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Psychology > Neuroscience and Perception > Flashcards

Neuroscience and Perception Flashcards

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1
Q

Requirements for neurotransmitters to bind?

A

The binding of neurotransmitters to receptors is specific
- Lock and key

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2
Q

Types of Neurotransmitters

A

Acetylcholine
Dopamine
Serotonin

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3
Q

Acetylcholine

A

Important transmitter between motor neurons and voluntary muscles

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4
Q

Dopamine

A

Regulates motor behavior, motivation, pleasure, and emotional arousal

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5
Q

Degeneration of which neurotransmitter is linked to Parkinson’s?

A

Dopamine

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6
Q

Serotonin

A

Plays a primary role in regulating sleep, wakefulness, and eating behavior

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7
Q

Copycats of Neurotransmitters

A

Agonist
Antagonist

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8
Q

Neurotransmitter: Agonist

A

Chemical that enhances or mimics the action of a neurotransmitter

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9
Q

Neurotransmitter: Antagonist

A

Chemical that blocks the action of a neurotransmitter

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10
Q

What is an example of an antagonist?

A

Botox or Botulinum toxin is an Ach antagonist

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11
Q

How do we study the brain?

A

Patients
Neuroimaging

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12
Q

Neuroimaging

A

Neuroimaging can be structural (what does the brain look like?) or functional (where are different types of information processed in the brain?)

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13
Q

What techniques for neuroimaging are there?

A

PET
fMRI
CT
MEG

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14
Q

What do all neuroimaging techniques rely on?

A

All techniques rely on measuring a specific type of activity (blood flow, neurotransmitter release, electrical impulse) as a proxy for neural activity itself.

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15
Q

Issues with neuroimaging methods

A

Spatial Resolution
Temporal Resolution
Invasiveness
Cost

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16
Q

Neuroimaging: Spatial Resolution

A

How close is physical proximity you can get to the target brain area

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17
Q

Neuroimaging: Temporal Resolution

A

How close in time you can get to when the neurons fire

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18
Q

Neuroimaging: Invasiveness

A

The extent to which foreign substances are introduced into the body

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19
Q

Neuroimaging: Cost

A

Most imaging techniques are rather expensive

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20
Q

Neuroimaging: PET, what does it stand for and how does it work?

A
  • Positron Emission Tomography
  • PET records the energy from radioactive particles bumping into the regular electrons that are in your brain. Recording more PET signals tells us that more blood flow is traveling to that region.
    Compares regional cerebral blood flow between cognitive states (experimental conditions)
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21
Q

Neuroimaging: MRI, what does it stand for and how does it work?

A
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Uses a powerful magnetic field to produce high-quality images of the brain and its structure
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22
Q

Neuroimaging: fMRI, what does it stand for and how does it work?

A
  • Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Used to examine changes in ongoing brain activity (function) by measuring changes in the blood’s oxygen levels
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23
Q

fMRI pros and cons

A

Pros:
- Good spatial resolution allows for precise localization of brain activation
- Non-invasive (no known harm to subjects)
- MRI scanners are widely available at medical centers and research universities

Cons:
- Although temporal resolution (1-4 sec) is much better than PET scans, still much slower than measuring actual activity
- Very expensive
- Scanner noise is very loud

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24
Q

Neuroimaging: EEG, what does it stand for and how does it work?

A

Electroencephalography (EEG)
- EEG can record electrical activity from large populations of simultaneously active neurons at the scalp with millisecond resolution
- EEF is a direct measure of neural activity
- EEG has good temporal resolution but poor spatial resolution

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25
Q

EEG Limitations

A
  • Limited spatial resolution, despite high temporal resolution
  • Skull and brain tissue distort electrical fields
  • Largely blind to subcortical activity (too deep to measure on the scalp)
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26
Q

Neuroimaging: TMS, what does it stand for and how does it work?

A
  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation
  • Strong magnets are used to briefly interrupt normal brain activity as a way to study brain regions
  • Used for:
    • Direct testing of function
    • Treatment for some neurological and psychological conditions
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27
Q

Sensation

A

The physical processing of environmental stimuli by the sense organs

28
Q

Perception

A
  • The psychological process of interpreting sensory information (assigning meaning)
  • Way that sensory information is interpreted, organized, and consciously experienced
29
Q

Sensory receptors

A

Specialized neurons that respond to specific types of stimuli

30
Q

Sensation

A

Occurs when sensory receptors detect sensory stimuli

31
Q

Transduction

A

When sensory receptors detect a specific stimuli, they convert that energy into an action potential which is sent to the central nervous system.

