Introduction to Psychology

PSY 101
Lecture 4: Module 5
Sensation
Lecturer: Catherine Sesay
Module 5

SENSATION
 What is Sensation?
Definitions:

The detection of physical energy by our sense

organs, which then relay information to the brain.

The process by which our sense organs translate

environmental stimulation into neural impulses to
prepare it for processing by the nervous system.
 Six Major Human Senses
• Vision
• Hearing
• Balance (vestibular system)
• Taste
• Olfaction (smell)
• Touch
 How Our Senses Function:
Some General Principles
• Our senses look different but share 3
characteristics
1. Transduction is the changing of physical energy
into electrical signals/neural impulses
2. Adaptation is the decrease in response of our
sensory organs when exposed to a continuous
level of stimulation
3. Sensations vs. Perceptions; meaningless bits of
information vs. meaningful sensory experiences
 Sensory Adaptation
• Sensory receptors eventually cease to respond to stimuli that
are continually present. In other words, they become
accustomed to the stimuli (except when they are too intense).

• Example: after a while you no longer notice the sensation of

pressure on your skin from a watch or sock you are wearing.

• Sensory adaptation essential in

allows us
to focus our attention.
 Stimulus and Receptor
• The two basic requirements for all sensation
are a stimulus and a receptor.

– Stimulus: The particular form of physical energy

that the sense organ is designed to detect.

– Receptor: A sensory neuron that responds to

specific stimuli such as light waves, sound waves,
or chemicals in substances.
Eye: Vision
 The Stimulus
• The stimulus detected by the visual system is
light, a form of electromagnetic energy.
• Humans respond to a narrow range of
wavelengths of light.
• Only wavelengths from the visible spectrum
(light source) are able to stimulate eye
receptors
• Other wavelengths are “invisible” e.g. X rays
Wavelengths
The Structures of the Eye

[Insert Figure JK97fig3.3.eye_structure.jpg]

 The Structures of the Eye
• Cornea – a curved, transparent layer, covering
the eye. It bends light waves into a narrower
beam, focusing it at the back of the eye
• Pupil: The opening in the iris that admits light
waves into the eye, it is the black dot in the
center of your eye
• Iris: The circular muscle that contracts and
expands to control the size of the pupil thereby
controlling the amount of light entering the eye
 The Structures of the Eye
Lens: The transparent oval structure inside the eye that
changes shape to focus light waves into an even
narrowerbeam on the retina, allowing us to fine-tune the
visual image.

Retina: Tissue at the back of the eyeball made up of three

layers; contains light sensitive cells (photoreceptors) rods
and cones which are the receptors for vision.
– Rods – allow us to see in the dark; enable us to see basic shapes
and forms
– Cones – allow us to see color; more sensitive to detail
 Eyeball’s Shape
• Eyeball’s shape contributes to our having
almost perfect vision 20/20
• Long eyeballs result in nearsightedness
(myopia) where the object is focused in front of
the retina making distant objects look blurred
• Short eyeballs result in farsightedness
(hyperopia) where the object is focused behind
the retina making near objects blurry
 Transduction in the Eye
• The process of transduction in the eye occurs
when light waves are transformed into impulses
• Transduction begins at the back layer of the
retina which contains two kinds of
photoreceptor cells
• Rods are located in the periphery of the retina
• Cons are located primarily on the fovea found
in the center of the retina
 Rods & Cones
• Rods
 contain a single chemical called rhodopsin
 are light sensitive
 allow us to see in dim light
• Cones
 contain three chemicals called opsins
 allow us to see color
 Transduction in the Eye
• Transduction begins when rhodopsin and opsin
break down after the absorption of light waves
• The breaking down of these chemicals
generates an electrical force that triggers a
nerve impulse in ganglion cells
• Ganglion cells are found in the middle layer of
the retina
• Transduction is complete
 The Blind Spot
• Nerve impulses produced in ganglion cells exit
the back of the eye through the optic nerve
• The optic nerve is found in the front later of
the retina
• The point where the optic nerve exits the eye
is called the blind spot
• The blind spot contains no receptors
 The Blind Spot
• Make a small dot on the left side of a piece of
paper and a small + on the right side (as shown
below), with about 6-8 inches between them.
• Hold the paper about 20 inches away, close
your right eye and stare at the +. Slowly move
the paper closer, all the time focusing on the +.
• After a while, the dot will disappear – this is
when the dot falls on the blind spot in your left
eye.
 Eye to Brain
• The optic nerve exits the eyes and makes a major stop
in the thalamus
• Initial processing takes place in the thalamus
• Impulses from the thalamus are relayed to the both
hemispheres in the occipital lobe
• The primary visual cortex transforms nerve impulses
into simple visual sensations
• Impulses of these meaningless sensations are then
sent to the visual association area which assembles
them into a meaningful image
 Damage to the Visual Pathways
• Blindness is a result of damage to the primary
visual cortex
• Total blindness occurs when the primary visual
cortex in both hemispheres are damaged
• Visual agnosia is a result of damage to the
visual association areas
• Visual agnosia is difficulty in assembling visual
sensations into meaningful images
 Color Vision
• Objects do not have colors!
• Color is actually a result of a wavelength being
reflected by an object; wavelengths are
transformed by our visual system into the
experience of seeing color
• Humans see all the light waves in the visible
spectrum
• A ray of sunlight (white light) contains all the
light waves in the visible spectrum
Trichromatic & Opponent-Process Theory

