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Animal Behaviour And Cognition > Perceptual Abilities > Flashcards

Perceptual Abilities Flashcards

1
Q

What is perception?

A

Perception is the process by which individuals register and evaluate information

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2
Q

Perceptual information can come from what kind of environmental situations?

A

Internal environment

External environment

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3
Q

How can perceptual information be processed?

A

Consciously

Unconsciously

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4
Q

Is perception subjective or objective?

A

Subjective
This means that each individual’s perception:
- may differ from reality
- is private to each individual

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5
Q

What are the perceptual abilities of a species suited to?

A

The perceptual abilities of a species is suited to a specific evolutionary niche

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6
Q

Define umwelt

A

Umwelt = an individual’s own unique perceived view of the world

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7
Q

Because perception is subjective what does this mean for the individuals perceived view of the world?

A

The subjectivity of perception gives every individual its own unique perceived view of the world
The subjectivity of perception gives every individual its own umwelt

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8
Q

When and by who coined the term umwelt?

A

Umwelt is a term coined in 1936 by Jakob Von Uexküll

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9
Q

How can COVID-19 effect an individual’s umwelt?

A

COVID-19 symptoms cause senses to be lost which means that COVID-19 can alter an individual’s umwelt

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10
Q

What can subjective perception vary between?

A

Species

Individuals

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11
Q

Why do perceptions differ between individuals and species?

A

Perceptions differ between individuals and species due to differences in:

      - sensory abilities
      - ways they evaluate or interpret stimuli
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12
Q

Perception can be broken down into different modalities

What are the classic perceptual modalities?

A 
Visual
Olfactory
Auditory
Gustatory
       Taste
Somatosensory
        Touch
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13
Q

In sentient species sensations may produce qualia

What is qualia?

A

Qualia = raw feelings

The individual knows what it feels like to be stimulated by the stimuli
The feelings associated by the stimuli are subjective

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14
Q

In recent years how has science evolved to allow us to figure out how an animal feels and sees the world?

A

In more recent years science has evolved with Applied Anthology and Animal Welfare sciences creating ways in which we can figure out how an animal feels and sees the world

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15
Q

Sensory systems in individuals can vary in size and structure due to what things?

A 
Species differences
Breed differences
Strain differences
Stages of development
Early experiences
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16
Q

What 3 components make up a sensory system?

A

1) sensory organ
2) Modality-specific sensory cells
3) Midbrain and forebrain regions of the Central Nervous System

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17
Q

What are sensory organ?

A

Sensory organs are anatomical parts that the size and structure of it can affect function
A sensory organ is an anatomical part of the individuals body like their:
- eyes
- ears
- tongue
- skin

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18
Q

What do sensory organs have that detects sensory stimuli?

A

Modality-specific sensory cells

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19
Q

How can modality-specific sensory cells vary?

A

Modality-specific sensory cells vary in:

     - sensitivity to a stimulus
     - quality of which stimulus can stimulate the cell
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20
Q

In sensory systems what does the midbrain and forebrain regions of the Central Nervous System do?

A

The midbrain and forebrain regions of the Central Nervous System will process the sensory data into useable information
This will then allow the individual to decide whether to act or not act on the stimulus

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21
Q

What are the 5 traditional/classic modalities?

A

1) Vision
2) Hearing
3) Touch
4) Taste
5) Smell

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22
Q

What are the sensory organs associated with vision and what does it detect?

A

The typical sensory organ associated with vision are the eyes
The eyes detect electromagnetic radiation (light waves)

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23
Q

What is the sensory organ associated with hearing and what does it detect?

A

The typical sensory organ associated with hearing is the ears
The ears detect pressure waves in the air

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24
Q

Give an example of a sensory organ associated with touch and what it detects?

A

An example of a sensory organ associated with touch is skin

Skin detects pressure and other types of stimulation

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25
Q

Name the typical sensory organ associated with taste and what it detects?

A

The sensory organ typically associated with taste is the tongue
The tongue detects chemicals

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26
Q

Which sensory organ is typically associated with smell and what does it detect?

A

The sensory organ typically associated with smell is the nose
The nose detects chemicals

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27
Q

True or false

The nose and tongue sometimes detect the same chemicals/molecules

A

True

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28
Q

Why are there 5 traditional modalities?

