Biopsych Exam 2

Front 1

bipolar cells

Back 1

type of neuron in the retina that recieves input directly from the receptors

Front 2

blind spot

Back 2

the point at which the optic nerve leaves. Has no receptors

Front 3

color constancy

Back 3

ability to recognize the color of an object despite changes in lighting

Front 4

color vision deficiency

Back 4

inability to perceive color differences as most other people do

Front 5

cones

Back 5

type of retinal receptor that contribute to color perception

Front 6

fovea

Back 6

area in the center of the human retina specialized for acute, detailed vision

Front 7

ganglion cells

Back 7

type of neuron in the retina that receives input from the bipolar cells

Front 8

law of specific nerve energies

Back 8

statement that each nerve always conveys the same kind of information to the brain

Front 9

midget ganglion cells

Back 9

ganglion cells in the fovea of humans and other primates

Front 10

negative color afterimage

Back 10

result of prolonged staring at a colored display and then looking at a white surface, in which one sees green where the display had been red, red where it had been green, yellow where it had been blue, blue where it has been yellow, black where it had been white, and white where it had been black

Front 11

opponent-process theory

Back 11

theory that we perceive color in terms of paired opposites: white versus black, red versus green, and blue versus yellow

Front 12

optic nerve

Back 12

bundle of axons that travel from the ganglion cells of the retina to the brain

Front 13

photopigments

Back 13

chemical that releases energy when struck by light

Front 14

pupil

Back 14

opening in the center of the iris through which light enters

Front 15

retina

Back 15

rear surface of the eye, lined with visual receptors

Front 16

retinex theory

Back 16

concept that when info from various parts of the retina reaches the cortex, the cortex compares each of the inputs to determine the color perception in each area

Front 17

rods

Back 17

type of retinal receptor that does not contribute to color perception

Front 18

trichromatic theory

Back 18

theory that we perceive color through the relative rates of response by three kinds of cones, with each kind maximally sensitive to a different set of wavelengths

Front 19

visual field

Back 19

area of the world that an individual can see at any time

Front 20

blindsight

Back 20

ability to localize objects within an apparently blind visual field

Front 21

complex cells

Back 21

cell type of the visual cortex that responds best to a light stimulus of a particular shape anywhere in its receptive field; its receptive field cannot be mapped into fixed excitatory and inhibitory zones

Front 22

dorsal stream

Back 22

visual path in the parietal cortex, sometimes known as the "where" or "how" pathway

Front 23

end-stopped cells

Back 23

cell of the visual cortex that responds best to stimuli of a precisely limited type, anywhere ina large recpetive field, with a strong inhibitory field at one ends of its field

Front 24

feature detectors

Back 24

neuron whose responses indicate the presence of a particular feature

Front 25

horizontal cells

Back 25

type of cell that receives input from receptors and delivers inhibitory input to bipolar cells

Front 26

inferior temporal cortex

Back 26

portion of the cortex where neurons are highly sensitive to complex aspects of the shape of visual stimuli within very large receptor fields

Front 27

koniocellular neurons

Back 27

ganglion cells located throughout the retina

Front 28

lateral geniculate nucleus

Back 28

thalamic nucleus that receives incoming visual info

Front 29

lateral inhibition

Back 29

restraint of activity in one neuron by activtiy in a neighboring neuron

Front 30

magnocellular neurons

Back 30

large-celled neuron of the visual system that is sensitive to changing or moving stimuli in a relatively large visual field

Front 31

motion blind

Back 31

impaired ability to perceive the direction or speed of movement, despite otherwise satisfactory vision

Front 32

MST

Back 32

medial superior temporal cortex, an area in which nuerons are sensitive to expansion, contraction, or rotation of the visual field or to the movement of an object relative to its background

Front 33

MT (or area V5)

Back 33

middle temporal cortex, an area activated by seeing objects in motion

Front 34

parvocellular neurons

Back 34

small-celled neuron of the visual system that is sensitive to color differences and visual details in its small visual field

Front 35

primary visual cortex (or area V1)

Back 35

area of the cortex responsible for the first stage of visual processing

Front 36

prosopagnosia

Back 36

impaired ability to recognize or identify faces

Front 37

receptive field

Back 37

part of the visual field to which any one neuron responds

Front 38

saccades

Back 38

ballistic movement of the eyes from one fixation point ot another

Front 39

secondary visual cortex (or area V2)

Back 39

area of the visual cortex responsible for the second stage of visual processing

Front 40

shape constancy

Back 40

ability to perceive the shape of an object despite the movement or rotation of the object