• How does our visual system transform light

waves into color?
• Trichromatic theory states that there are three
different kinds of cones containing three
different light-sensitive chemicals which are
most responsive to wavelengths that correspond
to each of the three primary colors
• There are two to nine color genes which makes
people see different shades of the same color
Trichromatic & Opponent-Process Theory

• Opponent-process theory states that ganglion

cells and neurons in the thalamus respond to
two pairs of colors (red-green & yellow-blue)
• We see colors as a result of our cones
absorbing different wave lengths, when
electrical signals reach the ganglion cells and
neurons, activation results in one color and
inhibition results in its pair, nerve impulses
carry this color information to the visual cortex
 Color Blindness
• Color blindness is the inability to distinguish
two or more shades in the color spectrum
• Monochromats have total color blindness,
they see only black and white
• Dichromats have trouble distinguishing red
from green and seeing mostly shades of blue
and yellow
What Do You See?
Ear: Audition
 The Stimulus
• The stimulus detected by the auditory system is sound
waves
• Sound waves vary in frequency (speed of sound waves/
measured in cycles per second) and amplitude (distance of
sound wave from top to bottom)
• High amplitudes/Large sound waves are interpreted as loud
sounds and low amplitude/small sound waves as soft
sounds
• Sound waves that are close together result in high
pitch/sounds and sound waves that are apart result in low
pitch/sounds
Frequency vs. Amplitude
 Hearing Range
• Hearing range decreases with age
• Infants: 20 – 20,000 cycles per second
• College students: 30 – 18,000 cycles per
second
• By age 70 people cant hear above 6,000 cycles
per second
 Measuring Sound Waves
• Loudness is measured in decibels (dB)

• Human hearing ranges from 0 – 140 decibels

• Exposure to sounds over 85dB for certain

• periods of time can cause permanent hearing

loss
The Structures of the Ear
 The Structures of the Ear
• Outer ear: the visible portion of the ear that
collects sound waves and funnels them onto the
eardrum.
• Middle ear: an air-filled cavity containing three
small bones known as the ossicles (the hammer,
anvil and stirrup) which conduct vibrations.
• Inner ear: the part of the ear that contains the
cochlea, vestibular system, and semicircular
canals.
 The Outer Ear
• The outer ear is made up of three structures: external
ear, auditory canal and tympanic membrane
• The external ear protrudes from the side of the head
and picks up sound waves. It sends these sounds
waves down the auditory canal
• The auditory canal is a long tube that funnels sound
waves down to the ear drum/tympanic membrane
• The tympanic membrane vibrates as a result of
sounds waves and passes these vibrations to the
middle ear
 The Middle Ear
• The middle ear is hollow area that is sealed off
by two membranes: eardrum and oval window
• The three bones in the middle ear are called
ossicles; hammer, anvil and stirrup
• The ossicles amplify vibrations from the
eardrum and pass them on to the oval
window
 The Inner Ear
• Cochlea contains the receptors for sound and
its function is transduction

