Sensation and PErception Flashcards

1
Q

Sensory Receptors

A

Nerves that respond to stimuli and trigger electrical signals

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2
Q

Sensory Ganglia

A

Collections of cell bodies outside the CNS associated with sensory neurons

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3
Q

Projection Areas

A

Areas in brain where sensory stimuli are transmitted to and further analyzed

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4
Q

Threshold

A

Minimum stimulus that renders a difference in perception

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5
Q

Absolute threshold

A

The minimum of stimulus energy that is needed to activate a sensory system

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6
Q

Threshold of conscious perception

A

Minimum of stimulus energy that will create a signal large enough in size and long enough in duration to be brought into awareness

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7
Q

Difference threshold or just-noticeable difference (jnd)

A

Minimum difference in magnitude between 2 stimuli before one can perceive this difference

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8
Q

Weber’s law

A

States that there is a constant ratio between the change in stimulus magnitude needed to produce a jnd and the magnitude of the original stimulus

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9
Q

Adaptation

A

Decrease in response to a stimulus over time

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10
Q

Cornea

A

Gathers and filters incoming light

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11
Q

Iris

A

Contains 2 muscles that open and close the pupil, plus divides the front of the eye into anterior and posterior chambers

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12
Q

Lens

A

Refracts incoming light to focus it on the retina and is held in place by suspensory ligaments connected to the ciliary muscle (under parasympathetic control); this change of shape is called accommodation

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13
Q

What does the cilia body produce?

A

Aqueous humour that bathes the front part of the eye –> drains into the canal of Schlemm

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14
Q

The retina contains what 2 light-detecting structures?

A

Rods and Cones

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15
Q

Rods

A

Detects light and dark; have low sensitivity to details but permit light vision

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16
Q

Cones

A

Comes in 3 forms (short, medium, and long-wavelength) to detect colours.

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17
Q

Which part of the retina contains mostly cones?

A

The macula, which corresponds to the central visual field –> in the center of the mucula is the fovea, which contains ONLY cones (most sensitive to normal daylight vision)

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18
Q

What do rods and cones synapse on?

A

Bipolar cells, which then synapse on ganglion cells

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19
Q

What do horizontal and amacrine cells do?

A

Integrate signals from multiple retinal cells in the same area and perform edge-sharpening on vision

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20
Q

What supports the bulk of the eye?

A

The vitreous humour on the inside and the sclera and choroid on the outside

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21
Q

Name the parts in order of the visual pathway

A

cornea –> pupil –> lens –> vitreous –> retina (rods and cones –> bipolar cells –> ganglion cells) –> optic nerve –> optic chiasm –> optic tract –> lateral geniculate nucleus in thalamus –> radiations through temporal and parietal lobes –> visual cortex in occipital lobe

Optic chiasm contains fibers crossing from the nasal side of the retina of both eyes.
Visual radiations run through temporal and parietal lobes
Visual cortex is in the occipital lobe
There are also inputs into the superior colliculus

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22
Q

What type of cells detect shape

A

Parvocellular cells, which have high spatial resolution and low temporal resolution

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23
Q

What type of cells detect motion

A

Magnocellular cells, which have low spatial resolution and high temporal resolution

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24
Q

3 divisions of the ear?

A

Outer, middle, and inner

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25
Q

Outer ear

A

Consists of the pinna (auricle), external auditory canal, and tympanic membrane

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26
Q

Middle ear

A

Consists of ossicles: malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup). The middle ear is connected to the nasal cavity by the Eustachian tube.

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27
Q

Inner Ear

A

Contains the bony labyrinth, which contains the cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals. These structures are continuous with each other and are mostly filled by the membranous labyrinth

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28
Q

What fluid suspends the membranous labyrinth in the bony labyrinth

A

Perilymph; simultaneously transmits vibrations from the outside world and cushions the inner ear structures

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29
Q

What bathes the membranous labyrinth

A

Potassium-rich endolymph

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30
Q

What are the parts of the auditory pathway

A

Pinna –> external auditory canal –> tympanic membrane –> malleus –> incus –> stapes –> oval window –> perilymph in cochlea –> basilar membrane –> hair cells –> vestibulocochlear nerve –> brainstem –> medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) of thalamus –> auditory cortex (temporal lobe)
Sound info also projects to the superior olive (localizes sound) and inferior colliculus

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31
Q

What is smell?

A

The detection of volatile or aerosolized chemicals by the olfactory chemoreceptors (olfactory nerves) in the olfactory epithelium.

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32
Q

What is the olfactory pathway

A

nostril –> nasal cavity –> olfactory chemoreceptors (olfactory nerves) on olfactory epithelium –> olfactory bulb –> olfactory tract –> higher-order brain regions, including limbic system

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33
Q

What is taste?

A

The detection of dissolved compounds by taste buds in papillae

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34
Q

What are the 5 modalities of taste

A

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (savoury)

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35
Q

What does somatosensation refer to

A

The four touch modalities: pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature

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36
Q

Two-point threshold

A

The minimum distance necessary between 2 points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli

37
Q

Gate theory of pain

A

States that pain sensation is reduced when other somatosensory signals are present

38
Q

Kinesthetic sense (propioception)

A

Refers to the ability to tell where one’s body is in 3-dimensional space.

