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PSYC 271, Brain & Behaviour > Terms for Weeks 7 to 12 > Flashcards

Terms for Weeks 7 to 12 Flashcards

(91 cards)

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1
Q

What does wavelength play an important role in?

A

the perception of colour

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2
Q

What does intensity play an important role in?

A

the perception of brightness

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3
Q

Convergence

A

eyes turn inwards slightly; greatest when inspecting close up

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4
Q

Binocular disparity

A

difference in the position of the same image on two retinas; greater for close objects; depth perception cue

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5
Q

Duplexity theory

A

cones and rods mediate different kinds of vision

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6
Q

Photopic vision

A

cone-mediated; predominates in good lighting; high-acuity; coloured perceptions

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7
Q

Scotopic vision

A

rod-mediated; lacks detail and colour; predominates in dim light

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8
Q

Retina-geniculate-striate system

A

all signals from the left visual field reach the right primary visual cortex AND all signals from the right visual field reach the left primary visual cortex

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9
Q

Two parallel channels of communication flow that run through each lateral geniculate nucleus

A
  1. Parvocellular

2. Magnocellular

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10
Q

On-center cells

A

Respond to lights shone in the central region of their receptive fields with “on” firing AND to lights shone in the periphery of their receptive fields with inhibition followed by “off” firing when light is turned off

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11
Q

Off-center cells

A

Opposite of on-center cells
Respond with inhibition and “off” firing in response to lights in the center of their receptive fields AND with “on” firing to lights in the periphery of their receptive fields

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12
Q

Simple cortical cells

A

Receptive fields are divided into static “on” and “off” regions…
All monocular…
Respond best to straight-line stimuli in a specific orientation…
Receptive fields are rectangular

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13
Q

Complex cortical cells

A 
Larger receptive fields...
Not divided into “on” “off” regions...
Many are binocular (respond to stimulation of either eye)...
Can respond to movement...
Respond best to straight line stimuli...
Rectangular receptive fields
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14
Q

Component theory (aka trichromatic theory)

A

3 different kinds of colour receptors (cones);
Some are sensitive to short wavelengths, some to medium, some to long;
Came from idea that any colour can be made by mixing together of three different wavelengths

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15
Q

Opponent-process theory

A

Came from idea that complementary colours cannot exist together & afterimage;
Two different classes of cells in the visual system for encoding colour and another for encoding brightness

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16
Q

Blindsight

A

ability to respond to visual stimuli in a scotoma (area of blindness) with no conscious awareness of them

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17
Q

Dorsal stream

A

respond to spatial stimuli;
“Where” objects;
“Control of behaviour” - directs behavioural interactions with objects

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18
Q

Ventral stream

A

respond to characteristics of objects;
“What” objects;
“Conscious perception” - mediates the conscious perception of objects

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19
Q

Prosopagnosia

A

visual agnosia for faces

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20
Q

Ocular dominance columns

A

inputs carrying information from the left and right eye are initially kept separate in the primary visual cortex
Ex; A light shone in the left eye will fire off neurons in the left-eye ocular dominance columns but not in the right-eye ocular dominance columns and vice versa

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21
Q

Orientation columns

A

small chunks of primary visual cortex that have the same orientation preference

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22
Q

“Blobs”

A

in center of the ocular dominance columns - contain neurons responsive to colour

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23
Q

Ocular dominance plasticity

A

Occurs most readily in critical period and refers to the shift in ocular dominance
Ex; when one eye is not fully functional and more parts of the primary visual cortex start to respond to the other

