Exam 2 Study Guide
Disclaimer: This is intended
as a study aid. It is not a complete description of everything discussed
in class, nor an exhaustive list of information that might be tested on an exam.
This is not intended to be a substitute for class attendance.
****REVISED 4/27/2015****
LECTURE OUTLINES
Sensation
I. Properties of sensation
A. How many senses?
B. Receptor cells and transduction
1. Types of receptors
a. photoreceptors
b.
chemoreceptors
c.
mechanoreceptors
d. thermoreceptors
e.
nociceptors
C. Important properties of sensory systems
1. highly
selective
2. highly
adaptive
D. From sensation to perception
1. stage 1:
receptors sense part of the world
2. stage 2:
transduction of sensory information into neural impulses
3. stage 3:
interpretation of sensory information
4. stage 4:
conscious perception
II. Example of sensation: Vision
A. Physics of light
1. wave
length -- color
2. wave
amplitude -- brightness
B. Anatomy of eye
1. lens
2. retina
C. Anatomy of the retina
1. two
areas: fovea and periphery
2. type of photoreceptors
a. rods
located in periphery, insensitive to changes in wavelength,
highly sensitive to light of any brightness, not good at
seeing detail
b. cones
located in fovea, sensitive to changes in wavelength, less
sensitive to light, good at seeing detail
D. After photoreceptors transduce light ...
1. rods and
cones send signal to bipolar cells
2. bipolar
cells send messages to ganglion cells
3. the
axons of the ganglion cells comprise the optic nerve, which leaves the
eye and
travels to the brain
Perception
I. General observations about perception
A. perceptual systems often misperceive the world
B. perceptions are strongly influenced by context
C. perceptions are influenced by our prior beliefs about the
world
II. Object perception: Principles
of perceptual organization
Gestalt Psychologists -- "The whole (of a perception) is greater than the
sum
of its parts (the sensations)
A.Figure-ground discrimination
B. Grouping
1. proximity
2. similarity
3. closure
III. Object perception: Perceptual
constancies
A. size constancy
Consciousness
I. Sleep
A. Effects of reduced sleep
B. Tools for studying sleep and dreaming
1. electroencephalograph/electroencephalogram
C. Two aspects of brain waves
1. frequency
(in cycles/sec, or Hz)
2. amplitude
(in microvolts)
D. synchronous vs desynchronous
brain activity
E. Misconceptions about sleep
1. we sleep
so that our brains can rest
2. sleep is
a unitary state
3. waking
and sleeping are passive responses to the external world
F. Sleep-wake cycle
1. Awake states
a. awake and
alert (beta waves)
b. awake and
relaxed, eyes closed (alpha waves)
2. Sleep states
a. stage I
(theta waves)
b. stage II
(theta waves mixed with sleep spindles)
c. stage III
(theta and delta waves)
d. stage IV:
(delta waves)
e. REM sleep
1. rapid eye movements
2. paralysis of voluntary muscles
3. dreams
G. Sleep disorders
1. insomnia
2. narcolepsy
3. sleep
apnea
4. SIDS
5. REM-BD
H. Disruptions of circadian rhythms
II. Dreams
A. Content of dreams
B. Characteristics of dreams (REM and Non-REM)
C. Freud's Psychoanalytical theory of dreams
1. Manifest content
2. latent content
D. Hobson's
activation-synthesis model of dreams
1. reticular
formation of brainstem activates cortex, limbic system
2. frontal
lobe tries to interpret the random pattern of activity that results
3. explaining
characteristics of dreams
a. intense
emotions: limbic system is active
b. illogical
content: activation is random
c. amnesia:
mechanisms that lead to permanent memories don't
operate during REM sleep
Learning
I. Association as a means for learning
A. Pavlov and classical conditioning
1. Terms
a.
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
b.
unconditioned response (UCR)
c.
conditioned stimulus (CS)
d.
conditioned response (CR)
2. Rules of classical conditioning
a.
acquisition
b.
extinction (and spontaneous recovery)
c.
generalization
d.
discrimination
3. Applications of classical
conditioning
a.
bedwetting
b. treatment
for bad habits
c. treatment
for phobias
d. attitude
formation (advertising, politics)
e.
overcoming anticipatory nausea in chemotherapy
f. getting
coyotes to not eat sheep
B. F. Skinner and operant conditioning
1. Principals of operant
conditioning
a. major
concepts
1. reinforcement
a. positive
b. negative
2. punishment
2. Schedules of reinforcement
a.
continuous
b. partial
1. interval vs ratio
2. variable vs fixed
3. Applications of operant
conditioning
a. teaching
dogs for the handicapped
b. token
economy for hard-to-control kids
C. Long-term potentiation (LTP) as a neurobiological explanation for associative learning
Language
I. Ape language vs human language
A. Properties of ape language
1. noncompositional
2. two-level system
3. finite number of utterances
B. Properties of human language
1. compositional
2. three-level system
3. infinite number of utterances
II. Language development in children
A. Effects of “mt=other’s language” on earliest baby sounds
B. Babbling (5-12 months)
C. One-word stage (12-18 months)
D. Two-word stage (18-24 months)
E. Grammatical competence (2-4 years)
III. Efforts to teach “language” to other species
A. Chimps (Washoe etc)
B. Bonobos (Kanzi etc)
IV. Language and the brain
A. disorders of speech, meaning, and grammar, location in brain of typical damaged areas to produce these syndromes
Hints about what to study (Major
concepts): REVISED 4/27/2015
Sensation/perception –
Transduction & types of receptors; retina (photoreceptors and other types of neurons), optic nerve; thalamus; perceptual properties of light; color vision (cone types; Young-Helmholtz theory; opponent process theory); Gestalt psychologists; size/distance in perception; figure/ground; monocular & binocular cues to depth
Consciousness --
Circadian rhythms, sleep cycle (stages as described IN CLASS, not TEXT; brain waves; duration and changes of sleep cycle through the night; effectiveness of sleeping meds; role of suprachiasmatic nucleus; sleep disorders); dreaming
Learning ****Generally the most difficult questions**** --
Classical conditioning (including UCS/UCR, CS/CR, generalization, discrimination, extinction, spontaneous recovery; conditions for best learning; applications); operant conditioning (types of reinforcers; punishment; schedules of reinforcement; applications; reinforcement vs punishment)
Language --
language learning, animals vs humans, Washoe and Kanzi, aphasic syndromes following brain damage