Q5: Vision, Hearing, and Sensory Basics

Question 1

5 senses

Answer 1

vision, hearing, taste, smell, skin senses

Question 2

sensory receptors

Answer 2

convert sources of sensory stimuli, such as light and sound, into neural impulses

Question 3

sensory transduction

Answer 3

convert of environmental energy into a neural response

Question 4

absolute sensory threshold

Answer 4

smallest amount of a stimulus that can be reliably detected

Question 5

difference sensory threshold

Answer 5

smallest difference between the stimuli that can be reliably detected

Question 6

perception

Answer 6

interpretation of sensation

Question 7

weber’s law

Answer 7

the amount you must change a stimulus to detect a difference is given a constant fraction of the original stimulus (ex: saltiness of food: 1/5, pressure of skin: 1/7, etc.)

Question 8

signal detection theory

Answer 8

predicts when we will detect weak signals

Question 9

sensory adaptation

Answer 9

process by which sensory receptors adapt to constant stimuli by becoming less sensitive (ex: it is cold getting into a pool, but you get used to it)

Question 10

habituation

Answer 10

learning to ignore sensation (ex: if you live by train tracks the sound is still present but you don’t notice it anymore)

Question 11

vision

Answer 11

predominant sense, occipital lobe

Question 12

light

Answer 12

wave of electromagnetic energy: amplitude and wavelength

Question 13

amplitude (vision)

Answer 13

up and down, brightness/intensity

Question 14

wavelength (vision)

Answer 14

sideways, hue/color

Question 15

cornea

Answer 15

first structure light can pass through (clear)

Question 16

pupil

Answer 16

hole in iris (small=bright, big=dim)

Question 17

lens

Answer 17

clear, bends the light to focus it on the retina

Question 18

ciliary muscles

Answer 18

expand/contract to change the shape of the lens

Question 19

retina

Answer 19

neural tissue, transduce light energy into neural impulse

Question 20

optic nerve

Answer 20

collection of neurons that transmit signals from retina to brain

Question 21

fovea

Answer 21

region of retina with highest acuity (full of cones)

Question 22

optic disk (blind spot)

Answer 22

point where optic nerve leaves the eye

Question 23

Photo Receptor Cells

Answer 23

Cones and Rods (do not regenerate, aka specialized retina cells)

Question 24

Cones

Answer 24

color, high acuity vision, bright light (in the fovea)

Question 25

Rods

Answer 25

dim light, maximize sensitivity in low light, periphery, no color

Question 26

optic chiasm

Answer 26

optic nerves cross over (left visual field=right occipital lobe, right visual field=left occipital lobe)

Question 27

Trichromatic Theory

Answer 27

the eye contains 3 receptors for color (cone cells): red, blue, and green. With the combination of all 3 colors, any color can be produced.
Evidence: colorblindness

Question 28

Dichromatism

Answer 28

patients lack one type of cone (ex: red-green colorblindness)

Question 29

Opponent-Process Theory

Answer 29

red/green, blue/yellow, black/white
evidence: afterimages: green/black/yellow flag turns red/white/blue

Question 30

wavelength (hearing)

Answer 30

pitch

Question 31

amplitude (hearing)

Answer 31

loudness/intensity

Question 32

wave purity

Answer 32

timbre

Question 33

Outer Ear

Answer 33

Pinna, Auditory Canal, Eardrum

Question 34

Middle Ear

Answer 34

Ossicles (small bones)
-Malleus/Hammer
-Incus/Anival
-Stapes/Stirrup

Question 35

Inner Ear

Answer 35

Cochlea/Oval Window, Semicircular Canals, Vestibular Sacs (S+V=balance)

Question 36

Cochlea

Answer 36

structure of inner ear that contains hair cells

Question 37

hair cells

Answer 37

the sensory receptor cells for sound

Question 38

Hearing: Path to the brain

Answer 38

thalamus -> temporal lobe (primary auditory cortex)