Chapter 8 - Sensory Processing

What are the main steps of sensory processing from stimulus to interpretation?

1) Stimulus, 2) Transduction in receptor, 3) Transmission of action potential, 4) Interpretation by the brain.

What is an “adequate stimulus”?

The type of stimulus that a sensory organ is most adapted to sensing.

What is the function of sensory receptor organs?

To detect energy or substances and act as filters of the environment.

What are sensory receptor cells?

Cells located within sensory organs that convert stimuli into electrical signals.

What is sensory selectivity?

Sensory systems have limited ranges of responsiveness; they only detect certain stimuli.

What is the “Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies”?

Each sensory system sends its own type of signals via distinct pathways, and the nature of the sensation depends on the pathway stimulated, not the stimulus itself.

What are the six aspects of sensory processing?

Coding, Adaptation, Suppression, Pathways, Receptive Fields, Attention.

How is stimulus intensity coded?

Through range fractionation and by the number of active cells (neuron recruitment).

How is stimulus location coded?

By the position of activated receptors and differences in timing in bilateral receptor systems.

What is sensory adaptation?

A decrease in response to a constant stimulus, helping the brain focus on changes

What’s the difference between tonic and phasic receptors?

Tonic: little adaptation; Phasic: fast adapting with decreased firing.

What is bottom-up suppression?

Accessory structures reduce input intensity before reaching receptors.

What is top-down suppression?

Brain regions modulate sensory input by sending signals back down the pathway.

What is the typical path of sensory information to the brain?

Receptors → distinct sensory pathway → thalamus → sensory cortex.

What is a receptive field?

The region where a stimulus affects a neuron’s firing rate.

How do receptive fields change along the sensory pathway?

They become larger and more complex as information is integrated.

What is attention in sensory processing?

The selective focus on specific stimuli for enhanced processing.

Which brain regions are involved in attention?

Posterior parietal lobe and anterior cingulate cortex.

What are interoceptive cues?

Signals from within the body that can influence emotion.

What are some examples of subliminal/unconscious cues?

Race, gender, beauty, social dominance, and group membership.