180 exam 2

Sensation

The process of detecting stimuli from the environment through specialized cells of the nervous system.

Perception

The conscious experience and interpretation of information from the senses.

Light

Electromagnetic radiation that is detected by photoreceptors in the eye.

Hue

The wavelength of light, which determines the color we perceive.

Brightness

The intensity of light, which determines how light or dark we perceive something.

Saturation

The relative purity of light, which determines how vivid or dull a color appears.

retina

The part of the eye that contains photoreceptors and is responsible for detecting light.

Rods

Photoreceptor cells in the retina that help determine light and dark and are most sensitive to light.

Cones

Photoreceptor cells in the retina that are involved in sensing color, sharpness, and daytime vision.

Fovea

The central region of the retina that contains only cones and mediates our most acute vision.

Optic nerve

The nerve that carries visual information from the retina to the brain.

Ganglion cells

Cells in the retina whose axons travel through the optic nerve to carry visual information to the rest of the brain.

Extrastriata cortex

The part of the brain involved in visual processing beyond the primary visual cortex.

Visual agnosia

A condition caused by damage to the extrastriate cortex, resulting in the inability to recognize common objects by sight.

Prosopagnosia

A common symptom of visual agnosia characterized by the inability to recognize particular faces.

Pitch

The perception of the frequency of sound vibrations.

Loudness

The perception of the intensity or volume of sound.

Timbre

The quality or character of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds.

Cochlea

The part of the ear responsible for detecting sound vibrations and converting them into electrical signals.

Hair cells

Cells in the cochlea that detect sound vibrations and transmit auditory information to the brain.

Tonotopic mapping

The preservation of the frequency map of the basilar membrane in the subcortical structures and auditory cortex.

Pain

An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.

Gustation

The sense of taste.

Flavor

The composite perception of taste and smell.

Salt

The taste sensation that occurs when a substance ionizes and sodium enters taste cells, depolarizing them.

Sour

The taste sensation that occurs in response to hydrogen ions present in acidic solutions.

Gustatory Information

The perception of taste, including bitter, sweet, and umami.

G proteins

Proteins that are involved in transmitting signals from the taste receptors to the brain.

Bitterness receptors

Receptors that are activated by bitter compounds and help protect us from ingesting potentially poisonous substances.

Sweetness receptors

Receptors that are activated by sugars and contribute to the perception of sweetness.

Umami receptor

A receptor that is activated by umami, a savory taste, and is similar in structure to sweet receptors.

Olfactory receptors

Receptors that are involved in the perception of odors.

Glomeruli

Structures in the olfactory system where the patterns of activity representing specific odors are recognized.

Coding of Olfactory Information

The process by which different odorant molecules attach to different combinations of receptor molecules, resulting in unique patterns of activation representing particular odorants.

Skeletal muscles

Muscles responsible for physical actions and movement.

Muscle fibers

The cells that make up skeletal muscles.

Extrafusal muscle fibers

Muscle fibers served by axons of alpha motor neurons and responsible for providing the muscle's motive force.

Intrafusal muscle fibers

Specialized sensory organs served by sensory and motor axons, functioning as stretch receptors.

Cortical Control of Movement

Descending Pathways: The control of movement by the cerebral cortex through pathways that descend from the brain to the spinal cord.

Lateral Group

A group of descending pathways primarily involved in controlling independent limb movements, especially those of the hands and fingers.

Ventromedial Group

A group of descending pathways that control automatic movements, posture, and locomotion.

Reticular Formation

A subcortical structure involved in regulating muscle tone, controlling posture and locomotion, and exerting control over specific behaviors.

Cerebellum

A subcortical structure that controls repetitive movements requiring accuracy and timing, guides movements smoothly, and integrates sequences of movements.

Basal Ganglia

Subcortical structures that receive input from the cerebral cortex and influence movements under the control of the primary motor cortex.

Parkinson's disease

A neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic secreting neurons in the substantia nigra, resulting in difficulties initiating movements and loss of balance.

Huntington's disease

A neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of GABA and Ach secreting neurons, resulting in uncontrolled movements and impaired ability to cease motor activity.

Stages of Sleep

The different stages of sleep, including wakefulness, NREM sleep, and REM sleep.

Wakefulness

The state of being awake and alert.

NREM sleep

Non-rapid eye movement sleep, characterized by synchronized EEG activity and slow-wave sleep.

REM sleep

Rapid eye movement sleep, characterized by desynchronized EEG activity, rapid eye movements, and dreaming.

EEG

Electroencephalogram, a recording of the electrical activity of the brain.

