PSY 4130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Cochlea, Friedrich Bessel, Reticle
5 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 14: Early Experimental Psychology
Early Neurobiology: There is an abundance of evidence that demonstrates an enormous
difference between (a) what we think or perceive and (b) what actually exists.
leaving aside the uncertainties by modern physics, reality is more stable than we are.
At the end of the 18th century, two men were adjusting the clocks of a ship to be
synchroous, noting when a star crossed the reticle line int eh telescope. The astronomer
notices that his assistants setting were consistently later than his own and the assistant was
fired for not being more right.
Friedrich Bessel: first known study of reaction times. Up to this time, differences between
different participants were largely attributed to measure meant error or sloppyprocedure,
and so were ignored as unsystematic errr. With Bessels study, also fo a sudden it became
clear that not all humans performed identically.
Bell-Magendie Law
• at the end of the 1700s, there were two theories of nerve function
• decorates theory that nerves were fibres in hollow tubes that transmitted animal spirits
from receptors to the brain and to muscles from the brain
• Hartleys view that nerves conducted vibrations from receptor to the brain and from brain
to muscle
• Bells research on rabbits showed that sensory nerves enter the dorsal roots of the spinal
cord, and that motor nerves leave the ventral roots of the spinal cord.
• A decade later, Magendie, unaware of Bells research, published similar findings.
• These separated anatomical pathways for sensation and movement are summarized as the
Bell-Magendie law.
• Spirits and vibrations were discontinued as a prominent theory
Muller
Doctrine of specific nerve engines: no matter how a particular nerve is stimulated, the
sensation that results is the same. Shining a light and poking your eye has the same visual
sensation.
Adequate Stimulation: Muller believed that the different sensory nerves had their specific
energy, but he did not believe that all of the different sensory organs response equally to
different types of stimulation. He referred to specific irritability — later called adequate
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Early neurobiology: there is an abundance of evidence that demonstrates an enormous difference between (a) what we think or perceive and (b) what actually exists. leaving aside the uncertainties by modern physics, reality is more stable than we are. At the end of the 18th century, two men were adjusting the clocks of a ship to be synchroous, noting when a star crossed the reticle line int eh telescope. The astronomer notices that his assistants setting were consistently later than his own and the assistant was fired for not being more right. Friedrich bessel: first known study of reaction times. Up to this time, differences between different participants were largely attributed to measure meant error or sloppyprocedure, and so were ignored as unsystematic errr. With bessels study, also fo a sudden it became clear that not all humans performed identically. Bell-magendie law: spirits and vibrations were discontinued as a prominent theory.
