Midterm 2 Terms Flashcards
1
Q
Sensation
A
stimulation of sensory organ (ex. light against eye or sound waves to ear)
2
Q
Perception
A
organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information, active process that is influenced by sensory input (bottom-up) and prior knowledge (top-down). Not a perfect representation of the world as it is limited by our sensory capabilities, affected by sensory adaptation, and prone to phenomena such as change blindness.
It’s the process that enables recognition of objects and their meaning from raw sensory data.
3
Q
Sensation and Perception relationship
A
Sensation before perception (sensory input transformed into meaningful experience)
3
Q
bottom-up processing
A
analysis starting with sensory receptors then working up to brain’s integration of information, driven by immediate sensory input (ex. identifying curved lines or bread roll shaped item)
4
Q
Top-down processing
A
information processing guided by higher-level mental processes as we construct perceptions drawing back to our experience and expectations (ex. recognizing when a clothing item is UBC due to past colours seen)
5
Q
Transduction
A
Definition: conversion of one form of energy into another. For sensing, when sensory receptors convert physical signals into neural signals to be sent to CNS
Significance: perception is limited by stimuli that our sense are able to transduce (i.e. if we had ability to transduce other stimuli, our perception would change incredibly. Such as if we could see air molecules or see Superman’s laser)
6
Q
Sensory Adaptation
A
Definition: constant stimulus = diminished sensitivity, to increase focus by reducing background noise (ex. loud coffee shop or wearing clothes)
Significance: sensory systems respond more strongly to stimulation changes rather than stimulation consistency to pay attention to more important things
7
Q
Psychophysics
A
Definition: methods that systematically relate the physical characteristics of a stimulus to an observer’s perception, to measure our perceptual thresholds. Allows us to study relationship between physical world and our subjective experience of it.
Key concepts:
1. signal detection theory
2. absolute threshold
3. subliminal stimuli
4. difference threshold
5. change blindness
8
Q
Signal detection theory
A
Definition: predicts how and when we will detect a faint stimulus amongst background noise, detection depends on our sensitivity to the stimulus and our individual decision criteria
Factors influencing detection:
- environment (quiet vs noisy)
- subjective interpretation: stimulus or noise?
9
Q
Absolute threshold
A
Definition: minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
Examples:
- detecting faint light in dark
- very light touch
- quiet sounds
10
Q
Subliminal stimuli
A
Definition: input below absolute threshod FOR conscious awareness, might sense but don’t perceive consciously (i.e. sensing but not perceiving)
11
Q
Change blindness
A
Definition: inability to perceive changes between now and then
Explanation: often occurs when we focus on overall picture and fill in perceptual gaps (usually from things like eye movements, blinking, or resetting our visual input
11
Q
Difference threshold
A
Definition: just noticeable difference, minimum difference required to detect between any two stimuli 50% of the time
12
Q
Case study on Terry (Prosopagnosia)
A
Definition: inability to detect and identify faces, everything else remains normal
Key points about Terry’s case:
- can detect individual facial features but cannot integrate to recognize a face = problem with perception or top-down processing
13
Q
Is Terry’s case an issue with bottom-up processing or top-down processing?
A
Answer: top-down. She can still see faces and recognize features so her bottom-up processing is fine as she is seeing faces and making connections. However, since she struggles to draw back on past experiences with faces and has trouble with recognition, her top-down processing is an issue.
14
Q
Wavelength
A
Definition: distance from peak of one light wave or sound wave to the peak of the next, perceived as a hue.
15
Q
Amplitude
A
Definition: amount of energy in a light wave or sound wave, influences our perception of brightness.
16
Q
Purity/Saturation
A
Definition: degree to which a light source emitting one vs a mixture of wavelengths. Pure hues more saturated, white light is desaturated (mixture of wavelengths)
17
Q
Anatomy of the eye and visual processes (path of light)
A
- Cornea
- Pupil
- Iris
- Lens
- Retina
- Fovea
- Blind spot
18
Q
Cornea
A
Outer layer of eye
19
Q
Pupil
A
Opening in the iris
20
Q
Iris
A
Controls size of the pupil, coloured part of eye
21
Q
Lens
A
Focuses light onto the retina, accommodation occurs and is enabled by ciliary muscles, changes shape to do so, transparent
22
Q
Retina
A
Light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, contains photoreceptors (rods and cones)
23
Fovea
Central focal point in the retina, where the cones are concentrated
24
Blind spot
The point where the optic nerve leaves the eye
25
Retina’s reaction to light (back to front)
1. Photoreceptor layer with the rods & cones
2. bipolar cell layer
3. ganglion cell layer
26
Photoreceptor layer
Contains rods and cones which are sensory receptors. They are specific and capture light and transduce light waves to neural signals.
