Flashcards in Sensation and Perception Deck (73)
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1
transduction
the process in which signals are transformed into neural impulses
2
cocktail-party phenomenon
when your attention involuntarily switches (someone calls your name)
3
cornea
a protective covering of the eye
4
pupil
dilates and becomes smaller to allow the right amount of light into your eye
5
lens
curved and flexible in order to focus the light
6
retina
a screen on the back of your eye
7
cones
cells activated by color
8
rods
cells that respond to black and white
9
fovea
located at the center of your retina and contains the highest concentration of cones
10
ganglion cells
their axons make up the optic nerve that sends visual impulses to the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus
11
lateral geniculate nucleus
a place in the thalamus that receives impulses from the optic nerve
12
blind spot
where the optic nerve leaves the retina, calls such because has no rods or cones
13
optic chasm
the place nerves from both eyes join and cross over within the brain
14
feature detectors
discovered by Hubel and Weisel, nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement
15
trichromatic theory
there are three types of cones in the retina (blue, red and green) that activate in different combinations to produce all the colors of the visible spectrum
16
afterimage
an image (usually a negative image) that persists after stimulation has ceased
17
opponent-process theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green
18
amplitude
the height of a sound wave, measured in decibels
19
frequency
the length of the waves and determines pitch, measured in megahertz
20
order of sound in your ear
ear canal -> eardrum/tympanic membrane -> hammer (malleus bone) -> anvil (incus bone) -> stirrup (stapes bone) -> oval window -> cochlea (snail's shell filled with fluid) -> hair at bottom of cochlea -> organ of Corti (neurons activated by the hair) -> auditory nerve
21
place theory
hair cells in the cochlea respond to different frequencies of sound based on where they are located in the cochlea
22
frequency theory
place theory works for high frequency sounds, but not low frequency
23
conduction deafness
something goes wrong with the system of conducting sound to the cochlea
24
nerve (sensorineural) deafness
when the hair cells in the cochlea are damaged, usually by loud noise
25
gate-control theory
when a higher priority pain message coincides with a lower priority pain message, only the higher one will be felt
26
papillae
the bumps on your tongue
27
olfactory bulb
one of two enlargements at the terminus of the olfactory nerve at the base of the brain just above the nasal cavities
28
vestibular sense
how our body is oriented in space
29
kinesthetic sense
the position and orientation of specific body parts
30
