Download Sample Take-home Final Exam

PSY 456 TAKE HOME FINAL EXAM
Summer 2008
Name_______________
(1 pt) Which are the near senses and which are the far senses? What do you
think about olfaction? Why?
(6 pts) What are the stimuli for each of the sensory systems we've studied? Try
to give a detailed answer for each of these.
(8 pts) For each sensory system, please name and describe the sensory
receptor cell(s) that transduce the stimulus into a neural signal. Indicate whether
this cell is a neuron or is not a neuron. Indicate what type of receptor it is:
photoreceptor, mechanoreceptor, free nerve ending, thermoreceptor, nociceptor,
chemoreceptor. What is the lifespan of that cell type?
(2 pts) Explain what is meant when we say that there are two blind spots in the
scotopic visual system.
(4 pts) We talked about cortical magnification in at least 3 of the sensory
systems we've studied. What is cortical magnification? Describe 3 examples
from 3 different sensory systems, and be sure to describe what is being
magnified.
(6 pts) Visual information from the left visual field is processed in the right half of
the brain. Does this mean that all the nerves carrying visual information from the
left half of the body cross to the right side of the brain? What is the arrangement
of visual information crossing the midline? What is the arrangement of
somatosensory information crossing the midline? What about olfaction? Give as
much information as you can about ipsilateral and contralateral processing in
these 3 sensory systems.
(3 pts) What are two studied examples of cortical plasticity in mature humans?
Describe the methods used to study these examples.
(4 pts) Why do we call the senses of gustation, olfaction and chemisthesis
"gatekeepers"? Which region of the cortex is responsible for the processing of
primary sensory information for each of these 3 sensory modalities, and where in
the brain do they all synapse onto polymodal neurons to provide our complex
perception of flavor? What other sensory modalities also send information to this
region?
(1 pt) What is a DRG and what is found there?
The Closing Credits
Please indicate what each of these characters is known for in the world of S & P
Give as much relevant information as you can (1 pt each)
Ewald Hering
Linda Bartoshuk
Hermann von Helmholz
David Hubel
Ernst Weber
Ian Waterman
Georg von Bekesy
Marcel Proust
Richard Axel
Isaac Newton
Torsten Wiesel
Wilder Penfield
Gustav Fechner
Christine Ladd-Franklin
Linda Buck
Extra Credit (up to 2 pts) Why would a police officer check your eyes for
nystagmus at a roadside sobriety check?
Enjoy the rest of the summer!