Module 19: The Nonvisual Senses

Question 1

Audition

Answer 1

The sense or act of hearing.

Question 2

Frequency

Answer 2

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second)

Question 3

Pitch

Answer 3

A tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

Question 4

Middle ear

Answer 4

The chamber between the eardrum and the cochlea containing three tiny bones– hammer (malleus), anvil ( incus), and stirrup (stapes)– that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.

Question 5

Cochlea

Answer 5

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves travelling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.

Question 6

Inner ear

Answer 6

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Question 7

Sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 7

The most common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerve; also called nerve deafness.

Question 8

Conduction hearing loss

Answer 8

A less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Question 9

Cochlear implant

Answer 9

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

Question 10

Place theory

Answer 10

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated. (also called place coding)

Question 11

Frequency theory

Answer 11

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch. (also called temporal coding)

Question 12

Gate-control theory

Answer 12

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

Question 13

Hypnosis

Answer 13

A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotists) suggest to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.

Question 14

Dissociation

Answer 14

A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.

Question 15

Posthypnotic suggestion

Answer 15

A suggestion, made during a hypnosis sessions, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.

Question 16

Gustation

Answer 16

Our sense of taste.

Question 17

Olfaction

Answer 17

Our sense of smell.

Question 18

Kinesthesia

Answer 18

Our movement sense– our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Question 19

Vestibular sense

Answer 19

Our balance sense– our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance.

Question 20

Sensory interaction

Answer 20

The principle that one sense can influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

Question 21

Embodied cognition

Answer 21

The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements.

Question 22

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

Answer 22

The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.

Question 23

Parapsychology

Answer 23

The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis. (also called telekinesis)