Unit 3 - Vision, Hearing, and Other Senses

Question 1

Wavelength

Answer 1

Short wavelength: bluish (darker) colors and high pitched sounds; Long wavelength: reddish (brighter) colors and low pitched sounds.

Question 2

Hue

Answer 2

The dimension of color determined by the wavelength of light. Ex. red, blue, green.

Question 3

Intensity

Answer 3

Amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which as we perceive as brightness of loudness, is determined by the wave’s amplitude.

Question 4

Pupil

Answer 4

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

Question 5

Iris

Answer 5

Dilates or constricts in response to changing light intensity.

Question 6

Lens

Answer 6

Transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

Question 7

Accomodation

Answer 7

Process by which the lens changes shape.

Question 8

Retina

Answer 8

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones, plus layers of neurons that behind the processing of visual information.

Question 9

Rods

Answer 9

Peripheral retina; detects black, white, and gray; works well in twilight or low light.

Question 10

Cones

Answer 10

Located near the center of the retina; fine detail and color vision; works well in daylight and well-lit environments.

Question 11

Bipolar Cells

Answer 11

Neurons that connect rods and cones to the ganglion cells.

Question 12

Ganglion Cells

Answer 12

Neurons that connect to the bipolar cells, their axons form the optic nerve.

Question 13

Blind Spot

Answer 13

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.

Question 14

Fovea

Answer 14

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster.

Question 15

Optic Nerve

Answer 15

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Question 16

Feature Detectors

Answer 16

Nerve cells located in the brain that respond to specific features; includes shape, angle, and movement.

Question 17

Parallel Processing

Answer 17

Ability to simultaneously process several aspects of a stimulus at once.

Question 18

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

Answer 18

Theory that states that the retina contains three different color receptors (red, blue, and green) which when stimulated in combination can produce any perception of color.

Question 19

Opponent Process Theory

Answer 19

Opposing retinal processes enable color vision; cells located in the thalamus; red-green, yellow-blue, white-black.

Question 20

Audition

Answer 20

The sense of hearing.

Question 21

Frequency

Answer 21

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time.

Question 22

Pitch

Answer 22

A tone’s highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

Question 23

Middle Ear

Answer 23

Chamber between eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.

Question 24

Inner Ear

Answer 24

Innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Question 25

Cochlea

Answer 25

Coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear tat transforms sound vibrations to auditory signals (transduction).

Question 26

Organ of Corti

Answer 26

A structure in the cochlea of the inner ear which produces nerve impulses in response to sound vibrations.

Question 27

Place Theory

Answer 27

Sound frequencies stimulate the basilar membrane at specific places resulting in perceived pitch. This best explains high pitched sounds.

Question 28

Frequency Theory

Answer 28

The rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch. This best explains low pitched sounds.

Question 29

Localization of Sounds

Answer 29

Sounds that reaches one ear faster than the other ear cause us to localize the sound

Question 30

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Answer 30

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerve; also called nerve deafness.

Question 31

Conduction Hearing Loss

Answer 31

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Question 32

Cochlear Implant

Answer 32

A decide for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

Question 33

Sense of Touch

Answer 33

A mix of four distinct skin senses: pressure, warmth, cold, and pain.

Question 34

Gate-Control Theory

Answer 34

The spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain.

Question 35

Taste

Answer 35

Consists of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami tastes.

Question 36

Papillae

Answer 36

Term for small bulbs on tongue that contains receptor cells (taste buds)

Question 37

Smell (Olfaction)

Answer 37

A chemical sense; odorants enter the nasal cavity to stimulate 5 million receptors to sense smell.

Question 38

Kinesthesis

Answer 38

System for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Question 39

Vestibular Sense

Answer 39

Sense of body movement and position including the sense of balance.

Question 40

Sensory Interaction (McGurk Effect)

Answer 40

Principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.