Lecture 2: Basic elements of neurophysiology and psychophysics 1 Flashcards

Question

What is form - aristotle

Answer 1

Organization of matter Cannot be form without matter and cannot be matter without form

Answer 2

We do not have souls that exist independently from body - souls refer to functional organization of living matter No separate immaterial soul

Answer 3

Belief that knowledge primarily gained through reason and logical thought Independent of sensory experience

Answer 4

Belief that knowledge comes primarily from sensory experiences and observation fo the world

Answer 5

Rationalist Superiority of deductive reasoning over inductive reasoning

Answer 6

Drawing general conclusions from specific observations or evidence Conclusions are probable but not certain (weakness that Descartes sees) One need one observation to disprove theory

Answer 7

Observing that all swans seen so far are white = conclude all swans are white Not true, when England colonized Australia

Answer 8

Drawing specific conclusions from general principles or premises If premises are true, conclusion must be true Logical, more certain conclusions

Answer 9

All mammals have lungs, whale = mammal so whale must have lungs

Answer 10

Start with observation All humans are mortal Weakness = one immmortal human proves whole theory wrong

Answer 11

Works on syllogisms 2 premises = major and minor Major premise = all humans mortal, Descartes is a human = minor premise Conclusion = Descartes is mortal True if premises true, have to prove premises true

Answer 12

2 premises followed by a. Conclusion

Answer 13

If a first self evident premise could be identified then all knowledge could be deduced from it If find one self evident Truth = doesn’t need to be proven = can start chain of deductive reasoning Need to keep proving premise = infinite regress problem

Answer 14

Trying to get self evident truth = engage in preemptive skepticism Evil spirit deceives him —> thinks what is one thing he cannot deceive him of = I THINK THEREFORE I AM= NO DENying we are thinking, cannot be fooled into thinking we are thinking bc if we are fooled we are thinking Certain we having thought = self evident truth But no way to start any meaningful chain of deductive reasoning from it

Answer 15

Mind a blank slate (tabula rasa) unto which experience leaves its mark Everything comes from our senses

Answer 16

Info from our senses enters our mind as simple ideas (sensations - now called) for instance the simple idea of blue or a triangular shape - these simple ideas can then be assembled (combined) to form complex ideas - for instance the complex idea of blue triangle Thoughts and knwodlege grounded in sensory info being combine into more and more complex ideas, from outside in

Answer 17

1867-1927 Structuralism

Answer 18

Reverse process = complex thoughts —> simpler (sensory in nature) Through introspection - tried to go other way around, that is begin with complex or even abstract ideas and decompose them into their simpler elements

Answer 19

Introspecting on mental imagery associated with concept of meaning Titchener reported having image of he blue grey tip of a kind of scoop - digging into a dark mass of what appears to be material plastic - weird to us Similar to synesthesia kinda

Answer 20

Inference of a nesscary cause and effect (B has to follow A) relationship is invalid, but psychologically we believe their is cause and effect Cannot know for sure if white ball caused 4 ball yo move= maybe it was weird coincidence (perceiving white ball pushing 4 ball, own action causes 4 ball to go in, but if stick to immediate experience = perceive white ball hitting 4 ball) Senses do not tell you there is causation- we have tendency to believe causation

Answer 21

Idea of causation = beliefs caused by psychological habits (ex sun rises every morning so far so should expect it rise tmr again) Causation = psychological habit

Answer 22

Thought of course there is causation - one of the building blocks of humanity Used introspection = imagine removing all sensory content from thoughts, there are a certain number of concepts - like causality - that seem to exist independently from sensory experience

Answer 23

We may never really know thing in itself What provides sensory info

Answer 24

All we can know is impression that the noumenon exerts on our senses

Answer 25

Minds have to contribute innate knwoldge = a priori structures, in order to amke sense of our sensations = SPACE TIME, CAUSE AND EFFECT Exist in mind before sensory experience

Answer 26

Causation = have causal straucture in mind = allows us to interpret sensory info Space = do not perceive space, mind organizes it, retina = 2d, info conveyed = 3d so mind extracts 3d from it Time = exists, we perceive it but cannot feel or see = not by sensory experience, mind produces it by rearranging sensations in temporal order

Answer 27

Like condilac = if no sensory info nothing happens Diff - john Locke = but sensory info = meaning less unless have structures to give it sense

Answer 28

Can only know how world appears to use If doors or perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite 1757-1827 Sense and a priori structures provide lens = see world but never be able to know exactly how it is (noumenon)

Answer 29

Like Kant = didn’t think mind could be studied scientifically 1 There is no substance or space in inner observations, only Time = there is nothing to measure, nothing material only time when think = cannot measure objectively 2 Inner observation cannot be separated and recombined at will - cannot play with thoughts 3 Act of introspection changes content of mind = 3 issue WRONG WITH INTROSPECTION

Answer 30

SEnsory pathways conveying sensory info to Brain and motor pathways controlling msucles But didn’t understand what happens in between How brain controls = primary motor cortex —> motor neurons —> spinal cord —> movement Ex - Perceive temp

Answer 31

1795 - 1878

Answer 32

Proprioception = position of limbs and forces Jnd = smallest weight difference someone can Percieve - aka difference threshold

Answer 33

The just noticeable difference between the standard and comparison weight is always close to 1/40 (or 0.025) of the standard weight - Mathematiucal tool Ex = standard weight = 40g, comparison = 41 g = 1/40 400g, 410g = 10/400=1/40 = UNTILL THEY NOTICE DIFFERNCE FROM other types of stimuli fraction differentbut always a fraction

Answer 34

How easy is it to notice a small differnce in terms of physical intensity

Answer 35

High Weber creation = can percieve v small diff Low fraction = need to have big change between standard and comparison to percieve diff

Answer 36

Background in medicine and pshyciss and mathematics = studied light Suffered eye damage from gazing too much at sun while doing experiments, fell into depression Experienced miracle = vision began to recover, became a very spiritual man and was obsessed with relationship between mind and matter

Answer 37

Idea that everything material also has mental aspect Subjective perception fo external world = mental aspect of that external physical world

Answer 38

DIFFErent - dualism proposes that mind and matter can potentially exist independently from each other Descartes believes that non human animals did not have souls By contrast, panpsychism proposed that reality is of one piece but that is has 2 aspects = material and mental Depends on perspective

Answer 39

Each Jnd = perceptually equivalent, Smallest detectable differnce - cannot be further fragmented = called a perceptual atom Constant fraction fo standard weight Bring together subjective perception and physical intensity of stimulus

Answer 40

Shows relationship between maters and mental phenomenon Log shape= grows fast at beginning then slows Change is subjective - changes in physical intensity the same All Jnd perceptually euiqvalent Need larger change to create same subjective change in perception= FOR LARGER VALUES, PROGRESSIVELY SMALLER IMPACT ON SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTion X= stimulus physical intensity, y = Jnd

Answer 41

Diff for every sensory modality K closely related to Webers fraction Allows to account for diff slides of log functions for diff senses Ex = length of lines - weber fraction = 0.001 = v detectable, greatest discriminability

Answer 42

Hwo easy it is to discriminate 2 diff intensities

Answer 43

Low discriminability

Answer 44

High discriminability Steeper slope

Answer 45

Almost opposite Inversely related

Answer 46

K = 0.5 = lower, flatter fucntion K=1 = higher K=2 steepest, highest