Front 41

simple cell

Back 41

type of visual cortex cell that has fixed excitatory and inhibitory zones in its receptive field

Front 42

ventral stream

Back 42

visual paths in the temporal cortex, sometimes known as the "what" pathway

Front 43

visual agnosia

Back 43

impaired ability to identify visual objects despite otherwise satisfactory vision

Front 44

astigmatism

Back 44

blurring of vision for lines in one direction because of the nonspherical shape of the eye

Front 45

binocular input

Back 45

stimulation from both eyes

Front 46

retinal disparity

Back 46

discrepancy between what the left eyes sees and what the right eye sees

Front 47

sensitive period

Back 47

time early in development during which some event (such as an experience or the presence of a hormone) has a strong and long-lasting effect

Front 48

strabismus

Back 48

condition in which the two eyes point in different directions

Front 49

amplitude

Back 49

intensity of a sound or other stimulus

Front 50

cochlea

Back 50

structure in the inner ear containing auditory receptors

Front 51

conductive deafness (middle-ear deafness)

Back 51

hearing loss that occurs if the bones of the middle ear fail to transmit sound waves properly to the cochlea

Front 52

frequency

Back 52

number of sound waves per second

Front 53

frequency theory

Back 53

concept that pitch perception depends on differences in frequency of action potentials by auditory neurons

Front 54

hair cells

Back 54

type of sensory receptor shaped like a hair; auditory receptors are hair cells

Front 55

loudness

Back 55

perception of the intensity of a sound

Front 56

nerve deafness (inner ear deafness)

Back 56

hearing loss that results from damage and growth of acons in the sympathetic nervous system and certain axons in the brain

Front 57

oval window

Back 57

membrane of the inner ear, adjacent to the stirrup

Front 58

pinna

Back 58

outer-ear structure of flesh and cartilage that sticks out from each side of the head

Front 59

pitch

Back 59

experience that corresponds to the frequency of a sound

Front 60

place theory

Back 60

concept that pitch perception depends on which part of the inner ear has cells with the greatest activity level

Front 61

primary auditory cortex (area A1)

Back 61

area in the temporal lobes in which cells respond best to tones of a particular frequency

Front 62

tinnitus

Back 62

frequent or constant ringing in the ears

Front 63

tympanic membrane

Back 63

the eardrum

Front 64

volley principle

Back 64

tenet that a sound wave of a moderately high pitch may produce a volley of impusles by various fibers even if no individual fiber can produce impulses in synchrony with the sound waves

Front 65

capsaicin

Back 65

chemical that causes neurons containing substance P to release it suddenly and also directly stimulates pain receptors sensitive to moderate heat

Front 66

dermatome

Back 66

area of skin connected to a particular spinal nerve

Front 67

endorphins

Back 67

category of chemicals that body produces that stimulate the same receptors as do opiates

Front 68

gate theory

Back 68

assumption that stimulation of certain nonpain axons in the skin or in the brain can inhibit transmission of pain messages in the spinal cord

Front 69

opioid mechanisms

Back 69

systems responsive to opiate drugs and similar chemicals

Front 70

Pacinian corpuscle

Back 70

receptor that responds to a sudden displacement of the skin or high frequency vibration on the skin

Front 71

periaqueductal gray area

Back 71

area of the brainstem that is rich in enkephalin synapses

Front 72

placebo

Back 72

drug or other procedure with no pharmacolocial effects

Front 73

semicircular canals

Back 73

canal lined with hair cells and oriented in three planes, sensitive to the direction of tilt of the head

Front 74

somatosensory system

Back 74

sensory network that monitors the surface of the body and its movement

Front 75

substance P

Back 75

neurotransmitter released by nerves that are sensitive to pain

Front 76

adaptation

Back 76

decreased response to a stimulus as a result of recent exposure to it

Front 77

cross-adaptation

Back 77

reduced response to one stimulus because of recent exposure to some other stimulus

Front 78

labeled-line principle

Back 78

concept that each receptor responds to a limited range of stimuli and has a direct line to the brain

Front 79

nucleus of the tractus solitarius (NTS)

Back 79

area in the medulla that receives input from taste receptors

Front 80

olfaction

Back 80

sense of smell

Front 81

olfactory cells

Back 81

neurons responsible for the sense of smell, located on the olfactory epithelium in the rear of the nasal air passages

Front 82

papillae

Back 82

structure on the surface of the tongue containing taste buds

Front 83

pheromones

Back 83

chemical released by one animal that affects the behavior of other members of the same species

