agnosia
neurological disorder characterized by an inability to recognize and identify objects or persons using one or more of the senses
sensation
The process of detecting environmental stimuli or stimuli arising from the body
perception
The process of interpreting sensory information
psychophysics
The study of relationships between the physical qualities of stimuli and the subjective responses they produce
signal detection theory
The analysis of sensory and decision-making processes in the detection of faint, uncertain stimuli
absolute threshold
The smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected
difference threshold
The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli
sensory adaptation
The tendency to pay less attention to a nonchanging source of stimulation
audition
The sense of hearing
binocular cue
A depth cue that requires the use of both eyes
bottom-up processing
Perception based on building simple input into more complex perceptions
top-down processing
A perceptual process in which memory and other cognitive processes are required for interpreting incoming sensory information
cochlea
The structure in the inner ear that contains auditory receptors
cones
A photoreceptor in the retina that processes colour and fine detail
cornea
The clear surface at the front of the eye that begins the process of directing light to the retina
depth perception
The ability to use the two-dimensional image projected on the retina to perceive three dimensions
difference threshold
The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli
fovea
An area of the retina that is specialized for highly detailed vision
somatosensory homunculus
a map along the cerebral cortex of where each part of the body is processed
mechanoreceptors
a type of somatosensory receptors which relay extracellular stimulus to intracellular signal transduction through mechanically gated ion channels
nocireceptors
pain receptors activated by damaged stimuli
gate control theory
The theory that suggests that input from touch fibres competes with input from pain receptors, possibly preventing pain messages from reaching the brain
gustation
The sense of taste
gestalt principles
similarity, continuation, closure, proximity, figure/ground, and symmetry & order
iris
The brightly coloured circular muscle surrounding the pupil of the eye
lens
The clear structure behind the pupil that bends light toward the retina
monocular cue
A depth cue that requires the use of only one eye
motion parallax
objects that are farther away seem to move more slowly than objects that are closer
olfaction
The sense of smell
olfactory bulb
One of two structures below the frontal lobes of the brain that receive input from the olfactory receptors in the nose
olfactory nerve
A nerve carrying olfactory information from the olfactory receptors to the olfactory bulbs
opponent process theory
A theory of colour vision that suggests we have a red-green colour channel and a blue-yellow colour channel in which activation of one colour in each pair inhibits the other colour
optic nerve
The nerve exiting the retina of the eye
pupil
An opening formed by the iris
retina
Layers of visual processing cells in the back of the eye
retinal disparity
The difference between the images projected onto each eye
rod
A photoreceptor specialized to detect dim light
taste bud
A structure found in papillae that contains taste receptor cells
transduction
The translation of incoming sensory information into neural signals
trichromatic theory
A theory of colour vision based on the existence of different types of cones for the detection of short, medium, and long wavelengths
vestibular system
The system in the inner ear that provides information about body position and movement
vision
The system in the inner ear that provides information about body position and movement
synesthesia
A condition where the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to the simultaneous and automatic stimulation of another sensory pathway
temporal pathway (ventral stream)
The “what” visual pathway that extends from the occipital lobe into the temporal lobe
parietal pathway (dorsal stream)
The “where” visual pathway that extends from the occipital lobe into the parietal lobe
split brain
patients in whom the corpus callosum has been cut for the alleviation of medically intractable epilepsy
contralateral organization
the arrangement whereby the motor cortex of each cerebral hemisphere is mainly responsible for control of movements of the contralateral (opposite) side of the body