27
Rods
1. Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and grey
2. sensitive to movement
3. necessary for peripheral and twilight vision when cones don’t respond
4. around 120 million rods
28
Cones
- retinal receptors concentrated near centre of retina
- function in daylight or well-lit conditions (common sense)
- detect fine detail = colour sensations
- around 6 million cones
29
Bipolar cell layer
Bipolar cell: intermediate layer of cells in retina, between photoreceptors and ganglion cells, transmit information between them
30
Ganglion cell layer
Retinal ganglion cells outputs create optic nerve which relays neural signal to the brain
31
Colour processing
1. Photoreceptor stage
2. Neural stage
32
Photoreceptor stage (Trichromatic theory)
Theory says that there are 3 types of cones sensitive to different wavelengths of light (red, blue, green).
33
Neural stage (opponent-process theory)
Theory says that colour perception is controlled by opposing groups of colours (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white
- Afterimages good illustration of this theory
34
Visual information processing in the brain
1. Pathway
2. feature detection
3. parallel processing
35
Pathway of visual information in brain
1. ganglion axons → optic nerve
2. run to thalamus
3. synapse with neurons that run to visual cortex
36
Feature detection
Nerve cells in the brain respond to features of stimulus (ex. edges, orientation, shape, angle, movement), occurs in visual cortex
37
Parallel processing
Brain divides visual information into subdimensions of motion, form, depth, and colour to process them simultaneously in different areas before integration
Ex. “I see red, I see a human shape, it looks far away, I’m looking at Mario!”
38
Two streams hypothesis (parallel processing)
Dorsal pathway: where
Ventral pathway: what
39
Dorsal pathway
Spatial awareness, orientation, movement, damage = optic ataxia
40
Ventral pathway
Object recognition, damage = visual agnosia
40
Accommodation
Process by white lens of eye changes shape to focus on objects at varying distances
41
Ciliary muscles
Surrounding lens, control shape and enable accomodation
42
Hue
Dimension of colour determined by wavelength of light, what we know as colour names (ex. red, green, blue, etc)
43
Optic Ataxia
Deficit in visually guided movements from damage to dorsal stream
44
Thalamus
- Brain sensory control centre
- on top of brainstem
- direct messages to sensory receiving areas in cortex
- transmits replies to the cerebellum and medula
45
Perceptual deficits
1. Change blindness
2. Inattentional blindness
3. Attentional blink
Points
- not all intentional blindness is change blindness
- most, if not all, of change blindness situations are simultaneously inattentional blindness
- distinction is in the presence of visual disruption/change
46
Change blindness
Failing to detect changes due to a disruption in visual continuity because of a visual interruption
ex. not noticing insane amount of changes in murder mystery scene, this is also inattentional blindness
47
Inattentional blindness
Failing to notice something due to focusing on other things (I.e. your attention is not in the right place to notice the change)
ex. not noticing a gorilla or people leaving scene
48
Attentional blink
Becoming blind to visual stimuli after identifying previous ones, especially in quick succession (ex. find the letter AFTER the white letter)
49
Gestalt Principles of Perceptual Organization
People tend to organize pieces of information into an organized whole called a gestalt.
1. Form perception
2. proximity, continuity, closure
3. similarity
50
Form perception
How do we know where one object begins and another ends?
1. Figure-ground: organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from surroundings
2. Grouping: perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into meaningful groups
ex. tree making animals shape, black tree is figure-ground, white objects are grouping
51
Proximity, continuity, closure
Proximity: how does closeness effect grouping? (above, we see 3 pillars)
Continuity: how do we perceive continuous smooth patterns (above, we see a wave)
Closure: how do shared characteristics lead to grouping and being complete despite not being complete? (above, we see triangles due to sharp cutouts in circles)
52
Similarity
Objects that share similar properties often seen as a perceptual unit
53
Depth perception
We use different cues to perceive depth (ex. hallway going down so small person is actually just far from the camera)
1. monocular cues
2. binocular cues
54
Monocular cues
Information processed by one eye
- relative size and linear perspective
- retina has “familiar” reference point for most objects
ex. perceiving a guy as “far away” due to hallway
55
Relative size
Monocular cue for depth based on perceived size of object relative to others
56
Linear perspective
Monocular cue for depth based on convergence of parallel lines
57
Binocular cues
Information processed by both eyes, the difference in the images allows the perception of depth → judgement of depth
ex. perceiving a cube even though it’s just black lines
58
Phi phenomenon
Illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.
