PSY module 1 and 2 Flashcards

Question

Pons

Answer 1

Connects brain stem and cerebellum Sleep and awake cycles - helps to see if someone is in a coma Gets info from visual areas Coordinates eyes with body movements, if not coordinated, you get dizzy. If eyes are moving and you can’t keep up with what you see, get dizzy

Answer 2

Damaged = poor muscle tone coordination of movements, balance. Appear drunk Motor pathways and sensory

Answer 3

Motor disorder - cant balance, cant move hands properly, permanent, damage of cerebellum. Most cases of this happened utero and during birth

Answer 4

Has important structures linked to visual structures Below cerebral cortex, top of brain stem Controls reflexes Has voluntary behaviors

Answer 5

Thalamus Sensory integration hub Gets all info from sensory organs except smell Regulates sleeping. Basal ganglia Around thalamus Dopamnergic neurons. Death of these neurons = parkinson’s disease Limbic system Amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus Involved in memory, coordination, emotional processing, learning, motivation

Answer 6

Maintains homeostasis Links endocrine system to brain, basic drives like hunger, thirst and sleep Reward centre

Answer 7

Processes emotions like threats from environment, anxiety and fear Tends to be more active in people with anxiety Decrease in size of amygdala with mindful therapy Damage/removal = no aggression Stimulation = aggressive, fear

Answer 8

Cerebral cortex and basal nuclei All advanced humans behaviors like perception, memory, reasoning, predicting Two hemispheres connected by corpus callosum Cerebral cortex Frontal = higher level of thinking like consequences, personality, focus, problem solving, last to develop, reason why we have laws for what younger people can do Parietal = visual processing and somatosensory, which allows what info comes from sensory nerves Temporal = auditory processing and memory Occipital = primary visual cortex Crossover, whatever happens on right side of body is processed in left side of brain Motor cortex, back of frontal lobe Areas adjacent in body are adjacent in motor cortex. Lots of control of lips and tongue so the space for them in the cortex is bigger than other things like toes and ankle Somatosensory cortex Teeth are only in somatosensory because we can’t move them

Answer 9

Broca’s aphasia In broca’s area Hard to produce words Wernicke’s aphasia In wernicke’s area Toss salad of words, doesn’t make sense Affects everything like writing Seems like understanding is impaired In temporal lobe, usually left

Answer 10

Had rod in his brain to face Wasn’t affected except for emotional thinking and personality Lived for another 12 years Nothing physically affected Damage to frontal lobe

Answer 11

Damage to sensory area Can’t identify familiar objects Not that they lost memory of what it is, but they just cannot recognize something. For example they can’t recognize a key, but if you shake it or they feel it, they will recognize that it’s a key. This is only with sight Prosapagnosia - face blindness, can’t recognize people

Answer 12

Degeneration of ACh in hippocampus (memory) and frontal cortex Leads to death Dying tissue

Answer 13

Damage to cortex Neglect (don’t notice) part of their surroundings Neglect to contralesional side (left side) You can direct attention to the left side and then they will see it For example, people with it may only put their earrings on right side, shave one side

Answer 14

Sympathetic: Prepares body for action, stress. Parasympathetic: calms the body and helps it recover energy after stress

Answer 15

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Chronic stress involves a whole triangle connecting the brain and endocrine system. Activated in times of stress. experiencing chronic stress, neurons in the hypothalamus can become active more often. This drives the pituitary to tell the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol (stress hormone). If stress is temporary, this hormone is a good thing. It drives energy and blood flow to muscles and increases alertness. In the chronic stress state, this hormone is released in amounts greater than we need to avoid danger. We end up feeling fatigued, storing more fat, and actually becoming less alert over time. This also means that we are affecting the reticular activating system

Answer 16

Includes circuits in the cortex and midbrain. Helps to regulate our endocrine systems and emotions, emotional memory. Contains prefrontal cortex, olfactory (smell) cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, hypothalamus. Involved in memory, coordination, emotional processing, learning, motivation

