It’s Friday! October 6 What is absolute threshold? What is Weber’s Law? Do you feel like you have a high or low pain tolerance? Today’s topic: Kinesthesis and Vestibular Sense Upcoming Dates: Homework for tonight: Read up to page 150 by Monday Sensation visual Terms Assessments: Test next Monday

What are Feature Detectors? Specialized nerve cells in the visual cortex that respond to specific features of stimuli, such as lines, shape, angle, or movement

What is Parallel Processing? The brain's natural mode of processing several things at once Allows the brain to divide & conquer tasks Vision – subdimensions of vision (color, movement, depth, shape) are processed by separate neural teams simultaneously

The 6th and 7th Senses Kinesthesis and Vestibular Sense

Kinesthesis The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts Enabled by millions of position and motion sensors on the body – muscles, tendons, joints – that continually provide information to the brain

Vestibular Sense The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance Monitors the head’s position which usually dictates what the body is doing The ear’s semicircular canals and vestibular sacs connect with the cochlea, and contain fluid that shifts when the head moves movement of the fluid sends neural signals to the cerebellum which helps with movement and balance.

Monday, October 9 Do you think you have a high pain tolerance? What do you do to deal with pain? Have you ever been in pain around a lot of people? How did you act? Do you feel that it is acceptable to cry in front of others? Today’s topic: 5 major senses and Pain Upcoming Dates: Homework for tonight: Read pages 151-156 Study Sensation Watch 2 crash course videos on sensation Bring headphones or earbuds tomorrow Terms Assessments: Test next Monday

Pain Do you think you have a high pain tolerance? What do you do to deal with pain? Have you ever been in pain around a lot of people? How did you act? Do you feel that it is acceptable to cry in front of others?

Pain from the Biopsychosocial Approach

Gate-Control Theory The spinal cord acts as a gate that controls if pain signals reach the brain Small nerve fibers conduct pain signals, while larger neural fibers conduct most other sensory signals When tissue is injured, the smaller nerve fibers activate and open the neural gate to send pain to the brain. Larger-fiber activity closes the pain gate, turning pain off. Using this theory, people believe that activating large neural fibers can block pain Ex: acupuncture Ex: rubbing painful areas stimulates large neural fibers than can block pain Ex: electrical stimulation of painful area

Pain – Something is different?? Biological Gate-Control Theory Genetic differences in endorphin production The brain’s interpretation of CNS activity Psychological Attention to pain Learning based on experiences Expectations of pain Social Cultural Presence of others Family expectations Empathy for other’s pain Cultural expectations Perception of Pain from the from the Biopsychosocial Approach

Pain Control Pain can be treated physically and psychologically Drugs, surgery, acupuncture, electrical stimulation, massage, exercise, hypnosis, relaxation training, thought distraction, etc Because pain is perceived in the brain, diverting the brain’s attention can bring relief

Color and Pitch Theories Identify the following theories of color and pitch: Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three color) theory Opponent-process theory Place Theory (Helmholtz) Frequency Theory

Young-Hemholtz Trichromatic Theory Theory that the retina contains three different color receptors - sensitive to red, green, and blue - when stimulated in different combinations can produce the perception of any color NOT like mixing paint where you subtract light Mixing light is adding light which produces different color results

Opponent Process Theory The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, and black-white) enable color vision Some neurons are turned off/on by only red/green, yellow/blue, or black/white – these neurons are in the retina and the thalamus

Place Theory (Helmholtz) How Do We Hear Pitch? Frequency Theory Place Theory (Helmholtz) Links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated High pitch sounds The rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch Low pitch sounds We use both theories to hear all pitches. Audition and Pitch Theories Cochlea Animation