Know the basic pathway for visual information

How is visual information divided up between the left and right hemispheres?
● Left hemisphere: Processes details and focuses on specific features

○ Verbal processing and language-related tasks

○ Receives input from the right visual field, the right ride of both eyes, through
the optic nerve:
■ Lateral geniculate: the visual nucleus in the thalamus
■ Primary visual cortex (V1)
● Directions of motion and color
○ reading , writing, and ideaing objects

● Right hemisphere: processes visual information

○ Non-verbal
○ Receives input from the left visual field, the left side of both eyes, through the
optic nerve
○ Recognizing face, navigation, recognition
What is the function of the superior colliculus?
● Visual processing:
○ Receives direct input from the retina abt location and movement of visual
stimuli in the environment

● Sensory integration: auditory and somatosensory information

○ Responses, coordination, behavior, attention, movement of the body and eyes.

What do individual neurons in the primary visual cortex respond to?

● known as V1 or the striate cortex
○ respond to various visual stimuli, including basic features such as edges, lines,
orientation, motion, and color.

What are the different functions of visual cortical areas in the parietal lobe versus the
temporal lobe?
● Parietal lobe: Dorsal pathways
○ Recognition of objects

● Temporal lobe:
○ Represents where a object is related to you
■ How far, what angle, what direction
■ Helps guide action

oWhat is meant by dorsal stream and ventral stream?

● Dorsal stream: visually-guided behaviors and localizing objects in space
● Ventral stream:carries information related to object form and recognition.

oDefinition of object constancy n.

● Allows us to recognize the same object from diff viewing angles and distances

Which stream of visual processing handles this?

● Ventral stream

What is the role of attention in vision?

● Is necessary for accurate visual perception
○ Attention the glue that binds individual features in a whole percept

What's an illusory conjunction? How do experiments showing illusory conjunctions

demonstrate the role of attention in vision?
● Illusory conjunction: perceptual mistakes where features from multiple objects are
incorrectly combined, does not correspond to the actual visual scene. Illusory
conjunctions happens when attention is paid.
 ● How:
○ When attention is divided or not focused properly, individual features of different
objects like a color or shape are processed independently by the visual system. So
the brain may incorrectly combines features.

What were the Gestalt psychologists trying to explain?

● They wanted to understand the organization of perceptual experiences and how humans
perceive and make sense of the world around them.

Understand their six principles:

1. Proximity: nearby elements together
2. Similarity: elements that are similar
3. Continuity: Elements that form smooth, continuous lines or curves are perceived as
belonging together
4. Closure: fill in the gapes
5. Connectedness: spots, lines, and areas are seen as a unit when combined
6. Common fate: elements that move together are part of the same object

Why do psychologists study visual illusions?

●

What aspects of visual input provide information about the distance of a visual object and its
real-world size?
● Binocular depth cues: difference in retinal images of the two eyes that provides
information abt depth
● Monocular depth cues: aspects of a sense that yield information abt the depth when
viewed with one eye

Perception: The other senses(Chapter 5, Intro6-perception-other.pdf)

Hearing

What physical property of a sound wave produces our perception of pitch? What about
loudness?
● Pitch: Higher frequencies are perceived as higher pitches, while lower frequencies are
perceived as lower pitches.
● Loudness: amplitude

What is the fundamental frequency of a sound?

● it is the lowest frequency at which a vibrating object, such as a string or a column of air,
vibrates to produce a particular sound

What is timbre ?
● quality or color of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds
○ Diff set of harmonic overtones from two instruments
Functions of the outer ear versus the middle ear versus the inner ear

What are the sensory transducers for sound? Where are they?
● specialized cells or structures in the auditory system that convert mechanical vibrations ,
sound waves into electrical signals
● These transducers are primarily found in the inner ear,
○ specifically within the cochlea

Understand the two ways that the cochlea codes pitch

How does hair cell activity code loudness?

● Hair cell activity codes loudness through the rate and pattern of sound waves in the
cochlea.
○ loudness= number of hair cells
■ Rate: hair cells actively track sound vibrations in time (work best with
lower pitch)
■ Place: diff sections of basilar membrane vibrate more at higher verses
lower pitch

Are humans equally good at hearing sounds of different pitches?

● No: hearing sensitivity varies across sound frequencies

What are the two cues for where a sound is coming from, location of the thing creating the
sound?
1. Interaural Time Difference (ITD): ITD refers to the difference in the time it takes for a
sound to reach each ear
2. Interaural Level Difference (ILD): ILD refers to the difference in the intensity or
loudness of a sound reaching each ear

The basic auditory pathway:Cochlea several brainstem structures medial geniculate nucleus
(part of the thalamus) primary auditory cortex more auditory cortical areas

Does sound from the right ear reach the right hemisphere, the left hemisphere, or both?

