Week 5 Vocabulary

Question 1

Concave

Answer 1

Bending inwards

Question 2

Convex

Answer 2

Bending outwards

Question 3

Fundamental Frequency

Answer 3

The lowest frequency of a complex tone

Question 4

Harmonic Frequency

Answer 4

Frequencies of a complex tone above the fundamental frequency.

Question 5

Pitch

Answer 5

The perception of the frequency of sound waves

Question 6

Weber’s Law

Answer 6

Quantifies the perception of change in a stimulus.

Question 7

Probabilistic Response

Answer 7

The response to a stimulus occurs with a given probability distribution, rather than being all-or-none. For example, low wavelength photoreceptors have the highest probability of responding to blue light, but also have a lower probability of responding to violet light.

Question 8

Transduction

Answer 8

The conversion of a stimulus to a neural signal. Transduction of light occurs in photoreceptors of the retina.

Question 9

Transmission

Answer 9

The sending of a neural signal. Retinal ganglion cells transmit visual information from the retina.

Question 10

Modulation

Answer 10

Varying the amplitude of a signal or a response.

Question 11

Vestibular sense

Answer 11

The sense of balance and spatial orientation

Question 12

Modalities

Answer 12

Aspects of stimuli that may be perceived, such as temperature, texture, and pitch

Question 13

Cornea

Answer 13

Transparent external part of the eye, responsible for most of the eye’s focusing power

Question 14

Iris

Answer 14

Controls the amount of light that enters the eye by constricting the pupil

Question 15

Pupil

Answer 15

Hole through which light passes into the eye

Question 16

Lens

Answer 16

Transparent flexible part of the eye that helps to focus light onto the retina

Question 17

Retina

Answer 17

Site of phototransduction in the eye. Contains the light-sensitive cells that convert light into neural signals

Question 18

Photopigment

Answer 18

Pigments that undergo a shape change when struck by a photon, allowing transduction of light to occur

Question 19

Photoreceptors

Answer 19

Cells in which transduction of light occurs.

Question 20

Rods

Answer 20

Photoreceptors responsible for vision in low-light conditions and peripheral vision

Question 21

Cones

Answer 21

Photoreceptors responsible for vision in high-light conditions, including color, and are particularly dense at the fovea

Question 22

Fovea

Answer 22

Pit in the retina with a very high density of cones that is responsible for visual detail

Question 23

Pigment Epithelium

Answer 23

Cell layer just outside of the retina that provides support for photoreceptors

Question 24

Ganglion cells (retinal)

Answer 24

Output neurons of the retina

Question 25

Convergence

Answer 25

Adduction of both eyes towards the nose, useful for focusing on near objects

Question 26

Pupillary Constrictions

Answer 26

Reduces the amount of light entering the eye and increasing the depth of field, making focusing on near objects easier

Question 27

Rounding the lens

Answer 27

Adjusts fine focus of light onto the retina, particularly for near objects

Question 28

Myopia

Answer 28

Nearsightedness

Question 29

Hyperopia

Answer 29

Farsightedness

Question 30

Emmetropization

Answer 30

The developmental process that determines the length of the eye to allow light from far objects to be accurately focused on the retina. It involves interactions between the sclera and the retina.

Question 31

Scotopic

Answer 31

Low-light conditions, vision is dominated by rods

Question 32

Photopic

Answer 32

High-light conditions, vision is dominated by cones

Question 33

Scotoma

Answer 33

Areas in the visual field that cannot be seen

Question 34

Blind spot

Answer 34

Small scotoma in each eye where the optic nerve leaves the eye

Question 35

Agnosia

Answer 35

Inability to recognize objects

Question 36

Prosopagnosia

Answer 36

Inability to recognize faces

Question 37

Hemispatial neglect

Answer 37

Neglect of one visual hemisphere caused by damage to the contralateral visual system, usually the dorsal pathway

Question 38

Amblyopia

Answer 38

Developmental problem that results in inability to interpret visual input