SenSation and PercePtion

Sensation The initial steps in the perceptual process, whereby physical features of the environment are converted into electrochemical signals that are sent to the brain for processing What is the process by which sensory receptors receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment? Sensation What is the process by which the brain organizes and interprets sensory information? Perception Which part of the eye is responsible for detecting color? Cones What is the term for the minimum amount of stimulus energy needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time? Absolute threshold What is the phenomenon where our sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus decreases over time? Sensory adaptation Which part of the ear is responsible for converting sound waves into neural signals? Cochlea What is the term for the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings? Figure-ground Which sense bypasses the thalamus and is directly processed by the brain? Smell (olfaction) What is the term for the ability to perceive depth based on both eyes working together? Binocular cues What is the name of the theory that explains how we perceive color through three types of cones sensitive to red, green, and blue light? Trichromatic theory What is the name of the illusion where stationary objects appear to move after staring at moving objects for some time? Motion aftereffect (waterfall effect) What is the name of the principle that states we perceive objects as unchanging even when sensory input changes? Perceptual constancy What type of hearing loss occurs due to damage to the cochlea or auditory nerve? Sensorineural hearing loss Which sense provides information about body position and movement? Proprioception What is the process by which the brain uses prior knowledge and expectations to interpret sensory information? Top-down processing What is the illusion where two lines of the same length appear to be different due to surrounding visual cues? Müller-Lyer illusion What is the condition in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to involuntary experiences in another? Synesthesia What part of the brain is primarily responsible for processing visual information? Occipital lobe What is the term for our ability to detect and interpret pain? Nociception Senses Physiological functions for converting particular environmental features into electrochemical signals Perception The later steps in the perceptual process, whereby the initial sensory signals are used to represent objects and events so they can be identified, stored in memory, and used in thought and action Representations Information in the mind and brain used to identify objects and events, to store them in memory, and to support thought and action Stimuli The objects and events that are perceived (distal stimuli) and the physical phenomena they produce (proximal stimuli) Distal stimulus A perceived object or event in the world (ex: a slamming door) Proximal stimulus A physical phenomenon evoked by a distal stimulus (ex: sound waves from a slamming door) Neurons The cells of the nervous system that produce and transmit information-carrying electrochemical signals Neural signals Electrochemical signals carried by neurons Sensory receptors Specialized neurons that convert proximal stimuli into neural signals Photoreceptors Neurons in the eye that convert light into neural signals Mechanoreceptors Neurons in fingertips that convert pressure on your skin into neural signals Top-down information An observer's knowledge, expectations, and goals, which can affect perception Bottom-up information The information contained in neural signals from receptors Transduction The transformation of a physical stimulus into neural signals Neural code A pattern of neural signals that carries information about a stimulus and can serve as a representation of that stimulus Psychophysics A field of study concerned with relating psychological experience to physical stimuli Body senses Senses that include the ability to sense body and limb position, pain, skin temperature, balance, and body movement Natural Selection The basic mechanism of biological evolution, whereby adaptive traits are more likely to be passed on to offspring through genetic inheritance and to become increasingly prevalent in a population Phenotypes Observable characteristics, or traits, of an organism Genotypes The genetic makeup of an organism Proprioception Body perception Nociception Pain perception Fitness The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment Johannes Müller German scientist who stated the "law of specific nerve energies" in 1826 Law of Specific Nerve Energies Law that states that the kinds of perceptions we have depend on which neurons are activated, not on what's activating those neurons Charles Sherrington British scientist who, in 1906, articulated the fundamental principles of brain function, including how neurons communicate with one another in networks Wilder Penfield Canadian neurosurgeon who found that when he directly stimulated neurons in certain areas of the brain of awake