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W1 Flashcards

1
Q

Are we in full control of our motor acts?

A

No, actions are largely driven by unconscious brain processes (D’Ostilio & Garraux, 2012).

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2
Q

What role does the cerebellum play in motor control?

A

The cerebellum plays a large role in making decisions outside conscious awareness, enabling timely movements.

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3
Q

What is anticipatory control?

A

A mechanism where the brain predicts and prepares for actions before they occur to ensure smooth, accurate movements.

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4
Q

What is motor planning?

A

It involves the brain deciding on variables like duration, path, velocity, joint angles, muscle activity, and neural firing patterns to execute movements.

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5
Q

Why do human movements follow stereotyped trajectories?

A

Movements like eye and arm motions are optimized for energy efficiency and are consistent across individuals.

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6
Q

What are the key variables in motor planning?

A

Path, velocity, joint angles, muscle activity, and neural firing patterns.

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7
Q

What is a velocity profile in movement?

A

It describes the time sequence of changes in velocity along a movement’s path.

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8
Q

What is the neuromuscular junction (NMJ)?

A

A critical connection between the brain and muscles that facilitates communication for movement.

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9
Q

What is the role of the presynaptic axon and terminal in the NMJ?

A

The nerve ending that releases neurotransmitters.

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10
Q

What is the role of the post synaptic membrane in the NMJ?

A

The muscle fibre membrane where signals are received.

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11
Q

What is the role of synaptic vesicles in the NMJ?

A

They store NT acetylcholine, which is released to trigger muscle contraction.

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12
Q

What happens when acetylcholine binds to its specialised receptors on the muscle membrane?

A

It triggers muscle contraction by initiating an electrical signal in the muscle fiber.

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13
Q

What does an electron micrograph of the NMJ show?

A

The physical connection between the axon terminal and muscle fiber.

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14
Q

What does the retina do?

A

It contains light-sensitive cells that detect sensory information, which is sent to the brain via the optic nerve.

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15
Q

What decisions are made by the retina before information reaches the brain?

A

The retina processes information about object location, color, and edges.

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16
Q

How does the retina contribute to perception?

A

It processes sensory information, and perception is further refined in higher brain regions.

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17
Q

Why is vision not a direct reflection of reality?

A

The brain reconstructs sensory input, as demonstrated by illusions like Akiyoshi Kitaoka’s strawberry tart.

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18
Q

How does the brain process colors in pairs?

A

The brain uses mechanisms like white balance correction to process complementary colors (e.g., red vs. cyan).

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19
Q

Why can’t the brain record the world exactly as it is?

A

It would require vast data and energy, so the brain compresses information - known as the resolution problem.

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20
Q

What is the energy problem?

A

That fully active retinal cells would require enormous energy and the optic nerve would have to be fatter to carry all the info.

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21
Q

Why can’t the optic nerve carry all visual information?

A

A larger optic nerve would block vision by expanding the blind spot, so the brain prioritizes essential data.

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22
Q

What type of information does the brain prioritize during visual compression?

A

Changes in space (edges) and time (movement/new objects).

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23
Q

Why is contrast important in visual processing?

A

Contrast allows the brain to detect differences, which are essential for perception.

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24
Q

What is spatial inhibition in sensory processing?

A

Spatial inhibition is a mechanism where active sensory cells suppress the activity of neighboring cells through lateral inhibition. This enhances contrast, reduces redundancy, and helps encode spatial differences efficiently.

