Sensation/Perception

Question 1

Place Theory

Answer 1

auditory
the closer to the oval window in the ear (base) the higher the frequency (pitch)
the closer to the apex the lower the frequency

Question 2

Weber’s Law

Answer 2

the just noticeable difference -> smallest difference you can detect 50% of the time
ex: think of comparison of 2 different weights

delta I/I = K

Question 3

absolute threshold

Answer 3

lowest intensity value a person can detect a stimulus 50% of the time
experimentally found by seeing percentage of time a person accurately detects the stimulus

ex: Sam could hear a fly from across the room, so she has a higher absolute threshold than quinn who is practically deaf

also think of the hearing tests in kindergarten

Question 4

Sensory Adaptation

Answer 4

adapting to the sensations around you to the point that you don’t notice them anymore
ex: not feeling your watch after a few minutes of wearing it; not being able to detect a weird smell after being there for a while

Question 5

Mechanoreceptors

Answer 5

detect movement

stimuli: sound waves and touch
ex: hair cells in the ear

Question 6

chemoreceptors

Answer 6

detect chemicals

stimuli: molecules, solutes
ex: taste buds

Question 7

Thermoreceptor

Answer 7

detects temperature

stimuli: heat, cold
ex: skin

Question 8

Photoreceptors

Answer 8

light waves

stimuli: visible light
ex: rods, cones (retina)

Question 9

Signal Detection Theory

Answer 9

the more stimuli distractions (visual, cognitive, auditory) you add, the lower a person’s correct results to stimuli
external noise: auditory distraction
internal noise: cognitive processing

ex: when I’m studying for MCAT and watson is yelling outside, I become distracted and don’t do as well on thinking through the exam. When you add Kenzie talking and the tv playing, it becomes harder to focus with the extra distractions and the more I get incorrect on my exam.

Question 10

PET scans

Answer 10

Positron Emission Tomography
uses radioactively labeled glucose to measure brain activity
produces 3D image of the brain showing hypermetabolic and hypometabolic regions

Question 11

fMRI scans

Answer 11

look at oxygenation levels of the brain
the more oxygen to a specific area means more brain activity
scanner detects the differential properties of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin

Question 12

feature detection

Answer 12

process by which nervous system sorts through/filters natural stimuli to only pick up on the most relevant stimuli and ignore the others

want to pick up behaviorally relevant cues

feature detector neurons only fire for specific movement, shapes, colors, angles etc

Question 13

parallel processing

Answer 13

taking in multiple components and applying it to visualize an object
ex: seeing an object containing both movement and color

Question 14

top-down processing

Answer 14

taking information we already know and applying it to a more generalized situation
ex: when seeing a picture with amino acids, you will automatically think you see all of them even if they aren’t all present because your brain already has that information

Question 15

bottom-up processing

Answer 15

using sensory information to guide our perception; usually applied to novel experiences
ex: blind taste test

Question 16

EEG

Answer 16

electroencephalogram
electrodes placed on scalp and connected to an amplifier
measures voltage fluctuations in the brain over time
cannot localize activity to a specific brain area

used to visually see seizures

Question 17

CT

Answer 17

computerized tomography
computer combines multiple x-rays taken at different angles
measures detailed structure of internal organs and tissues at a single point in time

Question 18

motion parallax

Answer 18

relative motion
monocular cue (one eye)
objects closer to the observer appear to be moving faster than the background
can perceive depth and motion

Question 19

retinal disparity

Answer 19

each eye transmits a slightly different picture to the brain

helps infer distance

Question 20

convergence

Answer 20

the amount the eye turns inward to focus on an object
the closer the object, the more convergence
helps infer distance

Question 21

phi phenomenon

Answer 21

motion picture effect

optical illusion were still photos are flipped in rapid succession so it appears to be moving

Question 22

taste aversion

Answer 22

a specific and powerful classical conditioning that occurs when an organism becomes ill after consuming something

only requires one pairing and has a long duration

most likely the organism will never eat the thing again

Question 23

Gestalt principles

Answer 23

describes how human’s holistically perceive sensory stimuli

Question 24

similarity

Answer 24

gestalt’s principle
tendency to group together objects that share similar features
- shape, color

Question 25

common fate

Answer 25

perception that things moving together are grouped together | ex: flock of birds flying in V-formation is perceived as a unit

Question 26

proximity

Answer 26

gestalt's principle | perceive things that are physically closer to one another as a group

Question 27

continuity

Answer 27

gestalt's principle | tendency to perceive elements as continuing on a smooth path

Question 28

closure

Answer 28

gestalt's principle | tendency to see lines that are close together as closed and forming part of a picture