Answer 17

Anterior hypothalamus = homosexuality with men. Nucleus is 2-3x larger in straight men than straight women and homosexual men Correlational work There are neurological differences between sexuality, are they caused by behaviour? Prenatally determined - not the direct cause. This is a biological marker for homosexual men

Answer 18

Sensory cortex of parietal lobe receives input from the opposite side of body. This is because nerves that carry sensations from the body, and motor commands from the brain to the body, cross at the level of the brainstem/=. This allows information carried from sensory receptors in the skin, muscles, and joints to integrate with other areas of the brain via brainstem and thalamus. Also helps coordinate both sides of body.

Answer 19

Hypothalamus Maintains homeostasis Links endocrine system to brain, basic drives like hunger, thirst and sleep Reward centre Amygdala Processes emotions like threats from environment, anxiety and fear Tends to be more active in people with anxiety Decrease in size of amygdala with mindful therapy Damage/removal = no aggression Stimulation = aggressive, fear Hippocampus Loop of neurons that are activated when forming memories. Synapses strengthen, making more receptors and neurotransmitters. Repeatedly activating its neurons is necessary for cataloging of new experiences.

Answer 20

Frontal lobe- decision making and movement. Prefrontal cortex receives input across cerebral cortex and helps decide. Parietal lobe- at the back, association, integrates sensory info from across the brain. Houses primary sensory processing area for touch but receives info about what we are seeing Temporal lobe- sides, forming memories and processing sound. Houses primary auditory cortex, which is primary sensory processing area for hearing Occipital lobe- back, house the visual cortex, which is primary sensory processing area for visual information, or light.

Answer 21

Somatosensory cortex: Body parts with lots of representation (most sensitive): Lips, Face and tongue, Fingertips and hands , Genital region Motor cortex: Controls voluntary muscle movements. Body parts with lots of representation (fine motor control): Hands and fingers, Face, lips, and tongue (for speech and facial expressions)

Answer 22

Have trouble seeing an object in their left visual field and naming it. This info is stuck in the right hemisphere. Corpus callosum is severed

Answer 23

Neuron can receive inputs from both Excitatory neurotransmitters- depolarize postsynaptic cell. Increase the probability of the neuron becoming electrically active. Inhibitory neurotransmitters- hyperpolarize postsynaptic cell. Decrease the probability that the neuron is activated For example, GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, binds with its receptor to open a chloride (Cl–) channel. This makes the cell negative, which as we know means the cell is more likely to be inactivated (inhibited). Acetylcholine (Ach) is normally an excitatory neurotransmitter. When Ach binds to its appropriate receptor, a sodium (Na+) channel is opened, making the cell more positive (more excited).

Answer 24

Free nerve endings Meissner’s corpuscles Merkel discs (Merkel cells) Pacinian corpuscles Ruffini endings (Ruffini corpuscles) Krause end bulbs

Answer 25

Babies who die from SIDS had lower serotonin. In medulla oblongata. Causes low oxygen and high carbon dioxide, especially when sleeping face down. serotonin helps with: Breathing, Heart rate, Blood pressure, Arousal from sleep (waking up if oxygen levels drop) in SIDS: The serotonin levels in parts of the medulla oblongata are lower than normal. Some babies also have fewer serotonin receptors or abnormal receptor function. Enzymes involved in making serotonin may also be less active.

