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Psychology 101 > Week 8 > Flashcards

Week 8 Flashcards

1
Q

Opponent Process

A

The representation of colours by the rate of firing of two types of neurones: red/green and yellow/blue

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2
Q

Opponent Process Theory

A

The theory that the perception of colour is the result of the activity of three opponent-process channels. (Red/Green, Blue/Yellow, Black/White)

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3
Q

Photoreceptor

A

A receptive cell for vision in the retina; a rod or a cone

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4
Q

Cone

A

A photoreceptor that is responsible for acute daytime vision and for colour perception

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5
Q

Rod

A

A photoreceptor that is very sensitive to light but cannot detect changes in hue

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6
Q

Perception

A

The detection of the more complex properties of a stimulus, including its location and nature

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7
Q

Transduction

A

The conversion of physical stimuli into changes in the activity of receptor cells of sensory organs

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8
Q

Receptor Cell

A

A neuron that directly responds to a physical stimulus, such as light, vibrations, or aromatic molecules

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9
Q

Anatomical Coding

A

A means by which the nervous system represents information; different features are coded by the activity of different neurons

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10
Q

Temporal Coding

A

A means by which the nervous system represents information; different features are coded by the pattern of activity in neurons

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11
Q

Psychophysics

A

A branch of psychology that measures the quantitative relation between physical stimuli and perceptual experience

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12
Q

Just-Noticeable Difference (JND)

A

The smallest difference between two similar stimuli that can be distinguished; also known as difference threshold

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13
Q

Weber Fraction

A

The ratio between a JND and the magnitude of a stimulus; reasonably constant over the middle range of most stimulus intensities

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14
Q

Threshold

A

The point at which a stimulus, or a change in the value of a stimulus, can just be detected

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15
Q

Difference Threshold

A

The smallest difference between two similar stimuli that can be distinguished; also known as JND

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16
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

A mathematical theory of the detection of stimuli, which involves discriminating a signal from the noise in which is it embedded and which takes into account participants’ willingness to report detecting the signal

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17
Q

Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC Curve)

A

A graph of hits and false alarms of participants under different motivational conditions; indicates people’s ability to detect a particular stimulus

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18
Q

Wavelength

A

The distance between adjacent waves of radiant energy; in vision, most closely associated with the perceptual dimension of hue

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19
Q

Cornea

A

The transparent tissue covering the front of the eye

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20
Q

Sclera

A

The tough outer layer of the eye; the “white” of the eye

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21
Q

Iris

A

The pigmented muscle of the eye that controls the size of the pupil

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22
Q

Lens

A

The transparent organ situated behind the iris of the eye; helps focus an image on the retina

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23
Q

Accommodation

A

Changes in thickness of the lens of the eye that focus images of near or distant objects on the retina

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24
Q

Retina

A

The tissue at the back inside surface of the eye that contains the photoreceptors and associated neurons

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25
Q

Optic Disc

A

A circular structure located at the exit point from the retina of the axons of the ganglion cells that form the optic nerve

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26
Q

Ganglion Cell

A

A neuron in the retina that receives information from photoreceptors by means of bipolar cells and from which axons proceed through the optic nerves to the brain

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27
Q

Bipolar Cell

A

A neuron in the retina that receives information form photoreceptors and passes it on to the ganglion cells, from which axons proceed through the optic nerves to the rain

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28
Q

Fovea

A

A small pit near the centre of the retina containing densely packed cones; responsible for the most acute and detailed vision

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29
Q

Photopigment

A

A complex molecule found in photoreceptors; when struck by light, it splits and stimulates the membrane of the photoreceptor in which it resides

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30
Q

Rhodopsin

A

The photopigment contained by rods

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31
Q

Dark Adaptation

A

The process by which the eye becomes capable of distinguishing dimly illuminated objects after going from a bright area to a dark one

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32
Q

Vergence Movement

A

The co-operative movement of the eyes, which ensures that the image of an object fals on identical portions of both retinas

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33
Q

Saccadic Movement

A

The rapid movement of the eyes that is used in scanning a visual scene, as opposed to the smooth pursuit movements used to follow a moving object

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34
Q

Pursuit Movement

A

The movement that the eyes make to maintain an image of a moving image upon the fovea

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35
Q

Hue

A

A perceptual dimension of colour, most closely related to the wavelength of a pure light

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36
Q

Brightness

A

A perceptual dimension of colour, most closely related to the intensity or degree of radiant energy emitted by a visual stimulus

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37
Q

Saturation

A

A perceptual dimension of colour, most closely associated with purity of a colour