A

There are 4 traditional modalities since they’re how humans perceive the world

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29
Q

Give examples of how non-human species use different sensory organs to perceive the world

A

Some animals use heat pits or pineal organs to be able to use the visual modality

Fish use their lateral line as their sensory organ to use the hearing modality by detecting pressure waves

Some animals use whiskers as an additional sensory organ to use the touch modality

Some animals use a vomeronasal organ as an additional sensory organ to use the touch modality

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30
Q

Give examples of additional modalities that non-human animals use to perceive the world

A

Infrared detection for heat
Electroreception
Mangnetoreception

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31
Q

How can animals detect light using their skin?

A

Animals can use chromatophore cells in the skin to detect light
Chromatophores are responsible for rapid colour changes

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32
Q

How can animals detect light using a pineal gland?

A

The pineal gland is located within the brain near the cerebellum
The pineal gland can detect light intensity
In vertebrates that use the pineal gland it is not covered by any other brain structure so light can directly go to it through the skin and skull

However in mammals the forebrain covers the pineal gland so it can’t detect light
In mammals they can only detect light through the eyes

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33
Q

How can animals detect infrared electromagnetic radiation and give an example?

A

An example of a sensory organ that can detect infrared electromagnetic radiation are heat pits in vipers
Within the heat pits are cells that detect electromagnetic radiation
This allows some snakes to see in complete darkness without relying on sight or hearing
Animals with heat pits can also combine thermal signals with visual information in the optic tectum

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34
Q

Why can some animals detect whether something is far away or nearby by detecting their body heat?

A

This is used by predators to detect warm blooded prey

Vampire bats are a classic example of an animal detecting body heat to find a source of food

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35
Q

What are whiskers also known as?

A

Whiskers = vibrissae

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36
Q

Explain how whiskers/vibrissae work

A

In some species their whiskers/vibrissae are so well developed that they move them like fingers and rotate them
In other species their whiskers/vibrissae stay still

The pressure sensors that allow animals to use their whiskers/vibrissae for touch are in the animals skin around the whisker’s/vibrissae’s base

Whiskers/vibrissae are highly developed touch organs

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37
Q

What is the Vomero-Nasal Organ also known as?

A

Vomero-Nasal Organ = VNO = Jacobson’s organ

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38
Q

Explain how the Vomero-Nasal Organ/Jacobson’s organ work?

A

The receptors within the vomeronasal organ/Jacobson’s organ send signals directly to an accessory olfactory bulb in the brain
They detect non-volatile molecules specifically with the example of pheromones and chemical secretions
The vomeronasal organ/Jacobson’s organ detects non-volatile molecules via a cross between taste and smell

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39
Q

How do we know that the vomeronasal organ/ Jacobson’s organ is an ancient form of modern day olfactory systems?

A

The vomeronasal organ/Jacobson’s organ works better underwater since it first evolved when the first aquatic vertebrates evolved
The vomeronasal organ is one of the first olfactory systems to evolve on earth

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40
Q

Explain why and how animals use organs for electrosensation

A

Some animals have organs for electrosensation to aid in hunting
These organs sense electrical impulses within their preys body allowing them to find food
The organs for electrosensation detect electric fields that are generated by an animals muscle and nerve action

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41
Q

Where are the organs for electrosensation usually found?

A

The organs for electrosensation are usually found on the animals snout

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42
Q

Organs for electrosensation are almost exclusively seen in what kinds of animal and why mainly those kinds of animals?

A

Organs for electrosensation are almost exclusively seen in aquatic and amphibious animals because water conducts electricity better than air

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43
Q

Give examples of animals with organs for electrosensation

A

Duck-billed platypus

Guiana dolphin

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44
Q

Give examples of animals that can detect magnetic north

A

Pigeons

Ungulates

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45
Q

What can disrupt orientation to magnetic north in the species that can detect magnetic north?

A

Orientation by detecting magnetic north can be disrupted by power-lines

46
Q

Why might an animal loose a sensory organ?

A

Some animals have evolved to loose a sensory organ mainly due to their environment making them useless
This is done to save energy by not generating neuronal tissue for a stimulus the species will never encounter
This is due to ontogenic processes

47
Q

What are sensory organs made up of?

A

Sensory organs are made up of modality-specific sensory cells

48
Q

How can modality-specific sensory cells vary?

