ch 5- sensation and perception

Question 1

sensation

Answer 1

using our sensory receptors to detect a stimuli

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

the conscious recognition and identification of a stimulus

Question 3

Sensory System

-Olfactory (smell)

-Somatosensory (touch, heat, pain)

-Gustatory (taste)

-Auditory (hearing)

-Visual (sight)

What are the physical stimuli for each of these?

Answer 3

Physical Stimuli

-Odorants (airborne chemicals)

-Pressure or damage to the skin

-Chemicals (typically in food)

-Sound waves

-Light (photons)

Question 4

sensory receptor cells

Answer 4

specialized cells that convert a specific form of environmental stimuli to neural impulses

Question 5

sensory transduction

Answer 5

the process of converting a specific form of environmental stimuli to neural impulses

Question 6

threshold

Answer 6

the point that the magnitude/intensity of a stimulus initiates a neural impulse

Question 7

absolute threshold

Answer 7

the minimal stimulus needed for detection by an individual 50% of the time

Question 8

difference threshold or “just noticeable difference”

Answer 8

the minimal difference between two stimuli necessary for the detection between the two

Question 9

signal detection theory

Answer 9

theory that the response to a signal in every situation depends on an individual’s ability to differentiate between the signal and the noise, and on their response criteria (would you taste old milk or chicken to see if it has gone bad?)

Question 10

Olfactory adaptation

Answer 10

our ability to detect certain odours fades when we are in the presence of that odour for a prolonged period of time

Question 11

bottom-up processing

Answer 11

perception that occurs by taking in stimuli, converting them to neural impulses and then moves into more complex brain regions

Question 12

top-down processing

Answer 12

perception led by cognitive processes such as expectations or memories

Question 13

perceptual set

Answer 13

our “readiness” to interpret a certain stimuli
–> picture of a UFO will be perceived differently based on beliefs about UFOs
–> a food may taste different if someone told you if was snake for example

Question 14

perception involves both — and — processing at the same time

Answer 14

bottom-up and top-down

Question 15

olfactory sense

Answer 15

our sense of smell

Question 16

gustatory sense

Answer 16

our sense of taste

Question 17

odorants

Answer 17

airborne chemicals detected as odours

Question 18

olfactory receptor neurons

Answer 18

sensory receptor cells that convert chemical signals from odourants to neural signals
–> sensory receptors located on cilia of olfactory receptor neurons

Question 19

describe how olfactory receptor neurons work

Answer 19

specific odours have specific receptors. When enough odourant molecules bind to receptors, action potential fires. The cell will stop responding to the odourant molecule unless given a chance to recover so it can fire again

Question 20

papillae

Answer 20

bumps on the tongue that contain clumps of taste buds

Question 21

taste buds

Answer 21

clusters of sensory receptor cells that convert chemical signals in food into neural signals

Question 22

olfactory bulb

Answer 22

the first region where olfactory info reaches the brain on its way from the nose

Question 23

ageusia

Answer 23

inability to taste

Question 24

hyposmia

Answer 24

reduced ability to detect odours

Question 25

anosmia

Answer 25

inability to detect odours

Question 26

how are migraines and seizures related to smell and taste?

Answer 26

-a specific odour can trigger a migraine -reflex epilepsy: a type of epilepsy where a seizure occurs after exposure to a certain odour

Question 27

free nerve endings

Answer 27

sensory receptors that convert stimuli into touch, pressure or pain impulses

Question 28

Meissner's corpuscles

Answer 28

sensory receptors that convert physical stimuli about sensory touch on the fingertips, lips, and palms.

Question 29

Merkel's disks

Answer 29

sensory receptors that convert information about light to moderate pressure on the skin

Question 30

Ruffini's end-organs

Answer 30

sensory receptors that respond to heavy pressure and joint movement

Question 31

Pacinian corpuscles

Answer 31

sensory receptors that respond to vibrations and heavy pressure.

Question 32

gate control theory of pain

Answer 32

theory that certain patterns of neural activity can close a “gate” to keep pain information from travelling to parts of the brain where it is perceived

Question 33

endorphins and enkephalins

Answer 33

chemicals that belong to a naturally occurring class of opiates that reduce pain in the nervous system.

Question 34

tympanic membrane

Answer 34

the ear drum

Question 35

Vibrations of the tympanic membrane set in motion a series of three tiny bones or ___

Answer 35

ossicles, called the maleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup).

Question 36

oval window

Answer 36

a membrane separating the ossicles and the inner ear, deflection of which causes a wave to form in the cochlea.

Question 37

cochlea

Answer 37

fluid-filled structure in the inner ear; contains the hair cells.

Question 38

basilar membrane

Answer 38

structure in the cochlea where the hair cells are located

Question 39

hair cells

Answer 39

sensory receptors that convert sound waves into neural impulses.

Question 40

tonotopic map

Answer 40

representation in the auditory cortex of different sound frequencies.

Question 41

absolute pitch "perfect pitch"

Answer 41

the ability to recognize or produce any note on a musical scale

Question 42

tinnitus

Answer 42

ringing in one or both ears

Question 43

retina

Answer 43

a specialized sheet of nerve cells in the back of the eye containing the sensory receptors for vision.

Question 44

transduction

Answer 44

process that involves converting stimulus energy into neural impulses that can be interpreted by the brain.

Question 45

photoreceptors

Answer 45

sensory receptors for vision, located in the retina

Question 46

rods

Answer 46

photoreceptors most responsive to levels of light and dark

Question 47

cones

Answer 47

photoreceptors responsive to colours

Question 48

optic nerve

Answer 48

the bundle of axons of ganglion cells that carries visual information from the eye to the brain

Question 49

fovea

Answer 49

centre of the retina, containing only cones, where vision is most clear

Question 50

retinal disparity

Answer 50

the slight difference in images processed by the retinas of each eye

Question 51

convergence

Answer 51

inward movement of the eyes to view objects close to oneself

Question 52

monocular cues

Answer 52

visual clues about depth and distance that can be perceived using information from only one eye

Question 53

perceptual constancies

Answer 53

our top-down tendency to view objects as unchanging, despite shifts in the environmental stimuli we receive