Sensation and perception Flashcards
(105 cards)
1
Q
The conversion or transduction of physical, electromagnetic, auditory, and other information into electrical signals in the nervous system
A
Sensation
2
Q
The processing of sensory information to make sense of its significance
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Perception
3
Q
Nerves that respond to stimuli by triggering electrical signals that carry information to the CNS
A
Sensory receptors
4
Q
Studies the relationship between the physical nature of stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they evoke
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Psychophysics
5
Q
Collections of neuron cell bodies found outside the CNS which send information to projection areas to further analyze sensory input
A
Sensory ganglia
6
Q
Receptors that respond to electromagnetic waves in the visible spectrum (sight)
A
Photoreceptors
7
Q
Receptors that respond to pressure or movement. Hair cells for example, respond to movement of fluid in the inner ear structure (movement, vibration, hearing, rotational, and linear acceleration)
A
Mechanoreceptors
8
Q
Receptors that respond to painful or noxious stimuli (somatosensation)
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Nociceptors
9
Q
Receptors that respond to changes in temperature (thermosensation)
A
Thermoreceptors
10
Q
Receptors that respond to the osmolarity of the blood (water homeostasis)
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Osmoreceptors
11
Q
Receptors that respond to volatile compounds (smell)
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Olfactory receptors
12
Q
Receptors that respond to dissolved compounds (taste)
A
Taste receptors
13
Q
The minimum amount of a stimulus that renders a difference in perception
A
Threshold
14
Q
The minimum of stimulus energy that is needed to activate a sensory system and evoke an action potential
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Absolute threshold
15
Q
The level of intensity (large enough in size and long enough in duration) that a stimulus must pass in order to be consciously perceived by the brain (signal is transductance)
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Threshold of conscious perception
16
Q
Information received by the CNS the does not cross the threshold of concious perception
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Subliminal perception
17
Q
The minimum change in magnitude required for an observer to perceive that two difference stimuli are different
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Difference threshold (just noticeable difference)
18
Q
The just noticeable difference for a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus, and that this proportion is constant over most of the range of possible stimuli
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Weber’s law
19
Q
A thoery that studies how internal (psychology) and external (environmental) factors influence thresholds of sensation and perception
A
Signal detection theory
20
Q
Trials in which the signal is presented
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Noise trials
21
Q
Trials in which the singal is not presented
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Catch trials
22
Q
A signal is presented and correctly perceived in a trial
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Hit
23
Q
A subject fails to perceive the presented signal in a trial
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Miss
24
Q
A subject indicates that they perceived a signal even through the signal was not presented in a trial
A
False alarm
25
A subject correctly identifies that no signal was presented in a trial
Correct negative
26
A decrease in response to stimulus over time
Adaptation
27
Examined using signal detection experiments with four possible outcomes: hits, misses, false alarms, and correct negatives
Response bias
28
Covers the exposed portion of the eye (except the cornea) for structural support
Sclera
29
Located between the sclera and retina and provides nourishment and support to the retina
choroidal vessels (choroid)
30
Contains the photoreceptors that transduce light into electrical information
Retina
31
A clear, domelike, window in the front of the eye, which gathers and focuses incoming light
Cornea
32
Allows the passage of light from the anterior to posterior chamber
Pupil
33
The coloured part of eye - controls size of pupil - divides the front of the eye into the anterior and posterior chambers
Iris
34
The muscles of the iris that open pupil under sympathetic stimulation
Dilator pupillae
35
The muscles of the iris that constrict the pupil under parasympathetic stimulation
Constrictor pupillae
36
Produces AQUEOUS HUMOR that bathes the front part of the eye before draining into the canal of Schlemm.
Ciliary body
37
Right behind iris, controls the refraction of incoming light to focus it on the retina and is held in place by suspensory ligaments and connected to ciliary muscles
Lens
38
A part of ciliary body that is under parasympathetic control. Pulls on the suspensory ligaments and changes the shape of the lens to focus an image ~ accommodation
Ciliary muscle
39
The fluid behind the lens that supports the retina
Viterous humor
40
The back of the eye that acts as a screen and consists of neural elements and blood vessels that convert incoming light to electrical stimuli
Retina
41
The theory that the retina contains two kinds of photoreceptors, those specialized for light and dark detection and those for color detection
Duplexity (duplicity theory of vision)
42
Assoicated with colour vision and the detection of fine detail and work best in bright light. They come in three wavelengths: short, medium, and long
Cones
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Contain rhodopsin and respond to any wavelenth of light but only detect light and dark. Function best in low light.
Rods
44
The area of high cone concentraion in the retina
Macula
45
The central part of the macula that only contains cones. Visual acuity is best in daylight
Fovea
46
The part of the retina that is devoid of photoreceptors
Blind spot
47
The location where rods and cones synapse
Bipolar cells
48
A group of axons that form the optic nerve and synapse with bipolar cells converging information from rods and cones
Ganglia cells
49
Cells that integrate signals from ganglion cells and perform edge-sharpening
Amacrine and horizontal cells
50
The brain's ability to analyze information regarding color, form, motion, and depth simultaneously using independent pathways in the brain to form cohesive picture.
Parallel processing
51
Shape, ability to discriminate object from background by detecting its boundaries. Detected by parvocellular cells
Form
52
Found in the LGN and have high color spatial resolution ~ detect very fine detail of form. Only work with slow-moving objects because these cells have very low temporal resolution
Parvocellular cells
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Cells in the LGN that detect motion b/c they have very high temporal resolution Detect information from periphery but have very low spatial resolution (no rich detail). Provide blurry picture of object moving by
Magnocellular cells
54
The ability to discriminate 3D shape and judge distance. Performed by bionocular neurons which compare inputs from both hemispheres and compares the differences
Depth perception
55
Cells that detect very specific details
Feautre detectors
56
The ability to detect rotational and liner acceleration and use this information to inform our sense of balance and spatial orientation
Vestibular senses
57
The pinna (auricle) channels sound waves into the external auditory canal which directs sound waves to the tympanic membrane (eardrum). Frequency of wave determines vibration of drum and amplitude determines the intensity.