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24
Q

Amblyopia

A

impairment of the visual cortex to process information

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25
Binding problem
how does the brain bind together activity in widely distributed cortical areas into one perceptual conscious image?
26
Primary sensory cortex
input is mostly contralateral; receives input from the thalamic relay nuclei
27
Secondary sensory cortex
input is from both sides of body; receives input from primary sensory cortex or other areas of secondary sensory cortex
28
Association cortex
prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex (contains bimodal neurons); receives input from more than one sensory system
29
Fourier analysis
mathematical procedure for breaking down complex waves into their component sine waves
30
Missing fundamental
the pitch of a complex sound may not be directly related to the frequency of any of the sound’s components
31
The auditory system is largely ___________
tonotopic
32
Anterior auditory pathway
involved in identifying sounds; “what”
33
Posterior auditory pathway
involved in location sounds; “where”
34
Two major somatosensory pathways:
1. Dorsal-column medial-lemniscus system | 2. Anterolateral system
35
Anterolateral system
tends to carry information about pain & temperature
36
Dorsal-column medial-lemniscus system
tends to carry information about touch & proprioception (awareness of position & movement of body)
37
The human primary somatosensory cortex is _____________
somatotopic
38
Astereognosia
inability to recognize objects by touch
39
Asomatognosia
failure to recognize parts of one’s own body - Usually unilateral (affecting only left side of body) - Associated with damage to the right temporal and posterior parietal lobe - Commonly a component of contralateral neglect
40
Anterior cingulate cortex
most frequently linked to pain
41
Descending pain control
pain can be suppressed by cognitive & emotional factors
42
Cross modal perception
Perception resulting from interactions between two or more sensory modalities
43
The angular gyrus
particularly important for sensory integration across modalities and cross modal perception
44
Synesthesia
A perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory modality elicits a simultaneous and involuntary perceptual experience within another sensory modality Most well researched form: grapheme-color synesthesia
45
In the sensory systems, information mainly flows up through the hierarchy, whereas in the sensorimotor system, information flows _______
down
46
Ballistic movements
Brief, “all-or-none”, high-speed movements that are not normally influenced by sensory feedback
47
Sensorimotor association cortex consists of two major areas:
1. Posterior parietal association cortex | 2. Dorsolateral prefrontal association cortex
48
Posterior parietal association cortex
Involved in perception of spatial location and guidance of voluntary behaviour Associated with apraxia and contralateral neglect
49
Apraxia
disorder of voluntary movement, difficult making specific movements when requested to do so, but can do so unconsciously
50
Contralateral neglect
Inability to respond to stimuli on the side of the body opposite (contralateral) to the side of a brain lesion
51
Dorsolateral prefrontal association cortex
Involved in evaluation of external stimuli and decision to initiate complex voluntary motor responses
52
Secondary motor cortex
Thought to be involved in the programming of specific patterns of movements
53
Mirror neurons
Fire when an individual performs a goal-oriented movement or when they observe the same goal-oriented movement First discovered in monkeys and provide a possible mechanism for social cognition
54
Primary motor cortex
Each site in the primary motor cortex receives sensory feedback from receptors in the muscles and joints that the site influences Major point of convergence of cortical sensorimotor signals
55
Two important sensorimotor structures that interact with different levels of the hierarchy and coordinate & modulate its activities:
1. Cerebellum | 2. Basal ganglia
56
Cerebellum
Contains more than half of the brain’s neurons Thought to correct ongoing movements that deviate from their intended course Believed to play a major role in motor learning - sequences of movements
57
Basal ganglia
play a role in the modulation of motor output, like the cerebellum Thought to also be involved in a variety of cognitive function (i.e., habit learning)
58
Dorsolateral motor pathways
Motor neurons activated project to distal muscles (i.e., finger muscles)
59
Ventromedial motor pathways
Motor neurons activated project to proximal muscles of the trunk and limbs (i.e., shoulders)
60
Fast muscle fibers
have few blood vessels (more pale)
61
Slow muscle fibers
have more blood vessels (more red)
62
Case of H.M.
Removal of medial portions of temporal lobes (including most of hippocampus & amygdala) to treat epilepsy Treatment was called a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy Led to the discovery of two categories of long term memory: explicit & implicit Lost almost total ability to form new long-term memories -tests demonstrated that he had intact implicit memory Intact short-term memory and intact remote, long-term memory
63
Explicit memory
conscious long-term memories
64
Implicit memory
long-term memory without conscious awareness
65
Major structures of the medial temporal lobes:
1. Hippocampus 2. Amygdala 3. Medial temporal cortex 4. CA1 subfield (in hippocampus)
66
Repetition priming tests assess...
implicit memory
67
Explicit long-term memories fall into two categories:
1. Episodic | 2. Semantic
68
Episodic memory
explicit memories for particular events of one’s life | Aka autobiographical memory
69
Semantic memory
explicit memories for general facts or information
70
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Disorder of memory common in people who have consumed large amounts of alcohol; Attributable to brain damage associated with thiamine deficiency; Characterized by a variety of sensory and motor problems (i.e., extreme confusion, personality changes, etc.)
71
Hebb’s theory of memory consolidation
Memories of experiences are stored in the short-term by neural activity circulating in closed circuits Theses circulating patterns are susceptible to disruption but eventually they induce structural changes in the involved synapses which provide stable long-term storage
72
Reconsolidation
each time a memory is retrieved from long-term it is temporarily unstable in short-term memory, until it is reconsolidated
73
Delayed nonmatching-to-sampling test
Used with rats and monkeys; Provided a means of testing the assumption that the amnesia resulting from medial temporal lobe damage is entirely the consequence of hippocampal damage
74
Radial arm maze and Morris water maze
Demonstrated that the hippocampus plays a role in spatial processing
75
Jennifer Aniston cells (aka concept cells)
found in the medial temporal lobe, respond to ideas of concepts (highly selective & invariant)
76
Infereotemporal cortex & memory
important role in storing memories of visual input
77
Amygdala & memory
memory for emotional significance of experiences
78
Prefrontal cortex & memory
plays a role in memory for tasks that involve a series of responses
79
Cerebellum & memory
plays a role in memory of learned sensorimotor skills
80
Striatum & memory
plays a role in habit formation memory (memory that develops over many trials)
81
Altering memories in PTSD patients
Reduce fear/stress associated with traumatic memories; Trigger recall of memory to put it in an unstable state; Administer drug that will blunt the hormonal and autonomic response to reliving the emotional experience
82
Engram
brain cells that are altered in some way after learning
83
Hebbian learning rule essentially says…
- Neurons that fire together wire together; neurons that are out of sync lose their link - Neurons that are active together increase the strength of their synapses - Neurons that reactivate together form cell assemblies
84
Cell assembly
Theoretical memory mechanism; Groups of neurons that serve a common function such as forming and storing a memory; Reactivation of the cell assembly allows the conscious recall of the memory
85
Long-term potentiation, aka LTP
high probability of concurrent pre and postsynaptic activity (synaptic strengthening) the enduring facilitation of synaptic transmission that occurs following activation of synapses by high-intensity, high-frequency stimulation of presynaptic neurons
86
Long-term depression, aka LTD
low probability of concurrent pre and postsynaptic activity (synaptic weakening) opposite of LTP and occurs in response to prolonged low-frequency stimulation of presynaptic neurons
87
LTP only develops if...
the firing of the presynaptic neuron is followed by the firing of the postsynaptic neuron
88
The co-occurrence of firing in presynaptic and postsynaptic cells is recognized as the __________ ______ in LTP
critical factor
89
Hebb’s postulate for learning
assumption that co-occurrence is a physiological necessity for learning and memory
90
The _____ receptor is prominent at the synapses at which LTP is commonly studied
NMDA
91
Metaplasticity
refers to the fact that LTP and/or LTD induction can be modulated by prior synaptic activity

PSYC 271, Brain & Behaviour (8 decks)

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