Answer 26

SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) Increase level of 5HT in brain by preventing reuptake Examples: Prozac, Celexa, Cipralex, Zoloft MAOIs (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors) Increase level of 5HT in brain by inhibiting activity of MAO so that 5HT can’t be broken down Examples: Nardil, Emsam, Parnate

Answer 27

Agonists enhance action of neurotransmitters. bind to receptors to stimulate them. Parkingson’s disease has antagonist antagonist drugs for dopamine. They prevent reuptake of neurotransmitters so the synapse is flooded Antagonists impede actions of neurotransmitters. Binds to receptors and blocks them. For example, schizophrenia has dopamine. It blocks transmitters at muscle receptors, like how ACh is blocked

Answer 28

PNS- nerves going to and from CNS. split between motor and sensory nerves CNS- Brain and spinal cord Motor nerves- from CNS to muscles. Does what CNS says to muscles. Split between autonomic and somatic Sensory nerves- info from body to CNS. Alerts CNS what happened. Autonomic- movements that are not controlled by you. Split into sympathetic and parasympathetic Somatic- voluntary movement of skeletal muscles Sympathetic- fight or flight Parasympathetic- rest and digest

Answer 29

“Moves lightly” Responds to: Light touch and texture Sensations produced: Gentle touch, flutter Found in hairless (glabrous) skin like fingertips, lips, and eyelids

Answer 30

“Pancake press” Responds to: Deep pressure and vibration Sensations produced: Deep touch and vibration Found deep in the dermis and around joints, tendons, and ligaments

Answer 31

“Marks” Responds to: Steady pressure and texture Sensations produced: Continuous touch or pressure Found in fingertips and lips; help detect shapes and edges

Answer 32

“Cold Krause” Responds to: Cold and light pressure Sensations produced: Cold sensation Found in specialized areas like the lips, tongue, and genitals

Answer 33

Reflexes are automatic, fast responses to specific stimuli — no conscious thought needed. They protect the body from harm (e.g., pulling your hand away from something hot). The signal travels through a reflex arc: - Receptor detects a stimulus (e.g., heat, pain). - Sensory neuron carries the signal to the spinal cord. - Interneuron in the spinal cord processes the signal. - Motor neuron carries the response to a muscle or gland. - Effector (muscle/gland) produces the action (e.g., muscle contracts). The brain is informed afterward, but it doesn’t control the reflex — this makes it very fast.

Answer 34

responds to: Temperature (heat, cold) and pain sensations produced: Pain (nociception) and temperature Found all over the skin, especially near the surface; simplest receptor type

Answer 35

Dendrites Branch-like extensions that receive signals from other neurons or sensory receptors and carry them toward the cell body. Cell body (Soma) Contains the nucleus and organelles; processes incoming signals and maintains cell health. Nucleus Located in the cell body; contains DNA and controls cell activities. Axon A long, thin fiber that carries electrical impulses away from the cell body toward other neurons, muscles, or glands. Myelin sheath Fatty layer that insulates the axon and speeds up the electrical impulse. (Formed by Schwann cells in the PNS, and oligodendrocytes in the CNS.) if breaks down: - The nerve impulse slows down or gets blocked completely. - The neuron can misfire or fail to communicate properly. - Over time, the axon itself may degenerate, causing permanent damage. - Multiple sclerosis is a disease where the immune system attacks the myelin sheath in the central nervous system (CNS). This leads to scar tissue (“sclerosis”) and slowed or lost nerve signaling, producing symptoms that come and go or gradually worsen. Nodes of Ranvier Gaps in the myelin sheath where the signal jumps from node to node — this speeds conduction (called saltatory conduction). Axon terminals (Synaptic terminals) Branches at the end of the axon that release neurotransmitters into the synapse. Synapse The tiny gap between neurons where chemical signals (neurotransmitters) pass from one neuron to the next.

