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P/S MCAT > Sensation and Perception > Flashcards

Sensation and Perception Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

Sensation

A

conversion of physical, electromagnetic, auditory and other information from our internal and external environments to electrical signals in the nervous system

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2
Q

Perception

A

processing of information to make sense of its significance

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3
Q

Distal stimuli

A

originate outside of the body. These are a part of the outside world

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4
Q

Proximal Stimuli

A

directly interact with and affect the sensory receptors

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5
Q

Psychophysics

A

relationship between the physical nature of stimuli and the sensations/perceptions that they evoke

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6
Q

Ganglia

A

collection of neuron cell bodies found outside of the CNS

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7
Q

Photoreceptors

A

respond to electromagnetic waves in the visible spectrum

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8
Q

Hair Cells

A

respond to movement of fluid in the inner ear structure (hearing)

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9
Q

Nociceptors

A

respond to painful or poisonous stimuli (somatosensation)

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10
Q

Thermoreceptors

A

respond to changes in temperature (thermosensation)

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11
Q

Osmoreceptors

A

respond to the osmolarity of the blood

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12
Q

Olfactory Receptors

A

respond to volatile compounds (smell)

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13
Q

Taste Receptors

A

respond to dissolved compounds (taste)

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14
Q

Threshold

A

minimum amount of stimulus that renders a difference in perception

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15
Q

Absolute Threshold

A

Minimum stimulus energy that is needed to activate a sensory system

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16
Q

Subliminal perception

A

perception of a stimulus below a given threshold

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17
Q

Threshold of Conscious Perception

A

minimum stimulus required to consciously perceive the stimulus

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18
Q

Discrimination Testing

A

way to analyze the

limit in human perceptive ability

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19
Q

Difference Threshold or Just-Noticeable Difference (jnd)

A

minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli before one can perceive the
difference

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20
Q

Weber’s Law

A

states that there is a constant ratio between the change in stimulus
magnitude needed to produce a jnd and the magnitude of the original stimulus

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21
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

focuses on the changes in our perception of the same stimuli depending on both
internal (psychological) & external (environmental) context

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22
Q

response bias

A

tendency of subjects to systematically

responds to a stimulus in a particular way due to non-sensory factors

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23
Q

Catch Trials

A

stimulus is presented

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24
Q

Noise Trials

A

signals are not presented

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25
Q

Sclera

A
  • white of the eye

- covers the exposed portion of the eye and is a thick structural layer

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26
Q

Retina

A
  • the innermost layer of the eye and this contains the actual photoreceptors that transduce light into electrical information that the brain can process
  • convert incoming photons of light to electrical signals
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27
Q

Duplexity (duplicity theory of vision)

A
  • states that the retina contains two kinds of photoreceptors:
    • One set of photoreceptors for light and dark detection
    • One set of photoreceptors for color detection
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28
Q

Dilator pupillae

A

muscle that opens the pupil under sympathetic stimulation

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29
Q

Constrictor pupillae

A

muscle that constrict the pupil under parasympathetic stimulation

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30
Q

Lens

A

Controls the refraction of incoming light and lies directly behind the iris

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31
Q

Ciliary Muscle

A

component of the ciliary body and is under parasympathetic control

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32
Q

Vitreous

A

Transparent gel that lies behind the lens and supports the retina

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33
Q

Cones

A
  • used for color vision and to sense fine details.
  • most effective in bright light
  • Come in three forms, and the forms are named after the wavelength of light that they best absorb: S (blue), M (green), L (red)
34
Q

Rods

A
  • more functional in darkened conditions
  • Only allow for sensation of light and dark
  • Contain single pigment that is called rhodopsin
  • Low sensitivity to detail and not involved in color vision
35
Q

Fovea

A

centermost point of the retina that contains only cones

36
Q

Bipolar Cells

A
  • connect with rods and cones

- These highlight the light gradient between adjacent rods or cones

37
Q

Ganglion cells

A
  • where bipolar cells synapse to

- These group together to form the optic nerve

38
Q

Amacrine & Horizontal Cells

A
  • receive input from multiple retinal cells from the same area
  • accentuate any slight differences between the information in each bipolar cell, before the input is passed to the ganglion cells
39
Q

optic chiasm

A

fibers from the nasal half of each retina cross paths

40
Q

optic tracts

A

Reorganized pathways after leaving the optic chiasm

41
Q

Parallel Processing

A

ability to simultaneously analyze and combine information regarding color, shape and motion

