Unit 1 AP Psych

REM sleep

rapid eye movement. Vivid dreams will occur. Muscles will be relaxed but body systems are active

Alpha waves

relatively slow brain waves, relaxed and awake state

NREM sleep

non-repaid eye movement sleep. All sleep stages except REM

Hypnagogic sensation

bizarre experience like jerking or feeling like falling or floating weightlessly while falling asleep

Delta waves

large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

suprachismatic nucleus

pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light it will adjust melatonin production.

narcolepsy

sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness

sleep apnea

stopping breathing repeatedly while sleeping

bottom up processing

perceptions are built from sensory input and work up to process information

top down processing

interpret sensations by using available knowledge

transduction

transforming physical energy like sight and sound into neural impulses the brain can interpret

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation necessary to detect a particular stimulus

signal detection theory

theory predicting how and hwne we detect presence of stimuli and background noise

priming

in the subliminal where you unconsciously make certain associations

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection ½ the time

Webers law

to be perceived as different, two stimuli have to be diff. by a constant factor (like 30% more or smth)

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

synesthesia

a neuropsychological condition that causes the brain to route sensory info thru different parts of the brain

accommodation

eye changes its optical power to maintain clear image as distance varies

nearsighted

can see near things but not far things

lens

transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus on images in the retina

pupil

adjustable opening in the center of the eye that light enters thru

iris

ring of muscle that is colored around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening (determines eye color)

cornea

outer covering of the eye, bends light to provide focus and protects eye

optic nerve

carries neural impulses from eye to brain and is ur blind spot bc no receptor cells are there

fovea

the central focal point in the retina around the eye’s cones cluster

cones

good at color and detail, not many of them

rods

good at seeing in darkness and many of them

trichromatic theory

red, green, and blue make up how we see things and you are colorblind if you only have 1 or 2 cones

opponent process theory

three sets of colors Red and Green, Blue and Yellow, Black and White, and this explains the afterimage 

prosopagnosia

cognitive disorder that makes it difficult to recognize faces

blindsight

when you can perceive location of an object despite being cortically blind

feature detectors

nerve cells in visual cortex that receive information from ganglion cells in retina and responds to specific stimulus (determines things like angles, shape, etc.)

rods and cones send signals to

bipolar cells

ganglion cells

recieve signals from bipolar cells

amplitude strength

determines loudness

bones in middle ear

take eardrums signals and give them to cochlea

cochlea

fluid filled sack which vibrates and then the hairs in the auditory nerve picks them up

eardrum

picks up outside sounds

conduction hearing loss

damage to mechanical system that relays sound to the cochlea

sensorineural hearing loss

damage to cochlea’s receptor cells and auditory nerve

place theory

the brain identifies different sound pitches based on the location of vibrations along the basilar membrane in the cochlea

frequency theory

volley principal that reaches higher frequencies

sound localization

how ears tell where the sound is coming from

nociceptors

sensory receptors that detect pain

gate control theory

spinal cord determines the pain that is sent to the brain and large vs low fibers can excite inhibitory neurons (lessen pain) or stop them (more pain)

odors

need unique receptor cells in the nose to get a reaction

olfactory bulb

passes smell to brain (so smell is the only one not processed by the thalamus) & odors go to the limbic system which is emotion and memory so we often invoke memory with smell

kinesthesia

ability to sense position and movement of limbs and trunk

vestibular sense

all vertebrates have it where they sense balance and spatial orientation can cause diziness