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MCAT > Psychological, Social, Biological Foundations of Behavior > Flashcards

Psychological, Social, Biological Foundations of Behavior Flashcards

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1
Q

Retinal Disparity

A

Left eye and right eye view slightly different images. One type of binocular cue.

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2
Q

Convergence

A

Gives an idea of depth based on how much the eyeballs are turned. The second type of binocular cue.

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3
Q

Monocular cues

A

Relative size, interposition, relative height, motion parallex (relative motion),

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4
Q

Relative size

A

See relative size and determine approximate distance.

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5
Q

Perceptual Organization

A

Depth, Form, Motion, Constancy

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6
Q

Interposition

A

When something appears to be in front of something else, we can recognize that it is closer to us.

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7
Q

Relative height

A

Objects that are higher are perceived to be further away than objects that are lower.

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8
Q

Motion parallex (Relative motion)

A

Things closer to you appear to be moving faster than things that are further from you.

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9
Q

Size constancy

A

We know size of objects are roughly the same regardless of distance from eyes.

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10
Q

Shape constancy

A

We know the shape of an object remains the same even if it is reoriented.

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11
Q

Color constancy

A

Despite changes in lighting, color for an object is perceived as the same color.

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12
Q

Sensory adaptation

A

Change in sensitivity of your perception of a sensation.
Hearing: inner ear muscle contracts to dampen vibrations that go into your inner ear.
Touch: sensory receptors get saturated.
Smell: sensory receptors desensitized.
Sight: pupil dilation and contraction.

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13
Q

Proprioception

A

Sense of where you are in space.

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14
Q

Just noticeable difference

A

The smallest difference in stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time.

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15
Q

Weber’s law

A

Change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus.

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16
Q

Absolute threshold of sensation

A

Minimum intensity of a stimulus that is needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.

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17
Q

Subliminal stimuli

A

Stimuli below our absolute threshold of sensation

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18
Q

Thermoception

A

sensation of temperature; TrpV1 receptor used– heat causes conformational change

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19
Q

mechanoception

A

sensation of pressure

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20
Q

nociception

A

sensation of pain; TrpV1 receptor used– broken cell molecules bind to receptors to cause conformational change

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21
Q

somatosensation

A

intensity, timing, location

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22
Q

intensity

A

how quickly neurons fire

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23
Q

3 ways for neurons to encode timing

A

non-adapting (neuron constantly firing action potentials, equal space between action potentials), slow adapting (fires fast at the beginning, and then slows down, spacing increases), fast adapting (fires as soon as stimulus starts, then it stops, and starts again when the stimulus stops)

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24
Q

vestibular system

A

important for sense of balance and spatial orientation, mostly comes from receptors in our inner ear

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25
Q

Inner ear’s role in vestibular system

A

Semi-circular canals line up with the 3 axes and sense what plane our head is rotating along. Fluid movement helps us perceive the strength of rotation. Otolithic organs (utricle and saccule) help detect linear acceleration and head positioning, crystals in fluid move and pull on hairs to carry this information. Dizziness results from fluid in canals moving while you are no longer moving.

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26
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

How we make decisions under conditions of uncertainty; discerning between important stimuli and “noise”

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27
Q

Hit

A

affirmative response with signal present

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28
Q

false alarm

A

signal perceived but no signal present

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29
Q

correct rejection

A

negative answer and no signal present

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30
Q

miss

A

negative response with signal present

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31
Q

d’

A

difference between the means of 2 signal distributions – if large, easy to distinguish, if small, difficult to distinguish

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32
Q

c

A

strategy of the individual, can be expressed via choice of threshold; c=0 ideal observer, c<1 = liberal, c>1 conservative strategy

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33
Q

bottom-up processing

A

when you start with no preconceived idea of what it is that you’re looking at, and allow the stimulus to influence your perception of what it is that you’re looking at; data driven

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34
Q

top-down processing

A

use background knowledge to influence perception; theory driven ; have a goal in mind

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35
Q

Gestalt principles

A

seek to explain how we perceive things the way we do

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36
Q

law of similarity

A

items that are similar to one another are grouped together by your brain

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37
Q

law of pragnanz

A

reality is often reduced or organized to the simplest form possible

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38
Q

law of proximity

A

objects close to one another are grouped together

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39
Q

law of continuity

A

lines are seen as following the smoothest path

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40
Q

law of closure

A

objects grouped together are seen as a whole

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41
Q

sclera

A

white part of the eye, thick fibrous tissue that forms the substance of the eyeball, protects the eye, and serves as attachment point for muscles

