Sensation and Perception Flashcards
What is sensation
Conversion of physical stimuli into neurological signals
What is perception
Processing of sensory information to make sense of its significance
Sensory receptors function
Respond to stimuli and trigger electrical signals
Sensory neuron function
Transmit information from sensory receptors to CNS
Where are sensory stimuli transmitted
Projection areas in the brain, which further analyze the sensory input
What is threshold
The minimum stimulus thet causes a change in signal transduction
What is Weber’s law
The JND for a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus and this proportion is constant over most of the range of the possible stimuli
What is signal detection theory
The effects of non sensory factors, such as experiences, motives, and expectations, on perception of stimuli
What is response bias
Examined using signal detection experiments with four outcomes: hit, miss, false alarm, correct negative
What is adaptation
A decrease in response to a stimulus over time
What is the visual pathway
Retina to optic nerve to optic chiasm to optic tracts to lateral geniculate nucleus of thalamus to visual radiations to visual cortex
Function of cochlea
Detects sound
Function of utricle and saccule
Detect linear acceleration
Function of semicircular canals
Detect rotational acceleration
What is the auditory pathway
Cochlea to vestibulocochlear nerve to medial geniculate nucleus of thalamus to auditory cortex
What is smell
Detection of volatile or aerosolized chemicals by olfactory chemoreceptors (olfactory nerves)
What is taste
Detection of dissolved compounds by taste buds in papillae
What is somatosensation
Pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature
What is kinesthetic sense (proprioception)
Ability to tell where one’s body is in space
What is bottom-up (data driven) processing
Recognition of objects by parallel processing and feature detection. Slower, but less prone to mistakes
What is top-down (conceptually driven) processing
Recognition of an object by memories and expectations, with little attention to detail. Faster, but more prone to mistakes
What are Gestalt principles
Ways that the brain can infer missing parts of an image when it is incomplete
