Sensation & Perception Flashcards
sensory receptors
sensory nerves that respond to stimuli
senosry ganglia
collection of cell bodies outside the CNS
projection areas
areas in the brain that analyze sensory input
absolute threshold
the minimum of stimulus energy that will activate a sensory system
threshold of conscious perception
the minimum stimulus energy that will create a signal large enough in size and long enough in duration to be brough into awareness
difference threshold
the minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli before one can percieve this difference
weber’s law
just noticeable difference for a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus
signal detection theory
refers to the effects of nonsensory factors, such as:
* experiences
* motives
* expectations on perception of stimuli
* accounts for response bias
adaptation
refers to a increase or decrease in sensitivity to a stimulus
Hearing
what makes up the outer ear?
- pinna (auricle)
- external auditory canal
- typamic membrane
Hearing
What makes up the middle ear?
- malleus: hammer
- incus: anvil
- stapes: stirrup
Acronym: MIS and HAS
Hearing
what makes up the inner ear?
- bony labyrinth: filled with perilymph
- membranous labyrinth: filled with endolymph
Hearing
what makes up the membranous labyrinth?
- cochlea (sound)
- utricle & saccule (linear acceleration)
- semicircular canals (rotational acceleration & balance)
Hearing
what makes up projection areas?
- superior olive
- inferior colliculus
Hearing
superior olive
- localizes sound
- located in brain stem
Hearing
inferior colliculus
- startle reflex
- used in both eyes and ears in the vestibulo-occular reflex
Hearing
vestibulo-occular reflex
keeps the eyes fixed on a single point as the head rotates
Hearing
auditory pathway
cochlea –> vestibulocochlear nerve –> medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) –> auditory cortex
Vision
Cornea
gathers incoming light
Vision
iris
- controls size of pupil
- colored part of eye
- divides front of the eye into the anterior & posterior chamber
- contains 2 muscles, the dilator and constrictor pupillae
Vision
lens
refracts incoming light to focus it on the retina
Vision
aqueous humor
- produced by the ciliary body
- nourishes the eye and gives the eye shape
- drains through the canal of Schlemm
Vision
retina
capture the light that enters the eye and translate it into an image
Vision
rods
- detect light/dark
- contains rhodopsin
Vision
cones
- color
- short/ medium/ long
- are in the fovea, which is part of the macula
Vision
Pathway from retina
rods/cones –> bipolar cells –> ganglion cells –> optic nerves
Vision
Retinal Disparity
- space between eyes
- allows for binocular vision and depth
Vision
horizontal & amacrine cells
integrates signals from ganglion cells and performs edge-sharpening
Vision
Support
vitreous on inside
sclera and choroid on outside
Vision
parallel processing
color, form, motion at same time
Vision
magnocellular cells
- motion
- high temporal resolution
Vision
parvocellular cells
- shape
- high spatial resolution
Vision
visual pathway
eye –> optic nerves –> optic chiasm –> optic tracts –> lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) –> visual radiations –> visual cortex
Object Recognition
Top-Down processing
- the recognition of an object by memories and expectations
- little attention to detail
- uses background knowledge
Object Recognition
bottom-up processing
- details –> whole
- recognition of objects by feature detection
- not influenced by background knowledge
Object Recognition
gestalt principles
- proximity
- similarity
- continutity
- closure
- all are governed by the law of pragnanz
Other senses
two-point threshold
minimum distance necessary between 2 points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felts as two distinct stimuli
Other senses
physiological zero
the normal temp of skin which objects are compared to
