Senses Flashcards
(46 cards)
What is the distal stimulus?
An object or event in the outside world
What is the proximal stimulus
the energies that reach our sense organs like the pattern of light that reaches us rather than the physical oject
What is psychophysics
an approach to perrception that relates the characteristics of physical stimuli to the sensory experiences they produce
absolute threshhold
the smallest quantity of a stimulus that an individual can detect
difference threshold
the smallest amount that a given stimulus must be increased or decreased so that an individual can detect the difference
What is Weber’s law
the observation that the size of the difference threshold is proportional to the intensity of the standard stimulus
Why is weber law important?
can help us compare the sensitivities of different modalities, can help us understand whether the subject detected change
What is Fechner’s law
observation that the strength of the sensation is proportional to the logarithmn of physical stimulus intensity
S = kLogI
What is perceptial sensitivity
an organism’s ablity to detect a signal
What is the decision criteri
An organim’s rule for how much evidence it needs before responding
very crucial that we consider this in experiments
What is the payoff matrix
the pattern of benefits and costs associated with certain types of response
what is transdution
the process through which the physical stimulu is converted into a signal in the nervous system
what are the aspects of sensory coding
pyschological intensity: coded by rate of number of neurons stimulated
sensory quality: for ebtween modalities it is which neurons are stimulated and within modlaities this is either by different neurons (specificity theory) or pattern theory
What is the specificity theory
different sensory qualities are signaled by different quality specific neurons. only correct for some cases eg pain
Pattern theory
different sessnory qualities are encoded by specific patterns of firing among the relevant neurons
snesory adaptation
the process by whichc the sensitivity to a stimulus declines if the stimulus is presented for an extended period of time
vestibular sense
the sensations generated by receptors in the semicircular canals of the inner ear that inform us about the head’s orientation
kinesthesis
the sensations generated by receptors in the muscles tendons and joints that inform usof ur skeletal movement
What is one of the best example of labeled line coding
skin seses especially pain
what are the recpetors that detect pain
nociceptors
what are the two types of nociceptors
1) A delta fibers have rapid transmission and first feeling of pain
2) C fibers are the delayed pain and unmyelinated
what is the gate control theory
pain sensations must pass through a neural gate in order to reach the brain and can be blocked at the gate by neurons that inhibit the signals rom the nociceptors
What are the two aspects of pain and how can they be distinguished
phsycial and emotional and they are actually activating different parts of the brain: somatosensory cortex for pain sensation and emotion with pain is in the anterior cingulate
How many olfactory receptor neurons are there in each epitheplium of each nostril
10 million
