Psych 23

Accommodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

Audition

the sense of hearing

Auditory cortex

the sensory area for hearing, located on the upper side of the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex

Auditory nerve

the cranial nerve that carries sound from the cochlea to the brain

Basilar membrane

area within the cochlea where hair cells are located

Biopolar cells

second layer of neurons in the retina that transmit impulses from rods and cones to ganglion cells; rods share these, but cones do not

Blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye; no receptors cells are located there. Creates a gap in our vision that is "filled" by the brain.

Cilia

a hairlike extension of a cell

Cochlea

snail-shaped tube in the inner ear that contains fluid that moves in response to vibrations, stimulating activity on the basilar membrane

Cochlear implant

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

Cocktail party effect

ability to selectively attend to one voice among many

Conduction hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the (mechanical) middle ear structures that conduct sound waves to the cochlea.

Cones

Receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. They detect fine details and give rise to color sensation.

Cornea

The transparent, protective outer layer of the eye that bends light waves to assist in proper focus

Decibel

unit used to express the ratio of acoustic or electric power

Eardrum

A tight membrane that vibrates when in contact with sound waves

Embodied cognition

in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments

Feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimuli, such as shape, angle, or movement.

Fovea

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

Frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time; determines perception of hue in light and of pitch in sound

Frequency theory

in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.

Gate control theory

the theory that the spinal cord contains neurological process that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain.

Gustation

sense of taste

Hair cells

finger-like projections on the basilar membrane that stimulate activity of the auditory nerve

Hue

the dimension of color that is determine by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.

Inner ear

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Intensity

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave which we perceive as brightness or loudness

Iris

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the color portions of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.

Kinesthetic sense

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts; enabled by feedback from proprioceptors (which provide info about the movement of muscles, tendons, joints); also called "proprioception"

Lenst

he transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

Middle ear

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.

Nociceptors

Nerve endings that signal the sensation of pain

Olfaction

sense of smell

Opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision; useful for explaining the phenomenon of "after-images"

Optic nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Outer ear

Collects and sends sounds to the eardrum

Parallel processing

the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrast with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

Pitch

sound information that depends on frequency (or wavelength) of sound waves

Place theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

Placebos

a treatment that appears real, but is designed to have no therapeutic benefit

Pupil

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

Retina

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.

Retinal ganglion cells

the third layer of retinal neurons whose axons leave the eyeball and form the optic nerve.

Rods

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.

Semicircular canals

fluid filled tubes in inner ear that provide information about movement of the head

Sensorineural hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptors cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.

Sensory interaction

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences taste

Tactition

sense of touch

taste sensations

Hearing, vision, taste, smell, touch

touch sensations

Hot, cold, pressure, pain

Vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance; enabled by feedback from semicircular canals in inner ear

Vision

sense of sight

Wavelength

the distance between successive peaks in a wave motion of a given frequency

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

the theory that the retina contains three different colors receptors-one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue-which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color