Question 29

perceptual constancy

Answer 29

perception that an object's characteristics remain stable even when the object seems to change because the environment was altered applies to shape, color, brightness, and size

Question 30

subjective contours

Answer 30

gestalt's principle illusions our mind will fill in gaps to create images based on top-down processing

Question 31

invariance

Answer 31

gestalt's principle objects can be recognized despite slight alterations can be recognized in different spatial orientations or when it is depicted with dotted rather than solid lines

Question 32

kinesthetic sense

Answer 32

proprioceptors in muscles, joints, tendons, and skin detect movement and position of body/limbs kinesthetic input provides awareness of location of parts of the body in space and how they are moving

Question 33

vestibular sense

Answer 33

maintains balance and orientation motion sickness arises from conflict between vestibular system and visual input organs within the inner ear

Question 34

Otolithic organs

Answer 34

vestibular sense located within the cochlea of the inner ear contains utricle and saccule detect gravity/acceleration has crystals that attach to hair cells that are pulled when change head position, causing AP to fire

Question 35

semicircular canals

Answer 35

vestibular sense senses head rotation contains anterior, posterior, and lateral semi-circular canals

Question 36

maintenance of spatial orientation and balance relies on

Answer 36

visual input (provides input on orientation of body) vestibular input (provides info on motion, equilibrium, and spatial orientation) somatosensory input (proprioceptors, provide info on location and movement of body in space)

Question 37

cochlea

Answer 37

located within inner ear | sound processing and transmission of auditory information to the temporal lobe of the brain

Question 38

Monocular cues

Answer 38

depth cues that can be perceived using one eye only and often rely on comparisons between objects ``` include: interposition light and shadow texture gradient relative size relative height linear perspective ```

Question 39

interposition

Answer 39

type of monocular cue closer objects will overlap in front of object that are further away create a sense of depth

Question 40

light and shadow

Answer 40

monocular cue highlights and shadows help to give objects the appearance of depth

Question 41

texture gradient

Answer 41

monocular cue closer objects are more fine detailed than objects that are further away

Question 42

relative size

Answer 42

monocular cue further objects appear smaller than closer objects of the same size

Question 43

relative height

Answer 43

monocular cue further objects are perceived at being higher in our line of sight

Question 44

linear perspective

Answer 44

monocular cue distances between parallel lines appear narrower as they become further away

Question 45

stereopsis

Answer 45

perception of depth that arises from having retinas in 2 different locations that create one picture for your brain to process binocular

Question 46

convergence

Answer 46

the closer the object is to the observer, the more the eye turns inward to focus on the object that angle indicated distance from the observer

Question 47

sensory accommodation - eye

Answer 47

ciliary muscles of the eye alter the shape of the lens | this helps with depth perception - monocular cue

Question 48

circadian rhythms

Answer 48

cycles in physiological activity that occur over 24 hour interval align with synthesis and secretion of melatonin from pineal gland -> light dependent process

Question 49

Ruffinian Endings

Answer 49

respond to pressure on the skin

Question 50

What influences Absolute Threshold?

Answer 50

expectation experience (how familiar you are with sound) motivation alertness

Question 51

subliminal stimuli

Answer 51

stimuli below the absolute threshold

Question 52

signal detection

Answer 52

how we make decisions under conditions of uncertainty - discern between actual presence or absence of stimuli Hit = present and said yes miss = present and said no false alarm = not present and said yes correct rejection = not present and said no

Question 53

conservation strategy - signal detection

Answer 53

always say no unless 100% positive signal is present will risk getting misses

Question 54

liberal strategy - signal detection

Answer 54

always say yes risk getting false alarms

Question 55

Pragnanz

Answer 55

Gestalt's principle reality is often organized and reduced to simplest form possible ex: olympic rings are 5 circles instead of lots of little shapes

Question 56

conjunctiva

Answer 56

first layer light hits in the eye

Question 57

cornea

Answer 57

transparent thick sheet of tissue in eye

Question 58

anterior chamber - eye

Answer 58

space filled with aqueous humor, provides pressure to maintain shape of eyeball located between cornea and pupil

Question 59

pupil

Answer 59

hole that manipulates the amount of light that can enter the retina

Question 60

lens

Answer 60

bends light so it goes to back of eyeball

Question 61

suspensory ligaments

Answer 61

attached to ciliary muscle secretes aqueous humor also shapes eye to help see when objects change position in distance

