Sensory processing and Perception Flashcards by Frances Mina

Sensory receptors communicate 4 properties to the CNS

Location, modality (type of stimulus), intensity, and duration

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Exteroreceptors vs Interoreceptors

Exteroreceptors- respond to stimuli from outside world

Interoreceptors- respond to stimuli inside the body

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Various stimuli from inside body

Sense pain from within the body and dehydration/ overhydration

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Olfactory and gustatory receptors both respond to which stimuli

Chemical stimuli

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What cells are responsible for hearing? These are found in inner ear, convert pressure signals from sound waves into action potentials. they also respond to pressure to sense rotational acceleration

Hair cells

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Semicircular canals contain a fluid called? This fluid moves in response to rotational acceleration

Endolymph

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Hair cells in which structure send rotational information to the nervous system

Crista ampullaris

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Type of mechanoreceptors that detect light touch

Tactile corpuscles

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Type of mechanoreceptors that respond to sustained pressure

Merkel nerve endings

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Type of mechanoreceptors that sense deep pressure beneath the surface of the skin

Ruffini endings

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Type of mechanoreceptors that respond to high-frequency vibrations

Pacinian corpuscle

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Receptors that detect pain

Nociceptors- some respond to mechanical stimuli, some to thermal stimuli, and some to chemical stimuli (ex. Capsaicin - spicy food)

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These Interoreceptors detect pressure inside the body, like walls of blood vessels. These are subset of mechanoreceptors

Baroreceptors

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Blood pressure is linked to 2 properties

Blood volume and hydration

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These detect concentration of solutes in blood

Osmoreceptors

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These receptors are found in and around muscles, tendons, joints. Give us a sense of relative position of the parts of our body in space. (Kinesthetic sense)

Proprioceptors

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Proximal vs Distal stimulus

Proximal: what the sensory receptor picks up on
Distal: the environmental source of the signals

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The threshold that a stimulus must cross in order to consciously perceive it

Threshold of Conscious Perception

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The level of intensity that a stimulus must have in order to be picked up by sensory neurons. If a stimulus does not hit the threshold, it is not registered by our bodies

Absolute threshold

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T or F. The level of stimulus can be pass the threshold of conscious perception but never pass the absolute threshold

False. The opposite is true. The absolute threshold can be passed but not the threshold of conscious perception

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The smallest change in magnitude of a stimulus that we can perceive as being different. Also known as the difference threshold

Just- Noticeable Difference (JND)

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Tests whether research subjects can tell the difference between 2 stimuli

Psychophysical discrimination testing

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For any given sensory input the JND will be a constant proportion of the original input

Weber’s Law (breaks down at extremes- too strong/ too faint)

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Bear actually present and bear is perceive

Hit

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Bear is actually present but bear not perceived

Miss

Bear actually absent but bear perceived

False Alarm

Bear actually absent and bear not perceived

Correct rejection

T or F. Signal detection can vary across people but is not affected by psychological states.

False. First part is correct but psychological states can affect signal detection

Sensory adaptation occurs where?

In the brain

These receptors are slow to adapt to stimuli

Tonic receptors

These receptors send a burst of action potentials, then stop. (Fast adaptation)

Phasic receptors | Ex. Hair follicles

Bottom up processing vs top-down processing

Bottom-up: individual pieces assembled to see the bigger pic | Top-down: brain decides what it is looking for, then assembled individual pieces to support that pic

We perceive objects or shapes that a re close to each other as forming groups

Principle of proximity

Objects that are similar in some way will be perceived as belonging to a group

Principle of similarity

If multiple objects intersect or overlap, we tend to perceive them as relatively few uninterrupted objects

Principle of Good Continuation

We infer the presence of complete shapes even when they’re incomplete

Principle of closure

Symmetrical objects are more likely to be perceived as whole than asymmetrical objects

Principle of symmetry

Law of Pragnanz

Objects are interpreted in the simplest and most meaningful ways (For Gestalt Principles)

Eye structure that turns certain wavelengths of light into action potentials

Retina

Cones and rods are photoreceptors located at which structure of the eye?

Retina

Which photoreceptor is responsible for perceiving color and fine detail

Cones

Short wavelength type of cones is responsible for sensing which color? What is the wavelength

Blue- 420 nm

Medium wavelengths type of cone is responsible for sensing which color? What is the wavelength?

Green- 530 nm

Long wavelength type of cone is responsible for sensing which color? What is the wavelength?

Red- 560 nm

Where are cones most commonly located?

Fovea centralis and macula (central region around the fovea)

Which photoreceptor is responsible for sensing visual input in low-light conditions (responsible for night vision)?

Rods

What is the pigment that the rods contain. This doubles as a photoreceptor protein and is extremely sensitive to light

Rhodopsin

T or F. There are more cones than rods.

