Exam 1 Study Topics.docx

Exam 1 Study Topics - Steps of the perceptual process and what they include - Elements of signal detection theory (e.g., criterion, sensitivity, detection) - Recognition - Psychophysical methods (method of limits, method of constant stimuli, method of adjustment) - Difference...

Exam 1 Study Topics - Steps of the perceptual process and what they include - Elements of signal detection theory (e.g., criterion, sensitivity, detection) - Recognition - Psychophysical methods (method of limits, method of constant stimuli, method of adjustment) - Difference threshold - Magnitude estimation - Transduction - Elements and properties of action potentials (step-by-step process, ions involved, etc.) - "Grandmother" cell - Modularity, including specific areas we discussed like FFA, PPA, EBA - Specificity coding - Population coding - Sparse coding - Distributed representation - Diseases of the eye - Presbyopia - Myopia - Hyperopia - Accommodation - Parts of the eye (structure and function of important elements for vision; **includes slide 29 diagram in ch.2/3 PPT**) - Convergence - Dark/light adaptation - Organization and function of the retinal layers (**includes slide 36 diagram in ch. 2/3 PPT**) - Double dissociations - Organization of the visual pathway through the brain (**includes slide 6 in ch. 4 PPT**) - Dorsal pathway - Ventral pathway - Lobes of the brain and its general organization - Feature detectors (e.g., end-stopped neurons, simple cells, complex cells) - Ocular dominance columns - Hypercolumns - Different types of agnosias - Flow of information through the LGN - Properties of the visual cortex (i.e., V1, V2, V3, etc.) Possible Essay topics 1. Define "top-down" and "bottom-up" processing and discuss how the "rat-man" demonstration is used to exemplify the distinction between these two types of processing. 2. List seven steps from a stimulus in the environment to an action by the perceiving individual, illustrating each step with an example. 3. Describe how information would be represented under each of the following representational schemes: specificity coding, population coding, and sparse coding. 4. Draw a graph (with appropriate axis labels) of the dark adaptation curve. Describe the methodology used to isolate the rod component of the curve and the cone component. 5. What is the "blind spot"? Discuss two reasons why we are not usually aware of the blind spot. 6. Explain what Hubel and Wiesel's research on simple cells revealed about ocular dominance.