The processes and Purposes of Sensation and Perception Our world is alive with stimuliall the objects and

events that surround us. Sensation and perception are the processes that allow us to detect and understand these various stimuli. It may seem strange to think about it this way, but we do not actually experience these stimuli directly; rather, our senses allow us to get information about aspects of our environment, and we then take that information and form a perception of the world. Sensation is the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy. Physical energy such as light, sound, and heat is detected by specialized receptor cells in the sense organseyes, ears, skin, nose, and tongue. When the receptor cells register a stimulus, the energy is converted to an electrochemical impulse or action potential that relays information about the stimulus through the nervous system to the brain (Sani & others, 2009; Wang & Hatton, 2009). Recall from Chapter 2 that an action potential is the brief wave of electrical charge that sweeps down the axon of a neuron for possible transmission to another neuron. When it reaches the brain, the information travels to the appropriate area of the cerebral cortex (Gruber & ODonnell, 2009). The brain gives meaning to sensation through perception. Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense. Receptor cells in our eyes recordthat is, sensea sleek silver object in the sky, but they do not see a jet plane. Recognizing that silver object as a plane is perception. Sensing and perceiving give us views of the setting sun, the sounds of a rock concert, the touch of soft caresses, the taste of sweets, and the fragrance of flowers. Of all the various stimuli that are present in your environment right now, you are able to sense and perceive only some of them. Every species is adapted to sense and perceives stimuli that matter to that species ability to survive in its environment. What is the perception? Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense. What is the sensation? Sensation in the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy.

Vision A candle flame at 30 miles on a dark, clear night Hearing A ticking clock at 20 feet under quiet conditions Smell One drop of perfume diffused throughout three rooms Taste A teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water Touch The wing of a fly falling on your neck from a distance of 1 centimeter READING

I can see Mariah Carey. Shes American and she has the same skin as me. Her pants are red, exclaimed 11-year-old Destiny Diaz, who had been legally blind since birth, after receiving an arti -cial cornea. Just 24 hours after her transplantan arti cial cornea was used because her immune system had rejected human transplantsDestinys doctor asked her to tell him how many ngers he was holding up and then to touch his nose. As she reached out and touched it, her aunts, watching from a corner of the room, wept with joy. This formerly blind little girl could see. The rst organ transplant was a double cornea transplant performed about a century ago by a Czech doctor, Eduard Zirm, on a 43-year-old man named Alois Gloger. After the surgery, Glogers eyes were sewn shut for 10 miserable days, but when the stitches were removed, he could see. Today, 40,000 cornea transplants are performed each year. These transplants generally depend on eye banks, to which individuals can promise to donate their organs after death. The operation is complex but not nearly as difcult as that rst one. Imagine 40,000 people a year undergoing this procedurein some cases seeing for the rst time. For these individuals, sight is truly a gift bestowed not by nature but by science, technology, and the generosity of others. Vision and all of our other senses connect us to the world. We see a beloved friends face, feel a comforting hand on our shoulder, or hear our name called from across a room. Our ability to perceive the world is what allows us to reach out into that world in the many ways we do every day. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE, SONG, FOOD, COLOR? My favorite movie is Fireflies River of Light, my favorite song is Omoi Afurete from Aya Matsuura a Japanese singer, I havent favorite food and my favorite color is light purple. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE ABAUT THIS READING? A lot of people dont get sensible by this kind of cases, because they cannot experience this situation, and can be painful for those people for his family.