32
Q

Sensory Systems examples

A
  • Vision
  • Hearing (audition)
  • Smell (olfaction)
  • Taste (gestation)
  • Touch (somatosensation)
  • Balance (vestibular sense)
  • Body position (proprioception)
  • Body movement (kinesthesia)
  • Pain (nociception)
  • Temperature (thermoception)
33
Q

Psychophysics

A

Methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to that stimulus

34
Q

Factors that influence perception: Absolute threshold

A

The smallest amount of stimulation needed for detection by a sense

35
Q

If a dog is super sensitive, is their threshold lower or higher than a human?

A

If a dog is super sensitive, their threshold for detecting stimuli (e.g., sounds, smells) would be lower than a human’s. This means they can perceive stimuli that humans might not notice, due to their more acute senses.

36
Q

Just noticeable difference or difference threshold

A

The minimum difference between the two stimuli needed to detect a difference between 50% of the time

37
Q

Weber’s Law

A

(Delta I)/I = k

  • Delta I repreesnts the difference in threshold
  • I represent the initial stimulus intensity
  • K signifies that the proportion of the left side of the equation remains constant despite variations of the I term
38
Q

Top-down processing

A

When our perceptions are influenced by our expectations or by our prior knowledge

39
Q

Bottom-up processing

A

Occurs when we perceive individual bits of sensory information (e.g. sounds) and use them to construct a more complex message

40
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

Response to a stimulus depends on a person’s sensitivity and on a person’s decision criteria.

41
Q

Decision criteria:

A

Person’s experience
Expectations
Motivation
Level of fatigue
Consequences of missing

42
Q

Sensory Adaptation

A

Diminished sensitivity as a result of constant or recurring stimuli

43
Q

Factors that influence perception

A
  • Motivation
  • Beliefs, values, prejudices and expectations
  • Life/cultural experiences
44
Q

Factors that influence perception: Attention

A
  • Selective attention
  • Inattentional blindness
45
Q

Selective attention

A

Focusing on one particular task or event

46
Q

Inattentional blindness

A

A failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention

47
Q

Change blindness

A

The failure to detect changes to the visual details of a scene

48
Q

5 Senses

A
  • Sight
  • Hearing
  • Taste
  • Touch
  • Smell
49
Q

How does light get processed in the eye?

A

When light passes through the cornea and lens, it is bent so that the light waves cross and project and upside down image on the retina
- Top becomes bottom, and left becomes right

50
Q

What do photoreceptors do?

A

Transform light into neural signals (transduction)

51
Q

What does the Ganglion do?

A

Gather information from photoreceptors

52
Q

What does the optic nerve do?

A

Pathway for messages to be sent to the brain.

53
Q

How many rods and cons are there per eye?

A
  • 6 million cones
  • 120 million rods
54
Q

Trichromatic color theory

A

3 different cones each sensitive to different wavelengths of light (short, medium, long)

55
Q

Shortcomings of trichromatic color theory?

A

Does not explain negative afterimages

56
Q

Opponent Process Theory

A
  • We perceive color in terms of opposing pairs: red/green, blue/yellow, black/white
  • Example: cells that are stimulated by red are inhibited by green. When green is no longer perceived, a rebound effect occurs. The previously inhibited cells are free to fire. Can be seen when staring at green for a while, when you look away, you see red.
57
Q

How are images processed?

A
  • The signal travels down the optic nerve to the brain
  • Passes through thalamus
  • Sent to Primary Visual Cortex
58
Q

What is feature detection?

A

Neurons respond selectively to specific features

59
Q

After the visual cortex, information is routed to which cortical areas for processing?

A

Dorsal - “Where pathway”
Ventral - “What pathway”

60
Q

Optic ataxia

A

Impairments of reaching, but can still recognize objects (parietal lobe lesion)

61
Q

Visual Agnosia

A

Impaired object recognition, but spared reaching ability

62
Q

Retinal Disparity

A

Different retinal images each eye receives based on different perspectives. Gives 3D perspective.

63
Q

Size consistency

A

When an object gets closer to you its image on your retina gets larger, but you still perceive it as the same size. The brain adjusts for your distance from the object when perceiving size.

64
Q

Shape constancy

A

We correctly perceive the shape of objects even when the retinal image it casts changes as you change your viewpoint.

65
Q

Brightness constancy

A

We correctly perceive the brightness of objects regardless of actual lighting

Psychology (6 decks)

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