Sensation and Perception Video – Vocabulary Flashcards (Chapters 1–7)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from chapters 1–7, focusing on hearing, smell, taste, pain, kinesthetic and vestibular senses, and perception.

Decibel

Unit of measurement for loudness; quantifies the amplitude of a sound.

Amplitude

The physical size or strength of a sound wave; related to loudness.

Loudness

Perceived volume of sound; determined by the amplitude and intensity of the sound.

Frequency

Rate of vibration of a sound wave; determines pitch.

Hertz

Unit of frequency; cycles per second.

Pitch

Perceived highness or lowness of a sound, related to frequency.

Timbre

Quality that makes sounds distinctive (tone color) due to harmonic content.

Outer ear

Part of the ear that collects and funnels sound waves.

Middle ear

Contains the ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes) that amplify vibrations.

Inner ear

Contains the cochlea, basilar membrane, and hair cells; transduces vibrations into neural signals.

Eardrum (tympanic membrane)

Membrane that vibrates in response to sound waves; boundary between outer and middle ear.

Cochlea

Spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear where mechanical vibrations are transduced into neural signals.

Hair cells

Sensory receptors in the cochlea that convert mechanical vibrations into neural signals.

Basilar membrane

Membrane in the cochlea that vibrates in response to different frequencies; site for place-frequency mapping.

Place theory

Theory that different frequencies cause maximal vibration at specific places along the basilar membrane.

Frequency theory

Theory that pitch is encoded by the rate of firing of auditory nerve fibers.

Sensorineural hearing loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to hair cells or the auditory nerve, often from loud noise.

Olfactory nerve

Nerve that carries smell information from nose to brain.

Olfactory bulb

Brain structure that processes smell signals after entering via the olfactory nerve.

Pheromones

Chemical signals released by an organism that influence others' behavior or physiology.

Ovulation

Release of an egg from the ovary; a window of fertility.

Testosterone

Male sex hormone associated with sexual behavior and secondary sexual characteristics.

Olfaction

The sense of smell.

Taste buds

Receptors on the tongue that contain taste receptor cells.

Five basic tastes

Salt, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami.

Umami

Savory taste associated with amino acids like glutamate.

Pacinian corpuscles

Skin receptors that detect vibration and pressure; part of the touch system.

Gate control theory

Theory that the spinal cord has a ‘gateway’ that can open or close to modulate pain signals.

Phantom limb pain

Pain perceived in a missing or amputated limb due to brain processing or sensitization.

Proprioceptors

Sensory neurons in muscles and joints that provide information about body position.

Kinesthetic sense

Sense of body position and movement, including balance and limb awareness.

Vestibular sense

Sense of balance and spatial orientation, mediated by inner ear structures.

Perception

The process by which the brain organizes and interprets sensory information to form meaningful experience.