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Sensation
the process of the sensory organs transforming physical energy into neurological impulses the brain interprets as the five senses of vision, smell, taste, touch, and hearing
Transduction
the process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, from a sensory signal into neural activity
Absolute threshold
the minimum intensity of stimulation needed to detect a sensation 50 percent of the time
Just-noticeable difference
the amount a stimulus must be changed in order for a difference to be noticeable
Sensory adaptation
tendency of sensory receptor cells to become less responsive to a stimulus that is unchanging
Weber's law
to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage
Sensory interaction
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste
Synesthesia
a neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses (e.g., hearing the word "cat" but perceiving the color green)
Retina
the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
Blind spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there
Visual nerve
the optic nerve; comprised of millions of nerve fibers that send visual messages to the brain
Lens
the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina
Sensorineural deafness
deafness that usually results from damage to the inner ear or to the auditory nerve
Olfactory system
the sensory system for smell
Thalamus
the brain's sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla
Pheromones
chemical signals released by an animal that communicate information and affect the behavior of other animals of the same species
Gustation
the sensation of taste resulting from the action of chemicals on the taste buds
Taste receptors
chemical receptors on the tongue that decode molecules of food or drink to identify them (sweet, salty, bitter, oleogustus (oily, fatty), and umami)
Supertasters
people with the most number of tastebuds and have the highest sensitivity to all tastes, as well as mouth sensations in general
Medium Tasters
people with an average number of taste buds; they represent 50% of the population
Nontasters
people with fewer tastebuds who are not so sensitive to taste; they prefer sweeter or fattier foods to maximize taste
Warm/cold receptors
thermoreceptors are able to detect heat and cold and are found throughout the skin in order to allow sensory reception throughout the body
Gate control theory
theory that explains how spinal nerves block or allow pain signals to pass to the brain
Phantom limb
perceived sensation, following amputation of a limb, that the limb still exists
Vestibular sense
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance
Semicircular canals
three tiny, fluid-filled tubes in the inner ear that help a person maintain balance
Kinesthesis
the sense that provides information about the position and movement of individual body parts
Accommodation
the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina
Nearsightedness
a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina
Farsightedness
a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina
Photoreceptors
rods and cones in the eye; they respond to light
Rods
retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond
Cones
three types of photoreceptors (blue, green, red) responsible for color vision and color sensitivity
Trichromatic theory
the theory that human eyes only perceive three colors of light: red, blue, and green
Opponent-process theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision (e.g., some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green)
Afterimages
images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed
Ganglion cells
specialized cells behind the bipolar cells whose axons form the optic nerve which takes the information to the brain
Dichromatism
when only two of the three cone types are present or functional; red and green, for example, may appear the same
Monochromatism
when only one of the three cone types is present or functional; no color can be perceived (colorblindness)
Prosopagnosia
inability to recognize faces (face blindness)
Blindsight
the ability of individuals with blindness to detect and respond to visual stimuli despite lacking awareness of having seen anything
Wavelength
the distance between two corresponding parts of a wave
Pitch
the highness or lowness of a sound, as determined by the frequency of the sound waves
Amplitude
the height of a wave's crest
Loudness
how strong or soft a sound seems to a listener; determined by the intensity or amount of energy
Pitch perception
the aspect of hearing that allows us to tell how high or low a given tone is
Place theory
the theory that a person hears different pitches because of vibrations in specific places on the basilar membrane of the cochlea
Volley theory
the theory that groups of neurons of the auditory system respond to a sound by firing action potentials slightly out of phase with one another so that when combined, a greater frequency of sound can be encoded and sent to the brain
Frequency theory
the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone (e.g., a tone measuring 600 hertz will be transduced into 600 nerve impulses a second)
Sound localization
when the brain locates the direction a sound originated from based on which ear the sound strikes first
Conduction deafness
hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochleaConduction deafness
