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level: Sensations and Perception

Questions and Answers List

level questions: Sensations and Perception

Question	Answer
special receptors in the sense organs are activated, allowing various forms of outside stimuli to become neural signals in brain	sensation
process of converting outside stimuli, such as a light, into neural activity	transduction
specialized forms of neurons that make up the nervous system	sensory receptors
eliminate the polarization of (The transmission of a nerve impulse along a neuron from one end to the other occurs as a result of electrical changes across the membrane of the neuron) stimulated	depolarization
The transmission of a nerve impulse along a neuron from one end to the other occurs as a result of electrical changes across the membrane of the neuron (unstimulated)	polorization of neural impulse
a sensation that normally occurs in one sense modality occurs when another modality is stimulated	synesthesia
the smallest different between 2 stimuli that is detectable 50% of the time	Just noticeable difference (JND)
(psychophysics) the concept that a just-noticeable difference in a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus	Weber's Law
the lowest level of stimulation that a person can detect	absolute threshold
stimuli below conscious awareness	subliminal stimulus
processing stimuli without conscious awareness	subliminal perception
provides a method for assessing the accurary judgments or decisions under uncertain conditions, used in perception research. "hits, misses, false alarms, correct rejection"	signal detection theory
a general accommodation to unchanging environmental conditions	habituation
tendency of sensory receptor cells to become less responsive to a stimulus that is unchanging	sensory adaptations
eyes constantly moving to prevent from adapting to what they see	microsaccades
tiny light packets of waves that have specific wavelengths	photons
determined by amplitude of waves (high or low). The higher the wave the brighter.	perception of brightness
determined by length of the wave. Short = blue end of visible spectrum, long = red end	perception of color
the purity of color. less saturated colors may have a mixture of wavelengths	perception of saturation
special kinds of neurons in mouth responsible for gustation (sense of taste).	taste receptor cells
anterior insula and frontal operculum (gustatory cortex)	taste sent to
bumps on tongue with taste buds lining their walls	papillae
processed in somatosensory cortex of parietal lobe	texture of food
chemical senses	Taste and smell
the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents	olfaction
transduces (turns into signals for brain) odors	nasal passages
tiny hair-like cells that project into the nasal cavity (receptors for smell)	cilia
cilia, stimulated by molecules of substances. replaced every 5-8 weeks	olfactory receptor cells
two bulb-like projections of the brain located just above the sinus cavity and just below frontal lobes, receive info from olfactory receptor cells	olfactory bulbs
higher cortical areas: primary olfactory cortex, orbiofrontal cortex, amygdala	smell sent to
the body senses consisting of the skin senses, the kinesthetic and proprioceotive senses and vestibular sense	somesthetic senses
skin receptors just beneath skin, respond to changes in pressure	pacinian corpuscles
skin receptors just beneath uppermost layer of skin, responds to changes in temp, pressure, and pain	free nerve endings
receptors that detect pain or pressure in organs	visceral pain
pain sensations in skin, muscles, tendons, and joints. Sharp and fast (warning) or general ache (reminder)	somatic pain
the ability to feel movements of the limbs and body	kinesthesia
failure of the sweat glands	anhidrosis
inability to feel pain	CIPA and congenital analgesia
the ability to sense the position and location and orientation and movement of the body and its parts	proprioception
a sensory system located in structures of the inner ear that registers the orientation of the head	vestibular sense
vestibular organ, tiny sacs found just above cochlea containing gelatin-like fluid with tiny crystals	otolith organ
vestibular organ. 3 circular tubes filled with fluid that stimulates hair like receptors when rotated. one in each plane of motion	semicircular canals
theory explaining motion sickness where info from eyes conflicts with info from vestibular senses	sensory conflict theory