senstion and perception and conciousness

sensation

detection of stimulie

transduction

translate sensory info to neural signals (action potentials)

vision stimuli journey

transduction - photoreceptor layer (rods and cones) —> optic nerve —> Thalamus —> Visual cortex and other parts of cerebral cortex

Rods

light and dark; on outsides of retina

Cones

color; center of retina

color perception (wavelenghth and amplitude)

wavelength - color; amplitude - brightness

Trichromatic Theory

• All colors together = white

• red, blue, green = main colors

• diff color - diff cones fire at different extent = see color

Opponent Process Theory

• 3 color channels (achromatic, chromatic)

• red/green, black/white, blue/yellow

• exhast yellow cones —> switch to blue cones

Top down perceptual processing

general model (idea, expectations) —> how pieces fit together (interpret sensory info)

Botton up perceptual processing

take sensory info (components) —> assemble and integrate into a whole

Gestalt effect

brain innate tendency to want to organize things / make sense of things

linear perspecting

• monocular cue

• lines converge to one point (vanishing point) = depth

occlusion

• monocular cue

• things that cover something else are in front

Texture Gradient

• monocular cue

• Things that are close = more detail

Relative size

• monocular cue

• smaller things - father away

Motion parallax

• monocular cue

• things that are closer to you = move faster ; father - move slower.

• distance and depth

steropsis

• binocular cue

• left and right eyes are in diff position —> see different things —> combine the pictures —> depth

Ames Room

• Visual illusion

• humans assume that interior rooms are box shaped

• brain assume that person is same difference

• looks like person is changing size, not the room

Following Eyes

• visual illusions

• assume face sticks out in the space (convex)

• cardboard is actually concave —> looks like eyes are following

• even if see trick and see how it works —> still can see illusion

who is less likely to see visual illusions

people with schizophrenia

Auditory journey

Transduction - hair cells on basiliar membrane in cochlea (inner ear) (phsyical wave to electrical signal) —> thalamus —> auditory cortex and other parts of cerebral cortex

Auditory wavelength and frequency

wavelength - frequency/pitch; amplitude - loudness

localization of sound

can hear where things are (localized) through the time difference that the siybd guts ears

non frequency modulated sounds

• narrow range of frequency —> hard to localize

• used to alarm call

frequency modulated

• lots of different frequency/pitches —> easier to localize

• used to mob/assemble

McGork effect

• Auditory illusion

• assume that visual info has priority if both visual and auditory stimuli

• what we see overrides what we hear

• even knowing the illusion does not help

Octave Scale

• auditory illusion

• brain integrates and organize 2 diff sounds into a complete and coherent one

Phantom Words

• auditory illusion

• brain hears words from random sounds because try to make sense of things

• more likely to hear things that are suggested

Frission

• getting chills

• triggers from unexpected harmonies, volume changes

• people who experience frission have greater link between auditory cortex and emotion

olfactory journey

transduction - olfactory receptors in nose —> olfactory bulb —> olfactory cortex (fromtal and temporal lobes)

• No direct connection from olfactory receptors to thalamus

definitions of conciousness

1. variation in alertness

2. awareness of ongoing sensations

3. self awareness

self awareness

can recognize as your own unique self

Mirror recongnition test

• put spot of color on forhead

• babies, primates look in mirror —> if touch forehead = aware that reflection is yourself

• different based on culture; based on individuals in species

alpha waves

awake but relaxed

beta waves

active data processing

gamma waves

processing of sensory input

default mode network

• when producing alphawaves - relaxed but awake

• unconcious; mindwandering state

• 50% of waking hours

multitasking

humans are really bad at multitasking and cant pay attention to 2 things at once

stroop effect

• color and word different

• difficult to say color of word because reading word is automatic

• automatic channel wins

change blindness

• gorilla and basketball

• humans can only concentrate on one thing at a time —> dont see gorilla

altered states of conciousness

sleep, hypnosis, meditation

n-rem sleep

• non rapid eye movement

• stage 1-4; from just starting sleep to deep sleep

REM sleep

• rapid eye movement

• beta waves —> same as with very active data processing when awake

• activate sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight)

• dreaming and body paralysis

Functions of dreaming

1.) freud

2.) activation - synthesis theory

3.) evolved threat rehersal

freud

symbolism, unconcious mind

activation - synthesis theory

brain is very active —> dream to try to make sense of brain activity

evolved threat rehersal

dreams are ways to reherse things that might happen in real life (running from lion)

stages of sleep

• more rem sleep in second half of sleep cycle

• deepest stave of n-REM sleep in 1st half of cycle

• length of rem gets longer as cycle goes on

benefits of sleep

• REM is important for development (babies get a lot)

• Memory deteriation with less sleep

• interupt REM sleep —> need to catch up on it

• Restoryatiion and integration (info from the day)

• growth hormone

hypnosis

• increased level of suggestibility

• can be used to lessen pain and parkinsons

Hypnosis expeirment

• perception condition - acutally hear sentence

• hallucination condition - suggested that they heard the sentence

• Result: cortex is equally active —> process suggestion as if it was really said

meditation

• midfulness - being and living in the present moment

• cognitive and physiological benefits

Meditaion experiement

• mindfulnessin schools

• more easy to focus after recess