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38
Q

Colour Mixing

A

The perception of two or more lights of different wavelength seen together as light of an intermediate wavelength

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39
Q

The Trichromatic Theory

A

The theory that colour vision is accomplished by three types of photoreceptors, each of which is maximally sensitive to a different wavelength of light

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40
Q

Negative Afterimage

A

The image seen after a portion of the retina is exposed to an intense visual stimulus; a negative afterimage consists of colours complementary to those of the physical stimulus

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41
Q

Protanopia

A

A form of hereditary anomalous colour vision, caused by defective “red” cones in the retina

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42
Q

Deuteranopia

A

A form of hereditary anomalous colour vision; caused by defective “green” cones in the retina

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43
Q

Tritanopia

A

A form of hereditary anomalous colour vision; caused by a lack of “blue” cones in the retina

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44
Q

Hertz (Hz)

A

The primary measure of the frequency of vibration of sound waves; cycles per second

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45
Q

Ossicle

A

One of the three bones of the middle ear (the hammer, anvil and stirrup) that transmit acoustical vibrations from the eardrum to the membrane behind the oval window of the cochlea

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46
Q

Cochlea

A

A snail-shaped chamber set in bone in the inner ear, where auditory transduction takes place

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47
Q

Oval Window

A

An opening in the bone surrounding the cochlea. The stirrup presses against a membrane behind the oval window and transmits sound vibrations into the fluid within the cochlea

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48
Q

Basilar Membrane

A

One of two membranes that divide the cochlea of the inner ear into three compartments; the receptive organ for audition resides here

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49
Q

Round Window

A

An opening in the bone surrounding the cochlea. Movements of the membrane behind this opening permit vibrations to be transmitted through the oval window into the cochlea

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50
Q

Auditory Hair Cell

A

The sensory neuron of the auditory system; located on the basilar membrane

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51
Q

Cilium

A

A hair-like appendage of a cell; involved in movement or in transducing sensory information. Cilia are found on the receptors in the auditory and vestibular systems

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52
Q

Tectorial Membrane

A

A membrane located above the basilar membrane; serves as a shelf against which the cilia of the auditory hair cells move

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53
Q

Chemosense

A

One of the two sense modalities (gustation and olfaction) that detect the presence of particular molecules present in the environment

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54
Q

Gustation

A

The sense of taste

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55
Q

Papilla

A

A small bump on the tongue that contains a group of taste buds

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56
Q

Taste bud

A

A small organ on the tongue that contains a group of gustatory receptor cells

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57
Q

Olfaction

A

The sense of smell

58
Q

Pheromones

A

Chemical signals, usually detected by smell or taste, that regulate reproductive and social behaviours between animals

59
Q

Olfactory Mucosa

A

The mucous membrane lining the top of the nasal sinuses; contains the cilia of the olfactory receptors

60
Q

Olfactory Bulbs

A

Stalk-like structures located at the base of the brain that contain neural circuits that preform the first analysis of olfactory information

61
Q

Somatosense

A

Bodily sensations; sensitivity to such stimuli as touch, pain, and temperature

62
Q

Free Nerve Ending

A

A dendrite of somatosensory neurons

63
Q

Pacinian Corpuscle

A

A specialized somatosensory nerve ending that detects mechanical stimuli, especially vibrations

64
Q

Two-Point Discrimination Threshold

A

The minimum distance between two small points that can be detected as separate stimuli when pressed against a particular region of the skin

65
Q

Phantom Limb

A

Sensations that appear to originate in a limb that has been amputated

66
Q

Muscle Spindle

A

A muscle fibre that functions as a stretch receptor; arranged parallel to the muscle fibres responsible for contraction of the muscle, it detects muscle length

67
Q

Vestibular Apparatus

A

The receptive organs of the inner ear that contribute to balance and perception of head movement

68
Q

Semicircular Canal

A

One of a set of three organs in the inner ear that respond to rotational movements of the head

69
Q

Vestibular Sac

A

One of a set of two receptor organs in each inner ear that detect changes in the tilt of the head

70
Q

Adequate stimulus

A

Type of physical energy to which a sensory receptor is especially tuned

71
Q

Neuron

A

An individual neural (or nerve) cell

72
Q

Nucleus

A

The nucleus of a cell contains genes (DNA) and makes the proteins that “run” the cell

73
Q

Afferent Neurons

A

Afferent Neurons carry impulses towards the brain

74
Q

Amplitude/Intensity

A

Amplitude is the heigh of each wave, intensity depends directly on amplitude

75
Q

Broca’s Aphasia

A

French physician Paul Broca described the case of patient, Monsieur Leborgne, who could not speak but could only understand language. Leborgne had been ill and died less than a week after Broca met him, after Leborgne’s death Broca removed his brain and examined it, finding a large lesion in the left frontal lobe.

