MCAT PSYCH/SOC Terms

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794 Terms

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Binocular cues

retinal disparity and convergence

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Retinal disparity

left and right fields of vision provide slightly diff. visual images when focusing on a single object b/c eyes are 2.5 inches apart

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Convergence

when looking at things far away, eyes are relaxed (when looking at thing nearby, eyes contract)

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Monocular cues

relative size/height, interposition, shading/contour, motion parallax, constancy

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Relative size

how large something is compared to another object

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Interposition

objects overlap over each other

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Relative height

distant objects are seen or portrayed as being smaller and higher in relation to items that are closer

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Motion parallax

objects that are closer appear to move faster than objects that are far away

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Constancy

an object doesn’t change even if it looks diff. to us

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Weber’s Law

ΔI/I = k

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Just noticeable difference (JND)

threshold at which you’re able to notice a change in any sensation

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Absolute threshold of sensation

minimum intensity of stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

  • can be influenced by expectations, experience, motivation, alertness

  • not same as JND

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Subliminal stimuli

below absolute threshold

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Vestibular system

responsible for balance and spatial orientation

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Semicircular canals

located in inner ear

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Endolymph

fluid within the ear that shifts w/ movement, allowing detection of head movement direction and strength of rotation

  • also contributes to dizziness/vertigo

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How does endolymph contribute to dizziness/vertigo?

doesn’t stop spinning when we do; indicates movement even when stopped → dizziness

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Otolithic organs

utricle/saccule help detect linear acceleration and head positioning

  • contain Ca crystals attached to hair cells in viscous gel

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What happens when you go from lying down to standing up?

otolith organs move and pull on hair cells → action potential

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Signal Detection Theory

detection of stimulus depends on stimulus intensity and how much you’re paying attention to it

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Bottom-up processing

stimulus influences perception; driven by processing sensory info

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Top-down processing

background knowledge influences perception; driven by cognition

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Gestalt Principles

similarity, pragnanz, proximity, continuity, closure

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Similarity

similar items are grouped together

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Pragnanz

reality is often organized and reduced to the simplest form possible

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Proximity

objects that are close together are grouped together

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Continuity

lines follow the smoothest path

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Closure

objects grouped together are seen as a whole

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Conjunctiva

mucous membrane that covers front of eye; 1st layer light hits

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Cornea

transparent thick sheet of tissue; anterior 1/6th

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Anterior chamber

space filled w/ aqueous humor

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Aqueous humor

fluid that provides pressure to maintain eyeball shape

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Pupil

opening in iris that determines eye color and allows light to enter the eye

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Lens

bends light to reach back of eyeball

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Suspensory ligaments

connect ciliary body to lens

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Ciliary body

secretes aqueous humor

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Posterior chamber

area behind ciliary muscle filled w/ aqueous humor

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Vitreous chamber

filled w/ vitreous humor

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Vitreous humor

jelly-like substance that provide pressure to eyeball

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Choroid

black network of blood vessels that reflect all light and bring oxygen/nutrients to eye

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Sclera

white thick fibrous tissue that protects posterior 5/6th of eyeball and is the attachment point for muscles

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Retina contains…

photoreceptors (rods/cones)

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Macula

responsible for central vision; rich in cones

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Fovea

completely covered in cones; no rods

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Light

electromagnetic wave part of a large spectrum

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Color spectrum

Violet (400nm) to red (700nm)

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Rod

120 million provide night vision; contains rhodopsin; 1000x more sensitive to light than cones

  • slow recovery time

  • mostly found in periphery

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Cone

6-7 million red/green/blue cones provide color vision in bright light; contains photopsin

  • fast recovery time

  • mostly found in fovea

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Phototransduction Cascade

light changes shape of retinal (vitamin A derivative) → activates rhodopsin: light sensor in rods → stimulates transducin → activates phosphodiesterase: breaks down cGMP to GMP → ↓cGMP → closed Na+ channels → hyperpolarized rods → ↓glutamate release → activate bipolar cells → activate retinal ganglion cell → sends signals to optic nerve and brain LGN in thalamus → primary visual cortex (V1) of the occipital lobe

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Photoreceptor

specialized nerve that can take light and convert to neural impulse; contain optic discs

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Optic disc

large membrane bound structure that contains proteins that fire APs to brain

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Blind spot

no cones/rods here; where optic nerve connects to retina

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Visual field processing

info in left visual field goes to right side of brain and vice versa

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Feature detectors

cells that only respond to specific visual stimuli

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Trichromatic Theory of Color Vision

cones are sensitive to blue/green/red, which combine so we can see many colors

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Opponent process theory

color vision results from cells that respond to color in opposing pairs (red-green and blue-yellow)

