Psychology Week 4: Sensation and Perception Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering sensory concepts, anatomy, perception cues, and clinical conditions discussed in Week 4 lectures.

Retinal Disparity

A binocular depth cue based on the difference in the two retinal images received by each eye, providing information about depth.

Vergence

A binocular depth cue where both eyes move together to determine distance, placing strain on the eyes as objects get closer to the face.

Proprioception

The body's ability to sense its own movement, location, and position in space, often referred to as the sixth sense.

Ossicles

Tiny bones located in the middle ear that transmit vibrations from the eardrum to the cochlea.

Cochlea

A spiral cavity in the inner ear lined with hair cells that receives sound vibrations from the ossicles.

Auditory Nerve

The nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain, carrying electrical messages from vibrating hair cells in the cochlea.

Temporal Lobe

The region of the brain that receives auditory input from the auditory nerve and translates it into sound.

Amplitude

The height of a sound wave, which determines perceived loudness.

Frequency

The wave characteristic that determines the perceived pitch of a sound.

Vestibular Sense

The sensory system responsible for balance, controlled by fluid in the semicircular canals of the inner ear in response to head orientation.

McGurk Effect

An auditory-visual illusion that occurs when visual information deceives or alters what a person hears.

Umami

One of the five basic taste sensations, describing a savory flavor alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

Anosmia

The complete loss of the sense of smell, which can be temporary due to colds or long-term following a TBI.

Hyposmia

A condition characterized by a decreased or reduced sense of smell.

Parosmia

A condition involving a distortion or change in the perception of smells.

Ageusia

The complete loss of the sense of taste, affecting approximately 1 to 2 people out of 1000 ($0.001\%$).

Congenital Insensitivity Syndrome

A rare condition in which an individual is born unable to feel physical pain.

Hyperalgesia

A malfunction of touch perception marked by constant pain from minor stimulation, which can be caused by opioids.

Neuropathy

A condition where a person experiences pain signals generated by the brain without corresponding detection of physical pain by sensory receptors.

Somatosensory Cortex

An area in the Parietal Lobe that decodes tactile electrical signals sent from receptors up through the spinal cord, brainstem, and thalamus.

Touch Sensory Sensitivity

A condition where everyday touch sensations are interpreted as uncomfortable or painful, frequently triggering a fight, flight, or freeze response.