● Sound from the right ear primarily reaches the left hemisphere of the brain, and the sound
from the left ear reaches the right hemisphere.
○ information from one side of the body (in this case, the right ear) is processed
primarily by the opposite hemisphere of the brain (in this case, the left
hemisphere)

Does experience with different sounds affect hearing ability and the auditory brain?
● Yes
What are the three basic varieties of hearing loss: Is an older adult more likely to have
trouble hearing higher pitched sounds or lower pitched sounds?
Older adults are progressively losing their hearing it gets worse with age, mostly due to loud
noises in younger years
1. Conductive hearing loss: damage to eardrum or ossicles
2. Sensorineural hearing loss: damage to the cochlea, hair cells, or auditory nerve
3. Congenital deafness (total): due to defect in some gene that's necessary for the
cochlea to function

Somatosensation, sensing body position and movement Why do we use the long word
"somatosensation" instead of just "touch"?
●

Where are the transducers for somatosensation located?

● Skin
● Joints
● Muscles

What does the spinal cord contribute to the sensation of pain?

● the sensory receptors/ information travel from the sensory transducers up through the
spinal cord to the brain

Sensing body position and movement: What are the three sources of information?
1. Somatosensory Feedback: Somatosensory feedback refers to sensory information derived
from receptors located in the skin, muscles, tendons, joints, and other tissues throughout
the body.
2. Vestibular System: The vestibular system, located within the inner ear, contributes to the
sense of balance, spatial orientation, and movement coordination
3. Visual Input: Visual input from the eyes provides important information about the body's
position and movement relative to external landmarks and environmental cues.

What causes activity in the vestibular system? Where are the transducers located?
● changes in head position, and movement.
○ The vestibular system detects mechanical stimuli related to motion of the head
and provides sensory feedback about changes in orientation, balance, and spatial
orientation.

Taste and Smell

What do these two senses have in common?

● Create flavor when mixed
● Chemical senses
● Both have Sensory receptors in nasal cavity, tongue, and back of the mouth
○ Respectores bind molecules dissolved in the air or saliva
Where are the transducers for taste located?
● Taste buds

How many kinds of taste receptors are there? What are they called?
1. Sweet
2. Sour
3. Salty
4. Umami
5. Bitter

What parts of the brain does smell information reach?

● olfactory part of the brain

How is flavor different from taste?

● broader sensory experience involving multiple sensory modalities, including taste, smell,
texture, temperature, and even visual and auditory cues.

Consciousness

How do we know that anyone else is conscious?

● You dont its subjective

The four basic properties of consciousness

1. Intentionality: conscious of something
a. Ur own words/emotions
2. Unity: input from diff senses
a. Internal thoughts, integrates information, and experiences
3. Selectivity: at any moment, a persons aware of only fraction of what they would be
aware of
a. Inattentional blindness
4. Transience: contents of awareness to change from moment to moment

Understand how the dichotic listening method is used to study auditory attention

Definition of circadian rhythm

● Two diff auditory signals/sounds played at the same time in two diff ears
○ Shadowning: respond what's played to the left or right ear
○ Target detection: press button when u hear a animal sound in the left or right
ear
What are the functions of sleep?
● Physical restoration: repairing wear and tear to cells
● Reinforcing memories that were formed during the day

Do all animals need the same amount of sleep?

● No

Stages of sleep, How many are there? 3 stages of sleep

● 1-2: light sleep

○ Easy to wake up
● 3-4: “slow waves”
○ Hard to wake up
● REM sleep:
○ Deep sleep
○ Rapid eye movement, dreaming, muscles are actively inhibited

How can we tell what sleep stages someone is in?

● Electroencephalography (EEG): EEG measures electrical activity in the brain and is used
to monitor brain wave patterns during sleep
● Electrooculography (EOG): EOG measures eye movements during sleep and is used to
identify REM sleep

REM sleep: What do the letters R-E-M stand for?

● Rapid Eye Movement

How is mental activity during REM sleep different than mental activity:
● vivid dreaming, memory consolidation, emotional processing, and unique patterns of
brain activation, which distinguish it from mental activity during wakefulness and other
sleep stages

What parts of the brain are especially active during REM sleep? Especially inactive?
● increased activity related to emotional processing, visual imagery, and sleep regulation,
while other regions show reduced activity associated with cognitive control, motor
function, and sensory processing

What is the activation-synthesis theory of dreams?

● Dreams represent suppressed wishes, transformed to hide their true content

Psychoactive drugs:
What makes a drug "psychoactive" versus not?
● Influence neurotransmission

Definitions of drug tolerance,psychological dependence,addiction Depressant

drugs: What do they have in common?
● Drug tolerance: larger does required to produce same effect over time
● Physiological dependence: desire or craving for the substance
● Addiction depressant drug: culturally defined as a “problem”

What are some stimulant drugs?

● Caffeine
● Cocaine
● Nicotine