39
Q

Parallel Processing

A

The ability to simultaneously analyze and combine information regarding color, shape, and motion (correlate in neuroscience is feature detection) i.e. a flying red bird

40
Q

Bottom-up (data-driven) processing

A

Refers to recognition of objects by parallel processing and feature detection –> slower, but less prone to mistakes. Brain essentially takes individual sensory stimuli and combines them together to create a cohesive image before determining what the object is

41
Q

Top-down (conceptually driven) processing

A

Refers to recognition of an object by memories and expectations, with little attention to detail –> faster, but more prone to mistakes

42
Q

What is perceptual organization

A

Refers to our synthesis of stimuli to make sense of the world, including integration of depth, form, motion, and constancy

43
Q

Gestalt principles

A

Ways that the brain can infer missing parts of a picture when a picture is incomplete

44
Q

Law of Proximity

A

Elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit

45
Q

Law of Similarity

A

Objects that are similar appear to be grouped together

46
Q

Law of Good Continuation

A

Elements following the same path tend to be grouped together

47
Q

Subjective contours

A

Perception of nonexistent edges in figures based on surrounding visual cues

48
Q

Law of closure

A

A space is enclosed by a group of lines is perceived as a complete or closed line

49
Q

Law of Pragnanz

A

Perceptual organization is as regular, simple, and symmetric as possible

50
Q

Photoreceptors

A

Respond to electromagnetic waves in the visible spectrum (sight)

51
Q

Hair cells

A

Respond to movement of fluid in the inner ear structures (hearing, rotational and linear acceleration)

52
Q

Nocireceptors

A

Respond to painful or noxious stimuli (somatosensation)

53
Q

Thermoreceptors

A

Respond to changes in temperature (thermosensation)

54
Q

Osmoreceptors

A

Respond to the osmolarity of blood (water homeostasis)

55
Q

Olfactory receptors

A

Respond to volatile compounds (smell)

56
Q

Taste receptors

A

Respond to dissolved compounds (Taste)

57
Q

Psychosocial discrimination testing

A

A participant is presented with a stimulus that is varied slightly, and then is asked to identify whether there is a difference in the second stimulus

58
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

Focuses on the changes in our perception of the same stimuli depending on both internal (psychological) and external (environmental) context.

59
Q

Response Bias

A

Refers to the tendency of subjects to systematically respond to a stimulus in a particular way due to nonsensory factors

60
Q

Catch trials

A

Trials in signal detection theory in which the signal is presented

61
Q

Noise trials

A

Trials in signal detection theory in which the signal is not presented

62
Q

Sclera

A

The “white” of the eye, a thick structural layer that covers most of the exposed portion of the eye

63
Q

What 2 sets of blood vessels supply the eye with nutrients

A

The choroidal and retinal vessels

64
Q

Retina

A

Innermost layer of the eye, which contains the actual photoreceptors that transduce light into electrical info the brain can process

65
Q

2 muscles of the iris

A

dilator pupillae and constrictor pupillae

66
Q

Dilator pupillae

A

Opens the pupil under sympathetic stimulation

67
Q

Constrictor pupillae

A

Constricts the pupil under parasympathetic stimulation

68
Q

Vitreous

A

A transparent gel that supports the retina behind the lens

69
Q

Is the number of receptors converging onto an individual ganglion cell smaller for rods or cones

A

Cones; thus color vision has a greater sensitivity to fine detail than black and white vision

70
Q

Function of pinna/auricle

A

Channels sounds waves into the external auditory canal

71
Q

External auditory canal

A

Directs sound waves to the tympanic membrane (eardrum)

72
Q

Tympanic membrane

A

Vibrates in phase with the incoming sound waves

73
Q

Cochlea

A

A spiral-shaped organ divided into 3 parts called scalae

74
Q

What is the middle scalae called and what does it do

A

Called organ of Corti, houses the actual hearing apparatus and rests on a thin, flexible membrane called the basilar membrane. Composed of thousands of hair cells which are based in endolymph

75
Q

What do the other two scalae besides the organ of Corti do

A

They are filled with perilymph and surround the hearing apparatus and are continuous with the oval and round windows of cochlea

76
Q

Vestibulocochlear nerve (auditory nerve)

A

Physical stimulus on hair cells are converted to electrical signals, which this nerve carries to CNS

77
Q

Vestibule

A

Refers to the portion of the bony labyrinth that contains the utricle and saccule

78
Q

Utricle and saccule

A

Sensitive to linear acceleration; helps determine one’s orientation in 3-D space. They contain otoliths, modified hair cells that resist motion when the body accelerates…send signals to the brain

79
Q

Semicircular canals

A

Sensitive to rotational acceleration (there are 3). They each end in a swelling called an ampulla, where hair cells are located. When the head rotates, endolymph in the semicircular canal resist this motion, bending the underlying hair cells, which sends a signal to the brain.

80
Q

How do hair cells work?

A

As vibrations reach the basilar membrane underlying the organ of Corti, the stereocilia adorning the hair cells begin to sway back and forth within the endolymph; causes the opening of ion channels, which cause a receptor potential.

81
Q

What is the accepted theory on sound perception

A

Place Theory; states that the location of a hair cell on the basilar membrane determines the perception of pitch when that hair cell is vibrated

82
Q

Pacinian corpuscles

A

Respond to deep pressure and vibration

83
Q

Meissner corpuscles

A

Respond to light touch

84
Q

Merkel cells (discs)

A

Respond to deep pressure and texture (think of bumpy massage discs)

85
Q

Ruffini endings

A

Respond to stretch

86
Q

Free nerve endings

A

Respond to pain and temperature

87
Q

Physiological zero

A

The normal temperature of the skin; to which temperature is compared to

88
Q

Depth perception

A

Relies on both monocular and binocolur cues

89
Q

Constancy

A

Refers to the idea that we perceive certain characteristics of objects to remain the same, despite differences in the environment