PSYC 106 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Inferior Temporal Gyrus, Parahippocampal Gyrus, Posterior Parietal Cortex
Document Summary
Sensory receptors- receive info from environment; neurons that detect physical events. Sensory transduction- process by which sensory stimuli are transduced into slow, graded receptor potentials: receptor potential- slow, graded electrical potential produced by a receptor cell in response to a physical stimulus. About 20% of cortex is dedicated to visual processing. 3 properties of color: hue- determined by wavelength, brightness- intensity, saturation- purity. Retina and optic nerve are part of cns. Photopigments found on membranes of rods and cones; they consist of opsin protein and retinal lipid: rhodopsin- opsin and retinal. When rhodopsin exposed to light, the opsin becomes bleached and splits from retinal, causing hyperpolarization of photoreceptor"s membrane: release less glutamate. This hyperpolarization causes depolarization in bipolar cells: release more glutamate. Added glutamate activates ganglion cells, causing them to send an action potential: increased firing in response to light (also have ones that decrease firing in response to light)