Question 62

posterior chamber

Answer 62

area behind ciliary muscle also filled with aqueous humor

Question 63

vitreous chamber

Answer 63

filled with vitreous humor, jelly-like substance to provide pressure to eyeballs

Question 64

retina

Answer 64

filled with photoreceptors

Question 65

macula

Answer 65

special part of retina rich in cones

Question 66

fovea

Answer 66

completely covered in cones, no rods

Question 67

choroid

Answer 67

pigmented black in humans, network of blood vessels

Question 68

sclera

Answer 68

whites of the eye, thick fibrous tissue that covers posterior of eyeball attachment points for muscles

Question 69

What is light

Answer 69

``` electromagnetic waves part of a large spectrum violet light = 400 nm red light = 700 nm ```

Question 70

how does light enter eye

Answer 70

enters pupil and goes to retina which contains rods and cones rods become turned off when light hits when rod off, turns on bipolar cell which turns on a retinal ganglion cells which goes to optic nerve and enters brain

Question 71

Phototransduction cascade

Answer 71

light hits rods and cones in retina retina converts light into neural impulse rods contain discs with proteins called rhodopsin - rhodopsin contains molecule retinal which causes change from bent to straight - once retinal changes shape, rhodopsin changes shape which causes transducin to break from rhodopsin and send its alpha particle to Phosphodiesterase -Phosphodiesterase breaks down cGMP --> GMP which shuts off Na+ channels (because sodium channels are activated by cGMP) - the cell becomes hyperpolarized and shuts off when the rod shuts off - the bipolar cell is turned on which activates the retinal ganglion cell which sends information through axons to the optic nerve which tells the brain there is light entering the eye

Question 72

transducin

Answer 72

made of 3 parts - alpha, beta, and gamma breaks from rhodopsin when changes shape due to light alpha becomes disk and binds to PDE PDE takes cGMP and converts to GMP Na+ channel which requires cGMP becomes closed rods hyperpolarize and shut off no longer inhbits ON bipolar cells active bipolar cells activate retinal ganglion cells to send neural impulse to optic nerve and then to brain

Question 73

Photoreceptors

Answer 73

takes light and converts to neural impulse

Question 74

rods

Answer 74

low light - really sensitive to light contain optic discs which proteins that fire AP -> become turned off when light present (bc of rhodopsin change of shape) Black and white vision slow recovery time - takes a while to adjust in the dark mostly found in periphery

Question 75

cones

Answer 75

specialized nerves that show color and clear images in full light concentrated in the fovea fat recovery time

Question 76

blind spot

Answer 76

no cones or rods the optic disc is the blind spot

Question 77

parallel processing

Answer 77

seeing all at the same time and simultaneously process incoming stimuli that differs in quality see both shape and color and motion to process that a basketball is coming toward you

Question 78

sound waves

Answer 78

pressurized think of putting hands together and having bunch of air molecules all wanting to escape how close peaks are = frequency different amplitudes = different loudness

Question 79

How is sound processed?

Answer 79

sound enters outer ear through pinna --> external auditory meatus --> tympanic membrane (eardrum) pressurized waves cause malleus, incus, and stapes to vibrate

Question 80

stapes

Answer 80

part of the inner eardrum that is attached to the oval window as it is pushed, fluid is condensed and enters cochlea where it moves to the round window and pushes it out continues pushing fluid until sound wave is dissipated

Question 81

Why doesn't fluid that enters cochlea through oval window to the round window go back to oval window?

Answer 81

organ of Corti is a membrane that doesn't allow fluid ot move backwards organ of Corti includes basilar membrane and tectorial membrane

Question 82

Basilar tuning

Answer 82

hair cells as base of cochlea activated by high frequency near apex with low frequency sounds

Question 83

primary auditory cortex

Answer 83

receives all information from the cochlea | sensitive to various frequencies in different locations

Question 84

proprioception

Answer 84

sense of balance/position | cognitive awareness of body in space

Question 85

kinaesthesia

Answer 85

movement of our body | behavioral

Question 86

a-beta fibers

Answer 86

fast thick and covered in myelin less resistance, high conductance

Question 87

a-delta fibers

Answer 87

smaller diameter, less myelin

Question 88

c fibers

Answer 88

small diameter, unmyelinated (lingering sense of pain)

Question 89

olfactory bulb

Answer 89

bundle of nerves that sends little projections through cribriform plate into olfactory epithelium

Question 90

pheremones

Answer 90

chemical signal released by one member of the species and sense by another species to trigger an innate response linked to mating, fighting, and communication

Question 91

sweet, umami, and bitter cells rely on what type of receptor

Answer 91

GPCR

Question 92

sour and salty cells rely on what type of receptor

Answer 92

ion channels sour (hydrogen ion channels) salty (sodium channels)

Question 93

psychophysics

Answer 93