A

The modality-specific sensory cells can vary in sensitivity and quality of the stimulus they can pick up

49
Q

What are the species differences between modality-specific sensory cells?

A

The sensitivity and ranges of responsiveness of the modality-specific sensory cells varies between species

50
Q

Give examples of different adaption to low light situations

A

Large pupils collect more light photons
Large retinas receive more photons
Tapetum lucidum
More rod cells in the retina

51
Q

What is a tapetum lucidum and how does it work?

A

Some species have evolved a tapetum lucidum
The tapetum lucidum is a layer of reflective cell that sits behind the retina so any photons that are not absorbed by the retina are reflected back to the retina to be absorbed

52
Q

True or false

The tapetum lucidum has evolved separately in different groups of animals

A

True

The tapetum lucidum was created in multiple unrelated species without a common ancestor

53
Q

Give examples of what the tapetum lucidum is made up of

A

In carnivores the tapetum lucidum is made up of light reflective crystals
In ungulates the tapetum lucidum is made up of extracellular fibres

54
Q

How do rod cells work?

A

Rod cells are the black and white receptors that just detect if light is present
Rod cells function better in low light scenarios
Rod cells are achromatic

55
Q

How is visual acuity achieved?

A

Visual acuity is achieved with the cone cells and the eyes lens
Differences in visual acuity can also depend on the energetic costs from the eyes based on the animals visual needs

Higher cone cell concentrations in the retina increase visual acuity
More come cells can create an effect similar to increasing pixels in a photo.

Higher quality lenses can also concentrate the photons to the retina better

56
Q

True or false

Colour vision also varies due to ranges of spectral sensitivity determining degrees of colour vision

A

True

57
Q

Due to the fact that colour vision varies due to ranges of spectral sensitivity determining degrees of colour vision there are differences between what?

A

This causes differences in colour vision between:

       - species
       - individuals within the same species
58
Q

Primates (including humans are trichromatic, what does this mean and what are the peak/threshold values?

A

Trichromatic means that primates have 3 types of cone cells in our eyes
Each cone cell types peak/threshold is at either of the following respectively in primates:
- 450nm
- 540nm
-580nm

59
Q

What does dichromatic mean?

A

This means they only have 2 types of cone cells
Depending where in the light spectrum their cone cells threshold/peak is will determine how good those animals are at determining different shades of the light spectrum

60
Q

Give some examples of animals that are dichromatic

A

The following animals may be red-green colourblind due to their cones peaking at 440nm and 555nm respectively:

           - Dogs
           - Foxes 
           - Mink
           - Cats

Cattle, sheep and goats have cones that peak at 440-455nm and 536-555nm respectively
Despite having peaks in those areas they are not red-green colourblind but instead find it hard to distinguish greens from blues and violets

61
Q

What light frequencies can be seen by animals with ultraviolet vision?

A

Animals with ultraviolet vision can see light frequencies below 400nm

62
Q

Five examples of animals with ultraviolet vision

A

Birds
Nocturnal rodents
Some insects

However each species will see things differently due to different cone cell peak frequencies

63
Q

Give examples of ultraviolet vision use in animals

A

Fruits, flowers and seeds have better background contrast when looking at them with ultraviolet vision making them easier to find

In nocturnal species ultraviolet vision increases the animals ability to find food items in dim lights or shadowy conditions

In birds ultraviolet vision is just an additional visual ability
Birds have a fourth type of cone cell which allows them to capture the ultraviolet spectrum

In rodents ultraviolet vision is due to them seeing the world differently due to their dichromatic cone cells

64
Q

True or false

Birds are tetrachromatic

A

True

65
Q

Why are birds tetrachromatic?

A

Tetrachromatic vision in birds is due to them having 4 types of cone cells in their retinas
The extra cone cell type allows them to see ultraviolet frequencies (light frequencies below 400nm)

66
Q

Why do several bird species prefer light in the UV spectrum?

A

This could be due to health reasons

This could be because bird feathers are UV absorbent and reflective leading to birds sometimes having patterns we can’t see
Due to this breeding birds may choose their mates based on how the other birds look in ultraviolet vision

67
Q

There is a variety between species in their sensitivity to specific sounds
Variations in sound sensitivity are due to what?

