Psychology 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Parietal Lobe, Myelin, Thalamus

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: L. Fazakas-Dehoog

Document Summary

Stimuli: mechanical, thermal (hot/cold), chemical enregy applied to the surface of the skin. Cells in the nervous system are triggered by small areas on the body"s surface. Interior part is excitatory, area around that is inhibitory. Allows us to determine small detail within sense of touch. Stimuli at centre have opposite effect of stimuli falling outside of centre. Sensory homunculus: shows the relative size of the cortex devoted to various body parts. Shows the relative size of the cortex devoted to various body part. Positive thinking --> protects and distracts from pain. Spinal cord can block pain signals to the brain so they are not transmitted to higher centres in the brian. Causes pain relief during hypnosis --> gate control theory activated. Endorphins reduce perception of pain (produced during stress and anxiety) Pain in absence of physical causes (psychosomatic disorders) People think they have control over pain --> higher pain tolerance.