Visual & Auditory Processing

long wavelength cones detect

red

optic tract

How information from the optic nerve travels to the thalamus

Basilar membrane

A structure that runs the length of the cochlea in the inner ear and holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells.

True or False: The cells that begin the process of transmitting information about sound to the brain are called bipolar cells.

False. The cells that begin the process of transmitting information about sound to the brain are called hair cells. Bipolar cells send neural signals in the visual pathway.

True or false: The sympathetic nervous system causes the ciliary muscle to make our pupils dilate in response to a stimulus that triggers the fight-or-flight response.

False. The pupillae muscle, not the ciliary muscle, makes our pupils dilate in response to a stimulus that triggers the fight-or-flight response.

motion parallax

a depth cue; the perception of motion of objects in which close objects appear to move more quickly than objects that are farther away

lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

a group of cell bodies within the lateral geniculate body of the thalamus that receives input from the retina and projects fibers to the primary visual cortex

optic chiasm

location where portions of the optic nerve cross over to the other side of the brain

the LGN contains what type of neurons

magnocellular and parvocellular neurons

oval window

membrane that covers the opening between the middle ear and inner ear

two-point threshold

minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli used to operationalize how sensitive different parts of the body are

iris

pigmented part of the eye, prevents any unwanted light from passing through a ring of muscle tissue that forms around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

cornea

provides a layer of protection for the eye and begins focusing the incoming light

serial memory processing

the act of attending to and processing one item/stimulus at a time

Which nucleus receives auditory input from the auditory nerve and transmits it to the auditory cortex?

the medial geniculate nucleus

Parallel processing

the process of integrating all elements of visual input simultaneously

place theory

the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated allows the brain to infer information about the pitch of a sound based on which hair cells send signals.

The base of the basilar membrane

the thickest - this is where it responds to high-frequency vibrations It is also close to the oval window that connects the middle and inner ears

eardrum

tightly stretched membrane located at the end of the ear canal (between inner and middle ear) that vibrates when struck by sound waves

the _____ hemisphere is responsible for processing speech

left

posterior chamber of eye

lens and back of the eye, contains vitreous humor

macula

The central part of the retina surrounding the fovea, contains cones

vestibulochochlear nerve

auditory nerve

medium wavelength cones detect

green

horizontal cells

type of cell that receives input from photoreceptors (rods and cones) and delivers inhibitory input to photoreceptors and synapses with bipolar cells

choroid

vascular layer beneath the sclera that connects with the iris and accepts extra light

Which of the following correctly matches the properties of sound with how they manifest in sound waves? A) A sound's intensity is determined by the sound wave's amplitude B) A sound's intensity is determined by the sound wave's wavelength C) A sound's frequency is determined by the frequency at which a sound wave vibrates the tympanic membrane D) A sound's frequency is determined by the frequency at which a sound wave vibrates the basilar membrane

A and C

rhodopsin

A light-sensitive pigment found in the rod cells that is formed by retinal and opsin Begins the process of phototransduction

Eustachian tube

A narrow tube between the middle ear and the throat that serves to equalize pressure on both sides of the eardrum

What is used to represent the two-point threshold? A) the gate theory of pain B) the homunculus C) a diagram of the olfactory system D) an MRI image of the parietal lobe

B

amacrine cells

Retinal cells found in the inner synaptic layer that make synaptic contacts with bipolar cells, ganglion cells, and one another

ossicles

Set of three tiny bones that amplify sound waves and transmit them into the inner ear: Malleus, Incus, Stapes

events of the hearing pathway

Sound waves cause the hair cells to move around in the endolymph, and that swaying movement of the stereocilia opens up ion channels that let small positively-charged ions flow into the cell. This, in turn, triggers an influx of calcium ions through voltage-gated calcium channels. This Ca2+ influx then causes the release of neurotransmitters at the other end of the cell, beginning the transmission of neural signals. These signals are transmitted through the vestibulocochlear nerve, which is also sometimes referred to as the auditory nerve. Auditory signals are passed through several different structures in the brain, including the medial geniculate nucleus in the thalamus. Finally, these signals are processed by the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe.

apex

The basilar membrane is narrowest and responds to low-frequency vibrations closer to its apex, which is further away from the oval window

rods are located

along the periphery of the retina

Place the components of the organ of Corti in order, from bottom to top: tectoral membrane, basilar membrane, endolymph with hair cells

basilar membrane endolymph with hair cells tectoral membrane

short wavelength cones detect

blue

How is the lens held in place and adjusted to focus light?

by a suspensory ligament attached to the ciliary body

cones detect

color of three types of wavelength (short, medium, long) and fine details

membranous labyrinth

contains endolymph

Place the following structures of the eye in the order in which they make contact with light: vitreous humor, lens, retina, anterior chamber, pupil, cornea.

cornea anterior chamber pupil lens vitreous humor retina

anterior chamber of eye

cornea to iris, contains aqueous humor

sclera

covers and protects eyeball, connects with the cornea

utricle

detects motion in the horizontal plane

saccule

detects motion in the vertical plane

organ of corti contains

flexible basilar membrane, hair cells suspended in endolymph, and a rigid tectorial membrane

Perilymph

fluid that fills the bony labyrinth of the inner ear and transmits vibrations to the basilar membrane

Where are cones located

fovea centralis and macula

which cells are responsible for the vestibular sense

hair cells in the semicircular canal of the inner ear

cochlea is divided into

inner and outer scalae which contain the perilymph while the middle layer is suspended between two membranes and contains the organ of Corti

magnocellular neurons

large cells with large receptive fields that detect changes in motion (temporal resolution)

Rods are responsible for

night vision, highly sensitive towards visual input changes

middle ear contains

ossicles and eustachian tube

Pinna

outer ear; funnels incoming sound waves into the external auditory canal

gate theory of pain

pain sensation is reduced when other somatosensory signals are present the body can turn pain signals on or off in the spinal cord depending on the overall pattern of sensory input

Place the following cells in the order that they are activated in the visual pathway: amacrine cells; bipolar cells; photoreceptors, ganglion cells, horizontal cells

photoreceptors horizontal cells bipolar cells amacrine cells ganglion cells

rods contain

rhodopsin

The left side of the retina in each eye sees the ______ visual field and vice versa

right

The left visual field is processed in the ______ hemisphere of the brain and vice versa

right

the _____ hemisphere is responsible for processing background noise and instrumental music

right

semicircular canals

sense rotational acceleration

vestibule

senses linear acceleration

parvocellular neurons

small cells that detect fine details (spatial resolution)

Information about taste is first processed in the _______ and then sent to the ________ cortex

thalamus; gustatory

Feature detection

the ability of the brain to identify and respond to specific elements of a stimulus, such as color, shape, or motion

bony labyrinth

winding tunnels located in the inner ear and contain perilymph