PSY312H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Visual Acuity, Postcentral Gyrus, Optic Nerve
Document Summary
Incoming sensory input human rely on, not so much other species. Last one touch-different receptors: pain, heat, pressure, vibration. Principles of sensation: to transduce incoming information into a neural signal. Registering all 5 modalities into a meaningful thought-complex process: transduction- physical energy to neural signal, absolute threshold-smallest strength of a stimulus that can be detected. Detect differences in color, detect things far away and sounds: difference threshold- jnd- smallest difference that can be detected. Primary somatosensory cortex- touch: sensory adaptation- use sensation to adapt to environment. Sense adults rely on and least well developed at infancy. Purpose: transform light energy into an electrochemical neural response. Represent characteristics of objects in our environment such as size, color, shape and location. Incoming input is electromagnetic radiation-energy that occurs in a spectrum, occurring in waves of energy. Gamma and x rays get in between molecules, inside human and gamma can disrupt organs (radiation poisoning) because gamma rays are very short.
