerve

Question 18

Blind Spot

Answer 18

where the Optic Nerve leaves the eye (optic disk)

Question 19

What part of the eye initially captures light?

Answer 19

Photoreceptors

Question 20

What part of the retina is most sensitive in the dark?

Answer 20

Rods

Question 21

Optic Nerves

Answer 21

send signals from each eye to the thalamus

Question 22

Optic Chiasm

Answer 22

where Optic Nerves cross

Question 23

Visual Cortex

Answer 23

where visual information is transmitted to

Question 24

Visual Pathway - Stimulas to transduction

Answer 24

Light - cornea - pupil (iris) - lens - retina (rods/cones)

Question 25

Visual Pathway - Neural pathway

Answer 25

ganglion cells (optic nerves) - optic chiasm - thalamus - primary visual cortex

Question 26

Where does color come from?

Answer 26

wavelengths reflecting off of objects

Question 27

Sound waves vary in what?

Answer 27

Frequency (pitch) and amplitude (loudness)

Question 28

Where does auditory transduction occur?

Answer 28

hair cells in the basilar membrane

Question 29

Auditory localization

Answer 29

having two ears allows us to locate the source of a sound

Question 30

Haptic/Cutaneous sense

Answer 30

sensory receptors in the skin detect pressure, temperature, and pain

Question 31

Tactile stimulation

Answer 31

anything that makes contact with our skin

Question 32

Pain

Answer 32

crucial but complex sense

Question 33

Two types of pain transmission fibers

Answer 33

• Sharp pains = fast-acting A-delta fibers

- Dull pains = slow-acting C-fibers

Question 34

Gate Central Theory of Pain

Answer 34

neural “gates” in the spinal cord control perceptions of pain

Question 35

Two distinct neural pathways…

Answer 35

• to the somatosensory cortex (thalamus)

- to the emotional centers of the brain (limbic system)

Question 36

Taste receptors

Answer 36

respond to the chemical substances that produce at least five basic sensations : sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (savory)

Question 37

Olfactory bulb

Answer 37

brain center for smell

Question 38

Kinesthetic Sense

Answer 38

ability to judge where one’s limbs are in space (movement, orientation, posture)

Question 39

Vestibular sense

Answer 39

ability to compare one’s bodily position to the upright position (balance - and movement)

Question 40

Extrasensory Perception

Answer 40

some people think they have additional sensory systems that allow them to… know what other people are thinking, or to predict the future