Leborgne had a type of Aphasia - a language disorder resulting from brain damage, we now call such a disorder in which the primary difficulty is with producing language, rather than understanding language

76
Q

Audition

A

Sensing with the ears; hearing

77
Q

Autonomic Nervous System

A

Receives information from and sends commands to the heart and other organs

78
Q

Axon

A

Nerve fibre that carries messages away from the cell body towards the cells with which the neuron communicates

79
Q

Axon Terminal

A

Sends information across a synapse

80
Q

Basal Ganglia

A

Group of subcortical structures that exchange information with different parts of the cerebral cortex and play a role in voluntary movement, learning and remembering how to do something

81
Q

Brainstem

A

The lower part of the brain that connects it with the spinal cord; important for consciousness, sleep, and life-maintaining functions like breathing and heartbeat

82
Q

Brightness

A

Perceptual property related to intensity of a light

83
Q

Aphasia

A

A language disorder resulting from brain damage to the brain

84
Q

Cell Body

A

The cell body contains structures that maintain cell health and metabolism

85
Q

Central Nervous System (CNS)

A

The CNS includes the brain and spinal cord. The spinal cord communicates with all the sensory organs and muscles, except those of the head

86
Q

Cerebellum

A

Pair of hemispheres resembling the cerebral hemispheres that are involved in motor control - the cerebellum ensures that movements are coordinated, well timed, and precise

87
Q

Cerebral Cortex

A

Outer layer of the cerebral hemispheres of the brain consisting of a “rind” of grey matter - the neuron cell bodies. Underneath the grey matter, there is white matter - the myelinated long axons of some of those cells, communicating with cells in other brain regions

88
Q

Chemical Senses

A

The senses of taste and smell together

89
Q

Cilia

A

Hair-like appendages of a receptor cell involved in movement or transducing mechanical vibration into neural activity

90
Q

Cochlear Implant

A

Electronic device that can provide a sense of sound to someone who is profoundly hearing impaired

91
Q

Complexity

A

The number of different frequencies present in a sound

92
Q

Compressed

A

Regions of high air pressure

93
Q

Convergence

A

Meeting, Uniting, coming together

94
Q

Cranial Nerves

A

Twelve pairs of nerve fibres that travel into and out of the skull and carry all sensory information (except for somatosenses) from parts of the body below the neck to the brain

95
Q

Dendrite

A

Tree-Shaped structures branching from the body of a nerve cell that take input from other neurons

96
Q

Efferent Neurons

A

Efferent neurons carry impulses away from the brain to the body

97
Q

Eye movements

A

Humans make two to four eye movements every second, or more than 100,000 every day. These eye movements are necessary because of the design of the human eye - the eye’s acuity varies across the visual field

98
Q

Neural Fatigue

A

Neurons that are subjected to steady, continuous stimulation become unable to send signals, probably because of a temporary depletion in the neurotransmitter that send signals across synapses

99
Q

Frequency

A

The number of peaks per second (inverse of wavelength)

100
Q

Frequency Resolution

A

Ability to hear two frequencies that are very close to each other as different sounds

101
Q

Glia

A

The glia, neuroglia or glial cells are supporting cells. There are different kinds of glia (beyond the scope of this course) and they serve supportive and protective functions - helping the neurons to do their work

102
Q

Graded Potentials

A

Graded potentials are small voltages generated at the postsynaptic membrane by the action of neurotransmitters that make the postsynaptic neuron either more likely to generate an action potential at the cell body (if they are excitatory) or less likely (if they are inhibitory). Graded potentials from all the dendrites of a neuron are summed in the cell body; if the summed potential is excitatory enough, an action potential is generated

103
Q

Habituation

A

A decrease, in perception or behaviour in response to a stimulus when an organism has learned that that stimulus is irrelevant (neither good nor bad)

104
Q

Homeostasis

A

The tendency of an animal to regulate its internal conditions (e.g., temperature, glucose levels, osmotic pressure of cells), by a system of feedback controls (hunger and eating; thirst and drinking; shivering and putting on a sweater), so as to optimize health and function

105
Q

Hypothalamus

A

Area of the brain that controls the hormonal system and drives like hunger, thirst and body temperature (where the behaviours are responses to these drives)

106
Q

Homunculus

A

Latin for ‘little man’, now used to refer to the somatotopic map of the body in the brain

107
Q

Interneurons

A

Any neuron that is not a sensory or motor neuron. They link sensory/motor neurons and work to integrate and communicate information, rather than to transmit information from the body to the brain or from the brain to the body

108
Q

Kinaesthetic Senses

A

Sensory endings located in our internal organs, bones, joints, and muscles that convey position of muscles, limbs, and painful, neutral and pleasurable sensory information.

