Sensation and Perception Flashcards by Kenneth Wright

the conversion (or transduction) of physical, electromagnetic, auditory, and other information from the internal and external environment into electrical signals in the nervous system

sensation

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

the processing of sensory information to make sense of its significance

perception

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

neurons that respond to stimuli by triggering electrical signals that carry information to the CNS

sensory receptors

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

stimuli produced by physical objects outside of the body

distal stimuli

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

stimuli produced by distal stimuli that directly interacts with sensory receptors, sensory-stimulating byproducts

proximal stimuli

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

field that studies relationship between the physical nature of stimuli and the sensations and perceptions these stimuli evoke

psychophysics

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

collections of neuron cell bodies found outside CNS; transmits data (electrical signals) pertaining to a stimulus to the CNS

sensory ganglia

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

areas of brain that receive electrochemical energy sent along neural pathways from sensory ganglia to further analyze the sensory input

projection areas

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

sensory receptors that respond to waves in visible spectrum (sight)

photoreceptors

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

sensory neurons that respond to pressure or movement (hair cells)

mechanoreceptors

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

sensory receptors that respond to painful or noxious stimuli (somatosensation)

nociceptors

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

sensory receptors that respond to changes in temperature (thermosensation)

thermoreceptors

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

sensory receptors that respond to the osmolarity of the blood (water homeostasis)

osmoreceptors

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

sensory receptors that respond to volatile compounds (smell)

olfactory receptors

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

sensory receptors that respond to dissolved compounds (taste)

taste receptors

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

minimum stimulus that causes a change in signal transduction

threshold

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

minimum stimulus energy needed to activate sensory system

absolute threshold

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

level of intensity that a stimulus must pass in order to be consciously perceived by the brain

threshold of conscious perception

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

information received by CNS but does not cross threshold of conscious perception

subliminal perception

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

refers to minimum change in magnitude required for an observer to perceive that two different stimuli are different

difference threshold (just-noticeable difference (jnd))

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

participant presented with stimulus, stimulus varied slightly and asked if they perceive a change, varied until interval found, reported as fraction or percent

discrimination testing

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

different thresholds are proportional and must be computed as percents

Weber’s Law

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

studies how internal (psychological) and external (environmental) factors influence thresholds

signal detection theory

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

consists of many trials; during trial a stimulus (signal) may or may not be presented

signal detection experiment

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

signal detection experiment trial in which signal is presented

noise trial

signal detection experiment trial in which signal is not presented

catch trial

result of signal detection experiment trial in which signal is presented and correctly perceived

hit

result of signal detection experiment trial in which signal is presented and incorrectly not perceived

miss

result of signal detection experiment trial in which signal is not presented and incorrectly perceived

false alarm

result of signal detection experiment trial in which signal is not presented and correctly not perceived

correct negative

change in ability to detect a stimulus over time

adaptation

specialized organ used to detect light in the form of photons

eye

white of eye, thick structural layer covering exposed portion of eye, does not cover cornea

sclera

blood vessels that supply nutrients to the eye

choroidal and retinal vessels

innermost layer of eye, contains photoreceptors that transduce light into electrical information the brain can process

retina

clear, domelike window in front of eye, gathers and focuses incoming light

cornea

division of front of eye, lies in front of iris

anterior chamber

division of front of eye, between iris and lens

posterior chamber

colored part of eye composed of two muscles to open and constrict pupil

iris

opens pupil under sympathetic stimulation

dilator pupillae

constricts pupil under parasympathetic stimulation

constrictor pupillae

vascular layer of connective tissue that surrounds and provides nourishment to retina, continuous with the iris

choroid

produces aqueous humor that bathes front of eye before draining into the canal of Schlemm, continuous with iris

ciliary body

lies behind iris, helps control refraction of incoming light

lens

change in shape of lens to focus on an image as the distance varies

accommodation

contracts under parasympathetic control to pull on suspensory ligaments to change shape of the lens

ciliary muscle

transparent gel behind the lens that supports the retina

vitreous humor

in the back of the eye, like a screen consisting of neural elements and blood vessels, converts incoming photons of light to electrical signals

retina

states retina contains two kinds of photoreceptors: those specialized for light-and-dark reception and those specialized for color detection

duplexity/duplicity theory of vision

6 million, used for color vision and to sense fine details, most effective in bright light

cones

120 million, more functional in reduced illumination, only contains rhodopsin pigment

rods

central section of retina, contains high concentrations of cones

macula

center most region of macula, contains only cones; directly involved in color sensation and its distribution of receptors varies across different species

