Sensory receptors
specialized forms of neurons
Transduction
turning outside stimuli into neural activity
Just Noticeable Difference (jnd)/Weber's Law
the smallest difference between 2 stimuli that is detectable 50 percent of the time
Thresholds
the smallest amount of energy needed for a person to consciously detect a stimulus 50 percent of the time it is present
Signal Detection Theory
Predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background noise (other stimulation).
Habituation
sensory neurons are still responding to the stimulation - lower levels of the brain are not sending them to your cortex
Adaptation
receptors on the sensory neurons become less responsive to the unchanging stimulus
Subliminal Stimuli
stimuli that are below the level of conscious awareness
Rods
visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina
Cones
visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina
Ganglion Cell
Form optic nerve
Bipolar Cell
Receive message from rods and cones
visual accommodation
the change in the thickness of the lens as the eye focuses on objects that are far away or close
Properties of light
Brightness, Color, saturation
cornea
clear membrane that covers the surface of the eye
aqueous humor
visual layer below cornea
iris
round muscle
pupil
hole through which light from the visual image enters the interior of the eye
lens
another clear structure behind the iris, suspended by muscles
retina
final stop for light in the eye
Fovea
the tiny center of the retina that provides the clearest vision of all.
Optic nerve
connects the eye to the brain
vitreous humor
jelly-like fluid that also nourishes the eye and gives it shape
near sighted
the shape of the eye causes the focal point to fall short of the retina
far sighted
the focus point is behind the retina
Blind spot
area in the retina where the axons of the three layers of retinal cells exit the eye to form the optic nerve; insensitive to light
Dark adpatation
the recovery of the eye's sensitivity to visual stimuli in darkness after exposure to bright lights
Light adpatation
the recovery of the eye's sensitivity to visual stimuli in light after exposure to darkness
Trichromatic theory
theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green
Opponent Process Theory
theory of color vision that proposes four primary colors with cones arranged in pairs: red and green, blue and yellow
Colorblindness
a condition in which a person's eyes either have no cones or have cones that are not working at all
Skin receptors
Touch pressure pain
Visceral pain
stomach is full or hurts
Gate-control theory
What things contribute to us feeling
Somatic pain (Large and Small)
bodies warning system for injury
reminder of injury to prevent further injury
Endorphins
brain chemical transmitters
Phantom limb
50 - 80% with amputations experience sensations of burning, shooting pain, pins and needles where the limb used to be
Vestibular Sense
the sensations of movement, balance, and body position
Sensory conflict theory
an explanation of motion sickness in which the information from the eyes conflicts with the information from the vestibular senses
Congenital Analgesia
Can not feel pain
CIPA
can not feel pain
Kinesthetic Sense
sense of the location of body parts in relation to the ground and each other
Taste buds
taste receptor cells in mouth; responsible for sense of taste
Gustation
the sensation of a taste
Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami
5 basic tastes
Olfaction and Olfactory bulb
sense of smell/areas of the brain located just above the sinus cavity and just below the frontal lobes that receive information from the olfactory receptor cells
Emotions and Memories
certain smells change mood and natural pheramons
Pinna
the visible, external part of the ear that funnels sound waves into the structure of the ear
Auditory canal
...
Ear drum
thin section of skin that tightly covers the opening into the middle part of the ear
-anvil
-hammer
-stirrup
Cochlea
snail-shaped structure of the inner ear that is filled with fluid
basilar membrane
membrane that runs through the center of the cochlea
hair cells
sound receptors, special cells located on the organ of corti
auditory nerve
bundle of axons from the hair cells in the inner ear
Organ of Corti
rests in the basilar membrane
Properties of Sound (sound waves)
Volume, Pitch, purity
Pitch
psychological experience of sound that corresponds to the frequency of the sound waves
place theory
theory of pitch that states that different pitches are experienced by the stimulation of hair cells in different locations on the organ of Corti
Frequency theory
theory of pitch that states that pitch is related to the speed of vibrations in the basilar membrane
Conduction Hearing Impairment
damaged eardrum: would prevent sound waves from being carried into the middle ear properly
Nerve Hearing Impairment
Problem is caused by damage in the inner ear
Cochlear Implant
n electronic medical device that replaces the function of the damaged inner ear
Cocktail Effect
subject will pay attention to the conversation hen name is said
Selective Attention
people focus their attention on a specific source of a sound or spoken words