PSYC 2390 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Retina, Cerebral Cortex, Parietal Lobe

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2390
• Professor: Lana Trick

Document Summary

Stimuli within body- produce internal pain/enable us to sense. Environmental stimulus- stimulus out there in the external. Principle of representation- everything a person perceives is. Sensory receptors- cells specialized to respond to environmental: each sensory systems receptors specialized to respond to energy a specific type of energy. Visual receptors transform light energy chemical energy because they contain light-sensitive chemical visual pigment which responds to light. Transduction- transformation of one form of energy to another: transduction by visual pigments crucial for perception- without info about representation, perception would not occur. Neurons (1) transmits signals from the receptors, through retina, Electrical signals from each sense arrive at primary receiving area for that sense in cerebral cortex: vision- occipital lobe, hearing temporal lobe, skin senses (touch/temperature/pain)- parietal lobe, frontal lobe- receives signals from all senses. Plays important role in perceptions that involve coordination of info received through 2+ senses. Cerebral cortex- 2mm thick, contains machinery for creating perceptions, language, memory and thinking.