BioPsych Exam II :)

Sensory receptor: specialized neuron that detects a particular category of physical events

Sensory transduction: the process by which sensory stimuli are transducer into slow, graded receptor potentials 

Receptor potentials: a slow graded electrical potential produced by a recpetor cell in response to a physical stimulus 

The Stimulus perceived color of light is determined by: Hue, Saturation, Brightness 

Hue: Determined by wavelength 

Saturation: Determined by the purity of the light wave 

Brightness: Determined by the intensity of electromagnetic radiation 

Orbits: Bony pockets in the front of the skull 

Sclera: The white tissue of the eye and continuous 

Conjunctiva: Mucus membranes that line the eyelid and protect the eye 

Cornea: Transparent protective tough outer covering of the eye that admits light 

Pupil: adjustable opening in the iris that regulates the amount of light that enters the eye 

Iris: Pigmented ring of muscles situated behind the cornea 

Lens: Consists of a series of transparent, onion- like layers. Its shape can be changed by contraction of ciliary muscles. stretchy. 

Accommodation: Changes in the thickness of the lens, accomplished by the ciliary muscles, that focus images of near and distant objects on the retina 

Fovea: Area of retina that mediates the most acute vision. Contains only sensitive cones 

Vergence movements: cooperative movements of the eyes which ensures that the image of an object falls on identical portions of both retains 

Saccadic movements: rapid, jerky movements of the eyes used in scanning a visual scene

Pursuit movements: movement the eyes make to maintain an image of a moving object 

Retina: The neural tissue and photoreceptive cells (located on the inner surface of the posterior portion of the eye). Rodes and cones face backwards. 

Ratio: 10R : 1C

Rod: Photoreceptor cells of the retina, sensitive the light of low intensity 

Cone: Photoreceptor cells of the retina (maximally sensitive to one of three different wavelengths of light and hence encodes color vision.  

Bipolar cell: A Bipolar neuron located in the middle layer of the retina, conveying information from the photo receptors to the ganglion cells 

Ganglion cell: A neuron that receives visual information from bipolar cells, its axons give rise to the optic nerve 

Horizontal cell: A neuron that interconnects adjacent photoreceptors and the outer processes of the bipolar 

Amacrine cell: A neuron that interconnects adjacent ganglion cells and the inner processes of the bipolar cells. 

Blue Cone: shortwave (blue violet) 

Green cone: medium wavelength (green)

Red Cone: long wavelength (yellow green) 

negative afterimage: the image seen after a portion of the retina is exposed to an intense visual stimulus, consist of colors complimentary to those of the psychical stimulus 

complimentary colors: colors that make white or gray when mixed together

cortical blindness: blindness cause by damage to the optic radiations or primary visual cortex 

blindsight: the ability of a person to reach for objects located in his or her “blind” field, occurs after damage restricted to the primary visual cortext.

Agnosia: inability to perceive or identify an object by means of a particular sensory modality. 

Visual agnosia: deficits in visual perception in the absense of blindness caused by the brain damage 

Aperceptive Visual agnosia: failure to perceive objects by their shape, even though visual acuity is relatively normal 

prosopagnosia: failure to recognize particular people by the sight of their faces

associative visual agnosia: Inability to identify objects that are perceived visually. 

Optic Tract: bundle of nerve fibers that serves to carry visual information from the optic chiasm to other parts of the brain (to the left and right lateral geniculate bodies as a part of the visual pathway)

Left optic tract:  contains fibres from the left temporal (lateral) retina, and the right nasal (medial) retina.

Right optic tract: contains fibres from the right temporal retina, and the left nasal retina.

Optic Chiasm: is the point where the optic nerves from both eyes meet and some of their fibers cross over, forming the optic tracts that then carry the information to the brain. AT THIS LOCATION,each retinal ganglion cell makes a decision about the route it will take into the brain (whether their axons go contralateral or ipsilaterally

most go ipsilaterally)

Optic Disk: Location on retina where fibers of ganglion cells exit the eye. Responsible for blind spot

nerve: outside of CNS

tract: inside of CNS

Nasal and Temporal Fields: Refers to the visual fields of the eye. The nasal visual field ( 2&3) is the inner part of the eye's vision closer to the nose, while the temporal visual field (1& 4) is the outer part of the eye's vision, away from the nose. Only 2 and 3 cross, while 1 and 4 remain on the same side of the brain. 