Answer 36

“Rough stretch” Responds to: Skin stretch and sustained pressure Sensations produced: Stretch, warmth, and continuous pressure Found in deeper layers of the skin and in joints

Answer 37

Acetylcholine (ACh) Muscle movement, learning, memory Found at neuromuscular junctions; too little → paralysis, too much → muscle spasms; linked to Alzheimer’s when low in brain. Dopamine Pleasure, motivation, movement, reward Too much → schizophrenia; too little → Parkinson’s disease. Serotonin Mood, sleep, appetite Low levels linked to depression and anxiety; many antidepressants increase serotonin. Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline) Alertness, arousal, “fight-or-flight” response Increases heart rate and energy; low levels → depression; high levels → anxiety. GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) Main inhibitory neurotransmitter; calms activity in the brain Helps prevent overstimulation; low levels → seizures, anxiety, or insomnia. Glutamate Main excitatory neurotransmitter; learning and memory Too much → neuronal damage (e.g., stroke, seizures). Endorphins Natural painkillers, pleasure Released during exercise, excitement, laughter, or pain relief; mimic effects of morphine/opioids.

Answer 38

1400 grams, 3 pounds

Answer 39

Resting Potential The neuron is at rest (≈ –70 mV). Inside is negative, outside is positive. Maintained by the sodium–potassium pump (Na⁺ out, K⁺ in). Depolarization A stimulus causes Na⁺ channels to open. Na⁺ rushes into the neuron → inside becomes positive. Repolarization Na⁺ channels close, K⁺ channels open. K⁺ flows out, restoring the negative charge inside. Hyperpolarization Too much K⁺ leaves → inside becomes more negative than resting potential. Then ion balance is gradually restored. Return to Resting Potential The Na⁺/K⁺ pump resets ion positions. The neuron is ready for another impulse.

Answer 40

Lesion technique Chemical, cold, electrical pulse to cause damage to brain. Can happen in basic behaviours or complex ones (from eating to spatial memory) Tan’s brain was a normal guy until he had an event where he lost the ability to speak. He can only say tan. Works with doctor that founded that broc.. Area, where it is important for speech. It’s on the left of the brain TMS Transcranial magnetic stimulation - stimulates things with a big magnet Temporary lesion EEG Electroencephalogram Electrodes glued to scalp to look at patterns of activity in brain ERP allows to localize for time. What happens to brain right after loud music or quick math problems? Can identify how quickly brain knows when something happened PET scan Positron Emission Tomography Uses glucose to provide energy and see locations of activity. Wherever there is activity takes in glucose Can identify timeline of activity and timelines of brain More hot spots in a normal brain while in alzheimers, doesn’t have a lot of hotspots, and more black spots (no activity) MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging Magnets aligns atoms in brain. Slices in brain Can see shapes and location of structure Reads atomic alignment Sees structures but not functions fMRI Sees hotspots and structure Can sense what people are thinking, individual basis

Answer 41

Sensation- detection and representation of information in sensory receptors Perception- organization and interpretation of that information in the brain

Answer 42

Bottom-up Processing - Starts with the senses (what you actually see, hear, feel, etc.). - The brain builds a perception from raw sensory input — no prior knowledge needed. - It’s data-driven. Example: You see a shape with four equal sides → you process it → realize it’s a square. You taste something new → your brain figures out what it might be based on the flavor. - “I start from the bottom — the senses — and build up to understanding.” Top-down Processing - Starts with the brain — your expectations, knowledge, and experiences shape what you perceive. - You interpret sensory information based on context or prior knowledge. - t’s concept-driven. - Example: You can read “Th3 c@t” as “The cat” because your brain uses context. You see a blurry object in the dark and assume it’s your coat, not a ghost. - “I start from the top — the brain — and work down to interpret what I sense.”

Answer 43

Weak stimulus → below threshold → no firing Strong enough stimulus → reaches threshold → full action potential Very strong stimulus → still same-size action potential, but fires more frequently

Answer 44

These are rules or habits your brain uses to group visual elements and perceive form and structure quickly and efficiently. Proximity Things close together are seen as belonging together. Similarity Things that look alike (color, shape, size) are grouped together. A row of red dots among blue dots looks like a pattern. Continuity We prefer smooth, continuous patterns over abrupt changes. We see a curving line rather than a series of separate points. Closure We fill in gaps to see a complete, whole object. We see a full circle even if part of it is missing. Figure-ground We separate the main object (figure) from the background (ground). The “faces/vase” illusion — you see either two faces or a vase.