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42
Q

cornea

A

transparent, protects front of the eye, bends light a little bit

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43
Q

conjunctiva

A

thin layer of epithelial cells that protect the cornea from friction/dust/debris and moisturizes it

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44
Q

aqueous humour

A

fluid that fills the anterior chamber of the eye

45
Q

lens

A

bi-convex lens that bends the light; can change shape to look at objects that are closer/further away

46
Q

ciliary body

A

composed of suspensory ligaments which are connected to ciliary muscles that work to change the shape of the lens; secretes aqueous humour

47
Q

iris

A

colored part of the eye that contracts and expands to let in light through the pupil

48
Q

vitreous humour

A

keeps lens in place and provides structure for the eye

49
Q

retina

A

coats back of the eyeball, composed of photoreceptors that convert light into neural impulse which goes to the optic nerve

50
Q

optic nerve

A

goes to the brain to relay the signal

51
Q

choroid

A

network of blood vessels that nourishes the eye

52
Q

fovea

A

filled with cones that allow you to see rich detail

53
Q

rod

A

good for night vision and periphery; because of phototransduction cascade, rod is turned off when light is present to let the brain know there’s light; found in the periphery of the eyeball; much more sensitive to light than cones; slow recovery time

54
Q

cones

A

responsible for color vision; 3 types: red, green, blue; found in the fovea; fast recovery time

55
Q

phototransduction cascade

A

light hits retinal which causes retinal to change conformation, which causes rhodopsin molecule to change shape, transducin breaks away from rhodopsin, activates PDE, which takes cyclic GMP and converts it to regular GMP, which causes sodium channels to close, hyperpolarizing them and turning off the rods, which turns on bipolar cells, which activates a retinal ganglion cell, which then sends a signal to the optic nerve and then to the brain; long story short this cascade allows brain to recognize that there’s light entering the eyeball

56
Q

nasal side

A

side of eyeball closer to the nose

57
Q

temporal side

A

outer side of eyeball closer to temporal lobes

58
Q

visual processing

A

left visual field hits right side of each eyeball, right visual field hits the left of each eyeball.

59
Q

optic chiasm

A

point where optic nerves converge and then break off again; all light that hits the temporal side of the eyeball doesn’t cross the optic chiasm, but the nasal side does cross so that right visual field goes to the left side of the brain and the left visual field goes to the right side of the brain

60
Q

feature detection

A

color, form, motion; use cones to determine color, use parvo pathway to determine the shape/form of an object , magno pathway for motion

61
Q

parvo pathway

A

good at determining spatial resolution to determine shape but poor temporal resolution (motion) but allows us to see color

62
Q

magno pathway

A

high temporal resolution but poor spatial resolution, does not encode color

63
Q

parallel processing

A

determine form, color, and motion all at the exact same time

64
Q

sound waves

A

areas of high and low pressure; lower frequency sound waves penetrate deeper into the cochlea,

65
Q

auditory structure

A

sound waves funneled by the pinna, into the auditory canal, hit the eardrum which vibrates, causing 3 bones (malleus, incus, stapes) to vibrate, stapes is attached to oval window which is connected to the cochlea, which is full of fluid. The fluid is pushed by the vibrations which push the hair cells inside the cochlea back and forth, potassium is moved out of the cell, and transmit an electrical impulse via the auditory nerve to the brain

66
Q

primary auditory cortex

A

receives all the info from the cochlea and distinguishes sounds based on frequencies

67
Q

cochlear implants

A

for people with sensorineural hearing loss, sound waves hit the microphone which converts them into electrical impulse which then gets sent to the transmitter which sends it to the receiver which stimulates the cochlea to convert the electrical impulse into a neural impulse

68
Q

sensory adaptation

A

change in responsiveness of a sensory receptor to a constant stimulus over time; downregulation; body responding to a change in stimulus– if there is no change, there is no info being sent to the brain

69
Q

sensory amplification

A

upregulation; cell sends out an action potential and then more and more cells send out action potentials so by the time it reaches the brain the signal has been amplified

70
Q

somatosensory homunculus

A

map of your body in your brain

71
Q

proprioception

A

our ability to sense exactly where our body is in space, has to do with our sense of balance

