Chapter 5 Sensation and Perception
Monocular Cues
Cues that require one one eye
Afterimage
Describes the continuation of visual sensation after removal of the stimulus.
Ruffini Corpuscles
Detect strech
Pacinian Corpuscles
Detect transient pressure and higher frequency vibrations
Inattentional Blindness
Failure to notice something that is completely visible because of lack of attention.
Principle of Similarity
To group things in our visual fields. According to this principle, things that are alike tend to be grouped together.
We are not consciously aware of our blind spots for 2 reasons
1) Each eye gets slightly different view of the visual field; therefore the blind spots do not overlap. 2) Our visual system fills in the blind spot so that although we cannot respond to visual information that occurs in that portion of the visual filed, we are also not aware that information is missing.
Decibels
A logarithmic unit of sound intensity in which loudness is measured in.
Temporal Theory
A pitch of perception asserts that frequency is coded by the activity level of a sensory neuron. This would mean that a given hair cell would fire action potentials related to the frequency of the sound wave.
Blind spot
A point of visual field that we don't see and we are not consciously aware of.
Basilar Membrane
A thin strip of tissue within the cochela
Amplitude
A wave is the height of a wave as measured from the highest point on the wave (Peak or Crest) to the lowest point on the wave (trough)
Figure-ground relationship
According to this principle, we tend to segment our visual world into figure and ground.
Trichromatic Theory of color vision
According to this theory all colors in the spectrum can be produced by combining red, green, and blue. The three types of cones are each receptive to one of the colors.
Opponent- Process Theory
According to this theory, color is coded in opponent pairs: Black-white, yellow-blue,and green-red. The basic idea is that some cells of the visual system are excited by one of the opponent colors and inhibited by the other. So, a cell that was excited by wavelengths associated with green would be inhabited by wavelengths associated with red and vice versa.
Umami
Actually a Japanese word that roughly translates to yummy and it is associated with a taste for monsodium glutamate.
Lens
After passing the pupil, light crosses this. It is a curved, transparent structure that serves to provide additional focus. It is attached to muscles that can change its shape to aid in focusing light that is reflected from near or far objects. In normal-sighted individuals it will focus images perfectly on a small indentation in the back of the eye known as the fovea.
Attention
Another factor of sensation and perception that plays a significant role in determining what is sensed versus what is perceived.
Higher Amplitudes
Are associated with louder sounds.
Rods and Cones
Are connected through several inter neurons to retinal ganglion cells.Axons from the retinal ganglion cells coverage and exit through the back of the eye to form the optic nerve.
Cochlear implants
Are electronic devices that consist of a microphone, a speech processor, and an electrode array. The device receives incoming sound and directly stimulates the auditory nerve to transmit information to the brain.
Rods
Are specialized photo receptors that work well in low light conditions, and while they lack spatial resolution and color function of the cones, they are involved in our vision in dimly lit environments as well as in our perception of movement on the periphery of our visual field.
Light wavelength
Associated with perception of color (ROYGBIV) The amplitude of light waves is associated with our experience of brightness or intensity of color, with larger amplitudes appearing brighter. (Different wavelengths of light are associated with our perception of different colors.)
Hair cells
Auditory receptor cells of the inner ear embedded in the basilar membrane
Vestibular Sense
Contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture. The vestibular
Motivation
Can also affect perception
Our perceptions
Can also be affected by our beliefs, values, prejudices, expectations, and life experiences.
Optic Nerve
Carries visual information from the retina to the brain
Olfactory receptor
Cells located in the Mucous membrane at the top of the nose. Small hair-like extensions from these receptors serve as the sites for odor molecules dissolved in the mucus to interact with chemical receptors located on these extensions.
Perceptual hypotheses
Educated guesses that we make while interpreting sensory information. These hypothesis are informed by a number of factors, including our personalities, experiences, and expectations. We use these hypotheses to generate our perceptual set.
Top-down processing
How we interpret those sensations is influenced by our available knowledge, our experiences, and our thoughts.
Cochela
In the inner ear that contains the semi-circular canals which are involved in balance and movement. It is a fluid filled, snail shaped structure that contains the sensory receptor cells (hair cells) of the auditory system.
Muller-Lyer illusion
Lines appear to be different lengths although that are identical. Arrows at the ends of lines may make the line on the right appear longer, although the lines are the same length. When applied to a three-dimensional image, the line on the right again may appear longer although both black lines are the same length.
Pheromones
Many species respond to chemical messages sent by another individual. Pheromonal communication involves providing information about the reproductive status of a potential mate.
Binocular cues
Means that they rely on the use of both eyes.
Subliminal Messages
Messages that are present below the threshold for conscious awareness. We receive it but we are not consciously aware of it.
Olfactory Bulb
Once an odor molecule has bound a given receptor, chemical changes within the cell result in signals being sent. It is a bulb-like structure at the tip of the frontal lobe where the olfactory nerve begin. From this the information is sent to regions of the limbic system and to the primary olfactory cortex, which is located very near the gustatory cortex.
What pathway and the where/ how pathway
Once inside the brain, visual information is sent via a number of structures to the occipital lobe at the back of the brain for processing. Visual information might be processed in these parallel pathways. It is involved in object recognition and identification and it is involved with location in space and how one might interact with a particular visual stimulus.
Pattern Perception
Our ability to discriminate among different figures and shapes. You probably feel fairly certain that your perception accurately matches the real world, but this is not always the case.
Depth perception
Our ability to perceive spatial relationships in three-dimensional space
Neuropathic pain
Pain results from damage to neurons of either the peripheral or central nervous system. As a result, pain signals that are sent to the brain get exaggerated.