109
Q

Left and Right Hemispheres

A

Together, the two hemispheres of the brain control much of your behaviour. The left is relatively more specialized for speech and language; the right, for appreciation of 3D space and spatial relationships

110
Q

Limbic System

A

Number of interlinked structures that form a border around the brainstem and are important for motivation, emotion, and some types of memory

111
Q

Motor Neurons

A

Direct muscles to relax or contract, producing movement. They are efferent neurons, sending information FROM the brain TO the body

112
Q

Multisensory

A

Relating to or involving more than one physiological sense

113
Q

Myelin

A

A sheath or covering that makes the axon faster and more efficient

114
Q

Nerve

A

A bundle of fibres, Each fibre in the bundle is a long conduit (axon) extending from a neuron’s cell body. Nerves transmit information with the PNS and between the PNS (Peripheral Nervous System) and CNS (Central NS)

115
Q

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

A

The PNS includes cranial nerves and spinal nerves, which transmit sensory information from the body to the CNS and transmit motor and other commands in the other direction, from the CNS to muscles, glands and internal organs

116
Q

Photons

A

Particles that transmit light

117
Q

Pitch

A

The psychological property corresponding to frequency; the property that allows sound to be ordered on a musical scale

118
Q

Population Code

A

Instead of information being conveyed by single nerve cells or a small group of cells, it is conveyed in the activity across a whole population - a lot of cells

119
Q

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

A

Region of the somatosensory cortex that receives information directly from the somatosensory system

120
Q

Pupil

A

The opening (black circle) in the middle of the iris (coloured part) of the eye; the pupil changes size to increase or decrease the amount of light entering the eye

121
Q

Purity

A

The extent to which a light source is composed of a single wavelength

122
Q

Qualitative

A

Pertaining to some quality or characteristic other than magnitude (e.g., the wavelength of a sound or light)

123
Q

Quantitative

A

Referring to amounts or quantities that can be measured objectively

124
Q

Rarefied

A

Regions of low air pressure

125
Q

Rate of firing

A

Codes the intensity of a stimulus

126
Q

Sensation

A

Physiological process that underlies transformation of the chemical, mechanical, light and sound energy in the world into electrical activity in the brain

127
Q

Sensory Adaptation

A

A chance, usually a decrease, in sensitivity that occurs when a sensory system is repeatedly stimulated in exactly the same way

128
Q

Sensory Neurons

A

Detect information from the physical world and pass that information to the brain (e.g., light receptor neurons in the eye or touch receptor neurons in the skin). Sensory neurons are often called afferent neurons because they send signals from the body to the brain

129
Q

Sine Wave

A

A waveform with a single frequency: a smooth, regular oscillation between peaks and troughs (compressions and rarefactions)

130
Q

Somatosenses

A

The bodily senses

131
Q

Somatotopic Representation

A

The spatial organization of body parts is maintained in the brain, such that each body part is represented next to adjacent areas

132
Q

Spontaneous Rate

A

Rate of neuronal firing when no stimulus is present

133
Q

Synapse

A

Junction between the terminal button of one neuron and the membrane of a muscle fibre, a gland, or another neuron

134
Q

<p>

| Thalamus</p>

A

<p>
Information from the sensory organs and motor signals from subcortical structures like the basal ganglia are received by thalamic regions and relayed separately to the cortex. The thalamus is also involved in regulating wakefulness and sleep</p>

135
Q

Timbre

A

Perceptual dimension of sound determined in part by its complexity

136
Q

Thermoreceptors

A

Nerve endings sensitive to stimulation by heat

137
Q

Tracts

A

Nerves that are entirely within the brain and spinal cord (i.e., the CNS) are called tracts

138
Q

Vestibular Sense

A

Senses involved in balance

139
Q

Vestibule

A

Bony chamber attached to the cochlea

140
Q

Wernicke’s Aphasia

A

After Broca’s findings, german physician, Carl Wernicke found that not all aphasic pantients behaved the same. Unlike Leborgne, Wernicke’s patients could speak, but the speech they produced made no sense and they seemed to have difficulty understanding what was said to this. The deficit in speech comprehension without a loss in speech production is now called “Wernicke’s aphasia” Their brain damage was on the left side of the brain as well, but much closer to the back of the brain than patients with Broca’s aphasia

Psychology 101 (12 decks)

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