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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Transduction |
The transformation of a physical stimulus into neural signals |
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Sensation |
converting physical features of the environment into electrochemical signals with the nerve cells, which send those signals to the brain |
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Perception |
initial sensory signals are used to form mental representations of objects/events so they can be recognized, store, and used |
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Neuron |
cells in the nervous system that produce and transmit electrochemical signals called neural signals |
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Action Potentials |
electrochemical signal that begins in the dendrites of a stimulated neuron |
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Distal Stimulus |
the thing in the world which we are perceiving |
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Proximal Stimlulus |
the physical phenomenon evoked by a distal stimulus that impinges on the specialized cell sof the relevant sense |
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Sensory Receptors |
specialized neurons that convert proximal simuli in to neural signals |
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Cell Membrane |
seperates insides from the outside |
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Cell Body |
contains the nucleus |
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Dendrites |
receive signals from other neurons |
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Axon |
conducts signals that are transmitted to other neurons |
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Nerve |
bundle of axons that travel from one location to another |
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Membrane Potential |
difference in electrical potential across the cell membrane |
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Ion Channels |
small pores in the cell membrane that allow for the flow of Na+ and K+ ions |
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Refractory Period |
brief period in which a neuron's action potential cannot be initiated, following the initiation of the action potential |
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Myelin |
insulation on an axon that increases the speed of propagation |
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Firing Rate |
the rate at which a neuron produces action potential |
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Synapse |
tiny gap between the axon terminal of on neuron and the dendrites/cell body of another |
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PreSynaptic Membrane |
membrane at the axon terminal of the firing neuron |
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PostSynaptic Membrane |
membrane at the dendrite/cell body of the receiving neuron |
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Excitatory Neurotransmitters |
depolarizes the membrane potential and increases the liklihood of action potential in the postsynaptic neuron
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Inhibitory Neurotransmitters |
hyperpolarizes the membrane potential and decreases the liklihood of action potential in the postsynaptic neuron |
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Corpus Callosum |
the major connection between the two hemispheres of the brain |
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Thalamus |
neural signals pass through the thalamus on their way from sensory organs to the cortex |
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Modularity |
the idea that the human mind and brain consist of a set of distinct modules, each of which carries out one or more specific functions |
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Absolute Threshold |
minimum intensity of a physical stimulus that can just be detected by an observer |
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Method of Adjustment |
simplest & quickest the person observes the stimulus and adjusts a knob that directly controls the intensity of the stimulus |
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Method of Constant Stimuli |
more reliable set of stimulus values covering a range likely to include the absoslute threshold and presented one by one. stimuli respond yes or no. multiple trials. yes's are plotted on a scatterplot. best estimate taken from there. |
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Psychometric Function |
relates a measure of perceptual experience to the intensity of a physical stimulus |
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Staircase Method |
not very efficient a smaller range of sounds are played near the threshold multiple times |
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Difference Threshold |
the minimum difference between two stimuli that allows an observer to perceive that the two stimuli are different |
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Weber's Law |
Just Noticable Differences (JND) = contstant (k) X intensity of the stimulus |
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Fechner's Law |
Perceived Intensity (S) = constant (k) X natural log (ln) of intensity (I) over absolute threshold (I0) |
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Stevens Power Law |
the relationship between perceived intensity and physical intensity is different depending on what is being perceived |
