Sensation and
Perception
Biological
Component
The Five Sense
Five Senses
• Touch = Skin; Sensory Neurons; Parietal
Lobe
• Smell = Olfactory Bulb; Olfactory Cortex;
Amygdala; Hypothalamus; Frontal Lobe
• Taste = Taste Buds; Five taste: sweet, sour,
salty, bitter, and umami (savory); Smell;
Sight
• Hearing = Sound Waves; Outer-MiddleInner-Ear; Auditory Cortex; Corpus
Callosum; Temporal Lobe
• Sight = Retina; Visual Cortex; Corpus
Callosum; Occipital Lobe
I. Touch – Skin
A.) Skin Layers
1. Epidermis ;Dermis ;Subcutaneous Tissue
B.) Somatosensory System
1. Nerve endings and receptors
C.) Brain Parts (body)
1. Thalamus = sends message to PL
2. Parietal Lobe (PL) = process sensory
info. to make awareness of function
I. Touch – Skin
II. Smell – Nose
A.) Nose - Nasal Cavity
1. Smell receptor in lining
B.) Olfactory Nerve
1. send odor to bulb
C.) Olfactory Bulb (translator)
D.) Hippocampus & Amygdala
1. help form memory of smell
II. Smell – Nose
III. Mouth & other parts
A.) Taste Buds = organs of taste
B.) Papillae = elevated taste receptors
C.) Location of taste sense debatably
D.) Taste senses
1. Salty
2. Sour
3. Sweet
4. Bitter
5. Umami (Japanese – Hearty)
E.) Varying Facial nerves carry taste signals
to your Thalamus then your Parietal Lobe
F.) Elements of Sight and Smell play a factor
into taste – what you see and smell
influence your perception of taste
III. Mouth & other parts
IV. Sound – Ear
A.) Outer Ear (pinna – cartilage)
1. brings in sound waves / vibration {W/V}
B.) Auditory Canal
1. amplifies W/V & provides protection
C.) Eardrum (Tympanic Membrane)
1. external W/V are transferred into internal W/V
D.) Inner Ear
1. funnels W/V through
E.) Cochlea
1. converts W/V into neural impulses
F.) Auditory Nerve (AN)
1. carries signal to the brain
IV. Sound – Ear
V. Sight - Eye
A.) The Cornea (clear lens)
1. Clear bulging - front of the eye
2. Primary refractive surface
(starts focus process)
B.) Pupil (black sphere)
1. Regulates amount of light (dilates)
C.) Lens (clear lens)
1. Focus light rays into Retina
D.) Retina (thin tissue – back of eye)
1. Receives images
2. Converts images into electrical impulses
E.) Optic Nerve
1. carry visual information to brain
V. Sight - Eye
PERCEPTION
Main Concepts
• Top-Down = perceptual processes in which
information from an individual's past experience,
knowledge, expectations, motivations, and
background influence the way a perceived object
is interpreted and classified
• Bottom-Up = perceptual process based on the
sensory data available in the environment;
results of process are passed upward toward
more abstract representations
• Accommodation = involves altering one's existing
ideas, as a result of new information or new
experiences