1.5 Consciousness Flashcards
intentionality
the quality of being directed towards an object
unity
resistance to divison
- the ability to integrate info from all the senses into one coherent whole
- ex movie theater
selectivity
the capacity to include some objects, but not others
- cocktail party phenomenon
dichotic listening
a task in which people wearing headphones hear different messages presented to each ear
- consciousness filters out some info
transience
the tendency to change
- the mind wanders from one thing to the next
is sleep ever on or off?
no. sleep is characterized by levels of deeper and lighter periods of sleep
- each level has a characteristic pattern of brain activity as measured by an EEG
high frequency (beta waves) during…
alertness
lower-frequency (alpha waves) during…
relaxation
stage 1 sleep
theta waves
stage 2 sleep
theta waves are interrupted by sleep spindles and k-complexes
stage 3 and stage 4 sleep
delta waves (deepest sleep stage)
REM sleep (what kind of waves and what is it?)
high frequency saw-tooth waves (similar to beta waves, which are present during wakeful times)
- REM = Rapid Eye Movement
- high level of brain activity
during REM sleep:
- pulse quickens
- blood pressure rises
- dreams
- telltale signs of sexual arousal
muscle movements indicate that the sleep is very still
amount of sleep required for newborns, 6 year olds, adults?
newborn: more than 16 hrs of sleep per day / sleep 6 or 8 times in 24 hrs
6 year old: 11 or 12 hrs
adult: 7 hours
sleep to wake ratio in our lifetime in hours
1 sleep: 2 awake
what happened when the rats were sleep deprived
-trouble controlling body temperature
- lost weight
- ate more than normal
- their bodily systems break down and they die after about 21 days
how are sleep and memory connected?
memory deteriorates unless sleep occurs to help keep them in place
specific effects of REM deprivation
- memory loss
- excessive aggression
- REM rebound (rem sleep deprivation causes a rebound of more REM sleep the next night)
insomnia
- difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- most common sleep disorder
- 6% meet criteria for diagnoses and 30-48% report symptoms
types of insomnia
- self-induced: due to lifestyle choices
- secondary: due to another medical condition
- primary: no obvious causing factors
- each type can be exacerbated by worrying about insomnia
sleep apnea
- a disorder in which the person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep most likely due to obstructions (snoring)
- occurs most often in middle-aged, overweight men
central sleep apnea
- a person stops breathing while sleeping for no reason (not because of an obstruction)
somnambulism
- sleepwalking
- 15-40% report symptoms
- most common in kids between 4 and 8 years old
narcolepsy
- a disorder in which sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities
- uncontrollable sleep attacks ranging from 30 seconds to 30 minutes
- straight to REM
- genetic
- can be treated with medication
sleep paralysis
- the experience of waking up unable to move
- lasts several seconds to several minutes
night terrors
- abrupt awakenings with painc and intense emotion
- most common in children
- only 2% of adults
Hobson 5 characteristics
- we intensely feel emotion
- dream thought is illogical (normal continuities of time, place, and person don’t apply
- sensation is fully formed and meaningful
- dreaming occurs with uncritical acceptance
- difficulty remembering the dream
Freud dream theory
- dreams are representations of unconscious wishes
- dreams are a safe place for unacceptable, obscure, and confusing wishes to be expressed (wet dreams, etc.)
manifest content
a dream’s apparent topic or superifcal meaning
latent content
a dream’s true underlying meaning
activation-synthesis model
- Hobson & McCarley
- the theory that dreams are produced when the brain attempts to make sense of random neural activity that occurs during sleep
depressants
- substances that reduce the activity of the central nervous system
- barbituates, alcohol, toxic inhalants, benzodiazepines
expectancy theory
- alcohol effects can be produced by people’s expectations of how alcohol will influence them in particular situations
- the belief that one has consumed alcohol can influence someone as much as alcohol can
which substance increases the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA?
alcohol
alcohol myopia
- a condition that results when alcohol hampers attention, leading people to respond in simple ways in complex situations
what substance is often prescribed as a sleep aid or anesthetic
barbituates
what substance is often prescribed as an anti-anxiety drug
benzodiazepines
what is also known as a “minor tranquilizers”
benzos
what happens when you mix benzos and alcohol
- respiratory depression (slow and shallow breath)
- the lungs fail to exchange CO2 and O2 efficiently
- leads to a build of CO2 in the lungs
toxic inhalants
- “Sniffing” or “huffing” glue, hair spray, nail polish remover, or gasoline
- Temporary effects resemble drunkenness
- Overdoes can be lethal
- Continued use can cause permanent neurological damage
stimulants
substances that excite the central nervous system, heightening arousal and activity levels
- caffeine, amphetamines, nicotine, cocaine, modafinil, ecstacy
what type of substance cause increased levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain?
stimulants
- increases alertness and energy
withdrawal symptoms of stimulants
fatigue and negative emotion
narcotics
- highly addictive drugs derived from opium that relieve pain
- heroin, morphine, methadone, codeine, demerol, oxycontin
- induces a feeling of well-being and relaxation
what causes a substance to be addictive?
- if long term use produces both tolerance and dependence
hallucinogens
- drugs that alter sensation and perception and often cause visual and auditory hallucinations
- LSD, PCP, Ketamine, Psilocybin, mescaline
- not addictive
marijuana
- leaves and buds of a hemp plant
- contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
is marijuana addictive?
no because tolerance potential is not strong
what type of substance is the “most addictive”?
narcotics
gateway drug + example
- increases the risk of the subsequent use of more harmful drugs
- marijuana
self-knowledge
- having self-awareness
- building an internal model of the world that contains the self
- reflecting back on one’s own mode of understanding- being alive and awake and aware
access to information
- 2 pools
1. one pool can be accessed by the systems underlying verbal reports, rational thought, and deliberate decision making
2. the other pool cannot be accessed by those systems
sentience
- subjective experience, phenomenal awareness, raw feels, first-person present tense
- “an organism is conscious if there is something that it is like to be that organism” Thomas Nagel