42
Q

parvocellular cells

A
  • detect shape
  • have high color spatial resolution, which permits them to see very fine detail when an object is thoroughly examined
  • only work with slow or stationary object since they have low temporal resolution
43
Q

magnocellular cells

A
  • detect motion

- have very high temporal resolution, but low spatial resolution

44
Q

Pinna/auricle

A
  • structure where sound wave first reaches
  • The cartilaginous outside part of the ear
  • channel sound waves into the external auditory canal
45
Q

Eustachian tube

A
  • connects the middle ear to the nasal cavity

- Helps equalize pressure between middle ear and environment

46
Q

endolymph

A

fluid contained in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear

47
Q

perilymph

A
  • extracellular fluid located in the bony labyrinth within the inner ear
  • transmits vibrations from the outside world and cushions the inner ear structures
48
Q

Round Window

A

permits the incompressible fluids to move within the cochlea

49
Q

otoliths

A
  • covers modified hair cells in the utricle and saccule

- resist accelerative motion which causes a bend in the underlying hair cells

50
Q

Vestibule

A
  • portion of bony labyrinth that contains the utricle and saccule
  • sensitive to linear acceleration and are used as part of the balancing apparatus and to determine one’s orientation in 3-D space
51
Q

Place Theory

A
  • location of a hair cell on the basilar membrane determines the perception of pitch when the hair cell vibrates
  • Based on the fact that the basilar membrane changes its thickness depending on the location in the cochlea
52
Q

tonotopically organized

A

specified hair cells determine the pitch of the sound that the brain interprets

53
Q

Chemical sense

A

Responds to incoming chemicals from the outside world

54
Q

Olfactory Chemoreceptors (nerves)

A

located in the olfactory epithelium in the upper part of the nasal cavity

55
Q

Pheromones

A

ability of smell to carry interpersonal information

56
Q

Olfactory Pathway

A

odor molecules are inhaled into the nasal passage and then come into contact with olfactory nerves. Receptor cells are activated and this sends signals to the olfactory bulb. Signals are then relayed via the olfactory tract into higher regions of the brain (including the limbic system)

57
Q

Somatosensation

A

Four components: pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature

58
Q

Pacinian Corpuscles

A

respond to deep pressure and vibration

59
Q

Meissner Corpuscles

A

respond to light touch

60
Q

Merkle cells (discs)

A

respond to deep pressure and texture

61
Q

Ruffini Endings

A

respond to stretch

62
Q

Free Nerve Endings

A

respond to pain and temperature

63
Q

Two-Point Threshold

A

minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin so that the point will be felt as two distinct stimuli

64
Q

Physiological Zero

A

normal temperature of the skin

65
Q

Gate Theory of Pain

A

proposes that there is a special “gating” mechanism that can turn pain signals on and off, which would affect whether or not pain is perceived

66
Q

Kinesthetic Sense/ Proprioception

A
  • Ability to tell where one’s body is in space
  • receptors found mostly in the muscle and joints
  • role in hand-eye coordination, balance and mobility
67
Q

Bottom-Up (data-driven) processing

A
  • object recognition by parallel processing and feature detection
  • Brain takes the individual sensory stimuli and combines them together to create a cohesive image before determining what the object is
68
Q

Top-down (conceptually driven) processing

A

driven by memories and expectation that allow the brain to recognize the whole object and the recognize the components based on these expectations

69
Q

Perceptual Organization

A

ability to use the two processes in tandem with all of the sensory clues about an object to create a complete picture or idea

70
Q

Depth Perception

A

relies on both monocular and binocular cues

71
Q

Monocular cues

A

relative size of objects, partial obscuring of one object by another, convergence of parallel lines at a distance, position of an object, and lighting/shadowing

72
Q

Binocular cues

A

slight difference between images projected on the two retinas, and the angle required between two eyes to bring an object into focus

73
Q

Constancy

A

idea that we perceive certain characteristics of objects to remain the same

74
Q

Gestalt Principles

A

Ways for the brain to infer missing parts of a picture when the picture is incomplete

75
Q

Law of Proximity

A

elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit

76
Q

Law of Similarity

A

similar objects tend to be grouped together

77
Q

Law of Good Continuation

A

elements that appear to follow the same pathway tend to be grouped together

78
Q

Subjective Contours

A

Contours or shapes are perceived when they are not actually there

79
Q

Law of Closure

A

When a space is enclosed by a contour, it tends to be perceived as a complete figure

80
Q

law of pragnanz

A

Perceptual organization will always be as regular, simple and symmetric as possible

P/S MCAT (12 decks)

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