Transduction: The process through which sensory stimuli are converted into neural impulses that can be interpreted by the brain.

Sense of smell and taste is: chemical 

touch comes from: vibrations

Sensation: The process by which a stimulated receptor (eyes, ears...) creates a pattern of neural messages that represent the stimulus in the brain, giving rise to our initial experience of the stimulus.

Perception: A mental process that elaborates and assigns meaning to the incoming sensory patterns. This creates an interpretation of sensation.

Tunnel Vision: A condition where peripheral vision (side vision) is lost, leading to the perception of only a central area of vision (straight ahead)

Field Neglect: A neurological condition where an individual fails to notice one side of their visual field, often as a result of damage to the right hemisphere of the brain, affecting their ability to attend to objects or stimuli on the left side.

Ossicles: A group of three tiny bones (ossicles) in the middle ear (malleus, incus, stapes) that transmit sound vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear.

Malleus: "the “hammer” the first of the three attactched to the tympanic membrane 

Incus: The “anvil” located between the malleus and the stapes

Stapes: The “stirrup” the third, attached to the oval window of the cochlea

Pitch: a perceptual dimension of sound, corresponds to the fundamental frequency of the stimulus 

Hertz: Cycles per second 

Loudness: A perceptual dimension of sound, corresponds to the intensity of the stimulus 

Timbre: A perceptual dimension of sound, corresponds to the complexity of the stimulus 

Pinna:  the external ear that we can see, collects sound from movement 

Tympanic membrane: the eardrun, vibrates when stimulated by sound waves 

Cochlea: The snail shaped, fluid filled, bony structure of the inner ear, contains the basilar membrane/auditory receptor hair cells. 

Oval Window: An opening in the bone of the cohlea that reveals a membrane agaisnt which the baseplate of the stapes presses, transmitting sound vibrations into the fluid-filled cochlea. 

utricle: horizontal movements 

saccule: vertical movements 

Deiter cell: a supporting cell found in the organ of Corti, sustains the auditory hairs 

Basilar membrane: mem in the cochlea of the inner ear; contains the organ of Corti

Tectorial membrane: a mem located above the basilar membrane. serves as the shelf against which the cilia of the auditory hair cells move 

Cilium: a hair-like appendage of a cell involved in movement of traducing sensory information found on the receptors in the auditory and vestibular system

Cochlear nerve: a branch of eight cranial nerve; the branch of auditory nerve that transmits auditory information from the cochlea to the brain 

Cochlear nucleus: one of group of nuclei in the medulla that recieve auditory information from the cochlea. 

Superior olivary complex: a group of nuclei in the medulla; involved with auditory functions, including localization of the sound source

Lateral lemniscus: a band of fibers running rostrally through the medulla and pons, carries fibers of the auditory system 

Tonotopic representation: A topographical organized mapping of different frequencies of sound that are represented in a particular region of the brain.

Belt region: The first level of auditory association cortex;

surrounds the primary auditory cortex.

Parabelt region: The second level of auditory association

cortex; surrounds the belt region.

Cochlear implant: a electrical device surgically implanted in the inner ear that can enable a deaf person to hear 

Hair cells: similar to hair cells found in the cochlea; method of transduction is also similar to hair cells of the cochlea. 

Kinesthetic System: sensory system that provides info about body position and movement, also known as proprioception. some receptors report changes in muscle length to the brain, providing our sense of this. 

Blind Spot: the area in the visual field where there are no photoreceptors because this is where the optic nerve exits the eye; it has no visual information.

Eustachian Tube: A tube that connects the middle ear to the nasopharynx, helping to equalize air pressure in the ear (cartilage and bone) 

Homunculus: the somatopic map of the human primary motor cortext  that represents the sensory and motor functions for various parts of the body. 