A

Variations in sound sensitivity are due to body size and lifestyle

68
Q

True or false

Low frequency sounds travel further

A

True

High frequency sounds are more easily attenuated by the environment
Attenuated = having been reduced in force effect or value

69
Q

Give examples of animals with different hearing capabilities to humans

A

Cats and dogs are better than humans in their abilities to hear high frequency sounds

Rats are worse than humans when it comes to hearing low pitches but better than humans when it comes to hearing high pitches
Rats can also hear ultrasound

70
Q

What is ultrasound?

A

Ultrasound is sound above human hearing frequencies

71
Q

Give an example of an animals that can use ultrasound

A

Rodents use ultrasound to communicate
Some think that because ultrasound dissipates rapidly it reduces the risk of predators hearing them and finding them

Bats use eco-location for navigation and hunting

Machinery can also produce ultrasound which may effect the animals that can hear it
An example of this is that during the pandemic birds have started singing at normal frequencies in cities due to reduced background noise that they’d need to sing above

72
Q

What is infrasound?

A

Infrasound is sound produced below the human hearing range

73
Q

Give an example of an animal that uses infrasound

A

Elephants use infrasound to communicate across long distances

74
Q

Being able to hear infrasound may be limited by what?

A

Being able to hear infrasound may be limited by wavelength:head size ratios

75
Q

What is meant by the fact that humans are almost anosmic

A

Human olfactory organs have very low sensitivity

Anosmic = can’t smell

76
Q

Human sensitivity to smell is 10,000-100,000 times lower than dogs
Dogs are better than humans at smelling because their olfactory organs have what?

A

800 different olfactory receptor types

More olfactory receptors per unit area of olfactory epithelium

More olfactory epithelium
Dogs have 150-170cm2 olfactory epithelium compared to humans with 2-4cm2 of olfactory epithelium

More innervation
Dogs have 100 times more neurones linking their olfactory epithelium to their brain compared to humans
Dogs also have more neural tissue in their forebrain to process olfactory information

77
Q

Species with good sense of smell will evolve what?

A

Longer nasal cavities by evolving snouts

A complex series of turbinate bones
This means that nasal cavities structure has lots of convolutions to increase tissue surface area to increase the number of receptors that can be their
This allows olfactory receptors to be more densely packed into the olfactory organ

78
Q

Due to animals amazing olfactory sensitivity we can use them to sniff out what?

A

Bombs
Drugs
Diseases

However you need to train the animals to be used to the situations and for people not to freak out when seeing them

79
Q

Give an example an animal that’s used to detect something using their olfactory sensitivity?

A

The sensitive olfactory capabilities of the Gambian Giant Pouched Rat allow them to detect landmines in Africa
These rats are helping clear mine fields

80
Q

What does it mean by the fact that “animals are not passive receivers of stimuli”

A

They don’t stay in 1 place waiting for a stimulus to be detected by their modality-specific sensory cells

81
Q

What is meant by the fact that “animals use behaviour to adjust how much sensory information comes in”

A

Animals can either seek or avoid the sensory information by using their behaviour

82
Q

True or false

Animals use behaviour to adjust which half of the brain received the most information

A

True

83
Q

True or false

Processes in the brain focus attention on relevant stimuli

A

True

84
Q

What is the function of the midbrain and forebrain regions of the Central Nervous System?

A

The midbrain and forebrain regions of the Central Nervous System process the data from the sensory organs into useable information

85
Q

Give examples of regions of the brain that process data from sensory organs into useable information

A

Olfactory lobes
Visual cortex
Auditory cortex
Somatosensory cortex

86
Q

All sensory neurones enter the brain except for what type of neurones?

A

All sensory neurones enter the brain except for neural fibres relaying somatosensation from the body

Somatosensation = the perception of sensory stimuli coming from the skin that involves senses of touch, temperature, body position and pain

87
Q

Which nerve fibres enter the forebrain directly?

A

Only the optic nerve fibres and olfactory nerve fibres enter the forebrain directly

88
Q

In species with extrasensory modalities where does the nerve fibre end up going?

A

In species with extrasensory modalities the nerve fibres for those modalities will enter the brain and combine with the visual information in the midbrain’s optic tectum

89
Q

What is meant by the fact “different species with extra or fewer modalities will have different levels of the brain where they can combine information from different sensory organs and sensory receptors”

A

Each species has its own brain structure to be able to cope with, and process, sensory information

90
Q

What is meant by the fact “the olfactory lobes get information symmetrically”?

