Midterm 1 Flashcards
Cell body
contains nucleus
Nucleus
all computation for cell
Dendrites
important for communication
Axon
transmits electron activity
Axon terminal
transmits information to another neuron
Myelin sheath
insulation so electron signal is faster
Synapses
junction between neurons that permits information transfer
Neurotransmitter
a chemical substance used in neuronal communication at synapses
Cerebellum
used to believe it was exceptionally important to movement but now know that it is also important for sensation and perception
Occipital lobe
visual cortex
Primary visual cortex
first place where visual info goes
Secondary visual processing
where the processed info goes
Temporal Lobe
auditory cortex
What else is temporal lobe important for?
motion and visual information (sensory processing)
Parietal lobe
Primary somatosensory cortex-adjacent pars of the body are represented by adjacent parts of the brain
What kind of processing does the parietal lobe take part in?
spatial information and sophisticated motion processing
Frontal lobe
sensory processing and interpreting senses. also impulse control, judgement and motor control
Broca’s area is important for?
speech production
Primary motor cortex is..
first area involved in motor behavior (like issuing motor commands)
Basal ganglia
involved in selecting movement
Thalamus
importnat for sensory processing
Hippocampus
important for memory storage and associating sensory input together (under thalamus)
Amygdala
old structure, emotions (next to thalamus)
Pons/medulla
controls organs and their function
How do neurons send and receive information?
Synaptic transmission
What is synaptic transmission?
connection needed to be strong enough to excite the next neuron so sometimes it needs more than one neuron to signal it
Axon terminal in presynaptic cell communicates with…
dendrites of postsynaptic cell
Neurotransmitters are released by ____ vesicles in the ___
synaptic / axon
The synaptic vesicles then fit into the ___ on the dendrite on the other side of the ____
receptors / synapse
Bottom up vs Top Down
sensation -> perception -.> cognition [bottom up] reversed is top down
The interpretation of what is going on around you is…
an active process
The sensations you have experienced in the past allow…
you to have perceptions of experiences in the future
Define psychophysics
the science of defining quantitative relationships between physical and psychological (subjective) events
Define sensation
lowest level of processing; physical energy translated into informational signal (ie transduction)
Define perception
usually “interpretation” of the information, but the distinction is irrelevant
3 parts of perception
- what is needed for survival
- organization and selection
- bidirectional (perception effects sensation actively)
Absolute threshold
minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected
Is absolute threshold step or sigmoid?
sigmoid
Explain Sigmoid function
probability of detection increases with the signal intensity
Difference threshold
(aka JND) the smallest detectable difference between 2 stimuli OR min change in a stimulus that enables it to be correctly judged as diff from reference stimulus
JND
just noticeable difference or how 2 different stimuli must be for the subject to notice that they are not the same
Method of constant stimuli
in which many stimuli, ranging from rarely to always perceivable, are presented at a time
How is constant stimuli captured?
various levels of stimulus intensity is used to try to find the lowest level of intensity
Limitations of constant stimuli?
It takes a long time and you have to pick the intensity and order. So you pick three intensities at 20x. You have to do each of them 20x.
Is there ceiling/floor effects in constant stimuli?
Yes. Since it is values that are predetermined you may not capture what you want to measure
Method of limits
when particular dimension of stimulus, or difference between 2 stimuli, is varied incrementally until the participants responds differently
What are you measuring with method of limits?
thresholds going from low to high, then high to low and asking participant when they cant see the stimulus anymore
Are the values predetermined in method of limits?
No.
Cons of method of limits?
people might life, sensitivity may change, require convergence, fatigue/practice effect
What is fatigue/practice effect?
are you trying to find out when someone is getting “good” at a task? Sometimes that task can go on for a long time, are you measuring when they get “tired”?
Method of adjustment
a method in which the participant controls the change in the stimulus
Con of adjustment?
participants can be unreliable BUT avoids fatigue/practice effects
Weber’s Law
the principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says that JND is constant fraction of comparison stimulus
Equation for weber’s law
difference threshold/standard = constant K OR diff intensity/intensity = constant K
Fechner’s law
a prinicple describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the magnitude of subjective sensation increases proportionally to the log of the stimulus intensity
Equation for fechner’s law
P = K log S
What is P, S, K in fechner’s law?
P = perceptual/sensory magnitude (your experience) S= physical intensity (physical change in stimulus) K = constant
Steven’s law
principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation that says the magnitude of subjective sensation is proportional to the stimulus magnitude raised to an exponent
Equation for steven’s law
P= k S^n
If exponent is less than 1 then…
sensation grows less rapidly
Log-Log types for Stevens law (3)
compression, veridical, exaggerated
What is compression?
when slope of line is less than 1, so perceived intensity grows less rapidly
Ex of compression
light doubling
What is veridical?
the slope of line = 1 and so the intensity grows equally to physical change
Ex of veridical
pencil length
What is exaggerated?
the slope of the line is greater than the ratio, therefore the perceived stimulus grows more rapidly than physical change
Ex of exaggerated
Electric shock
Magnitude estimation
method in which the participant assigns values according to perceived magnitudes of stimuli