Pacinian Corpuscles: a specialized encapsulated somatosensory nerve ending that detects mechanical stimuli, especially vibrations

Merkel’s Disks: the touch sensitive end organs found at the base of the epidermis, adjacent to sweat ducts 

Ruffini Endings: a vibration sensitive organ located in hairy skin 

Gustation: related to eating, first chemcial sense, modality helps us to determine the nature of things we put in our mouths 

saltiness: the receptor for this appears to be a simple sodium channel 

sourness: the receptor for this appears to respond to hydrogen ions in acidic solutions 

bitterness: the typical stimulus for this is a plant alkaloid such as quinine

sweetness: the typical stimulus for this is a sugar such as glucose or fructose

Gustducin: a g=protein that plays a vital role in the transaction of sweetness and bitterness. 

Olfaction: second chemical sense and most enigmatic of the modalities 

Olfactory epithelium: tissue of the nasal sinus that covers the cribiform plate

Olfactory bulb: the protrusion at the end of the olfactory tract, recives information from the olfactory receptors 

Dermatome: area of skin connected to a single spinal nerve, designed to relay sensory information (like touch, pain, and temperature) to the central nervous system. Clinically, dermatomes are used to diagnose conditions by helping doctors pinpoint which spinal nerve is affected

Organ of Corti: the sensory organ of hearing located in the cochlea of the inner ear. Its function is to convert sound vibrations into electrical signals that the brain can interpret as sound. It accomplishes this through a complex process involving tiny hair cells that are moved by sound waves, translating mechanical energy into electrical impulses

Hierarchical Organization: it is association cortext at the highest level, muscles at the lowest . parallel structure signals flow between levels over multiple paths.

Mirror Neurons: active when performing an action or watching another perform the same action. This was study in monkeys. possible neural basis of social cognition (knowledge of other’s mental processes, intentions. It is likely to be found in humans (indirect evidence from functional brain-imaging studies 

Hans Selye: the “father” of stress. a misnomer really. stress vs. strain : Selye distinguished between stress, which refers to the external pressures and demands placed on an individual, and strain, which is the physiological and psychological response to those stresses. 

Motor Unit: a motor neuron plus muscle fibers, all fibers contract when motor neurons fires. number of fibers per unit varies- fine control, fewer fibers/nueron. Muscle- muscle fibers bound tg by tendon 

Acetylcholine: released by motor nuerons at the neuromuscular junction causes contraction 

Adrenaline (Epinephrine): A hormone and neurotransmitter involved in the fight-or-flight response, increasing heart rate, muscle strength, blood pressure, and sugar metabolism during stress situations.

Sympathetic Nervous System :Part of the autonomic nervous system that activates the body's fight-or-flight response, preparing the body for emergency situations.activated by hypothalamus. 

Parasympathetic Nervous System: The branch of the autonomic nervous system that conserves energy, often referred to as the rest-and-digest system, supporting routine maintenance activities.

Piloerection: The reflex action that causes the hair to stand up on the body, often part of the fight-or-flight response, occurring with arousal or cold environments.

Locked-In Syndrome: A neurological condition where a person is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of almost all voluntary muscles in the body, frequently caused by brainstem strokes. can communicate with eyes 

Under stress the anterior pituitary gland releases hormones which leads to release of: cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine 

Stress immunization: the idea that mild stress early in life makes it easier to handle stress later in life. 

Epigenetic regulation: a change in gene expression, not in genes themselves, due to environmental factors 

Psychosomatic medicine: emphasizes the role of psychological factors in disease 

Health psychology (behavior medicine): emphasizes the psycholigcal influences on health 

Psychoneuroimmunology: studies the interactions of the immune system with other organs and with the hormonal nervous systems 

Allostasis: “changes in biological systems as a result of prolonged exposure to stress”. long term neuroendocrine systems and occurs in high stress and high risk environments over time 

Circle of Willis: A vascular structure at the base of the brain, forming a redundant blood supply network to ensure continuous blood flow to the brain even if one artery is blocked. It illustrates the brain's "greedy, selfish, protected" nature.Ventral/Dorsal

Ventral: toward the belly

Dorsal: toward the back 

Anterior: forward toward the beak (rostral)

Posterior: backward toward the tail (caudal)