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25
How does lateral inhibition contribute to spatial inhibition?
Lateral inhibition occurs when an active neuron inhibits its neighboring neurons with similar responses, reducing uniform signals and enhancing contrast between different sensory inputs.
26
What is the main function of spatial inhibition in sensory perception?
It enhances contrast, sharpens edges, and reduces redundant signals, allowing the brain to efficiently process visual, tactile, and other sensory information.
27
How does spatial inhibition affect the perception of color?
Colors appear different depending on their surroundings. A gray bar may look lighter against a dark background and darker against a light background due to contrast enhancement.
28
What role do G cells play in spatial inhibition?
G cells are specialized sensory cells that detect specific signals (e.g., color). Each G cell has a spatial inhibitor linked to it, which suppresses neighboring G cells with similar responses to enhance contrast.
29
How do spatial inhibitors work in the lateral inhibition process?
When a G cell is activated, its associated spatial inhibitor suppresses the activity of nearby G cells detecting similar stimuli, reducing uniformity and enhancing differences.
30
Why is lateral inhibition important for efficient sensory processing?
It minimizes redundant signals, making important differences (like edges and contrasts) more noticeable while saving neural energy.
31
How does lateral inhibition help in adapting to changes in the environment?
It quickly suppresses constant signals and enhances new ones, helping the brain focus on changing stimuli rather than static, unchanging inputs.
32
How does context influence spatial inhibition in visual perception?
The perception of an object’s color or brightness depends on the surrounding colors, making a neutral gray object appear lighter or darker depending on the background.
33
What is a simultaneous contrast illusion, and how does it relate to spatial inhibition?
A simultaneous contrast illusion occurs when a color or brightness appears different based on its surroundings. This is due to lateral inhibition, which exaggerates differences between adjacent areas.
34
Can spatial inhibition affect other senses besides vision?
Yes! In touch perception, lateral inhibition helps the brain distinguish textures by enhancing contrast between stimulated and unstimulated areas on the skin.
35
How does lateral inhibition operate in the retina?
In the retina, color-sensitive cells (e.g., red, green, and blue cones) inhibit neighboring cells with similar responses, enhancing the perception of edges and contrast in visual scenes.
36
How does spatial inhibition help with energy efficiency in the brain?
By suppressing redundant signals and focusing on important contrasts, the brain avoids processing unnecessary information, reducing energy consumption.
37
What is temporal inhibition?
Temporal inhibition is a process where sensory cells reduce their activity after prolonged exposure to a stimulus, allowing the brain to adapt to changes over time and focus on new stimuli.
38
How does temporal inhibition differ from spatial inhibition?
Temporal inhibition compresses sensory signals over time, while spatial inhibition compresses signals over space by enhancing contrast between adjacent signals.
39
What happens to sensory cells during temporal inhibition?
Sensory cells become less responsive if they are continuously stimulated, leading to adaptation and reduced sensitivity to constant stimuli.
40
How does temporal adaptation help perception?
It allows the brain to filter out unchanging stimuli, making it more efficient in detecting new or changing signals in the environment.
41
What is a color after-effect?
After staring at a color (e.g., red) for an extended period, the red-sensitive cells become inhibited. When switching to a white background, only the blue-green receptors remain active, creating an illusion where white appears blue-green.
42
Why do color after-effects occur?
The overstimulated color receptors become fatigued and temporarily suppress their responses, leaving the complementary colors more visible when looking at a neutral surface.
43
What role do red (R), green (G), and blue (B) receptors play in temporal inhibition?
These receptors adapt to prolonged exposure by reducing their output, creating after-effect illusions when switching to a neutral stimulus.
44
How does the brain use temporal inhibition to manage sensory input?
It reduces redundant signals over time, compressing sensory data and conserving energy for processing new and important stimuli.
45
How does stimulus intensity affect neural adaptation?
Neurons do not maintain a constant firing rate; instead, their response diminishes over time when exposed to a continuous stimulus.
46
What is rate coding in temporal adaptation?
Rate coding means that the firing rate of neurons correlates with stimulus intensity but follows a nonlinear pattern, preventing system overload.
47
What is an example of rate coding in motor systems?
Lifting a 1 kg object might generate 100 action potentials, but doubling the weight does not double the firing rate due to neural adaptation.
48
How does temporal inhibition apply to motor adaptation?
The firing rate of motor neurons decreases when a movement is repeated, making the action feel easier over time.
49
Why do neurons adjust their sensitivity over time?