Inflammatory pain
Pain that signals some type of tissue damage
Congenital deafness
People who are born with the inability to hear
Proprioception
Perception of the body position
Kinesthesia
Perception of the body's movement through space interact with information provided by the vestibular system
Proximity Principle
Principle asserts that things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together.
Timbre
Refers to a sound's purity, and is affected by the complex interplay of frequency, amplitude, and timing of sound waves.
Interaural level difference
Refers to the fact that a sound coming from the right side of your body is more intense at your right ear then your left ear because the attenuation of the sound wave as it passes through your head.
Bottom-up processing
Refers to the fact that perceptions are built from sensory input.
Linear perspective
Refers to the fact that we perceive depth when we see two parallel lines that seem to converge in an image.
Wavelength
Refers to the length of a wave from one peak to the next. It is directly related to the frequency of a given wave form.
Absolute Threshold
Refers to the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time. A stimulus reaches a physiological threshold when it is strong enough to excite sensory receptors and send nerve impulses to the brain.
Frequency
Refers to the number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period and is often expressed in terms of Hertz(Hz), Longer wavelengths will have lower frequencies, and shorter wavelengths will have higher frequencies.
Interaural timing difference
Refers to the small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear.
Perception
Refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced . It involves both bottom-up and top-down processing
Merkels disks
Respond to light pressure
Meissner's Corpuscles
Respond to pressure and lower frequency vibrations
Meniere's disease
Results in degeneration of inner ear structures that can lead to hearing loss, tinnitus (constant ringing or buzzing), vertigo ( a sense of spinning ) and an increase in pressure within the inner ear.
What does it mean to sense something?
Sensory receptors are specialized neurons that respond to specific types of stimuli. When sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor, sensation has occurred.
High-Frequency
Sound waves are perceived as high- pitched sounds
Low-Frequency
Sound waves are perceived as low-pitched sounds
Cones
Specialized types of photoreceptor, are located throughout the remainder of the Retina
The principle of closure
States that we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts.
Signal detection Theory
The ability to identify a stimulus when it is embedded in a distracting background.
Fovea
The back of the eye that contains densely packed specialized photoreceptor cells.
Iris
The colored portion of the eye.
Transduction
The conversation from sensory stimulus energy to action potential.
Weber's Law
The difference threshold is a constant fraction of the original stimulus
Tympanic Membrane
The eardrum
Pitch
The frequency of a sound wave is associated with our perception of that sounds
Conductive hearing loss
The inability to hear due to age, genetic predisposition, or environmental effects, including exposure to extreme noise.
Law of continuity and closure
The law of continuity suggests that we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines
Retina
The light-sensitive lining of the eye
The eye
The major sensory organ involved in vision. Light waves are transmitted across the cornea and enter the eye through the pupil.
Ossicles
The middle ear contains three tiny bones which are named the malleus (or hammer), incus(or anvil), and the stapes (or stirrup)
Pinna
The outer ear that is visible to the part of the ear that protrudes from our heads, the auditory canal, and the tympanic membrane.
Deafness
The partial or complete inability to hear.
Place Theory
The pitch perception suggests that different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of different frequencies.
Visible Spectrum
The portion of the larger electromagnetic spectrum that we can see. In humans it is associated with wavelengths that range from 380 to 740 nm
Binocular disparity
The slightly different view of the world that each of our eyes receives.
Pupil
The small opening in the eye through which light passes, and the size of it can change as a function of light levels as well as emotional arousal. When light levels are high, it will constrict, or become smaller to reduce the amount of light that enters the eye. The size is controlled by muscles that are connected to the iris.
Cornea
The transparent covering over the eye.It serves as a barrier between the inner eye and the outside world, and it is involved in focusing light waves that enter the eye.
Gestalt Psychology
The word gestalt literally means form or pattern but its use reflects the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. In other words, the brain creates a perception that is more than simply the sum of available sensory inputs, and it does so in predictable ways.
Thermoception and nociception
These nerve endings respond to a variety of different types of touch related stimuli and serve as sensory receptors to both.
Taste buds
They are formed by groupings of taste receptor cells with hair-like extensions that protrude into the central pore of the taste bud. It has a life cycle of ten days to two weeks so even destroying some by burning your tongue won't have any long term affect and it will just grow right back. Taste molecules bind to receptors on this extension and cause chemical changes within the sensory cell that result in neural impulses being transmitted to the brain via different nerves, depending on where the receptor is located.
Optic Chiasm
This is where the optic nerve from each eye merges just below the brain. It is an X-shaped structure that sits just below the cerebral cortex at the front of the brain. At this point information from the right visual field(which comes from both eyes) is sent to the left side of the brain, and the information from the left visual field is sent to the right side of the brain.
How do the Proprioceptive and Kinesthetic information travel?
Travels to the brain via the spinal column. Several cortical regions in addition to the cerebellum receive information from and send information to the sensory organs of the proprioceptive and kinesthetic systems.
Monaural
Used in the auditory system meaning one-eared
Binaural
Used in the auditory system meaning two eared and cues to localize sound. There are two types: Interaural level difference and Interaural timing difference.
Just noticeable difference (jnd) or difference threshold
We are more interested in how much difference in stimuli is required to detect a difference between them. This threshold changes depending on the stimulus intensity.
Sensory Adaption
We often don't perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time.
Sensorineural hearing loss
When the hearing problem is associated with a failure to transmit neural signals from the crochela to the brain
Congenital Insensitivity to pain
While those with congenital analgesia can detect differences in temperature and pressure, they cannot experience pain.
Photoreceptors
cells known as cones are light detecting cells.