biopsych ch9 & 10

ch 9-10

Adequate Stimulus

The energy form for which a receptor is specialized.

Agraphia

The inability to write due to brain damage.

Alexia

The inability to read due to brain damage

Angular Gyrus

Damage results in alexia and agraphia.

Brocas or Expressive Aphasia

Language articulation impairment caused by damage to left frontal lobe anterior to motor area

Wernickes Receptive aphasia

is a language comprehension (written and spoken) impairment resulting from damage to the left temporal lobe. (word salad phrases)

Auditory Object

A sound that we recognize as having an identity that is distinct from other sounds

Basilar Membrane

membrane in the cochlea that separates the cochlear canal from the tympanic canal

Cochlea

snail-shaped structure where the ear’s sound-analyzing structures are located.

Cochlear Canal

middle canal in the cochlea, which contains the organ of Corti

Cocktail Party Effect

ability to sort out meaningful auditory messages from a complex background of sounds

Coincidence Detectors

Neurons that fire most when they receive input from both ears at the same time; they are involved in sound localization

Complex Sound

sound composed of more than one pure tone

Dyslexia

impairment of reading, which can be developmental or acquired through brain damage (near wernickes area)

Eustachian Tube (between the middle ear and the oral cavity)

equalize air pressure differences between the outside of the head and the middle ear

Frequency

the number of vibrations or cycles per second of a sound wave, measured in Hertz (Hz)

Frequency-Place Theory

hypothesis that frequency following individual neurons accounts for the discrimination of frequencies up to about 200 Hz (higher frequencies are represented by the place of greatest activity on the basilar membrane)

Frequency Theory/Telephone theory

frequency of a sound is represented in the firing rate of each neuron or a group of neurons(limited by refractory period)

Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF)

frequency alterations to a sound as it passes through the pinna and auditory canal, a cue for locating the direction of a sound source

Inner Hair Cells

about 3,500 hair cells located on the basilar membrane toward the inside of the cochlea’s coil producing the majority of auditory signal

Intensity

physical energy in a sound; the sound’s amplitude

Interaural Level Difference

binaural cue to the location of a sound coming from one side that results from the sound shadow created by the head and most effective above 2000 to 3000 Hz

Interaural Timing Difference (ITD)

binaural cue to the location of a sound coming from one side due to the time the sound requires to travel the distance between the ears; most effective for low-frequency sounds

Language

structured system of communication with a common set of grammatical and organizational rules

Language Acquisition Device

A part of the brain hypothesized to be dedicated to learning and controlling language

Loudness

our experience of sound intensity

Organ of Corti

sound-analyzing structure on the basilar membrane of the cochlea

Ossicles

Tiny bones in the middle ear that operate in lever fashion to transfer vibration from the tympanic membrane to the cochlea

Outer Hair Cells

amplify the cochlea’s output and sharpen frequency tuning, possibly by adjusting the tension of the tectorial membrane

Perception

interpretation of sensory information

Phonological Hypothesis

idea that the fundamental problem in dyslexia is impaired phoneme processing

Pinna

the outer ear.

Pitch

experience of the frequency of a sound

Place Theory

theory that states that the frequency of a sound is identified by the location of maximal vibration on the basilar membrane and which neurons are firing most

Planum Temporale

area in each temporal lobe and the location in the left hemisphere of Wernicke’s area that is larger on the left in most people

Prosody

use of intonation, emphasis, and rhythm to convey meaning in speech

Pure Tone

A sound consisting of a single frequency

Receptor

cell, often a specialized neuron, suited by its structure and function to respond to a particular form of energy, such as sound

Sensation

acquisition of sensory information

Tectorial Membrane

shelf-like membrane overlying the hair cells and the basilar membrane in the cochlea

Telephone Theory

A theory of auditory frequency analysis, which stated that the auditory neurons transmit the actual sound frequencies to the cortex.

Tonotopically Organized

neurons from adjacent receptor locations project to adjacent cells in the auditory cortex, forming a tonotopic map

Tympanic Membrane

The eardrum, a very thin membrane stretched across the end of the auditory canal; its vibration transmits sound energy to the ossicles.