This flexibility helps neurons process a wide range of stimuli without becoming overwhelmed, improving efficiency in perception and motor control.
50
What is the filling-in mechanism?
The brain spreads excitation from edges to neighboring cells, allowing it to 'fill in' missing sensory information and create a continuous perception.
51
How does filling-in differ from other compression mechanisms?
Unlike spatial and temporal inhibition, which suppress redundant signals, filling-in actively spreads information to fill gaps in perception.
52
What is the Craik-O’Brien-Cornsweet Illusion?
A visual illusion where contrast at edges makes the brain perceive gradual changes in brightness even when they don’t exist.
53
How does the brain interpret missing sensory information?
The brain extrapolates information from edge contrasts and fills in surrounding areas to create a coherent visual experience.
54
Why does the Craik-O’Brien-Cornsweet Illusion work?
The brain assumes that edges indicate real brightness differences and extends those assumptions into nearby areas, even if no actual difference exists.
55
How does filling-in conserve energy?
Instead of processing all sensory data, the brain relies on edge information and spreads excitation across neurons, reducing the amount of data needed for perception.
56
How do edge receptors contribute to filling-in?
Only edge receptors (detecting light/dark boundaries) are active, and their signals spread to neighboring areas, creating an illusory gradient.
57
What is an example of filling-in in daily life?
When reading a blurry sign, your brain fills in missing letters based on surrounding edges and prior knowledge.
58
How is filling-in different from lateral inhibition?
Lateral inhibition enhances contrast by suppressing neighboring cells, while filling-in spreads activity to create a continuous perception.
59
Does filling-in require energy?
Lateral inhibition enhances contrast by suppressing neighboring cells, while filling-in spreads activity to create a continuous perception.
60
What is the benefit of filling-in?
It helps maintain stable and complete perceptions, even when visual input is incomplete or ambiguous.
61
What happens when filling-in is disrupted?
If edge information is blocked or altered, the brain may misinterpret the scene, leading to illusions or visual gaps.
62
How does filling-in affect texture perception?
The brain extends texture patterns based on edge information, helping you perceive smooth and continuous surfaces even when some details are missing.
63
How does filling-in relate to optical illusions?
Many illusions trick the brain into filling-in non-existent gradients or colors, proving how edge contrast shapes perception.
64
Why does filling-in make perception efficient?
It reduces the raw data the brain must process by focusing on critical contrast points rather than every detail in the environment.
65
What is nonlinear motor response?
The motor system adapts to different stimulus intensities in a nonlinear way to prevent overstimulation and optimize energy use.
66
Why does the brain use nonlinear responses in motor adaptation?
If the motor system responded linearly, small increases in weight would lead to disproportionate energy use, making movements inefficient.
67
How are compression mechanisms shared across brain functions?
The same principles of spatial and temporal inhibition occur in sensory, motor, and cognitive systems, improving efficiency across different functions.
68
What is an example of shared adaptation in different domains?
Sensory adaptation (e.g., adjusting to bright light) and motor adaptation (e.g., adjusting grip strength) both rely on reducing redundant signals over time.
69
How do cognitive illusions relate to sensory compression?
Just as the visual system fills in missing details, the cognitive system makes shortcuts in reasoning, sometimes leading to errors or illusions.
70
How do paranormal beliefs arise from cognitive adaptation?
The brain interprets ambiguous stimuli (e.g., eerie shadows in photos) using past experiences, sometimes leading to false conclusions.
71
What are the three main compression mechanisms?
Spatial Inhibition (contrast enhancement), Temporal Inhibition (adaptation over time), and Filling-In (edge-based perception).
72
How do these compression mechanisms help the brain?
They reduce redundant signals, save energy, and allow quick adaptation to new stimuli.
73
What is dynamic range in sensory processing?
The range of stimulus intensities a neuron can detect, which is limited compared to the vast range in the environment.
74
Why does adaptation occur in sensory systems?
To adjust sensitivity and maintain functionality across different levels of input.
75
What are the two time courses of adaptation?
Fast adaptation (neuronal changes) and slow adaptation (mechanical relaxation or both)
76
What are key interfaces between the brain and the body?
Neuro-muscular junction (brain → muscles) and retina (eyes → brain).
77
How does the brain integrate sensory and motor information?
It compresses signals and integrates inputs from the world and body to control movement and perception efficiently.
78
How does the brain adapt to dynamic environments?
By modifying sensitivity, filtering constant stimuli, and prioritizing changes in sensory input.
79
Why is adaptation important for survival?
It helps organisms respond quickly to new stimuli, avoid overload, and maintain awareness of important changes in the environment.

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