physiological study of relationship between physical stimuli and mental response how much stimuli can we detect and how we detect differences between stimuli in the environment with out sensory systems ex: can I hear the sound being played, and then can I detect a difference when a different pitch is played goes in line with absolute threshold -> what can you accurately hear or taste or see

Question 94

baroreceptor

Answer 94

receptors for pressure

Question 95

nociceptor

Answer 95

receptor for pain

Question 96

mechanoreceptor

Answer 96

receptor for touch and sound

Question 97

Meissner's corpuscle

Answer 97

sensitive to light touch | located in dermis

Question 98

Pacinian corpuscle

Answer 98

sensitive to vibration and pressure | located in dermis

Question 99

Merkel's disk

Answer 99

sensitive to light touch | located in epidermis

Question 100

Ruffini corpuscle

Answer 100

sensitive to stretching | located in dermis

Question 101

layers of the skin

Answer 101

epidermis | dermis

Question 102

pathway of light

Answer 102

cornea (focuses light) --> iris --> choroid & ciliary body (produces aqueous humor) --> lens (controls refraction of incoming light) --> ciliary muscle pulls on suspensory ligaments and changes shape of lens (accomodation) --> retina

Question 103

muscles of iris

Answer 103

dilator pupillae --> opens pupil under sympathetic stimulation constrictor pupillae --> constricts pupil under parasympathetic stimulation

Question 104

basilar membrane

Answer 104

small organ within the cochlea that contains hair cells and serves as auditory system's sensory receptors

Question 105

cochlea

Answer 105

converts sound waves into electrical impulses

Question 106

passage of sound through the inner ear

Answer 106

sound moves through the auditory canal to the tympanic membrane to the malleus, incus, and then stapes (ossicles). Goes to the round/oval window --> fluid inside cochlea begins to move --> fluid stimulates hair cells which stimulate generation of neural impulses that travel through auditory nerve to the brain

Question 107

somatosensation

Answer 107

process that conveys information from body's surface to the nervous system. includes pain, pressure, temperature, proprioception, position, and muscle contraction

Question 108

5 tastes

Answer 108

sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami

Question 109

What sense is most closely tied to memory?

Answer 109

olfactory

Question 110

kinesthesia

Answer 110

perception of the position of the body kinesthetic learner wants to touch things. So kinesthesia is focusing on positioning Ex: I use kinesthesia when I am walking or running because I need to know that my legs are underneath me

Question 111

muscle spindle

Answer 111

receptors found in muscles that detect changes in the length of the muscle

Question 112

golgi tendon organ

Answer 112

sensory receptor organ that can sense change in muscle tension. Found between tendons and muscles

Question 113

optic disc

Answer 113

region of the retina where the optic nerve exits and the artery that supplies blood to the retina enters known as the blind spot because has no photoreceptors

Question 114

parvo pathway

Answer 114

travels from retina to ventral (lower) layers of the LGN --> ventral brain regions the "what" pathway perception of finer detail form and color

Question 115

magno pathway

Answer 115

travels from retina to dorsal (upper) layer of the LGN --> dorsal brain regions the "where" pathway perception of courser detail depth and motion

Question 116

stereocilia

Answer 116

component of hair cells that play role in auditory system

Question 117

magnocellular cells

Answer 117

component of visual system, detect motion

Question 118

distal stimuli

Answer 118

located outside the body ex: you see a campfire, but seeing this campfire far away won't affect you

Question 119

proximal stimuli

Answer 119

directly interacts and affects the sensory receptors, informs the observer about the presence of distal stimuli ex: that campfire won't directly impact you, but the photons from the light will enter your retina and reach the cones and rods, and the observer will feel the heat from the combustion of the fire

Question 120

psychophysicial discrimination testing

Answer 120

participant is presented with stimulus that are faried slightly and asked to identify if there is a difference. The original is increased until the participant notices a change

Question 121

partial report

Answer 121

When the participant is asked to only report on particular information - they tend to remember that information way better than if they were to report on all the information

Question 122

operational span testing

Answer 122

test to see the general capacity of working memory tasks, patients are asked to read and verify a simple math problem (is 4/2 -1 = 1?) then read a word after such as SNOW, after doing a series of problems and words they are asked to recall the word that followed each operation. Predicts verbal abilities and reading comprehension even though the subject is solving a math problem. Argues that it implies a general pool of resources that is used in every type of working memory situation

Question 123

word association testing

Answer 123

when given a word, you say the first word that pops into your head Freud thought this told something about your personality