PSYC 271 Lecture Notes - Olfactory Mucosa, Multisensory Integration, Professional Agrologist
Document Summary
Sensation is the simple process of detecting the presence of a stimulus. Perception is the complex process of integrating, recognizing and interpreting complex patterns of sensations: ex. Receives most of its input directly from the thalamic relay nuclei of that system: secondary sensory cortex. Comprises the areas of the sensory cortex that receive most of their input from the primary sensory cortex of that system or from other areas of the secondary sensory cortex of the same system: association cortex. Receives input from more than one sensory system. Sensory systems are characterized by a parallel, functionally segregated and hierarchical organization. Parallel: information flows between different structures simultaneously along multiple pathways. There seems to be 2 kinds of parallel analysis, one that is capable of influencing our behaviour without our conscious awareness and one that influences our behaviour by engaging our conscious awareness. Functionally segregated: different parts of various structures specialize in different kinds of analysis.