Muscle tonus

The state of muscle tension or contraction.

Arousal

The level of alertness and wakefulness, regulated by circuits of neurons that secrete neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, norepinephrine, serotonin, histamine, and orexin.

Noradrenergic neurons

Neurons that secrete norepinephrine and play a role in the sleep/waking cycle.

Serotonergic neurons

Neurons that secrete serotonin and play a role in the sleep/waking cycle.

Orexin

A neurotransmitter involved in regulating arousal and wakefulness.

Flip-flop circuits

Neural circuits that control the switch between sleep and wakefulness.

Preoptic Area

A brain region involved in regulating sleep/waking transitions.

Homeostatic factors

Factors such as adenosine and hunger/satiety signals that influence the sleep/waking flip-flop.

Allostatic factors

Factors related to the body's overall state and stress levels that influence the sleep/waking flip-flop.

Circadian factors

Factors related to the body's internal biological clock that influence the sleep/waking flip-flop.

Primary insomnia

Difficulty falling asleep after going to bed or after awakening during the night.

Secondary insomnia

Inability to sleep due to a mental or physical condition.

Sleep apnea

Cessation of breathing while sleeping, disrupting sleep.

Carbon dioxide

Builds up in blood and stimulates chemoreceptors.

CPAP device

Corrects sleep apnea by providing positive air pressure to keep the airway open.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks.

Sleep attacks

Overwhelming urge to sleep, usually when bored, lasting for 2-5 minutes.

Cataplexy

Muscle weakness or temporary paralysis due to REM-ON inhibiting motor neurons in the spinal cord.

Circadian rhythms

Internal biological rhythms that follow a 24-hour cycle.

Zeitgebers

External cues, such as light, that synchronize the internal clock and regulate circadian rhythms.

As Joe looks around the room, he sees shapes, edges, shadows, and color, which would be classified as

sensation

As Amanda scans the horizon, she sees trees, a river, and a picnic table. This experience would be considered __________.

perception

Seeing edges and contours would be __________ whereas seeing a snow-capped mountain would be __________.

sensation; perception

A normal human exposed to a light stimulus that contains an equal number of all wavelengths will report a perception of __________.

white

A tear in the muscles that connect the orbits with the sclera would be expected to __________.

impair movements of an eye

The human retina contains about __________ rods and about __________ cones.

92 million; 4 million

Which statement is true of cones?

 

They are responsible for our ability to discriminate light of different wavelengths.

A disease that attacks the photoreceptors of the fovea would be expected to __________.

disrupt  color vision

The __________ cell is interposed in the pathway between the photoreceptors and the ganglion cells.

bipolar

Which statement is true of the extrastriate cortex?

It processes both “where” and “what.”

The dorsal stream receives most input from which system?

magnocellular

Which of the following is a function of the human magnocellular visual system?

detecting small contrasts between light and dark

Humans can detect sound vibrations between __________ and __________ times per second.

30; 20,000

Which of the following pairs of terms belong together?

 

frequency; pitch

Before the performance, the orchestra plays a tuning note and then all instruments play the same note in increasing intensity. The increase in intensity would be considered __________.

loudness

The cochlea is located within the __________.

 

inner ear

When comparing the action of the tympanic membrane on the malleus and the action of the stapes against the oval window, the action of the stapes is __________.

 

smaller and more forceful

The base of the basilar membrane is to __________ as the tip of the basilar membrane is to __________.

 

high frequency; low frequency

If, when Jasmine speaks, the base of the basilar membrane bends, then Jasmine is speaking with a __________.

 

high frequency

If, when Maryanne speaks, the tip of the basilar membrane bends, then Maryanne is speaking with a __________.

 

low frequency

The force that bends the tips of the inner hair cells in response to movement of the basilar membrane arises from the __________

movement of fluid past the tips of the hair cells

The perception of low pitch sounds involves __________ located at the __________ of the basilar membrane.

rate coding; apical end

Which of the receptors below are found in hairy and glabrous skin and are sensitive to vibration?

Pacinian corpuscles

As pain increases, itching __________.

decreases

Which statement is true of taste?

Flavor is a mixture of olfaction and gustation.

Which statement is true of the neural coding of olfaction?

Each odorant binds to several different receptor types.

Sound can best be thought of as __________.

changes in air pressure produced by the vibration of an object

The __________ of a sound stimulus is to frequency as __________ is to complexity of a sound stimulus.

pitch; timbre

A high-frequency tone would be expected to produce a maximal bending of the __________ nearest the __________.

basilar membrane; oval window