72
Q

kinesthesia

A

body detects its own movements, helps us learn exact movements for certain tasks (ie. shooting hoops)

73
Q

pheromones

A

olfactory cues/ chemical signal used to communicate; pheromone bind, cell will fire and that will eventually reach the amygdala to cause a behavioral response

74
Q

cribiform plate

A

separates olfactory bulb from olfactory epithelium in the nasal cavity

75
Q

olfactory bulb

A

has olfactory sensory neurons with projections in the olfactory epithelium

76
Q

glomerulus

A

region of the olfactory bulb that is a designation point for various sensory olfactory cells that are sensitive to the same molecule

77
Q

mitral or tufted cell

A

take signal from glomerulus and project it to the brain

78
Q

5 main tastes

A

bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami

79
Q

taste bud

A

each bud contains all of the different taste cells; found all over the tongue but mostly in the anterior part

80
Q

labelled lines model

A

each type of taste cell has dedicated axons that send the signal to certain parts of the cortex so there is no mixing

81
Q

consciousness

A

awareness of ourselves and our environment

82
Q

alertness

A

awake, aware of who you are, where you are, and what’s going on in your environment; associated with beta waves

83
Q

daydreaming

A

awake but not aware of environment; associated with alpha waves

84
Q

drowsiness

A

almost asleep but semi aware of the world

85
Q

sleep

A

not aware of yourself or the world

86
Q

four stages of sleep

A

3 non-REM stages (N1, N2, N3) and REM, takes 90 minutes to go through a complete cycle

87
Q

N1

A

stage between sleep and wakefulness; start producing theta waves

88
Q

N2

A

more theta waves and sleep spindles (bursts of rapid rhythm brain activity)

89
Q

N3

A

delta waves, difficult to wake up, sleep talking/walking

90
Q

REM

A

eyes move rapidly beneath your lids

91
Q

circadian rhythms

A

regular bodily rhythms over 24 hour period/ internal biological clock

92
Q

Freud’s theory of dreams

A

dreams represent our unconscious wishes, urges, and feelings; manifest content (what is actually happening in our dreams) and latent content (hidden meaning behind the dream)

93
Q

activation synthesis hypothesis

A

dreams are simply the frontal part of the cerebral cortex, that more generalized thinking part of our brain, trying to make sense of these electrical impulses in the brain stem

94
Q

narcolepsy

A

can’t help but fall asleep

95
Q

insomnia

A

difficult going to sleep/staying asleep

96
Q

sleep apnea

A

stop breathing while they sleep; obstructive apnea (Something blocks airway), central apnea (issue with brain centers that control breathing)

97
Q

hypoventilation disorder

A

buildup of CO2 because not breathing in and out enough

98
Q

depressants

A

depress CNS function, decrease level of arousal/stimulation in the brain, decrease heart rate, lower BP, slow breathing; ie. barbiturates/ tranquilizers, alcohol, medication for anxiety, seizures, insomnia

99
Q

stimulants

A

excite CNS; ie. caffeine, adderall, ecstasy

100
Q

hallucinogens

A

experience distorted perceptions, heightened sensations; ie. PCP, acid, LSD, mushrooms

101
Q

opioids/ opiates

A

depress CNS, reduce perception of pain; ie. heroin, morphine, act at receptor sites for endorphin

102
Q

selective attention

A

focus on one thing at a time

103
Q

exogenous cues

A

external to any goals we might have

104
Q

endogenous cues

A

more internalized and higher order; involve internal knowledge to understand the cue and the intention to follow it

105
Q

inattentional blindness

A

not consciously aware of things that happen in our visual field when our attention is directed elsewhere within that field

106
Q

change blindness

A

fail to notice changes in the environment

107
Q

boradbent’s early selection theory

A

all info in your environment goes into your sensory register and is then transferred to the selective filter which identifies what it’s supposed to be attending to via basic physical characteristics; problem: cocktail party effect– you should have filtered this out but you still hear your name across a room

108
Q

Deutsch& Deutsch late selection theory

A

register and assign meaning to everything, but then your selective filter decides what to pass on to your conscious awareness; problem: seems wasteful to spend effort assigning meaning to things you don’t need

109
Q

Treisman’s attenuation theory of selective attention

A

we have an attenuator which weakens but doesn’t eliminate unattended inputs, some of it gets to the perceptual processes. We assign meaning to unattended things but it is not a high priority

MCAT (1 decks)

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