Sensation- chapter 4 Flashcards
Encephalization
Ratio of body size to brain size for species
Endocast
Impressions used to assess size and physical characteristics of the brains of extinct species
Why is being able to feel pain good?
It is good because if we didn’t feel pain we would end up damaging ourselves without even knowing it.
What is the main purpose of perception?
Primary purpose is for action
Can brain size determine intelligence?
No
Elephant
Cerebrotype
A way to chart the evolution of brain organizations based on relative size of 11 brain structures
Frontalization
Increased planning, working memory, abstract reasoning, morals, attention control and coordinating action
Three reason why the homo sapien brain grew
Life History- allows increased learning
Ecology-the need to remember things
Social Factor- need memory
How much does the brain consume of our metabolic resources
25%
The four perceptions
Sight
Smell
Taste
Touch
Why is sensory information extremely important?
It is allocated half of your brain and your brain is extremely expensive to the metabolism of your body
Convolution
As one thing evolves, so does the other
example- hummingbird and flower
Evolutionary Arms Race
Each evolutionary change matched by the evolution of the other species(eg predator vs prey)
Red queen hypothesis
As one evolves so does the other to keep up.
What is sensory adaptation
After a brief time animals adjust to stimuli in environment
