Perception Flashcards
how is the world perceived?
using our sensory organs
what is the process of perception?
the transduction of sensory signals to the CNS
what is transduction?
converting sensory info into neural impulses which can be processed by the NS
what are the five senses?
- olfaction
- gustation
- auditory
- visual
- tactile
what is in charge of the sense of balance and what is the sense’s name?
vestibular system (inner ear) and the balance system = equilibrioception
what is the name of the awareness of where our body and limbs are located?
proprioception
what is colour after effects?
when the brain perceives something contrary to the info being supplied to the senses and is caused by sensory adaptation
what is the phenomenon called where the sensation of movement is felt by the body but is only stimulated by vision?
vection
what is agnosia?
absence of knowledge
what is are the 5 tastes?
sweet, salty, bitter, umami, sour
what are the lumps on the tongue called and what are their function?
papillae
they allow for us to taste
what is the primary gustatory cortex called?
insular cortex
what is unique about the olfactory system?
smell info is sent straight to the olfactory bulb and bypasses the thalamus
what triggers the sense of smell?
receptors in the olfactory epithelium
what is somatosensation?
sensory experiences that provides info about the body and its interaction with the environment. includes, touch and pain
where are the receptors for somatosensation located?
muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, skin
what form of receptors correlate with mechanical stimulus and help with somatosensation?
mechanoreceptors
what senses potentially harmful or damaging stimuli?
nociceptors
do places with more touch sensitivity have larger or smaller dedicated sections within the somatosensory cortex?
larger
where is the vestibular system located?
inner ear next to the cochlear
why does the vestibular system help with balance?
because of the three semicircular canals at slightly different angles and the fluid within the canals send signals to the CNS.
what reflex does the vestibular system drive to help keep the world stable despite head movement?
reflexive eye movements
what are the six degrees of freedom and which movements does each entail
x axis: forwards and backwards
y-axis: left and right
z-xis: up and down
what is pitch determined by? How is higher pitch formed?
the frequency of the sound wave. higher pitch = high frequency
what is loudness determined by? how is a quieter sound formed?
amplitude. a quieter sound is a lower amplitude
what components are located in the inner ear?
cochlear, vestibular system, ossicles, malleus, incus, stapes
what is the name of the nerves that transport vestibular and hearing info?
vestibular nerve and cochlear nerve
what happens once the sound wave enters the ear canal?
then causes the tympanic membrane (eardrum) to vibrate, causing the ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes) to vibrate and move the basilar membrane
what are the names of the front and back end of the cochlea?
basal end and apical end
what frequency causes maximal vibrations as the Basal end?
high
what side of the cochlear does lower frequency cause maximal vibration at?
apical end
where do the nerve impulses travel to from the cochlear?
vestibulocochlear nerve
what are the mechanisms that allow for sound localisation?
interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural intensity differences (IIDs)
what is the visual range?
the distance to an object that can be seen by unaided eyes
what is spatial resolution?
smallest distance two objects can be separated and still be distinguished from another
what is temporal resolution?
ability of the visual system to resolve rapid changes in light sensitivity over time or resolve fast moving objects
what focuses light onto the retina?
the lens
what converts light into electrical signals that travel along the optic nerve?
photoreceptors
what are the two forms of photoreceptors?
rods and cones
what are rods function?
they allow for us to see in low light conditions
what is the function of cones?
stimulated by more light so they allow for colour vision
what are the three types of cones?
red, green, blue
what type of cone is receptive to each wavelength?
blue = short
green = medium
red = long
where are rods and cones found?
retina
what type of cells axons form the optic nerve?
ganglion cells
what area of the eye contains the most cones?
fovea
what is stereopsis?
depth perception. which is being able to see in 3D and how far away things are
what causes the blind spot in the human eye?
optic nerve piercing the retina
where does the cross over of the optic nerves occur?
optic chiasm
if visual info is only taken from the right eye, what side hemisphere is it processed in?
left hemisphere
which is more light sensitive rods or cones?
rods
do rods or cones have more neural convergence and what does neural convergence decrease?
rods have more neural convergence and it causes the decrease of resolution
what is neural convergence?
when the photoreceptors send signals to few ganglion cells, so many rods will send signals to the same ganglion cell
what is an on centre receptive field?
certain neurons are most active when the centre of the field is exposed to light
what is an off centre receptive field?
certain neurons are most active when the centre is in darkness but the surround is lit
what happens to neurons with centre surround antagonism?
they are most excited when their central regions is stimulated. stimulation in the surrounding areas which reduce activity
what is the LGN and where is it located? what is its purpose?
lateral geniculate nucleus and is found in the thalamus. serves as a relay station of visual info
what is the name for the primary visual cortex and where is it located?
V1 in the occipital lobe
what is sensory adaptation?
when the first detection of stimulus is the greatest and then decreases after repeated exposure
what is weber’s law?
the greater the stimulus, the bigger the change needs to be for a change in stimulus intensity to be noticed
what does having a large amount of photoreceptors increase?
visual acuity (to see in fine detail)
what is opponent process theory?
we perceive colours in terms of three pairs of opponent cells/colours
what is visual agnosia?
deficit in perceiving objects
what is the technical term for the ear drum?
tympanic membrane
do small or large nerve fibres react to pain and then send pain information to the brain?
small nerve fibres
what is parallel processing?
attending to many sense modalities simultaneously
what is perceptual constancy?
perceiving stimuli concisely across varied conditions
what are the two kinds of cues used to gauge depth?
monocular depth cues, motion parallax
what is the motion parallax?
ability to judge the distance of moving objects from their speed
what is the name of moving reflexively focusing on objects and using our eye muscles to turn the eyes inwards
convergence