A

The right nostril sends sensory information to the right olfactory lobe
The left nostril sends sensory information to the left olfactory lobe

91
Q

Where does the sensory information from a vomeronasal organ/Jacobson’s organ go?

A

Species with vomeronasal organ/Jacobson’s organ will also have an additional olfactory lobe to process sensory information from the vomeronasal organ/ Jacobson’s organ

92
Q

What happens in the brain if the sense is very important?

A

The more important a sense is to the animal then the more cortical area and cortical neurons are dedicated to it

93
Q

How can asymmetrical processing of emotional stimulations also affect how an animal smells things?

A

The right hemisphere of the brain is more involved with processing negative emotions
Due to this some animals smell negative stimulants with their right nostril more than their left
This has been seen in horses and cattle

94
Q

What is meant by “visual information is processed assymetrically”?

A

Information from the left eye is sent to the right visual cortex
Information from the right eye is sent to the left visual cortex

95
Q

What is the visual cortex used for?

A 
Differentiate object size
Calculate speeds of moving objects
See the direction an object is moving in
See object locations
See object distances
Detect texture
Detect colour
96
Q

The visual cortex takes all the information from the eyes and does what to it?

A

Merge all the information together
Removed things like your nose from the visual data which may obscure the image you are seeing

Your visual cortex takes all the visual information and processes it so you can identify/know what you’re looking at and actually see it

97
Q

What is meant by “auditory information is processed assymetrically”?

A

The left ear send information to the right auditory cortex

The right ear send information to the left auditory cortex

98
Q

The auditory cortex is largest in what kinds of animals?

A

The auditory cortex is largest in animals that can use echolocation

99
Q

Emotional information is processed in the right hemisphere, what is the result of this?

A

Due to this humans are better at knowing when somebody is lying to us if we hear it clearer through our left ear

In horses this is also seen because:

      - horses listen to strangers with their right ear
      - horses listen to their friends with their left ear

This shows that there are slight subtleties in how stimuli is classified and processed in the brain
Animals use behaviour to choose which side they process information with
1 side may have a different emotional value

100
Q

What kind of information is inferred from auditory data?

A

Object speed as it moves
Object location
Object size
Object texture

101
Q

Where is somatosensory information sent to?

A

Somatosensory information is sent to the somatosensory cortex from the entire body

102
Q

Explain what is meant by “emotional laterisation is less clear with how it’s processed for somatosensory information”

A

Because the somatosensory information is coming from all over the body we are not clear about whether theirs any emotional behaviour affecting the information input

Some studies suggest that the left side of the human body may be more pain sensitive however it’s not clear to what extent this could be true

103
Q

The somatosensory cortex processes what kind of information?

A

The somatosensory cortex processes tactile information

104
Q

What is a sensory homunculous?

A

Sensory homunculous are visual representations of how the somatosensory cortex processes information from different parts of the body
They look like the animal but with body parts enlarged or shrank based on the proportion of information from that body part the somatosensory cortex processes

Sensory homunculous represent the cortical processing of touch from different body parts

The sensory homunculous can be used to represent how information is processed by the somatosensory cortex
This will give us a representation of the body surface processed by the somatosensory cortex in relation to the density of receptor cells

105
Q

True or false
Sensory homunculous look similar to motor homunculous because there tends to be motor receptors in body parts we can move to help control fine movement

A

True

106
Q

Explain what cross modal recognition is

A

Cross modal recognition is where an animal can combine cues from different modalities
By combining information from different senses the animal can truly know what something is

107
Q

Give an example of cross modal recognition

A

An example is you need to see, smell and taste a strawberry to know what it is
You can think about it and conjour up the sensations associated with it via cross model recognition

108
Q

Which brain region is responsible for cross modal recognition?

A

The brain region responsible for cross modal recognition is the association cortex’s parietal lobe

109
Q

How are stimuli given an emotional value?

A

For each stimulus the individual will assign it an emotional value
Some stimuli are inherently positive or negative
Other stimuli are categorised due to learning experiences
Which stimuli are positive or negative depend on the species and their individual states

110
Q

What parts of the forebrain are responsible for giving stimuli emotional values?

A

The pre-frontal cortex’s orbitofrontal cortex determines pleasant sensations
The amygdala is used to determine nasty or frightening sensations

Animal Behaviour And Cognition (13 decks)

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