Answer 45

when a person fails to notice a major change in a visual scene — even though it’s right in front of them. - It shows that we don’t notice everything we see; we only process what we pay attention to. We don’t store every detail of what we see — our brains keep only what seems important. When a disruption happens (like a blink, camera cut, or eye movement), our visual system assumes the world stays the same. If attention isn’t focused on the changing feature, the brain fails to detect the difference.

Answer 46

We see electromagnetic energy, specifically the visible light spectrum — a tiny part of the full electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light = wavelengths roughly between 400 nm (violet) and 700 nm (red). It travels as waves and can be described by wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. Amplitude (height of wave) Brightness / Intensity Taller waves = brighter light; shorter waves = dimmer light. Wavelength (distance between peaks) Colour (Hue) Different wavelengths correspond to different colors: Short wavelength = blue/violet Medium = green Long = red Purity (mixture of wavelengths) Saturation Pure light (one wavelength) = vivid color; mixed wavelengths = paler or washed-out color.

Answer 47

Binocular Cues 1. Retinal disparity - Each eye sees the world from a slightly different angle; the brain compares the two images to judge distance. Hold your finger in front of your face and close one eye, then the other — it seems to “move.” The greater the disparity, the closer the object. 2. Convergence - The brain senses how much the eyes turn inward when focusing on something close. More inward = closer object. Try focusing on your nose — your eyes “cross.” Monocular Cues 1. Relative size If two objects are the same size, the smaller image on the retina is seen as farther away. A person far away looks smaller than one up close. 2. Interposition (Overlap) One object blocking another is perceived as closer. A tree in front of a house is seen as nearer than the house. 3. Relative clarity (Aerial perspective) Distant objects appear hazy or blurry because of particles in the air. Mountains in the distance look faded or bluish. 4. Texture gradient Textures look coarser up close and smoother farther away. You can see the roughness of nearby grass but not far-off grass. 5. Linear perspective Parallel lines appear to converge in the distance. Railroad tracks seem to meet at the horizon. 6. Relative height Objects higher in the visual field are usually seen as farther away. A ship higher on the horizon looks farther out at sea. 7. Motion parallax When you move, nearby objects appear to move quickly in the opposite direction, while distant ones move slowly. When you’re in a car, roadside trees zoom by but distant hills barely move. 8. Light and shadow (Shading) Light and shadow create depth and contour; brighter parts appear closer. A shaded circle can look like a ball or a hole depending on light direction.

Answer 48

Cornea Clear, curved outer layer that bends (refracts) light to help focus it onto the retina. Like the outer lens of a camera. Aqueous humor Clear fluid between the cornea and lens; helps nourish the eye and maintain pressure. Keeps the front of the eye healthy and inflated. Pupil The opening in the center of the iris that lets light enter the eye. Like the aperture of a camera. Iris The colored part of the eye; a ring of muscle that controls pupil size (amount of light entering). In bright light → pupil contracts; in dim light → pupil dilates. Lens Transparent, flexible structure that changes shape to focus light onto the retina (accommodation). Focuses like a camera lens — thick for near, thin for far. Vitreous humor Clear, jelly-like substance filling the main chamber of the eye; maintains shape and allows light to pass through. Keeps the eyeball round. Retina Inner layer at the back of the eye that contains photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) which convert light into neural signals. Like the film or image sensor in a camera. Rods Specialized for low light (night) vision and peripheral vision; detect black, white, and gray. Work best in dim light. Cones Detect color and fine detail; work best in bright light. Red, green, and blue cones allow color vision. Fovea (fovea centralis) Small area in the retina with the highest concentration of cones; point of sharpest vision. Where you focus when reading or looking directly at something. Optic nerve Carries visual information from the retina to the brain’s occipital lobe. Like a data cable to your brain. Blind spot (optic disc) Area where the optic nerve leaves the eye — no rods or cones here, so it can’t detect light. You don’t notice it because your brain “fills in” the gap Sclera The white, tough outer covering of the eyeball that protects and gives shape. Like the eye’s protective shell. Choroid Layer between retina and sclera containing blood vessels that nourish the retina. Supplies oxygen and nutrients.

