Chp 5: Sensation and Perception

The process through which the lens changes shape to bring objects into focus on the retina.

accommodation

 The location in the temporal lobe where auditory information is processed.

auditory cortex

The tissue inside the cochlea where the hair cells are located.

basilar membrane

 Auditory cues that require comparisons from both ears to understand an object's location.

binaural cues

Visual signals that depend on both eyes working together to perceive depth and distance

binocular depth cues

starting at the bottom, messy, trying to make sense of it, ordering information

bottom up processing

using previous information and expectations into sensory experiences to create perception

top down processing

 Sensory cells in the nose that respond to air molecules that we interpret as smell and taste.

chemoreceptors  

  A snail-shaped structure in the inner ear where the auditory hair cells are located.

cochlea

A type of photoreceptor in the retina most responsive to bright light and is responsible for communicating information about acuity and color.

cone

A term for several rare conditions where an individual is unable to experience pain.

congenital analgesia

The transparent covering of the eye; performs about 80% of the focusing of a visual image.

cornea

Part of the bipolar layer of the retina. These cells receive signals from the rods and send their messages to large (magno) ganglion cells.

diffuse bipolar cells

Where stream, pathway takes information occipital lobe to parietal lobe, able to identify object location.

dorsal stream

specialized cells in the visual cortex that respond most actively to specific stimuli.

feature detectors

The portion of the retina directly behind the pupil. It contains a large concentration of cones and no rods.

fovea

The theory of audition that suggests we understand pitch because of the rate of cellular firing on the basilar membrane.

frequency theory

 A theory of pain perception that suggests that painful stimuli can be blocked in the spinal cord when you are engaged in other activities.

gate-control theory of pain   

The sensory neurons inside the inner ear that convert sound into neural firing.

hair cells

loudness of a sound, measured in decibels (dB).

intensity

brain compares intensity differences of sound as it arrives at each ear in order to understand object location.

interaural level differences  

Comparisons made between the small differences in arrival time of a sound in each ear.

interaural time differences

earworm, it is the auditory experience of an inability to dislodge a song from one's consciousness.

involuntary musical imagery

The ring of pigmented tissue surrounding the pupil, controlling the amount of light that reaches the retina.

iris

Our sense of where our bodies are in space and how to move the body to accomplish specific tasks.

kinesthetic sense

flexible piece of tissue, located behind the pupil, that focuses light on the retina.

lens

Receptors in the skin that sense different kinds of pressure.

mechanoreceptors

 A stimulus that produces smells that can be perceived by the nose.

odorant

The tissue that contains the chemoreceptors of the nose.

olfactory mucosa

cells in the visual pathway increase their activation when receiving information from one kind of cone and decrease their activation when they see a second color.

opponent process theory

The region of the brain that analyzes both taste and smell.

orbitofrontal cortex

The little bumps on the surface of the tongue where taste buds are located.

papillae

processing of stimuli to create a sensory understanding

perception

also called photosensitive cells, are specifically sensitive to exposure to light.

photoreceptors

The external part of the ear.

pinna

we understand pitch because of the location of firing on the basilar membrane.

place theory

A field of psychology that attempts to evaluate the way the physical experience of sensations is translated into perceptions.

psychophysics

 The hole in the center of the eye that allows light to enter.

pupil

The thin layer of tissue on the back of each eye that contains the photosensitive receptor cells

retina

 The difference between the retinal image that falls on both eyes. The brain uses disparity to calculate the distance between an individual and an object.

retinal disparity

our sense of balance.

vestibular sense  

The process by which external sensations are converted into neural firing in the brain.

transduction

color information is identified by comparing the activation of different cones in the retina.

trichromatic theory