Outer ear
58
Three smallest bones in body and transmit and amplify vibrations of drum ~ located in the middle ear
Ossicles
59
The three ossicles in the middle ear
Malleus (hammer), incus (avil), stapes (stirrup)
60
Connects the middle ear with the nasal cavity and equilizes the pressure between the middle ear and the external enviornment
Eustachian tube
61
Sits in the bony labyrinth, the hollow region of the temporal lobe, and contains the membraneous labyrinth which contain receptors for the sense of equilibrium and hearing and are filled with potassium rich fluid called endolymph which is suspended by perilymph which transmits vibrations from the outside and provides cushion
Inner ear
62
The fluid that fills the bony labyrinth
perilympth
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The fluid that fills the membraneous labyrinth
endolympth
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Spiral shaped organ that contains hearing receptors and is divided into three parts called scalae
Cochlea
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The middle scalae of the cochlea that rests on a thin basilar membrane and is composed of hearing cells that are bathed in endolympth
Organ of Corti
66
Allows the perilymph to move within cochlea and respond to vibrations
Round window
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Hair cells transmit physical stimulus into electrical signal which is carried to CNS by auditory ---------- nerves
vestibulocochlear
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The portion of bony labyrinth that contains utricle and saccule ~ sensitive to linear acceleration ~ contains modified hair cells covered with otoliths which resist motion and send signals to brain
Vestibule
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Three canals that are sensitive to rotational acceleration and each ends in a swelling called an ampulla where hair cells are locate
Semicircular canals
70
The auditory pathway starts from the cochlea and travels through the ------ and ------ of the thalamus to get to the ----- in the temporal lobe. Some information projects to the -----, which localizes the sound, and the -----, which is invovled in the startle reflex
vestibulocochlear nerve, medial geniculate nucleus (MGN), auditory cortex, superior olive, inferior colliculus
71
The location of the hair cell on the basilar membrane determines the perception of pitch when that hair cell is vibrated
Place theory
72
Smell is the detection of volatile or aerolized cheimcals by the ----- ----- on the olfactory epithelium in the upper part of the nasal cavitiy
olfactory chemoreceptors (olfactory nerves)
73
chemicals given off by animals that have an effect on social, foraging, and sexual behvaiour in other members of the species
Pheromones
74
The olfactory pathway starts from the olfactory nerve and travels through the olfactory ---- and olfactory ---- to get to higher order brain areas, such as the limbic system
bulb, tract
75
The five taste modalities
sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (savoury)
76
Taste is the detection of dissolved compounds by --- --- in ---.
Taste buds, papillae
77
The four modalities of somatosensation
Pressure, vibration, pain and temperature
78
Receptors that respond to deep pressure and vibration
Pacinian corpuscles
79
Receptors that respond to light touch
Meissner corpuscles
80
Receptors that respond to deep pressure and texture
Merkel cells (discs)
81
Receptors that respond to streach
Ruffini endings
82
Receptors that respond to pain and temperature
Free nerve endings
83
The minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points are felt as two distinct points ~ depends on nerve density
A two-point threshold
84
Temperature is judged relative to normal temperature of skin
Physiological zero
85
Receptors responsible for pain perception
Nociceptors
86
States that pain sensation is reduced when other somatosensory signals are present. The spinal cord can preferentially forward signals from touch modalities to the brain
The gate theory of pain
87
Refers to the ability to tell where one's body is in three-dimensional space. Uses proprioceptors found primarily in muscle and joints and play role in hand-eye coordination, balance, and mobility
Kinesthetic sense (proprioception)
88
The ability to recognize and object by parallel processing the feature detection. Takes individual stimuli to form cohesive picture. Slower but less prone to mistakes.
Bottom up (data driven) processing
89
The process driven by memories and experiences which allows the recognition of the whole object, with little attention to detail. Faster but more prone to mistakes
Top-down (conceptually driven) processing
90
The ability to create a complete picture or idea by combining top-down and bottom-up processing with all of the other sensory clues including, depth, form, motion, and constancy gathered from an object
Perceptual
91
Cues that require one eye and include relative size, interposition, linear perspective, motion parallax, and their minor cues
Monocular cues
92
Objects appear larger the closer they are (monocular cue)
Relative size
93
When two objects overlap, the one in front is closer (monocular cue)
Interposition
94
The greater the convergence of parallel lines, the further the distance (monocular cue)
Linear perspective
95
The perception that objects closer to us seem to move faster when we change our field of vision (monocular cue)
Motion parallax
96
Involve retinal disparity which refers to the slight difference in images projected on the two retinas
Binocular cues
97
The brain detects the angle between the two eyes required to bring an object into focus (binocular cue)
Convergene
98
Our ability to perceive that certain characteristics of objects remain the same, despite changes in the environment (binocular cues)
Constancy
99
A set of general rules that account for the fact that the brain tends to view incomplete stimuli in organized, patterned ways
Gestalt principes
100
Elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit
Law of proximity
101
Objects that are similar tend to be grouped together
Law of similiarty
102
Elements that appear to follow in the same pathway tend to be grouped together
Law of good continuation
103
Perceiving shapes that are not actually present
Subjective contours
104
When space is enclosed by a contour, the space tends to be perceived as a complete figure
Law of closure
105
Perceptual organization will always be as regular, simple, and symmetric as possible
Law of pragnanz