Ex. circle and lights turn on and off producing a sort of white orb traveling in a circle.
59
Perceptual constancies
How we perceive objects as stable despite sensory input changing. Objects perceived as unchanging and having a consistent colour, brightness, shape, and size despite illumination and retinal images changing.
ex. we say this coffee cup is just blue and has a consistent colour all around despite being proven otherwise in this picture
ex. 2 we say the checkerboard pattern is consistent but A and B are actually the same colour
other examples including saying a door has the same shape of a rectangle even when it looks weird from many angles as well as a letter written in different fonts being the same letter.
60
Sound waves
Sound perceived through bands of compressed and expanded air. Waves are transduced by ear into neural information to be delivered to the temporal lobe
61
Frequency and pitch
Frequency (number of waves per unit time) determines pitch. High frequency = high pitch and vice versa)
62
Amplitude and loudness
Loudness or volume measured in decibels and represents intensity of the sound
63
Timbre
Quality of sound that allows us to distinguish between stimuli with similar amplitude and length
64
Anatomy of hearing
Outer, middle, inner ear
65
Pinna
Visible outer part of ear (what we think of an ear)
66
Auditory canal
Canal leading to the eardrum
67
Tympanic membrane
Ear drum, vibrates in response to sound waves
68
Ossicles
Bones in middle ear that amplify vibrations
68
Conduction hearing loss
Damage to the outer or middle ear (mechanical system) that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
69
Basilar membrane
Vibrates in a location, location depends on frequency of sound (lower pitch near the end)
69
Sensorineural hearing loss
Damage to the vestibulocochlear nerve or cell receptors in the cochlea. Cochlear implant assists by converting sounds into electrical signals to stimulate the auditory nerve.
70
Cochlea
Inner ear structure that is the site of transduction
71
Hair cells
On the basilar membrane where sound transduction occurs
72
Tonotopic organization
Different parts of the cochlea receive different frequencies of sound
72
Temporal code
Timing of the sound wave is synced with hair cell receptors that trigger action potentials to give the brain information about pitch
Primary auditory cortex or the temporal lobe also processes/organizes sound based on frequency
72
Pitch Perception
Different locations on the basilar membrane respond to different frequencies. This is called a place code
73
Receptors
1. Mechanoreceptors
2. Thermoreceptors
3. Nociceptors
*all transduce different tactile stimuli
73
Location perception
Allows brain to make a sort of triangle to find where sound is coming from. Works through sound waves striking one ear sooner and more intensely than the other and this information allows the brain to pinpoint the location of the sound
73
Multiple senses
Involves a mix of distinct skin senses (pressure, temperature, pain, and vibration). Other sensations are a combo
73
A-delta fibers (AAAAAH)
Fast and sharp pain signal that are instantaneous
74
Tactile receptive field
Patch of skin that receives information about pain, pressure, texture, or vibration
75
Pain circuit
Nociceptors responding to potentially damaging stimuli and send impulse to the spinal cord
76
C-fibers (C for chronic or constant)
slow and longer lasting pain, like soreness
77
Dual pathways of pain
1. Sensory
2. Emotional
78
Sensory pathway of pain
Where are we feeling the pain?
79
Emotional pathway of pain
How do we feel about this pain and how can we cure it?
80
How can we manage pain using Gate Control Theory?
Gates in the spinal cord that control flow of pain signals. These gates can be finluenced by other tactile sensations such as touch or pressure (why we massage for pain)
ex. rubbing sore areas to activate mechanoreceptors for pressure sensation → potentially reduce pain
*regulated by interneurons in spinal cord and feedback from PAG (midbrain)
81
Endorphin release
Periaqueductal grey (PAG) regulating endorphin release for our natural defense against pain signals
82
What is smell?
Odorant molecules entering the nose
83
Transduction site of smell?