fovea

blind spot devoid of photoreceptors in region of retina where optic nerve leaves the eye

optic disk

starts from eye, travels through optic nerves, optic chiasm (contains fibers crossing from nasal side of retina (temporal visual fields) of both eyes), optic tracts, lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of thalamus, and visual radiations (run through temporal and parietal lobes) to get to the visual cortex (in the occipital lobe)

visual pathway

brain's ability to analyze information regarding color, form, motion, and depth simultaneously

visual parallel processing

detect form with high spatial resolution and low temporal resolution

parvocellular cells

detect motion with low spatial resolution and high temporal resolution

magnocellular cells

detect depth

binocular neurons

responsible for sense of hearing and vestibular sense

ears

ability to detect both linear and rotational acceleration and use this info to inform sense of balance and spatial orientation

vestibular sense

cartilaginous outside part of ear, first to receive sound waves and channels them into external auditory canal (meatus)

pinna/auricle

directs sound waves to tympanic membrane

external auditory canal (meatus)

vibrates in phase with incoming sound waves

tympanic membrane (eardrum)

three smallest bones in body in middle ear, transmit and amplify vibrations from tympanic membrane to inner ear

ossicles

hammer, affixed to tympanic membrane, acts on incus

malleus

anvil, acts on stapes

incus

stirrup, baseplate rests on oval window of the cochlea

stapes

connects middle ear to nasal cavity

Eustachian tube

hollow region of temporal bone containing cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals of inner ear

bony labyrinth

collection of structures inside bony labyrinth that contains receptors for the sense of equilibrium and hearing

membranous labyrinth

potassium-rich fluid filling membranous labyrinth and suspended within bony labyrinth by thin layer of perilymph

endolymph

thin layer that suspends endolymph in bony labyrinth, also transmits vibrations and cushions inner ear structures

perilymph

spiral-shaped organ containing receptors for hearing; divided into three parts called scalae

cochlea

three parts that run the entire length of the cochlea

scalae

inside middle scala; actual hearing apparatus; rests on thin flexible membrane called basilar membrane, composed of thousands of hair cells bathed in endolymph, relatively immobile membrane on top called tectorial membrane

organ of Corti

membrane covered hole in cochlea, permits perilymph to actually move within the cochlea

round window

carries electrical signals transduced from physical stimulus by hair cells to CNS

auditory (vestibulocochlear) nerve

portion of bony labyrinth containing utricle and saccule which are used as part of balancing apparatus and to determine 3-D orientation in space, sensitive to linear acceleration

vestibule

modified hair cells covering the utricle and saccule

ostoliths

three perpendicular canals sensitive to rotational acceleration

semicircular canals

swelling on end of each canal where hair cells are located

ampulla

starts from cochlea and travels through vestibulocochlear nerve and medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) of thalamus to get to auditory complex in temporal lobe

auditory pathways

long tufts of stereocilia on top surface, sway within endolymph causing ion channels to open causing receptor potential

hair cells

theory on sound perception states location of hair cell determines perception of pitch when vibrated

place theory

detection of volatile or aerosolized chemicals by olfactory chemoreceptors (olfactory nerves)

smell

starts from olfactory nerves and travels through olfactory bulb and olfactory tract to get to higher order brain areas like limbic system

olfactory pathway

detection of dissolved compounds by taste buds in papillae; five modalities: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (savory)

taste

four touch modalities: pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature

somatosensation

miniumum distance necessary between points of stimulus on skin that they will be felt as distinct stimuli

two-point threshold

normal temperature of skin objects are compared to to determine if they are hot or cold

physiological zero

pain sensation reduced when other somatosensory senses are present

gate theory of pain

ability to tell where one's body is in 3-D space

kinesthetic sense (proprioception)

recognition of objects by parallel processing and feature detection, slower but less prone to mistakes

bottom-up (data-driven) processing

recognition of an object by memories and expectation with little attention to detail, faster but more prone to mistakes

top-down (conceptually driven) processing

ways that brain can infer missing parts of an incomplete picture

Gestalt principles

Gestalt principle that says that elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit

law of proximity

Gestalt principle that says that objects that are similar appear to be grouped together

law of similarity

Gestalt principle that says that elements that appear to follow the same pathway tend to be grouped togther

law of good continuation

perception of nonexistent edges in figures based on surrounding visual cues

subjective contours

Gestalt principle that says that when a space is enclosed by a group of lines it is perceived as a complete or closed line

law of closure

Gestalt principle that says that perceptual organization will always be as regular, simple, and symmetric as possible

law of pragnanz

our synthesis of stimuli to make sense of the world

perceptual organization