False. There are about 120 million rods and only 6 million cones.

Which 2 structures of the eye focus the light?

Cornea and lens

What structure of the eye actually lets light into the eye and which one blocks the light that is not supposed to get into the eye?

Pupil and cornea respectively

Which structure of the eye contains the dilator pupillae and constrictor pupillae?

Iris

Which muscle adjusts the lens?

Ciliary muscle through the suspensory ligaments of lens

Which structure of the eye surround the retina, supply blood, and absorb excess blood?

Choroid

What is the outermost layer of the eye?

Sclera- gives the eye white color

The cones and rods are not directly in contact with optic nerve. Instead they synapse onto?

Bipolar cells

T or F. Bipolar cells have their cell body in the middle, with the dendrites in one end and axon on the other

True

T or F. Each bipolar cell is connected to only one cone or rod

False. Each is connected to many. Information is integrated

Bipolar cells synapse with ________, which are the components of optic nerve

Ganglion cells

Cells between cones/rods and bipolar cells. they inhibit photoreceptors, helping the eye to adjust to high versus low-light conditions and also synapse into bipolar cells too

Horizontal cells

Cells in between bipolar cells and ganglion cells.

Amacrine cells

Which 3 structures are mediary between rods and cones of the retina and the ganglion cells of the optic nerve

Horizontal, bipolar, and amacrine cells

The bundle of nerves carrying visual information

Optic tract

The optic tract runs through ________ _________ ________, which is contained in the thalamus

Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

The main relay station for inputs from the retinas

Thalamus

Specialized types of neurons in LGN

Magnocellular neuron and Parvocellular neurons - opposite functions

Ability to pick up details

Temporal resolution

Ability to see in detail

Spatial resolution

Magnocellular neurons function

Specialize in detecting motion. Not good at picking up details

Parvocellular neurons function

Specialize at picking up details. Not good at detecting motion

Objects that are close to us move further across our visual field than objects that are far from us

Motion Parallax- cue to perceive depth

Detection of individual stimuli

Feature detection

Integrate multiple inputs simultaneously

Parallel Processing

Systematically giving attention to one thing at a time

Serial Memory Processing

Sound waves are ____________ waves that, in air, manifest as regularly repeating changes in __________ as air molecule move back and forth

Longitudinal ; pressure

What cells are responsible for hearing?

Hair cells

Where are the hair cells located?

In the inner ear within a structure called the organ of Corti

T or F. The sound waves causes hair cells to sway, opening up sterocilia that allows the passing of positively charged ions which in turn cause the influx of Ca2+ Ions through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels

True

3 sections of organ of corti

Basilar membrane in the bottom, Endolymph containing hair cells in the middle, Tectorial membrane- rigid structure

3 bones in the middle ear (ossicles0

Malleus, incus, and stapes

Which membrane divides outer ear from middle ear?

Tympanic membrane

Connection to nasal cavity which is basically a valve that equalizes the pressure between the middle ear and the environment

Eustachian tube

These can amplify the the vibrations from the eardrum by as much as 10 times

Ossicles

T or F. The thickness of the basilar membrane isn’t constant and different thicknesses respond to different frequencies of vibrations

True

The thickest part of the basilar membrane is closest to the oval window and responds to (low/ high) frequency vibrations

High

Allows the brain to infer pitch of sound based on which hair cells send signals

Place theory

What structure divided middle ear and inner ear?

Oval window

The nerve signals generated by the hair cells in the organ of Corti are transmitted through the?

Vestibulocochlear (auditory) nerve

The auditory signals pass through (medial/ lateral) geniculate nucleus in the thalamus on their way to the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe

Medial

Hearing: | Left hemisphere vs Right hemisphere

Left: speech Right: background noise

Which cells are responsible for our vestibular sense?

Hair cells

3 Endolymph-containing structure called ______________ __________ are responsible for sensing rotational acceleration

Semicircular canals

Each end of the semicircular canal ends in a bulge called an _______, which contains hair cells

Ampulla

This sense linear acceleration

vestibule

Utricle vs Saccule of the vestibule

Utricle: detects motion in the horizontal place Saccule: detects motion in the vertical plane

Function of cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibule

Cochlea: sound Semicircular canals: rotational acceleration Vestibule: linear acceleration

CaC)3- containing structures in the utricle and saccule that helps stimulate hair cells

Otoliths

Minimum distance for distinguishing two point stimuli

2 point threshold

The smaller the 2 point threshold is the (less/ more) sensitive the area is

Our skin is cooler than our normal body temp.

Skin: 80- 90s | Core body temp: 98.6

Pain turned on/ off based on input

Gate Theory of Pain

Taste pathway

Taste center of thalamus -> gustatory cortex (in insula)

Smell pathway

Olfactory bulb -> olfactory tract -> limbic system