Ch 3 Consciousness Flashcards
Conscious expirieneces
KNOWING about your (and others) unique neural connections and associations in brain (mental activity)
Using senses
entirely subjective
Introspection
Researchers analyze people’s retrospective thoughts on an experience (usually sense)
Subjective and not reliable for recording SIMILAR psychological process
* because we describe things differently, but maybe we all actually do think the same?
Instead- observable behavior _ supposedly more objective (which then becomes subjective when the researcher describes/ classifies it)
Brain imaging is truly objective but again that lil subjective kick
Threshold effect with consciousness
Consciousness varies because awareness threshold changes
Normal waking state of consciousness
Regular sober mind
Altered state of consciousness
Any deviation from waking state
EX: meditation, moments before sleep, after you wake up, drugs
Drowsy and not hyper aware of senses
Aware but not consciousness to where you actually process the little burst of awareness that made you able to process
Objective consciousness
Something that we will ALL similarly and INITIALLY (before analysis takes place) describe/ label
EX: we all SEE a chair
EX: knives are for cutting
* ofc not truly objective
Exceptions to objectivity
- Ofc never truly objective because organized and overarching societal rules are alr established and we abide by them
- also mentally ill ppl might actually see something else (vision can be subjective too)
Circadian rhythms
Circadian- about a day
In which brain activity, sleep/ wake cycles, Body temperature and hormone levels
Influenced by the perception of light and dark (not totally dependent)
Maintained by brain regions
EX: see hypothalamus card
Hypothalamus on circadian rhythm
Info about light is sent to small region here called suprachiasmatic nucleus
Then pineal gland (endocrine)
Releases melatonin
bright light stops production of melatonin
Melatonin and circadian rhythms
Helps regulate accuracy of our biological clock
Taking supplements helps recover from disruptions in circadian rhythm (jet lag)
Sleep fact s
Sleep less as we age and still gain energy, BUT normally bad to function on so little sleep
MS:
- Adults- 9-10 to feel rest
- babies- much of day
- @@old ppl don’t go back to sleep easily and spend less time in stage N3@@
Conscious and biological in sleep
Asleep= Different Conscious experiences and biological processes
Conscience exp- To some extent you remain aware of surroundings (tossing and turning- but not falling after infancy)
Biological - brain doesn’t sleep when you do
Really active
Beta waves (sleep)
Waking state
Neurons are super active (SHORT FREQUENT irregular electrical signals —beta waves)
Alpha waves (sleep)
Just BEFORE N1 conscious ness (focus attention on falling asleep or relaxing, brain activity becomes more REGULAR- alpha waves
Healthy sleep (4 stages)
Non-REM= NREM
1. Stage N1 sleep (first NREM)- slowly unaware of outer world AND thoughts- theta
2. Stage N2 sleep- all thoughts stop
3. Stage N3 sleep- deep sleep
4. REM sleep- dream- beta
Cycles 5 times
Stage N1
THETA waves
Before actual sleep where you see crazy shit but still have inches of conscious thought (for me its a thinking train spiraling down)
Hypnic jerks
Geometric shapes (is this because when you boil down our consciousness its all the shapes we see in the world OR our thoughts are really shapes)
Stage N2
Sensitive sleep
Sudden loud noises-> K-complexes (large waves) - signals from brain functions that keep you asleep by shutting out the outside world
Sleep spindles -> occasional bursts of energy
K-complex
Sudden loud noises-> K-complexes (large waves) - signals from brain functions that keep you asleep by shutting out the outside world
Sleep spindles
Sleep spindles -> occasional bursts of energy
Stage N3
Large regular DELTA waves (slow-wave sleep)
MS: hard to wake up, Disorientated when wake up
BUT still biologically keeping aware of potential dangers (perceived sounds WORTH getting up or accounted for)
REM (stage R/ paradoxical sleep)
After 90s minutes -> reverses ALL the way back to N1 sleep
