Biological Psychology

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Define perception (Whilst defining sensation within)
the organisation and interpretation of neural signals (which have been converted from the physical energy received by sensory organs from environmental stimuli) by the brain in order to understand the environment + respond appropriately
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Give an example of the process of sensation
light waves focused onto retina, causing photopigments in photoreceptors to split apart- releasing energy that causes the firing of an action potential. Neural signal passes to bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic nerve, CNS
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Define synesthesia
the production of a sensation relating to one of the senses by stimulation of another sense (e.g. a sense of smell in response to a certain visual stimuli)
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Give an example of how synesthesia indicates specialisation of visual areas
Hubbard et al, 2005: v4 colour area in syntesthetes 2)
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What is this supported by?
McKeefrey + Zeki, 1997: fMRI of chromatic vs achromatic stimuli
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Define theory of mind
the processing involved in 'working out' what others are thinking. Can include basic processes like the perception of emotion or eye gaze direction of others, or higher-level processing like predicting the thoughts underlying the behaviour of others
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Define hemispherical specialisation
the idea that the left and right hemispheres control distinct neurological functions
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What is generally a) on the left b) on the right?
a) language, local information b) tone, global information
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What is a split brain patient?
people who have had their corpus callosum (the main band of nerve fibres that connects the two hemispheres) severed, meaning that their two hemispheres can not communicate as effectively as before.
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Why do they provide a good platform for studying hemispheric specialisation?
Because the function of each hemisphere by presenting stimuli to singular visual fields or hands
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Explain where primary sensory cortices receive information from
Primary visual, sensory and motor cortices of each hemisphere predominantly send/receive information to/from the opposite side of space/body i.e. the right hemisphere coordinates information and actions on the left side of the body, and visa versa.
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`why does right ear have lingusitic superiority?
auditory projections from the cochlear nucleus in the right ear to the primary auditory cortex in the opposite side of the brain (left hemisphere = specialised for language)
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Why does a false belief story involve ToM?
Because it involves recognising that others have a belief that is different to reality
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What is the distributed representation theory?
That the collective activation of different brain areas is involved in object recognition
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Define synesthesia
A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, such as the presentation of a number/letter evoking the sensation of a colour (most common type)
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Define blindsight
reported blindness in part of the visual field- and yet individuals still respond to stimuli presented here.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Give an example of the process of sensation

Back

light waves focused onto retina, causing photopigments in photoreceptors to split apart- releasing energy that causes the firing of an action potential. Neural signal passes to bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic nerve, CNS

Card 3

Front

Define synesthesia

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Give an example of how synesthesia indicates specialisation of visual areas

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is this supported by?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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