TEST REVIEW

Cognitive neuroscience: the scientific study of the biological basis of metal processing such as perception, consciousness, action, memory, decision making, language, and selective attention

circadian rhythm: Internal biological clock synchronizing with 24-hour cycle

Stages of sleep (characteristics): 

• stage one: brief, hypnagogic sensations

• stage two: sleep spindles and k-complexes

• stage three: slow delta waves, deep sleep

Cycle of a typical night’s sleep: starts in stage one and slowly works its way down to stage 3. Throughout the night the stages get longer until you wake back up. 

REM  sleep (explanation & what happens): vivid dreams, rapid eye movement (paradoxical sleep-relaxed muscles but active body system)

Hypothalamus & sleep: helps regulate sleep and wakefulness 

• contains nerve cells that control sleep and wakefulness, including a switch that turns off the arousal system during sleep

Melatonin: hormone that contributes to our circadian rhythm (creates tiredness) 

Benefits of sleep: maintains healthy weight, improves mood, lowers risk of chronic disease, helps growth and development, improves brain function, and improves immune system 

Sleep deprivation: not getting the required amount of sleep 

Insomnia: persistent problems falling or staying asleep

Narcolepsy: sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness

Sleep apnea: intermittent stopping of breathing during sleep

Sleep & aging: as people age, sleep becomes more fragile, with awakenings common among older adults 

Dream theories~

physiological: reorganizing memory and learning Activation-synthesis: brain trying to interpret meaningless, periodic, random neural firing occurring during REM

Sensation: the process by which we relieve information from the environment 

Top-down processing: guided by experience and higher-level processes; we see what we expect to see

Bottom-up processing: starts with sensory input; the brain attempts yo understand by building from the small details to a larger concept 

Transduction: the process of converting energy of a stimulus into neural activity

Absolute threshold: the smallest level of stimulus that can be detected

Difference threshold: the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time 

Signal detection theory: a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation 

Sensory adaptation: the decreased sensitivity to a constant stimulus over time 

Amplitude of light: the height of light waves, determining the brightness of the color perceived (small amplitude = dull color) 

Parts of the eye:  functions & order

Cornea: the eye’s c;ear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris 

iris: a right of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening 

pupil: the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

lens: the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

retina: the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye containing rods and cones responsible for for processing visual information

fovea: (point of center focus) the central focal point in the retina where cones are clustered; responsible for greatest visual acuity 

optic nerve to brain’s visual cortex: the nerve that carries neural impulses from the retina to the brain

Accommodation: the process by which the lens changes its curvature and thickness to focus on objects at various distances

Rods: retinal photoreceptors that detect black, white and gray and are sensitive to movement (used for peripheral and twilight vision) 

Cones: retinal photoreceptors that function in daylight, detect fine details, and create color sensations 

Blind spot: the point on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye; no photoreceptor cells are present 

Young-Helmoltz Theory: the theory that the retina contains three types of color receptors (red, green, blue) that combine to produce perception of color 

Opponent-Process Theory: the theory that opposing retinal processing (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision

Parallel processing: the brain’s ablity to process multiple aspects of a visual scene simultaneously, such as form, color, and movemenT

Conduction hearing loss: hearing loss due to damage to the mechanical system transmitting sound waves to the cochlea

Sensorineural hearing loss: hearing loss resulting from damage to the cochlea’s hair cells or the auditory nerve

Outer ear: the physical ear

middle ear: the chamber between the ear drum and the cochlea contain three tiny bones

inner ear: the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestiblarsac’s 

Parts of the ear:  functions

tympenic membrane (eye drum): it vibrates in response to sound waves

cochlea: a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear where sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Auditory canal: the channel in the outer ear that funnels sound waves to the ear drum

oval window: the membrane-covered opening of the cochlea that vibrates in response to sound waves

Place Theory: a theory explaining pitch perception based on activity at different places along the basilar membrane

Frequency Theory: suggesting that the brain reads pitch bu monitoring the frequency of neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve

Gate-Control Theory: the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks or allows pain signals to pass to the brain

Phantom-Limb Theory: pain felt in a limb that has been amputated, due to the brain’s misinterpretation of sensory signals

(4) taste sensations

Gustation: sense of taste, which is stimulated by chemicals in food that interact with taste buds

Olfaction: sense of smell, which involves the detection of airborne chemicals by receptor cells in the nasal cavity

Biopsychosocial approach to pain: an approach that integrates biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors to better understand a phenomenon, such as pain

Chemical senses (2): the senses that involve the detection of chemicals, including taste (gustation) and smell (olfaction) 

Kinesthesis

Vestibular Sense: the sense that monitors the position and movement of the head and body, primarily located in the inner ear