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Parallel processing

simultaneous processing of incoming visual stimuli from magnocellular/parvocellular pathways

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Magnocellular pathway

contributes to luminance channel and detects motion; high temporal resolution and poor spatial resolution

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Parvocellular pathway

contributes to red-green channel and detects object form; poor temporal motion and high spatial resolution

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Ventral stream (“what pathway”)

projects toward the temporal lobe and involved in the perception of form and color

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Dorsal stream (“where pathway”)

projects toward the parietal lobe and involved in the perception of motion

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Sound waves

air molecules are pressurized and try to escape → areas of high/low pressure

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Frequency

how close peaks of sound waves are together

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Outer ear

pinna → tympanic membrane

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Middle ear

malleus, incus, stapes

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Inner ear

cochlea and semicircular canals

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Sound Pathway

sound waves enter thru outer ear (pinna) → external auditory meatus (auditory canal) → tympanic membrane (eardrum) → vibrates malleus/incus/stapes bones → oval window vibrates → hair cells in cochlea move back and forth and send info to auditory nerve → MGN in thalamus → primary auditory cortex of the temporal lobe

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Hair cells in cochlea…

move back and forth to send info to auditory nerve

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Stapes

moves back and forth at same freq. as stimulus to push oval window

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Oval window

vibrations lead to movement of fluid in cochlea and activation of auditory receptors

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Inward oval window motion leads to…

outward round window motion

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Cochlea

helps differentiate between 2 diff. sounds

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Organ of Corti

receptor organ in cochlea that converts sound vibrations into nerve signals

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Hair bundle

made of kinocilium filaments

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Tip link

connects tips of kinocilium and is attached to K+ channel gate

  • when pushed, stretch and allow K to flow inside cell → activates Ca2+ → AP in spiral ganglion cell → activates auditory nerve

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What is the human range of hearing?

20-20,000 Hz

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Frequency theory

pitch perception occurs b/c the frequency of a sound wave corresponds w/ stimulation of the auditory nerve

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Place theory

pitch perception is based on the location where sounds activate receptors along the basilar membrane

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Tonotopic mapping

brain can distinguish diff. frequencies thru basilar tuning

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Basilar tuning

  • hair cells at base of cochlea activated by high freq. (1,600 Hz)

  • hair cells at apex of cochlea activated by low freq. (25 Hz)

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Primary auditory cortex

receives all info from cochlea

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Tonotopic mapping

brain can distinguish diff. freq. thru basilar tuning

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Kinaesthesia

awareness of body position/movement thru proprioceptors in muscles/joints

  • does not include balance

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Adaptation

change over time of receptor response to constant stimulus (downregulation)

  • overexcited cells can die

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Amplification

increased receptor response (upregulation)

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Somatosensory cortex

contains somatosensory homunculus (brain’s map of body)

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TrpV1 receptor

sensitive to temp./pain; experiences conformational change when exposed to heat

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A-beta fibers

thick; covered in myelin → fast conduction of signals due to less resistance

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A-delta fibers

medium-thick; covered in some myelin

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C fibers

thin; unmyelinated → lingering sense of pain

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Olfactory epithelium

area in nostril separated from brain by cribriform plate

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Olfactory bulb

bundle of nerves that sends projections through cribriform plate into olfactory epithelium, which branch off

  • at end of each connection are receptors, each sensitive to 1 type of molecule

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Glomerulus

olfactory bulb targeted by all ORNs that respond to 1 type of stimulus

  • ORNs synapse on a mitral/tufted cell that projects to brain

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Accessory olfactory epithelium

specialized part of olfactory epithelium in animals that sends projections to accessory olfactory bulb

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Accessory olfactory bulb

contains the vomeronasal system

  • humans don’t have an accessory olfactory bulb

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Vomeronasal system

contains basal/apical cells that have receptors at tips

  • activated basal cell sends axon thru accessory olfactory bulb to glomerulus → amygdala: involved w/ emotion/aggression

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Umami

ability to taste glutamate

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Taste buds are concentrated anteriorly on tongue and can be…

fungiform, foliate, circumvallate

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Labeled lines model

each taste bud receptor has 5 axons (1 for each taste), which send info to diff. parts of the gustatory cortex

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What types of taste cells bind to GPCR receptors?

sweet, umami, bitter