Volley Theory

hypothesis of auditory frequency analysis that states that groups of neurons follow the frequency of a sound when the frequency exceeds the firing rate capability of a single neuron.

pathway to auditory nerve

auditory nerve enters brain stem, information from both ears integrated, inferior colliculi, to medial geniculate nuclei, to auditory cortex in temporal lobe

Accommodation

Changing of the lens shape to focus light onto the retina (ciliary muscles contract to make the lens rounder for a near object and relax to flatten the lens for a far object)

Binding Problem

The question of how the brain combines all visual information about an object into a unitary whole

Blindsight

ability of cortically blind individuals to respond to visual stimuli that are outside conscious awareness

Color Agnosia

Loss of the ability to perceive colors due to brain damage

Color Blindness (color vision deficiency)

A condition when one or more color-sensitive cones is functionally impaired or absent, leading to difficulty distinguishing certain colors.

Color Constancy

The ability to recognize the natural color of an object regardless of the brightness or wavelength of illuminating light.

Complementary Colors

Colors that cancel each other out to produce a neutral gray or white.

Complex Cell

A type of cell in the visual cortex that continues to respond (unlike simple cells) when a line or an edge moves to a different location.

Dorsal Stream

The visual processing pathway that extends into the parietal lobes; concerned with the location of objects in space.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

energy forms, ranging from high-frequency gamma rays at one extreme to very-low-frequency electrical currents on the other.

Form Vision

detection of an object’s boundaries and features, such as texture.

Fovea

area in the middle of the retina in which cones are most concentrated and visual acuity and color discrimination are greatest

Fusiform Face Area (FFA)

A part of the inferior temporal lobe important in face identification

Hierarchical Processing

A type of processing in which lower levels of the nervous system analyze their information and pass the results on to the next higher level for further analysis.

Iodopsin

group of three photopigments found in cones; one form is sensitive to red light, one is sensitive to green light, and one is sensitive to bluish-violet light

Lateral Inhibition

A method of enhancing neural information in which each neuron’s activity inhibits the activity of its neighbors and in turn its activity is inhibited by them.

Magnocellular System

A division of the visual system, extending from the retina through the visual association areas, specialized for brightness contrast and for movement.

Modular Processing

The segregation of the various components of visual processing in the brain into separate locations

Movement Agnosia

Impairment of the ability to perceive movement (most common is radial impairment)

Negative Color Aftereffect

The experience of a color’s complement following stimulation by the color (red would stimulate green on a blank wall)

Object Agnosia

Impairment of the ability to recognize objects visually.

Opponent Process Theory

A color vision theory that attempts to explain color vision in terms of opposing neural processes (two receptors blue/yellow and red/green)

Parvocellular System

A division of the visual system, extending from the retina through the visual association areas, that is specialized for fine detail and color.

Photopigments

Light-sensitive chemicals in the visual receptors that initiate the neural response.

Prosopagnosia

An impairment of the ability to visually recognize familiar faces.

Receptive Field

area of the retina from which a cell in the visual system receives its input.

Retina

structure at the rear of the eye, which is made up of light-sensitive receptor cells and the neural cells that are connected to them

Retinal Disparity

A discrepancy in the location of an object’s image on the two retinas; a cue to the distance of a focused object.

Retinotopic Map

A map of the retina in the visual cortex, which results from adjacent receptors in the retina activating adjacent neural cells in the visual cortex.

Rhodopsin

The photopigment in rods that is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light.

Simple Cell

A cell in the visual cortex that responds to a line or an edge that is at a specific orientation and a specific place on the retina.

Spatial Frequency Theory

The idea that visual cortical cells do a Fourier frequency analysis of the luminosity variations in a scene (cells tuned to a high freq:edge or low freq: light to shadow)

Synesthesia

condition in which stimulation in one sense triggers an experience in another sense

Trichromatic Theory

The hypothesis that three color processes account for all the colors we are able to distinguish (r,g,b) concept tv operates on

Ventral Stream

The visual processing pathway that extends into the temporal lobes; it is especially concerned with the identification of objects.

Visual Acuity

ability to distinguish visual details

Visual Field

The part of the environment that is being registered on the retina.

Visual Word Form Area (VWFA)

An area in the human inferior temporal lobe involved in reading words.