Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Behavior Sciences Mcat > Sensation And Perception > Flashcards

Sensation And Perception Flashcards

(122 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

Sensation

A

Taking in physical, auditory, visual, electromagnetic and other kinds of stimulus from internal and external environment and converting it into electrical signals/action potential and transmitting it to the CNS

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Perception

A

This is defined as the processing of the info that has been transmitted to CNS. Basically make sense of the information received

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Sensory receptors

A

Are neurons that pick up stimulus by triggering electrical signals that carry info to CNS

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Distal stimuli

A

These are outside the body. These do not interact directly with the sensory receptors. They produce photons, heat, light etc which then interact with sensory receptors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Proximal stimuli

A

These kind of stimuli directly interact with and are sensed by sensory receptors. These could be sound waves, light, heat etc

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the name of the study that deals with the relationship between physical nature of stimuli and the way we sense and perceive it?

A

Psychophysics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Transduction-

A

This process converts stimulus to electrical signals or action potential

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Ganglia

A

Cluster of nerve cells found outside CNS

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Name the 7 important sensory receptors in humans

A

MN2OP2T

  • photoreceptors
    -mechanoreceptors
  • thermoreceptors
  • nocicreceptors
  • osmoreceptors
  • taste receptors
  • olfactory receptors
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Photoreceptor

A

Respond to light and electromagnetic waves in visible spectrum (basically sight)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Mechanoreceptor

A

Respond to pressure or movement. Like hair cells in inner ear detect motion of fluid

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Nociceptor

A

Respond to painful and harmful stimulus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Somatosensation

A

Sensing a stimulus against our own skin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Olfactory receptors

A

Respond to volatile compounds THAT IS BASICALLY SMELL

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Thermoreceptors

A

Respond to heat and temperature change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Osmoreceptors

A

Respond to osmolarity of blood

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Taste receptors

A

Respond to dissolved compounds BASICALLY TASTE

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Threshold

A

Minimum amount of a stimulus required to render perception

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What are three types of thresholds?

A
  • absolute threshold
  • threshold of conscious perception
  • threshold difference
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

______ is the minimum amount of stimulus energy required to activate sensory receptors and take up the sensations and convert them into action potential to reach CNS through ganglia?

A

Absolute threshold

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is threshold of conscious perception ?

A

It is the minimum stimulus that can generate enough action potential to reach the CNS and be perceived

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Threshold difference?

A

Minimum difference between two stimuli that can help differentiate between the two

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What law explains that noticeable differences between two stimuli is best explained in ratios and remains constant ?

A

Weber’s law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Relation of adaption and threshold

A

Adaptation increases the threshold because as we get more adapted to a stimulus, it is less likely to notice difference when the fluctuations are small

