Test 3 Flashcards
Which retinal photoreceptor is almost exclusively found in the fovea?
Cones
The inability to focus on nearby objects, due to the focal point of light falling beyond the retina.
Hyperopia, or Nearsightedness
Photoreceptors abundant in the periphery, best for dim light.
Rods
Which photoreceptor sees in black and white, and are sensitive but not detailed?
Rods
Which photoreceptor sees color, and is good at detailed vision?
Cones
The part of the visual field that either excites or inhibits a cell in the visual system of the brain.
The receptive field
Multiple rods give information to?
A single ganglion cell
Each cone delivers information to its own…?
Ganglion cell
Many-to-one
Convergence
One-to-one
Acuity
Are there more red or green cones?
They are roughly equivalent.
What is our weakest sense at birth?
Vision
What theory refers to the red, green, and blue sensitive cones in our retina?
Trichromatic Theory
What theory suggests we perceive colors in terms of paired opposites?
Opponent-process theory
What do you call the ability to recognize color despite changes in lighting?
Color constancy
What theory suggests that the cortex compares information from various parts of the retina to determine the brightness and color of each area?
Retinex Theory
Blue color blindness is called?
Tritanopia
Where does perception occur?
The brain
What structure in the midbrain takes in visual information and reflexively orients toward it?
The superior colliculus
What is the inability to recognize faces and what is it caused by?
Prosopagnosia, caused by damage to the fusiform gyrus
What law states that there are specifically designed detectors on the tongue, eyes, etc. which understand physical forces which our brain is not built to understand?
The Law of Specific Nerve Energies
In the brain, what structure is responsible for responding to things we find disgusting?
The insula
In the brain, what structure is responsible for our emotional response to pain?
The Cingulate Cortex
The region around the aqueduct which is important in responding to our own pain is called what?
The periaqueductal gray, or PAG
Enkephalins are an example of what?
An Endorphin
Chemicals, related to marijuana, which can block certain kinds of pain, particularly in the periphery of the body.
Cannabinoids
Sensory receptors for pain.
Nociceptors
Poisons tend to taste
Bitter or sour
Which senses were the first to have evolved in humans?
The chemosenses, taste and smell
What principle states that each receptor responds to a limited range of stimuli and sends information in a direct line to the brain?
The labeled-line principle
What principle states that each receptor responds to a wider range of stimuli and contributes to the perception of each of them?
Across-fiber pattern
How often are taste receptors replaced?
Every 10-14 days
What are the bumps on your tongue called?
Papillae
Papillae contain how many taste buds each?
Up to 10
How many receptors does each taste bud contain?
About 50
Where on the tongue are most human taste buds located?
Along the outside edge
Which taste receptors are ionotropic?
Salty and Sour
Which taste receptors cause sodium ions to cross the membrane, resulting in action potentials?
Saltiness receptors
Why are sweet, bitter, and umami receptors metabotropic?
Because they are molecules rather than ions.
What is the primary taste cortex?
The insula
Do humans have a pheromone center?
Yes, but it is largely defunct and vestigial
How is taste organized in the brain?
Ipsilaterally
What sense refers to the detection and recognition of chemicals that contact the inside of the nose?
Olfaction
Taste and Olfaction both serve what purpose?
Controlling approach/avoidance
Where are the olfactory cells?
Lining the nasal epithelium in the rear of the nasal passage.
How do olfactory nerve axons deliver information to the brain?
Directly, through the holes in the bone between the nose and brain.
The inability to smell is called what?
Anosmia
A set of receptors located near the olfactory receptors which are sensitive to pheromones.
The Vomeronasal Organ, or VNO
What is the path that smell is processed through?
The olfactory bulbs, then the cortex, then the limbic system (particularly the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus)
Where does taste go to first in the brain?
The NTS, or nucleus of the tractus solitarius
Which cranial nerves act as the ganglion cells on taste buds?
The vagus nerve, the glossopharyngeal, the chorda tympani, and the trigeminal nerve
What activates umami receptors?
MSG
Receptors which are modified skin cells.
Taste receptors
The perception of flavor is the combination of which senses?
Taste and smell
The axons of taste and smell converge where?
The endopiriform cortex
Our sense of hearing is referred to as?
Audition
What is our perception of sound actually?
The vibration of air molecules.
Periodic compressions of air or other media.
Soundwaves
Frequency, or pitch, refers to what quality of a sound wave?
Its speed
Word for the amount of sound waves coming into the ear at once.
The complexity, or timbre
Where does a sound wave enter?
Via the outer ear
Sound waves are amplified by?
The middle ear
What does the inner ear do to sound waves?
Transduce it into electrical signals
What structure of the outer ear is important in localizing sound, and varies greatly between species?
The pinna
What structure of the outer ear functions to funnel to and protect the tympanic membrane?
The ear canal
What structure of the outer ear vibrates in response to sound?
The tympanic membrane
What separates the middle and inner ear?
The oval window
What part of the ear contains the malleus, incus, and stapes?
The middle ear
Which parts of the vestibular system are part of the inner ear?
The semicircular canal and the otolith organs
A small, snail shaped structure within the inner ear.
The cochlea
What auditory receptors lie between the basilar membrane and the tectorial membrane in the cochlea?
Hair cells
The ossicles (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) function by?
Amplifying the sound waves to allow them to move through the cochlea.
Which hair cells are afferent and contain 1 row?
Inner hair cells
What pitch perception theory states that each area along the basilar membrane has hair cells sensitive to only one specific frequency of sound wave?
Place Theory
What is the destination for most information from the auditory system?
The primary auditory cortex, area A1