Olfactory epithelium contating olfactor receptor neurons (ORNs)
Process:
1. odorant molecules received by olfactory epithelium
2. olfactory epithelium contains ORNs (this is site of transduction)
84
Mechanism
Lock and key between odorant molecules and ORNs (humans have around 350, dogs have around 900)
85
Olfactory bulb
Neural structure that receives information from ORNs that synthesizes and discriminates around 1 trillion odors
86
Olfactory cortex
Where odor perception occurs, reached via olfactory nerve (outputs of olfactory bulb)
87
What makes the smell pathway so unique?
Smell bypasses the thalamus and processed by the forebrain structures more directly (this is why smell is so powerful for people and memories)
88
Where did taste evolve from?
The sense of smell?
89
What is taste’s function?
Identify nutrients vs poisins
90
What are the 5 main receptors of taste?
1. sweet
2. salty
3. sour
4. bitter
5. unami (savoury)
91
Transduction site of taste
On papillae, each one has taste buds which are the site of transduction for taste, each one has around 50-100 taste receptor cells
92
What do microvilli on taste receptor cells do?
Accept tastants and begin transduction
93
What is information processing for taste?
Information from taste buds → area between frontal and temporal lobes where the brain integrates taste with smell and memory
94
-Synesthesia (someone in class has it)
One attribute of a stimulus → conscious processing of another attribute, often in dfferent form.
ex. seeing a colour when listening to a song
95
Proprioception
Sense of bodily position, help to relate tactile sensations with position and location
96
Vestibular sense
Sense of balance, sensed in the inner ear (semicircular canals)
97
Problem of other minds
Difficulty in perceiving consciousness of others, agency and experience part of determining level of consciousness
98
Experience
Capacity for experience
99
Agency
Autonomous thoughts
100
Properties of consciousness
1. intentionality
2. unity
3. selectivity
4. transcience
101
Intentionality
Consciousness is always about something
102
Unity
Consciousness integrates part of your experience into a whole
102
Selectivity
Conscious filters information, such as the cocktail party effect
103
Transcience
Consciousness is always changing
104
Levels of consciousness
Minimal, full, self, unconscious
105
Self-consciousness
You are attentive to yourself
106
Minimal-consciousness
You are doing things but not thinking about it intentionally, like auto-pilot
106
Full-consciousness
You are fully conscious about what you are doing
107
Does consciousness require responsiveness?
Yes, our brains are processing information, even if it’s thinking about tennis or going through a house to say yes or no
108
EMA
Ecological momentary assessment, indicates current conscious experiences and recording them (ex. BeReal)
109
Maladaptive self talk cycle?
Mind wandering that is negative and called rumination
110
Thought suppression
Conscious avoidance of a thought
111
How to deal with rumination?
Ironic processes of mental control working outside of consciousness, shifting perspective from the negative aspects, like meditation (watch the thought float away)
112
Freudian concepts
Oedipus complex, repression
113
Oedipus complex
sexual to mother, aggressive to dad
114
Repression
Remove unacceptable thoughts and memories from consciousness to unconscious
115
Cognitive unconscious
People thinking and choosing without being aware of it (ex. passing a ball to open player in sports but not being consciously aware of why you passed it)
116
Dual processing theory
Information is processed simultaneously on conscious and unconscious tracks
- system 1: unconscious and quick
- system 2: conscious and longer
117
Sleep
Periodic, natural loss of consciousness
118
Circadian rhythm
24 hour cycle of day and night that can be altered (ex. social factors) and regulated by melatonin which is secreted in response to darkness
119
How is sleep measured?