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Relationship between adaptation and threshold
Threshold increases as we get adapted to a stimuli
26
Signal detection theory
Studies how internal and external factors influence thresholds of sensation and perception
27
Signal detection trial with signal present
Noise trial
28
Signal detection trial with signal a absent
Catch trial
29
Outcomes for signal detection theory
- hit- signal present and detected - miss- signal present but not detected - false alarm - signal absent but detected - correct negative- signal absent and not detected
30
Thick outer layering of eye
Sclera
31
Nutrition is supplied to the eyes by
- retinal vessels - choroidal vessels
32
Layer before sclera
Choroid
33
Innermost layer of the eye
Retina - contain photoreceptors
34
Cornea
Dome like window in front of the eye - gathers and focuses incoming light
35
Front of the eye is divided into
2 parts Anterior chamber and posterior chamber
36
Pupil
The whole through which light enters - surrounded by iris
37
Iris
Coyotes part of the eye - made of up • dilator pupillae- pupil opens under sympathetic stimulation • constrictor pupillae- pupil dilates under parasympathetic stimulation
38
Ciliary body
• produces aqueous humor (present in front part of the eye • ciliary muscles - helps in accommodation in the eye by stretching suspensory ligaments
39
Aqueous humor drains into?
Canal of schlemm
40
Accomodation
Lens changing shape to focus on objects at different distances
41
Vitreous humor
Inside the eye - supports retina
42
Duplicity theory of vision
Retina contains 2 photoreceptors • rods- light and dark • cones - color
43
Facts about rods
- signal pigment rhodopsin - more functional - do not detect fine details well
44
Central section of retina that contains cones
Macula
45
Center of macula
Fovea
46
Region devoid of photoreceptors
Blind spot
47
Photoreceptor connection
Rods/cones ——> bipolar cells——> ganglion cells ——-> optic nerve
48
Amacrine and horizontal cells
-Helps edge detection - received info from retinal cells
49
Visual pathway
Connector of eye to brain and flow of visual info along these connections
50
Describe Visual pathway
Cornia~pupil~lens~retina ~ rods/cones~bipolar cells~ganglion cells~optic nerve~optic chiasm~optic tract~ lateral geniculate thalamus ~occipital lobe through parietal and temporal lobe
51
Basic working of eye
Right side object is formed on the left side of the retina
52
LGN is located in
Thalamus
53
Optic chiasm
Crossing of nasal retinal fibers from both eyes
54
Optic tract
Pathway after optic chiasm
55
When color, form, motion and depth are processed simultaneously. What is the name of the processing
Parallel processing
56
Cones perceive
Color
57
Form is perceived by
Parvocellular cells
58
Movement is perceived by
Magnocellular cells
59
Depth is perceived by
Binocular neurons
60
Feature detector cells
Detects very particular individual features
61
Ear has dual functions
- hearing - vestibular sense (balance, detection linear and rotational acceleration)
62
Parts of an ear
OUTER MIDDLE INNER
63
Structure of the ear that collects sound
Pinna
64
Pinna is connected to?
External auditory canal
65
Pinna —> auditory canal ——> ?
Tympanic membrane (eardrum)
66
Parts of outer ear
Pinna, external auditory canal and eardrum
67
High frequency =
More vibrations
68
Ossicles
3 little bones in middle ear -malleus -incus -stapes
69
Oval window
Point where base of stapes connects to cochlea
70
Eustachian tube
Connects middle ear to nasal cavity
71
Inner ear
Bony labyrinth - contains cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibule Membraneous labyrinth- all three structures form this
72
Perilymp
Fills bony labyrinth
73
Endolymph
Potassium rich fluid fills membraneous labyrinth
74
Cochlea is divided into
3 scalae
75
Main hearing part of cochlea
Middle scala Tectorial membrane - immobile and on top of organ of corti Organ of corti - main organ, contains hair cells bathed in endolymp Basilar membrane - thin membrane on which organ of corti sits
76
Purpose of round window
Permits perilymph to move why dislocating
77
Vestibule
Utricle + saccule - contain special hair cells covered with otoliths(which resists motion when body is moving and send s signal to brain Linear acceleration
78
Rotational acceleration is perceived by
Semicircular canals - each end is swelled called ampulla containing hair cells
79
Auditory pathway
Pinna ~ external auditory canal ~ eardrum ~ ossicles ~oval window~ perilymph cochlea ~basilar membrane~ organ of corti~hair cells~ vestibulocochlear nerve~brainstem~ medial geniculate nucleus in thalamus ~ temporal lobe
80
Superior olive
Auditory - localizes sound
81
Inferior colliculus
In mid brain For reflex actions
82
_________is present over hair cells
Stereocilia
83
Hair cells on tectorial membrane function
Amplifying sound
84
Place theory
Pitch of the sound is determined by the location of the hair cells on basilar membrane
85
How is cochlea organised
Tonotypically
86
What does tonotypically organized mean
Low pitch cause hair cells to vibrate at the bottom High pitch cause hair cells to vibrate at the apex
87
What is the only sense that does not pass through thalamus
Smell
88
Smell sense
Responds to volatile and aerosolized compounds
89
Smell receptors are called
Olfactory Chemoreceptors
90
Olfactory Chemoreceptors location?
Upper part of nasal cavity on epithelium
91
Chemical releases by the body outside in the environment
Pheromones eg - sweat, urine, body oil etc
92
Olfactory pathway
Nostril - nasal cavity - olfactory chemoreceptors - olfactory bulb- higher order brain regions and limbic system
93
Basic tastes
Sweet Sour Salty Savoury Bitter
94
Taste receptors
Chemoreceptors or taste buds (cells)
95
Chemoreceptors are sensitive to
Dissolved chemical
96
Taste buds are found
On bumps on tongue called papillae
97
Somatosensation has 4 modalities. Name them
PPVT PRESSURE PAIN VIBRATION TEMPERATURE
98
5 cells under somatostatin
Pacinian corpuscles - deep pressure and vibration Merkel - deep pressure and testure Ruffini - stretch Open nerve endings - pain and temperature Meissner corpuscles - mild touch
99
Two point threshold
Minimum distance which needs to be there between two different point of stimulation on to distinguish between the two stimuli
100
Physiology zero
Normal body temperature
101
Gate theory of pain
Pain signal can be turned on or off Spinal cord has the ability to modulate the pain before sending signals to the brain
102
Kinesthetic sense
Ability to tell where the body is in space
103
Kinesthetic sense is also called
Proprioception
104
Proprioception receptors are called
Proprioceptors
105
Bottom up processing
Parallel processing + feature detection takes place then the whole object is identified
106
Top down processing
First object is identified through memory and recognition and then the components are identified.
107
When bottoms up and top down processing are combined
Perceptual organisation
108
Gestalt principles
Help fill gaps
109
What are the two visual cues ?
1. Monocular cues 3. Binocular cues
110
Monocular cues
Require one eye -interposition - objects overlap and find one in front appears to be closer -linear perspective-parallel lines converge at distance -motion parallax - objects closer seem to move faster - relative size - objects appear larger than they are
111
Binocular cues
Needs two eyes - retinal disparity - convergence
112
Binocular cues
Needs two eyes - retinal disparity - convergence
113
Retinal disparity
There is a slight difference between the images produced at two retinas
114
Convergence
Brain detects the angle between objects and bring the object into focus
115
Constancy
Perceiving an object same in different environment
116
Gestalt principles
1. Law of proximity 2. Law of similarity 3. Law of closure 4. Law of contour/subjective contour 5. Law of good continuation
117
Law of proximity
Objects close to each other are considered unit
118
Law of good continuation
Elements that appear to follow the same path seems to be together
119
Law of subjective contour
Contours/ shapes are seen even if they are not drawn
120
Law of similarity
Elements that look alike are grouped together
121
Law of closure
If there is a space between contours, it’s perceived as if the shape is closed
122
What is law of pragnaz?
That perceptual organisation will always be regular, simple, and symmetric

Behavior Sciences Mcat (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions