UCSD Psychology 1

Sensation allows us to?

gather information from the external world, while perception allows us to make sense of that info

myelin sheath

glial cells that help speed signal transmission

Retina

membrane on the back of the eye, where the light is focused.

lateralization

some functions are only processed by one hemisphere

synaptic cleft

space between two neurons where neurotransmitter is released

symmetry

symmetrical things are grouped

parietal lobe

that part of the cerebral cortex in either hemisphere of the brain lying below the crown of the head

parasympathetic

rest or digest

depth perception

Ability to see spatial relations in 3D, despite 2D images on the retina

Aphasias

Broca's and Wernicke's

Autonomic nervous system

Carries signals the CNs and organs/ glands that regulate the involuntary actions and the body's internal state

Parts of the eye

Pupil, Iris, cornea, Lens, retina, Fovea

Perception

The brains interpretation of raw sensory input

Absolute Threshold

The lowest level of a stimulus that we can detect 50% of the time

Sensory Adaptation

a stimulus is strongest when we first sense it, after that sense declines in strength

Peripheral Nervous System

autonomic and somatic

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

somatic nervous system

carries signals between the CNS and muscles in the body that control movement

ganglion cells

carry visual information from the eye to the brain

glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons. form myelin and the blood brain barrier

cell body

central regions of cell

motion parallax

closer objects appear to move faster than distinct objects

interposition

closer objects occlude distant ones

iris

colored part of the muscle that controls the pupil

motor neurons

connects between the brain and muscle - motor functions

interneurons

connects other neurons/ processes information received and connects to other neurons

good continuation

continues things are grouped

axons

delivers signals to other cells

synesthesia

describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color", "a sweet sound")

binocular disparity

difference in the location of an object between the images on the left and right eyes

Lens

disc that focuses light on the back of the eye

closure

gaps in border are ignored to form a whole

severance of the corpus callosum

done to people with severe epilepsy

axon terminals

end of axons where signal is released

Hyperopia

farsighted: light focuses too late

sympathetic

fight or flight

figure ground

foreground is grouped

central nervous system is separated into how many lobes?

four

lobes the the central nervous system

frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe

Pupil

hole that allows light into the eye

Opponent Proces theory of color

idea that we perceive things are red OR green OR blue OR yellow OR light OR dark so there must be colors that inhibit each other

temporal lobe

important for auditory sensation, understanding language and storing autobiographical memory

occipital lobe

important for vision Wernicke's are

synapse

junctions between two communication neurons

Wernicke's aphasia

inability to comprehend speech

Broca's Aphasia

inability to produce speech

frontal lobe

involved in motion and higher order cognition

additive color mixing

mixing of colored light which in turn gets darker

subtractive color mixing

mixing of pigment which in turn absorb more light and gets darker

texture gradient

more distant textures appear less detailed

myopia

nearsighted: focuses too soon

height in plane

objects far away seem higher

autonomic

parasympathetic and sympathetic

cornea

outside covering that helps focus light

linear perspective

parallel lines converge at a distance

proximity

physically close things are grouped

top down processing

process driven primarily by concepts, beliefs or expectations

bottom up processing

processing driven primarily by sensory input

Gestalt principles of grouping

proximity, similarity, good continuation, closure, symmetry, figure grounds, common motion

sensory neurons

pull in sensory information and send it to the brain. pick up signals and trasmit

dendrites

receive outside signal

Cones

sense bright light and color

Rods

sense dim light

light and shadow

shadow cue, 3D shapes, shape from shading

similarity

similar things are grouped

trichromatic theory of vision

the idea that color is based on three primary colors- blue green and red

Sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment/ The detection of physical energy by sense organs. Cells in the eye, nose, ear, skin and tongue

Just noticeable difference

the smallest change we can sense stimulus intensity

common motion

things that move together are grouped