NPSY 11b Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Sensory Cortex, Mechanoreceptor, Brainstem

• School: Brandeis University
• Department: Neuroscience and Psychology
• Course: NPSY 11b
• Professor: Katz Don

Document Summary

Balance = the reason you stay upright. Works intrinsically with vision to provide image stabilization. The vestibulo-ocular reflex (vor) = links head movement with eye muscles (in opposite direction) Next to the cochlea, right near your ears. Works in similar ways to the auditory system. Made up of three tubular semicircular canals = one in each of the cardinal orientations. Enclosed sac (cochlea has an oval window pumping sound in) Your sensory systems are not designed to report what is really out there. Neural responses change with experience changeability. Largely embedded in your skin: composed of many mechanoreceptors that when you push on them, trap doors open and ions come in, these receptors vary in terms of what they respond to. Respond in a punctate fashion briefly report the fact that something has just touched you. Respond slower, stay responsive, respond how long you have been touched.