Psychology 001
Introduction to Psychology
Christopher Gade, PhD
Office: 621 Heafey
Office hours: F 3-6 and by apt.
Email: gadecj@gmail.com
Class WF 7:00-8:30 Heafey 650
Researchers look at the brain in three ways.
Functional specialization – what is NECESSARY for the
mind to complete a task.
Functional integration – what is USED by the brain in
the completion of a cognitive task.
Structure – how the brain is organized into larger parts
LESION
NEUROIMAGING
Example of Specialization:
Language Function
Broca’s Area
Wernicke’s Area
Examples of Integration:
Sensory Pathways
Examples of
Structure
• Lobes
• Hemispheres
What have imaging techniques also let us
understand about the brain?
• Sometimes, small numbers of neurons can
travel to a place where they activate large
numbers of neurons
And…
• The fact that many of our areas are arranged
very intricately
– Layering and columns (related to brain structures
and the paths to those structures)
– Specialization of function
• Location receptors
• Orientation receptors
• Ocular information
receptors
• Color receptors
One final thing that looking at the brain can
tell us about sensation and perception
• Modularity – the idea that areas of the brain are
specialized for very specific tasks
– Modules – areas of the brain that specialize in
specific tasks
• FFA – fusiform face area (identifying faces)
– Prosopagnosia – the inability to recognize faces
– Autism – a disorder that often involves detached behavior and an
inability to understand/relate effectively with other individuals
• PPA – parahippocampal place area (identifying places
and scenes)
• EBA – extrastriate body area (identifying body parts)
One final note:
• When studying the necessity
and correlation of these
measures, we need to
remember that these areas
and paths are associated with
the brains of MOST people.
Neural plasticity allows a
number of individuals to
display behaviors that they
should not be capable of
conducting based on the
damage and
underdevelopment of different
regions of their brain/nervous
system.
Onto Sensation and Perception
• Sensation: the conversion of energy from the
environment into a pattern of responses by
that nervous system.
• Perception: the interpretation of that
information.
• In order to understand our perception of
information, we first need to understand how
we are sensing that information.
Why Study Vision First?
1. Vision is the most widely studied topic in
neurobiology and cognitive psychology.
2. Vision is critical to the human being’s experience.
In fact, approximately 25% of our cognitive
resources are reserved for that sense alone.
3. We know a lot more about the eye than any other
sense organ, and we are significantly closer to
understanding vision that we are to understanding
any other sensation.
The Structure of the Eye
• The Pupil: a small adjustable opening in the eye,
through which light enters.
The Structure of the Eye
• The Iris: a colored adjustable muscle on the surface of
the eye that is responsible for controlling the amount of
light that enters the eye through the pupil.
The Structure of the Eye
• The Cornea: A rigid, protective surface on the outer
surface of the eye that focuses light toward the fovea.
The Structure of the Eye
• The Lens: A clear, flexible structure located behind the
cornea that can vary in thickness (to help us focus on
information at different depths), and focuses the incoming
light rays into an image on the back of our eyes.
Interesting Fact
• The lens of our eyes actually flips the image that we are
viewing. Our brains have to eventually take that flipped
information and transform it in order for it to make
sense.
The Structure of the Eye
• The Vitreous Humor: a clear jelly-like substance
that light passes through on its way to the retina.
The Structure of the Eye
• The Retina: The multilayered tissue located on the
back of the eye that is responsible for the
transference of light rays into neural information.
The Structure of the Eye
• The Fovea: the central area of the retina that is
highly adapted for detailed vision.
The Structure of the Eye
• Rods and Cones: Specialized visual receptors located
along the retina. These neurons transfer the sensory
information into neural impulses that are sent along the
optic nerve.
Rods and Cones (cont.)
-Rods: receptors that are adapted for vision in dim
light. Their primary purpose is to detect motion.
-Cones: receptors adapted for color vision, daytime
vision, and detailed vision. The fovea contains only
cones.
-Rod and Cone Example
The Structure of the Eye
• The Optic Nerve: a collection of cells that is
responsible for carrying the information processed
by your eye to the brain.
The Path of Vision (After the Eye)