Sensory Experience - CH 5

Taste Taste (GuStation) Research demonstrates that we have le grapings of taste: 2. salty 3. sour 4. bitter 5. umami - associated wi a taste for monasodium glutamate le. some research suggests we possess a taste for the fatty conient of food Taste Buds: grapings of taste roceptor cells wl hair-like extensions that protrude into tue central parc of the taste bud Lalife cycle or 10 days to 2 weeks transduction 1. taste molecules bind to receptors + cause anemical changes within tue sensory cell 2. these changes result in neural impulses being sent to tue brain Smell Smell (olfacation) olfactory receptor cells: contain small hair-like extensions which serve as tue sile for ador molecules to interact wi chemical receptors located on tuese extensions (located in a mucous membrane @ tue top of tue nose) Transauction: l. ador molecules bind to receptors 2. chemical changes cause signais to be sent to tue olfactory bulb (where tue olfacton, newes begin) 3. information is sent to the limbic system + primary difactory cortex pheromones: chemical messages sent by anover inalvidual many species respona to preromores sent by anover individual usually communicate formation about tue reproductive status of a potential mate. Touch There are many types of sensory receptors located in the skin, each attured to specific touch-related stimuli Meisher's corpuscles: respond to pressure * lower-frequency vibrations Pacinian Corpuscles: detect transient pressure + higher-frequency vibrations Merkels disks: respona to light pressure Ruffini corpuscles: detect Stretch corpuscle diagram Thermaception + Nociception As well as receptors located m tue skin, tuere are a number of free nene ondings that have sensany functions Thermaception: temperature perception Nociception: sensory signal indicating potential harm + maybe pan • this type of sensory iformation travels up the spinal cora directy to the brain, specifically the medulla, thalamus + somatosensary cortex Pain Perception pain perception is important Ic it motivales us to remove ourserves from the cause of injury Inflammator pain: signais some type of tissue damage Neurapatnic Pain: caused by damage to neurons of ater tue perpneral control vennis system congenital insensitivity to pain: a rare genetic disorder in wunich tue individual is born without tue ability to feel pain - can detect differences in temperature + pressure burcannot foel pain Landividuals are @ greater risk of injury + have shorter life expectancies Gestalt Principle Figue-Grand Relatonship the idea that we tend to segment ar vaual wond into figure i grand Figure the focus of tue visual field Ground: the backgrand •au perception can van depending on what we view as figure and what we view as grand Gestalt Principle of Proximit the idea that things are close to one anotver tend to be graped together Gestal Principle of Similanty the idea that things that are allke tend to be grouped togetver Gresial Principle of ContinuiN • the idea that we are more likely to perceive continuous, smootn flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines Gestalt Principle of casure closure suggests that me wuni perceive a complete object ratuer than sener of segments Perceptual Constancy sometimes our visual cues can lead us astray + result in Visual illusions (result from false + misleading depth cues) 2 main types of visual illusions: 1. Physical Illusions: cause of tue illusion is in tue behavior of the light before i reaches the eye causing ust see something that isn't physically there 2. perceptual Illusions: occur because stimulus contains misleading cues that gine nse to inaccurate / impossibe perceptions Pareidolia • the psychological phenomenon that caures some people to see or hear a vague or random image or sound as something significant