Answer 49

happens when the cone cells in the retina — the photoreceptors that detect color — are missing, damaged, or don’t work properly. Because of this, the brain doesn’t receive normal color information, so certain colors look similar or are hard to distinguish. The retina has three types of cone cells: Red-sensitive cones (long wavelength) Green-sensitive cones (medium wavelength) Blue-sensitive cones (short wavelength) When all three work together, the brain can mix their signals to perceive the full range of colors (called trichromatic vision). If one type of cone doesn’t function correctly: The person loses the ability to distinguish certain colors. Red-green (most common) Problem with red or green cones Can’t easily tell reds from greens; often confuse them with browns or greys. Blue-yellow (rarer) Problem with blue cones Trouble distinguishing blues from greens or yellows from violets. Total color blindness (achromatopsia) No functioning cones See only shades of grey; extremely rare.

Answer 50

Trichromatic Theory (Young–Helmholtz Theory) Color vision results from the activity of three types of cones in the retina — each sensitive to a different range of wavelengths. S-cones sensitive to Blue light M-cones sensitive to Green light L-cones sensitive to Red light Different colors are seen by combining stimulation from these three cone types in varying ratios. Red + Green = Yellow. All three = White light Opponent-Process Theory (Hering’s Theory) The brain interprets color in terms of opposing pairs of color receptors: Red vs. Green, Blue vs. Yellow, Black vs. White (light vs. dark) When one color in a pair is activated, the other is inhibited. This explains afterimages — stare at red, then look away → you see green (its opponent). Explains: Why we don’t see “reddish-green” or “bluish-yellow” — they’re opposites. How color processing occurs after the retina, in the optic nerve and brain

Answer 51

Cornea Pupil Lens Retina Photoreceptors - Rods detect dim light (black & white); cones detect color and fine detail. Bipolar Cells - Receive signals from rods and cones and pass them on to ganglion cells. Ganglion Cells - Their axons form the optic nerve — the pathway out of the eye. Optic Nerve Optic Chiasm - The point where fibers from the inner (nasal) half of each retina cross to the opposite side of the brain. This ensures that visual information from the right visual field goes to the left hemisphere, and vice versa. Optic Tract - Continue from the optic chiasm to the brain — each tract carries information from one visual field. Thalamus (LGN) - A relay center that organizes and sends visual information to the visual cortex. Optic Radiations - Nerve pathways carrying signals from the LGN to the visual cortex. Visual Cortex - The part of the brain that processes and interprets visual information — shapes, colors, motion, and depth are recognized here.

Answer 52

Brain imaging (fMRI) Fusiform Face Area (FFA) activates for faces Brain damage studies Prosopagnosia = loss of face recognition only Behavioral evidence Holistic & upright face processing (Thatcher effect) Developmental evidence Newborns prefer faces EEG evidence N170 wave responds strongly to faces

Answer 53

We hear mechanical energy in the form of sound waves. Sound is caused by vibrations of air molecules, which create pressure waves. These waves travel through air (or another medium) and reach the ear, where they are converted into electrical signals for the brain. Amplitude → Loudness Frequency → Pitch Waveform → Timbre / quality