• Auditory receptors are hair cells found at the

bottom of the cochlea (basilar membrane)
• Auditory nerve carries auditory information
from the ear to the brain.
 Transduction in the Inner Ear
• Vibrations are transformed into nerve impulses in
the cochlea
• Vibrations from the oval window causes further
vibrations in the fluid of the cochlea
• Vibration of the fluid causes the basilar membrane
to move which bends the hair cells generating
electrical forces that can trigger transduction
• The auditory nerve carries nerve impulses to the
brain
 Auditory Brain Areas
• Hearing involves a two-step process
• The primary auditory cortex located at the
temporal lobe forms sensations
• The auditory association area forms
perceptions
• Nerve impulses are first transformed into
sensations and then into perceptions
 Auditory Cues
• Sound waves contain an amazing amount of
information
• Direction of sound is calculated by the
difference in time it takes sounds waves to
reach the two ears
• The two ears are about six inches apart
• Can’t tell where a sound is coming from? Try
moving your head sideways!
 Auditory Cues
• How does the brain calculate pitch?
• Frequency theory: the rate at which nerve
impulses reach the brain determines how low
the pitch of a sound is
• Place theory: the brain determines medium- to
higher- pitched sounds on the basis of the place
on the basilar membrane
• E.g. The roar of a lion vs. screech of fingernails
on a chalkboard
 Auditory Cues
• Loudness is calculated by the rate of how fast or
slowly nerve impulses arrive from the auditory
nerve, e.g. a yell vs. a whisper
• Intensity of sound waves is transformed inside the
cochlea
• Low-amplitude sound waves cause fewer vibrations
of the tympanic membrane, less movement of the
fluid in the cochlea, less movement of the basilar
membrane, fewer bent hair cells, less electrical force,
fewer nerve impulses
Vestibular System: Balance
 Balance
• Our sense of balance or equilibrium is called
the vestibular sense.

• It depends on hair-like
receptors in the inner
ear's three semicircular
canals and vestibular
sacs.
 Position & Balance
• The functions of the vestibular system include
sensing the position of the head, keeping it
upright and maintaining balance
• The vestibular system is located in the inner
ear above the cochlea
• It has three fluid filled semicircular canals that
contain sensors which respond to the
movement of the fluid
 Motion Sickness
• Motion sickness is characterized by feelings of
discomfort, nausea, and dizziness in a moving
vehicle
• May be a result of information from the
vestibular system not matching up with
information from other senses
• Can be relieved through drugs, breathing
techniques, ginger or simply lying down and
closing your eyes
 Meniere’s Disease and Vertigo
• Meniere’s disease results from malfunction of the
semicircular canals
• Symptoms: dizziness, nausea, vomiting, spinning,
and piercing buzzing sounds
• May be due to a viral infection of the inner ear
• Vertigo results from malfunction of the
semicircular canals
• Symptoms: dizziness and nausea
• No known cures! 
CHEMICAL SENSES
Taste
 How Does Your Tongue Taste?
• Five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and
umami (meaty-cheesy taste)
• The surface of the tongue contains sensors for
the five tastes located primarily on the back,
front and side of the tongue
• The stimuli for taste are chemicals from the food
we eat
• As we chew the chemicals are broken down into
molecules that mix with saliva
 Taste Buds
• Narrow trenches are found on the surface of
the tongue, buried within are taste buds
• The mix of molecules and saliva enter the
trenches and stimulate the taste buds
• The activated taste buds produce nerve
impulses that are sent to the parietal lobe
• Taste buds are the receptors for taste
• Taste buds are replaced every 10 days
 Flavor
• We are able to taste a wide variety of dishes
as a result of our sense of smell
• We experience flavor when we combine the
sensations of taste and smell
• Taste buds are actually limited!
Smell
 Smell (Olfaction)
Olfactory epithelium:
the part of the nasal
passage that contains
receptor cells for smell.

Odorants: chemical
molecules that are
carried in the air
stimulate the receptor
cells for smell.

When olfactory receptors come in contact with

odorants, action potentials are triggered in
olfactory neurons.
 Smell (Olfaction)
• We can only smell volatile substance (i.e. can release
molecules in air)
• Olfactory cells are the receptors for smell
• Olfactory cells are covered with mucus that dissolve
molecules
• Dissolved molecules stimulate underlying olfactory cells
• Olfactory cells generate a neural impulses that travel to
the olfactory bulb then to the brain
• You don’t smell anything until neural impulses reach your
brain!
 Function of Olfaction
• To intensify the taste of food
• Warn of potentially dangerous foods
• Elicit strong memories
• Aid in choosing a mate?!
• Smell is connected to our limbic system
(motivation & emotion)
Touch
 Touch
• The sense of touch includes pressure,
temperature, and pain
• Receptors for the sense of touch are found
beneath the outermost layer of skin
• Receptors for touch convert mechanical
pressure or temperature into nerve impulses
• Nerve impulses are sent to the somatosensory
cortex
 Receptors
• In the middle and fatty layers of skin are a variety
of receptors
• Hair receptors: are wrapped around the base of
each hair follicle, respond to pressure
• Free nerve endings: transmit information about
both temperature and pain
• Pacinian corpuscle: highly sensitive to touch, is
the only receptor that responds to vibration, and
adapts very quickly