Brain and behavior

Flashcards about Sensation and Perception, covering topics such as sensory receptors, transduction, thresholds, perception, sensory adaptation, perceptual set, and visual and auditory stimuli.

Sensation

When sensory receptors detect sensory information and send it to the brain.

Perception

Processes by which the brain organizes, interprets, and consciously experiences sensory information, creating meaning from it.

Sensory Receptors

Specialized sensory neurons that respond to specific types of stimuli.

Transduction

Conversion of sensory stimulus energy into action potentials that the brain can interpret.

Absolute Threshold

Minimum amount of stimulus energy needed to detect the stimulus.

Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference)

Minimum difference a person can detect between two stimuli.

Sensory Adaptation

After continuous exposure to an unchanging stimulus, we stop perceiving it.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another, influenced by expectations, context, emotions, motives, and culture.

Wavelength (Visual Stimuli)

Distance between wave peaks, determining hue (color).

Amplitude (Visual Stimuli)

Height of a wave, determining intensity (brightness).

Cornea

Covers the eye and focuses light waves entering the eye.

Pupil

Small opening through which light passes into the eye; its size changes.

Iris

Colored part of the eye with muscles that control the pupil's size.

Retina

Light-sensitive lining of the eye containing vision receptor cells (rods and cones).

Fovea

Area of central focus on the retina, densely packed with cones.

Optic Nerve

Highway from the retina to the brain's visual cortex in the occipital lobe.

Rods

Photoreceptors across the retina responsible for movement, peripheral vision, and low-light vision (no color, low resolution).

Cones

Photoreceptors concentrated in the fovea responsible for fine detail, high resolution, and color vision.

Trichromatic Theory of Color Vision

Retina has 3 types of cones (red, green, blue) that can combine to produce perception of any color.

Opponent-Process Theory

Color vision enabled by opponent pairs (Black-White, Red-Green, Blue-Yellow); some cells excited by one color and inhibited by the other.

Depth Perception

Ability to see the world in 3D, even though images on the retina are 2D, using binocular and monocular cues.

Perceptual Constancy

Regardless of viewing angle, distance, or illumination, we can identify an object; shape and size remain constant in our perception.

Amplitude (Auditory Stimuli)

Of sound waves gives us loudness (decibels; dB).

Frequency (Auditory Stimuli)

Of sound waves gives us pitch (hertz; Hz).

Tympanic membrane (eardrum)

Vibrates when sound waves strike.

Cochlea

Fluid-filled structure in the inner ear containing hair cells (sensory receptors for hearing) on the basilar membrane.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Most common form of hearing loss, often due to aging, noise exposure, or infections.

Thermoception

Temperature perception.

Nociception

Pain perception, which is adaptive.

Taste Buds

Groupings of taste receptor cells, each containing a pore to catch food chemicals.

Olfactory Receptors

Respond selectively to different smells, instantly alerting the olfactory cortex.

Vestibular Sense

Sense of balance and body posture/movement, related to fluids in the inner ear.

Proprioception

Perception of body position.

Kinesthesia

Perception of the body’s movement.

Gestalt Psychology

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts; the brain creates a perception that is more than just the sum of sensory inputs.

Synesthesia

Sensory crossover where senses influence each other (e.g., smelling color, tasting sound).