Answer 54

Pinna (Auricle) The visible outer ear that collects sound waves and funnels them into the ear canal; also helps localize sound. External Auditory Canal (Ear Canal) Conducts sound waves from the pinna to the tympanic membrane (eardrum); amplifies some frequencies. Tympanic Membrane (Eardrum) Vibrates in response to sound waves; converts air pressure waves into mechanical vibrations. Ossicles (Middle Ear Bones: Malleus, Incus, Stapes) Smallest bones in the body; amplify vibrations from the eardrum and transmit them to the oval window of the inner ear. Oval Window Membrane that transmits vibrations from the stapes into the fluid-filled cochlea. Cochlea (Inner Ear) Spiral-shaped, fluid-filled structure that converts mechanical vibrations into neural signals. Basilar Membrane Runs inside the cochlea; vibrates at different places depending on frequency (tonotopic organization). Hair Cells (Organ of Corti) Sensory receptors in the cochlea; mechanically bend in response to vibrations, opening ion channels and generating action potentials in auditory nerve fibers. Tectorial Membrane Sits above hair cells; helps bend hair cells when basilar membrane vibrates. Auditory Nerve (Cochlear Nerve, part of Cranial Nerve VIII) Carries electrical impulses from hair cells to the brainstem. Cochlear Nucleus (Brainstem) First relay in the brain; processes basic features of sound. Superior Olivary Complex Helps with sound localization by comparing timing and intensity between ears. Inferior Colliculus (Midbrain) Integrates auditory information; involved in reflexive responses to sound. Medial Geniculate Nucleus (MGN, Thalamus) Relays processed auditory information to the auditory cortex. Auditory Cortex (Temporal Lobe, Superior Temporal Gyrus) Conscious perception of sound, including pitch, loudness, timbre, and patterns; also involved in speech and music processing.

Answer 55

Binaural (both ears) Used to locate sounds in the horizontal plane (left–right direction). Interaural Time Difference (ITD) Left-right (low freq.): Time delay between ears Interaural Level Difference (ILD) Left-right (high freq.): Loudness difference between ears Monaural Cues (using one ear) Used to locate sounds in the vertical plane (up–down) and distance. Pinna Cues (Spectral Cues) The shape of your outer ear (pinna) distorts sound frequencies differently depending on whether the sound is above, below, or behind you. The brain learns these patterns over time. Reverberation (Echo) The amount of echo or reflected sound helps estimate distance — closer sounds have less echo, distant sounds have more. Intensity and Frequency Filtering Distant sounds are usually softer and lower-pitched because air absorbs high frequencies over distance.

Answer 56

Conductive hearing loss → problems with outer/middle ear, sound can’t reach cochlea. Sensorineural hearing loss → problems with inner ear hair cells or auditory nerve, sound reaches brain but signals are degraded. Central hearing problems → ear works, but brain can’t process the sound properly.

Answer 57

Hearing aids pick up sound, convert it to electrical signals, amplify and process it, then deliver it to the ear — helping the brain receive signals that it would otherwise miss due to damaged hair cells or auditory nerve deficits. Compensates for hair cell loss in the cochlea (sensorineural hearing loss).

Answer 58

Taste buds Small sensory organs located mostly on the tongue, but also in the soft palate, throat, and epiglottis. Each taste bud contains 50–100 taste receptor cells. Taste receptor cells Specialized cells in taste buds that detect chemicals in food and convert them into neural signals. Each receptor responds to specific taste modalities. Microvilli (taste hairs) Tiny projections on taste receptor cells that increase surface area and contact food molecules dissolved in saliva. Saliva Dissolves food molecules so they can interact with taste receptors. Cranial nerves Carry signals from taste buds to the brain

Answer 59

Taste is important for survival, nutrition, and pleasure, and our experience of taste is influenced by smell, texture, temperature, appearance, psychology, genetics, and saliva

Answer 60

Odor molecules → dissolve in mucus → bind to cilia on receptor neurons in the olfactory epithelium → signals sent to olfactory bulb → processed and relayed via olfactory tract → interpreted in olfactory cortex and connected areas of the brain.

Answer 61

Our experience of smell depends on the odor itself, our biology, our attention and emotions, and environmental factors. Smell is both sensory and cognitive, which is why the same scent can feel very different to different people or in different contexts.

PSY module 1 and 2 Flashcards

(85 cards)