Flurry of beta waves that usually are for awake state, BUT its only certain UNUSED parts of brain that are awake now
Rapid eye movements
Muscles are paralyzed expect for genital arousal
Dreams
Sleep cycle
Go through stages 5 times
Nearing the morning, cycles shorten and N3 is little to none but MORE REM than anything
Hypnosis
When responding to suggestions, a persons memory, perception and free will changes
“Suggestions” but really manifestation mantras
Post-hypnotic suggestion
AFTER hypnosis session the hypnotist demands a change
AND demands that they forget this suggestion
Hypnosis truth
Hypnotist cant just hypnotize anyone forcefully, the person must willingly follow suggestions (so are they truly unconscious or not)
Works more for ppl that are highly gullible (perception and will is KEY)
Not being dictated easily, having great imagination
Sociocognitive theory of hypnosis (1/2)
The person socially accepts the suggestions SO puts them into cognitive acceptance and ACTS them out willingly
Dissociation theory of hypnosis (2/2)
Social context is important but it LITERALLY changes state of consciousness
Consciouss awareness (normal) is dissociated from other aspects of consciousness (trance)
Brian activity
Can’t totally change brain activity to simply please hypnotists, let alone psychological researchers
EX:literally change the duties of a brain region (visual cortex that perceives color) to instead reverse the function which it normally doesn’t do
!! Activating that region in general is proof enough
@@@ Functions change-> consciousness does too@@@
Hypnotic analgesia (pain)
Detach from sensations of pain (less activity in regions that process pain)
Basically strengthening our will power, bypassing our weak boundary of not being able to really get to that point of stoicism/ immunity
The doubters wont have access to this superpower
(Supports dissociation theory)
Anxiety and hypnosis
Typically, around four to six sessions can help you to learn new methods of coping, to replace unhelpful or harmful thought patterns or past negative associations with new, more positive ones.
What makes a Psychoactive drug
Any mind/ brain neurochemistry-altering substance that activate neurotransmitter systems (caffeine)
4 main classes of drugs
- Stimulants (coffee/ increase behavior and mental activity- gives anxiety)
- Depressants (decrease behavior and mental activity- stops overthinking)
- Opioids (reduce pain and give pleasure/ heroin)
- Hallucinogens (crazy town anything and everything goes)
Thing about drugs
Effects of drugs depend on which neurotransmitter systems it activates
Restorative theory/ Benefits of sleep
Brain needs to rest and repair
GH repairs damaged tissue
Strengthen immune system
Let’s brain replenish energy stores
Support neural connections (card)
Prepares brain for its memory needs for next day
Circadian rhythm theory
Sleep is a biologically (evolved) survival system
We sleep at night because we cant see in the dark (more in danger)
Consolidation theory/ Sleep spindles benefits
ALOT of sleep spindles strengthen LEARNING neural connections (n2 - non REM dreams- like i if i think about a fact i learned during NREM dream)
Those made during waking state are strengthened even more
Old ppl get less of these (sleep less)
Let’s tell this to Val
Sleep deprivation for even ONE night leads to memory loss, reduced brain activity the next day (brain arras essential for memory)
Transcendental meditation (TM)
Popular in WEST
Hyper focus 20 minutes twice a day
Benefits of meditation
Long term- structural changes that help maintain brain function over life span
EX: brain volume usually diminishes with age, but not here
Preserves cognitive functioning (correlational)
Improves attention
Reduces stress (less vivid emotional experiences)
Lowers blood pressure
Levels of fatty acid and cholesterol
Signs of diabetes
Zaza
No nausea in chemotherapy patients
Heightened sense of taste
Perceptual and cognitive distortions (no anxiety)
APPARENTLY newbies dont get the high that stoners get
Psychological disorders and violent behavior later in life
How to get substance abuse disorder?