Front 84

supertasters

Back 84

people with heightened sensitivtiy to taste

Front 85

synesthesia

Back 85

experience of one sense in response to stimulation of another sense

Front 86

across-fiber pattern principle

Back 86

notion that each receptor responds to a wide range of stimuli and contributes to the perception of every stimulus in its system

Front 87

taste bud

Back 87

structures on the tongue that contains taste receptors

Front 88

vomeronasal organ (VNO)

Back 88

set of receptors located near, but separate from, the olfactory receptors

Front 89

endogenous circadian rhythms

Back 89

self-generated rhythm that lasts about a day

Front 90

endogenous circannual rhythm

Back 90

self-generated rhythm that lasts about a year

Front 91

free running rhythm

Back 91

circadian or circannual rhythm that is not being periodically reset by light or other cues

Front 92

jet lag

Back 92

disruption of biological rhythms caused by travel across time zones

Front 93

melatonin

Back 93

hormone that among other effects induces sleepiness

Front 94

pineal gland

Back 94

small unpaired gland in the brain, just posterior to the thalamus, that releases the hormone melatonin

Front 95

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

Back 95

area of the hypothalamus, located just aboce the optic-chiasm, that constitutes the biological clock

Front 96

zeitgeber

Back 96

stimulus that resets a biological clock

Front 97

alpha waves

Back 97

rhythm of 8 to 12 brain wave sper second, generally associated with relaxation

Front 98

basal forebrain

Back 98

the forebrain area anterior and dorsal to the hypothalamus; includes cell clusters that promote wakefulness and other cell clusters that promote sleep

Front 99

brain death

Back 99

condition with no sign of brain activity and no reponse to any stimulus

Front 100

cataplexy

Back 100

attack of muscle weakness while a person remains awake

Front 101

coma

Back 101

extended period of unconsciousness, with a steady low level of brain activity

Front 102

insomnia

Back 102

lack of sleep, leaving the person feeling poorly rested the following day

Front 103

K-complex

Back 103

sharp, high-amplitude, negative wave followed by a smaller, slower, positive wave

Front 104

locus coeruleus

Back 104

small hindbrain structure whose widespread axons send bursts of norepinephtine in response to meaningful stimuli

Front 105

minimally conscious state

Back 105

condition of decreased brain activity with occasional, brief periods of purposeful actions and limited speech comprehension

Front 106

narcolepsy

Back 106

condition characterized by unexpected periods of sleepiness during the day

Front 107

night terrors

Back 107

experience of intense anxiety during sleep from which a person awakens screaming in terror

Front 108

non- REM sleep

Back 108

sleep stages other than REM sleep

Front 109

orexin (or hypocretin)

Back 109

neurotransmitter that stimulates acetylcholine-releasing cells and thereby increases wakefulness and arousal

Front 110

periodic limb movement disorder

Back 110

repeated involuntary movement of the legs and sometimes arms during sleep

Front 111

PGO Waves

Back 111

pattern of high-amplitude electrical potentials that occurs first in the pons, then in the lateral geniculate, and finally in the occipital cortex

Front 112

polysomnograph

Back 112

combination of EEG and eye movement records and sometimes other data, for a sleeping person

Front 113

pontomesencephalon

Back 113

part of the retuclar formation that contributes to cortial arousal by axons that release acetylcholine and glutamate in the basal forebrain and thalamus

Front 114

rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

Back 114

sleep stage with rapid eye movements, high brain activity, and relazation of the large muscles

Front 115

REM behavior disorder

Back 115

condition in which people move around vigourous;ly during REM sleep

Front 116

reticular formation

Back 116

network of neurons in the medulla and other parts of the brainstem; the descending portion controls motor areas of the spinal cord; the ascending portion selectively increases arousal and attention in various forebrain areas

Front 117

sleep apnea

Back 117

inability to breathe while sleeping

Front 118

sleep spindle

Back 118

12 to 14 Hz brain waves in bursts that last at least half a second

Front 119

slow-wave sleep

Back 119

stages 3 and 4 of sleep, which are occupied largely by slow, large amplitude brain waves

Front 120

vegetative state

Back 120

condition in which someone has decreased brain actibity and alternates between wakefulness and sleep but shows only limited responsiveness, such as increased heart rate in response to a painful stimulus

Front 121

activation-synthesis hypothesis

Back 121

view that during dreams, various parts of the cortex are activated by the input arising from the pons plus whatever stimului are present in the room, and the cortex synthesizes a story to make sense of all the activity

Front 122

clinico-anatomical hypthesis

Back 122

view that regards dreams as just thinking that takes place under unusual conditions