- physiological: eye movement, muscle tension
- electrophysiological: EEG for brain waves
120
Beta waves
Faster and less synchronized, awake
121
Alpha waves
Slower and more synchronized, awake/relaxed
122
Theta waves
Slower and irregular, light sleep transition from awake to sleep
123
Sleep spindles
Stage 2 sleep, short bursts of high frequency, low amplitude waves
124
K-complexes
Stage 2 sleep, large waves with a sharp negative peak followed by a slower, positive wave
125
Delta waves
Slowest and most synchronized (deep sleep)
126
Sawtooth waves
REM sleep
127
Randy Gardner and sleep deprivation
- 48 hours: loss of focus in eyes, can’t identify objects by touch
- 72 hours: moody and uncoordinated
- 120 hours: hallucinations
- 264 hours: paranoia and short term memory loss
128
Functions of sleep
Restoration and repair, learning and memory, creative problem solving, growth hormone release
129
Rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder
Dream-enactment behaviour due to loss of REM atonia (opposite of skeletal muscle paralysis)
130
Dreams
A sequence of images, emotions, thoughts passing through sleeping person’s mind
130
Sleep walking also called
Somnnambulism
131
Common characteristics of dreams
- intense feelings
- illogical thought
- vivid visual imagery
- uncritical acceptance
- difficulty remembering
132
Freud’s wish fulfillment
Dreams are a way to satisfy unconscious wishes, manifest and latent content
133
Activation synthesis model (Neuroscience)
Dreams are a bi-product of the brain making sense of random neural activity during sleep
133
Manifest content
What actually happened in a dream
133
Latent content
Underlying meaning of a dream
134
Neuroscience and dreams
Dreams are a bi-product of the brain making sense of random neural activity during sleep
135
Cognitive neuroscience and dreams (neurocognitive and threat-simulation)
Dreams simulate scenarios that could occur when awake
136
Lucid dreaming
Consciously navigating and manipulating contents of dream, primarily REM, hypothesized action of prefrontal cortex
136
Threat simulation theory
Simulating threatening situations
137
Methods for lucid dreaming
1. Mnemonically induced lucid dreaming (MILD)
2. reflection/reality testing
138
Psychoactive drugs
Chemical substances that alter perceptions, moods, states of consciousness by affecting brain’s chemical messaging system
139
Substance use disorder
Addiction, continued craving of psychoactive drug despite life disruptions or physical risk
139
Tolerance
Larger dose for same effect
140
Dependence
- physical dependence
- psychological dependence
141
Physical dependence
body adapts to presence of drug leading to withdrawal symptoms
142
Psychological dependence
strong craving or compulsion for drug even without physical withdrawal
143
Withdrawal
Discomfort and distress after stopping drug consumption
144
Craving
Strong desire to return to substance even in absence of withdrawal symptoms
145
Genetics
Genetic predispositions that affect how our biological systems, such as dopamine regulation, process drugs
145
Positive reinforcement theories
Addiction comes because drug is pleasurable and gives good effects
145
Hedonic dysregulation theory
Negative reinforcement, using drug to alleviate symptoms or other negative states, re-establishing a new homeostasis
145
Incentive-sensitization theory
Role of environmental cues and associations in driving addiction (ex. Mikey coming home and craving coffee), brain releasing dopamine in anticipation of drug taking which leads to cravings and heightened responses of award systems
145
Factors that contribute to addiction and make up behaviour
1. Genetics
2. Environment
3. Psychology
146
Psychology
Personality traits and mental state = vulnerability to develop an addiction
146
Environment
Class, social cues, relationships, life stage
146
Narcotics
Pain relievers and anesthetics by flooding natural endorphin neurotransmitter system, opium and it’s derivatives such as morphine or heroin, highly addictive and reduce inhibition to ventral tegmental area (dopamine mediated reward region)
147
Rat park experiment
Giving rats drugs and not being able to replicated results, flawed research can be useful for discussion
148
Depressants
decrease activity in CNS, alcohol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, toxic inhalants
148
Types of psychoactive drugs
1. depressants
2. narcotics
3. stimulants
4. hallucinogens
5. cannabinoids
149
Alcohol effects and theories
Increase GABA (inhibitory) and inhibits glutamate (excitatory), expectancy theory (placebo) and alcohol myopia (hard time suppressing intrusive thoughts)
149
Stimulants
Increase activity in CNS, caffeine, amphetamines, nicotine, cocaine, ectasy, increase transmission of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin
149
Hallucinogens
alter sensation and perception, LSD, salvia, psilocybin/mushrooms, ketamine, generally not as addictive as in psychologically dependent but not physically dependent
149
Cocaine
Blocks reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine which leads to intense high then crash
150
Cannabinoids
CBD, THC, marijuana, not as addictive as in psychologically dependent but not as physically dependent
151
Psilocybin/mushrooms
Act as serotonin agonists (feeling happy is result)
152
Marijuana
Acts as endocannabinoid agonist and can relax, disinhibit, impair motor skills, and increases sensory sensitivity and hunger (THC has long half life)
153
MDMA/ecstasy
blocks and reverses serotonin reuptake channels leading to prolonged high