Anything that enhances dopamine activity (drugs) is likely to be repeated (we chase pleasure)
LOTS of Activated dopamine receptors in limbic system
Inherit risk taking + impulsive genes
Role models
Parents are addicts
Addicts eventually find drugs less pleasurable but still use to cope with THIS dilemma
They desensitize themselves from pain unknowingly and so cycle BEGINS with this realization that they all of a sudden cant deal with pain (lost experience)
Automatic processing (consciousness)
The pros at something do it automatically
Neurons in consciousness
Established brain activity (neural) pattern that we associate every single experience (baby neurons card)
Brain activity = neural patterns (and we know what brian activities mean for our consciousness )
More generally and more specialized-> when CERTAIN neuron groups are activated, in turn, a CERTAINNN conscious experience (i think I just reworded the above thing, but I like to think that we switch consciousness in the slightest ((like I suddenly change mindsets)
Global workspace model (1/2)
The key to all our “subjective” thought questions - we all commonly activate specific areas of our brain when analyzing something (neurons in consciousness card)
But since our brains are so complex, @@other areas HAVE to turn on too, when there are emotions AND memories attached to mere association (fusiform face area)@@
SPECIIFC Brain region activity= conscious awareness of SPECIIFC info
Yes we all have the same brain activity, because of similar cultural and social norms that have fundamentally constructed our neural connections
It would not be the case if we were all isolated, unless to the smallest degree it does (brain areas) and thats all that matters
The regions are the key here
Concussions
Not just a mild TBI (traumatic brain injury)
Increase in multiple sclerosis later in life
Concussion facts
Females are more vulnerable and have worse outcomes
Global workspace model (2/2)
General Psychological processes are supported by simultaneous activity of all the diff brain regions
Frontal lobe isn’t EXCLUSIVE to our deeper meaning of life awareness shit
Maybe all of the things each region bring in do center around a singular consciousness and contribute, and consciousness is not so separate?
This is why TBIs negatively affect consciousness
MDMA
Less dopamine acitivty
More serotonin and norepinephrine activity
Hallucinations and sweaty fats heart rate respectively
Damage to prefrontal cortex (cant do hard tasks), hippocampus (memory problems)
Benefits- treats PTSD (in low doses so it doesn’t hurt cognition)
Insomnia
Inability to sleep-> lowers mental health and ability to function
Older adults, women
Sleeping pills don’t work in long run -> instead do CBT cognitive behavioral therapy
Sleep apnea
Throat closes in sleep, so they can’t breathe and WAKE UP
Men and obesity , cardiovascular disease/ stroke
Can’t concentrate when driving, tired in daytime
Loud snoring- otherwise they don’t know they have it in the morning
Narcolepsy
Sleeepy bye while teaching one million people how to say yes
Rare
Muscle paralysis (REM behavior)
Sleep attacks
Genetic that affects transmission of a neurotransmitter in hypothalamus
Cure- stimulants
REM behavior disorder/ NOT sleepwalking
No muscle paralysis (normal REM tings)
I dance in my dream, I dance in my bed
Older males,
Neurological deficit
Somnambulism (sleepwalking)
Young children
Slow-wave sleep (N3)
NOT a person acting unit dream
Glassy-eyed, unaware of surroundings
Alcohol and sleep
Helps you sleep, but will mess up your sleep cycle
Sleep tips
Sleeping late in the morning , napping, or both will make the next nights sleep more difficult
Effects of sleep deprivation
Catch more diseases
Can still perform complex tasks
Irritable mood
Memory loss
REM dreams
Come from the activation of brain structures associated with motivation, reward, and emotion (for example, the amygdala).
The visual association areas, motor cortex, and brain stem are also activated.
At the same time, the prefrontal cortex becomes less activated
Non rem dreams
Everyday situations
REM dream vs NR dream
Activity of diff brain regions during rem and NR create diff types of dreams and your perception of them
NR- generally less active regions
R- SOME increased acitivty, SOME don’t
Manifest content / latent content
Visual info manifested in dream and hwo it’s remembered by dreamer
latent- message behind visual info which is then “disguised” by manifest content, BUT it could very well be a result of how fucking vivid our unconscious mind is and how our complex souls and mind and spirit express itself (we are all capable of magic)
Activation synthesis theory (dreams)
Neurons for sensory input randomly fire, but there is no LITERAL sensory input happening
Brain regions that process the input in waking state do so but brain is confused by it
Our sleeping brain Makes sense of it by combining the sensory activity with memories and emotions its all whacked out and out of order (like daydreaming or just Viking with your neurons during the day)
Waves
Small and short at normal and REM (beta)
N2- sleep spindles and k-complex spikes
N3- huge steady waves (delta)
Can we recall how long we were asleep (how long it FELT)
Types of meditation
