PSYC 107 1st Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 10 18 Lecture 10 November 23 What are some of the basic structures of sensing There are many structures that help with sensing Accessory structures help to modify the stimulus and help bring them into our bodies Those signals are then transduced through the conversion of energy to neural activity where the membrane potential is changed and causes action potentials Sensory nerves carry information to the brain as well and help with sensing What is sound Sound is a sense It has many physical characteristics including amplitude which is the intensity peak to trough height also means loudness Also there is wavelength which is the distance from one peak to the next As well as frequency which is the number of cycles waves per second Frequency and wavelength have an inverse relationship Some psychological characteristics of sound include loudness pitch and timbre where the same sound can sound different from different instruments What are some of the theories of coding Coding includes two theories and one effect The first theory is the place theory where information is given from the location of the hairs on a basilar membrane that move the most Second is the frequency matching theory the firing rate of the neurons matches the frequency of the sound waves The Fee effect is perception of motion even though it is not happening Lecture 11 November 25 What is the transduction process When light hits the eyes an action potential is released Then multiple rods and cones speak to a single bipolar cell this is called convergence Next interneurons which compare the input strength of nearby cell signals create a sharp contrast and reduce soft lines The closer something is to a specific color the more a certain color neuron will fire This is known as the opponent process theory where visual elements that are sensitive to color and are grouped into pairs ie blue yellow red green and black white What is Fechner s Law Fechner s law accounts for the idea that an inconstant amount matters less as the base gets bigger In other words adding 1 ounce of water to a cup is a huge difference but to a tub of water not so much This is a complex idea but our eyes are able to discern such specificities How do we process information Expectations drive what humans see and do The Bottoms up theory explains processing in that humans analyze basic features of objects and those features are combined to create experiences The top down theory states that we use knowledge experience to drive understanding in this theory expectation and motivation play big roles Lecture 12 November 27 What is attention Attention is essentially the directing and focusing of certain limited psychological resources to enhance perception performance and mental experience Something like texting in class makes it hard to pay attention Sometimes it is voluntary sometimes it is involuntary When it is voluntary it is purposeful when it is involuntary it is stimulus driven Explain consciousness levels and states Consciousness is the subjective experience of what the world is like It is ones own mental processes thoughts feelings and perception Different parts of the brain working on the same problems at the same time The Global workspace model states that consciousness arises through brain process happening at one point in time Levels describe how aware a person is States describe the nature of such an experience What are the five states of consciousness Wakefulness sleep drug induced meditation and hypnosis What are Circadian Rhythms Circadian rhythms are the regulation of biological cycles into regular patterns Over the course of about a day especially the sleep and wake cycle The Suprachiasmatic nucleus is essential in the circadian rhythm it is located in the hypothalamus and helps with light intelligence The Pineal Gland secretes melatonin which is a hormone that influences our sleep process Lecture 13 November 30 How does the sleeping process work Early in the night is the deepest sleep later in the night is when REM sleep occurs REM sleep is less clear and there are usually 4 6 cycles assuming a full nights sleep of 8 10 hours Beta waves theta waves sleep spindles slow wave and delta waves are all types of brain waves that are at work when a human is sleeping REM sleep is the crazy stuff in brain the crazy dreams When someone is in a state of deep sleep they have a low blood pressure a low heartbeat and slow breathing Muscle tone is near paralysis in this state Why do we sleep There are several reasons as to why sleep is important Evolution told us that it is safer to sleep in dark caves at night away from predators Recuperation occurs because our bodies tend to fix our selves when we are sleeping Memory is another reason because the brain consolidates day s events and fixes them in the brain Conservation of Energy is important since it is a lot of work to stay awake Finally for growth a lot of the growth hormone is active at night Why is sleep deprivation so dangerous Statistically Americans are sleep deprived about 2 3 hours per night We really need 8 9 most people get 6 7 It is very dangerous because 20 of auto accidents are due to driving while tired Sleep deprived driving is equivalent to a Blood alcohol Content of 05 so basically you are legally drunk if sleep deprived It also leads to obesity hypertension and memory impairment People live longer with more sleep and better sleeping habits What are some sleep disorders One sleep disorder is insomnia the inability to stay or fall asleep for desired time Sleep Apnea is another disorder that causes stops in breathing when sleeping for up to 10 seconds People are woken up by the lack of air sounds a little different from snoring it is extremely dangerous heart attacks and stroke linked to it Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder where the sleep process turns on at random times higher in stressful situations People with it often fall asleep when walking it is a very hard lifestyle Lecture 14 October 2 What is dreaming Dreaming is an essential part of the sleep process Everyone dreams REM sleep occurs when there is no deep critical thinking we accept any logic in such dreams and the prefrontal lobes are not fully active What are some dreaming theories One theory is the wish fulfillment theory discovered by Freud He said that dreams have a specific storyline that manifests latent content that we suppress in the social public world There is deeper