Ch. 4- Consciousness Flashcards
consciousness
awareness of surroundings
what are the 4 main states of consciousness?
alert, daydreaming, drowsy, and asleep.
alertness
most attention to sensory input
what 2 structures in the brain are most closely associated with alertness?
reticular formation and the reticular activating system
where is the reticular formation located?
the brainstem
unconsciousness
a person cannot be easily roused
coma
deepest form of unconsciousness, a person doesn’t react normally to stimuli like pain, light, sound, and isn’t in a normal sleep/wake cycle
what is used to record brain waves while someone is asleep?
electroencephalography (EEG)
what does electromyography (EMG) record?
muscle activity, part of a sleep study
what does electrooculography (EOG) record?
eye activity, part of a sleep study
what is a polysomnography?
a comprehensive sleep study
what is a mnemonic for remembering what brain waves correspond to what stages of sleep?
BATS drink blood- beta waves (awake), alpha waves (drowsy), theta waves (N1), sleep spindles (N2), delta waves (N3/slow-wave), then beta waves again (REM)
beta waves
brain waves shown during alertness
alpha waves
brain waves shown during drowsiness or awake with eyes closed
theta waves
brain waves shown during non-REM 1 (N1) stage of sleep
K-complexes and sleep spindles
brain waves shown during non-REM 2 (N2) stage of sleep
delta waves
brain waves shown during non-REM 3 (N3) or slow-wave sleep
what sleep stage deals with consolidating memory?
N2
what sleep stage deals with memory processing?
N3/SWS
REM
rapid-eye movement
what sleep stage deals with dreaming, irregular respiration and irregular heartrate?
REM
what is REM rebound?
the phenomenon of how if you don’t get enough REM sleep one night, you’ll spend extra time in REM the next night to catch up.
in what sleep stage does eye movement start and stop?
starts in REM, stops in N2
how long is the sleep cycle in adults and kids?
90min adults, 50min kids
what is our circadian rhythm?
our body’s sleep-wake cycle
melatonin
hormone from the pineal gland that promotes drowsiness
cortisol
hormone from the adrenal glands that modulates the chronic stress response, but also contributes to wakefulness
insomnia
hard to fall asleep or stay asleep
narcolepsy
excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, abnormal REM sleep, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations
sleep apnea
stop breathing while sleeping
dyssomnias
sleep disorders that interfere with whether or not sleep takes place
parasomnias
sleep disorders that involve abnormal behavior during sleep
somnambulism
sleepwalking
night terrors
flight-or-fight response is suddenly turned on, you often just sit up and scream
manifest content of dreams
surface-level plotline and details of dreams
latent content of dreams
hidden meaning of dreams
Freud’s concept of wish fulfillment
dreams provide a way to resolve a repressed conflict by allowing a person to visualise the satisfaction of a desire
activation-synthesis model of dreams
synthesizing the activation of neurons in REM sleep results as a dream
the problem-solving theory of dreams
the brain unconsciously processes and works through problems
the cognitive theory of dreams
dreams reflect cognitive structures that we use in everyday life
hypnosis
someone inducing a hyper-suggestible state onto someone else. the person will respond to stimuli regularly but will be a lot more responsive to suggestions
meditation
quieting one’s mind to focus attention more deliberately
what type of drug is caffeine?
stimulant
what do stimulant drugs do?
increase CNS activity, have an eneretic effect, or mimic the parasympathetic nervous system’s “fight-or-flight” response
addiction
a pattern of compulsive behavior despite negative consequences
dependence
the onset of withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking a drug
tolerance
you have to start taking larger doses of a drug for it to still work on you
what pathway is often active in addiction?
the mesolimbic pathway
what brain structures are contained in the mesolimbic pathway?
nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, olfactory tubule, medial forebrain bundle
what 5 well-known drugs are stimulants?
caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, MDMA, and cocaine
what effect do amphetamines have?
decrease appetite and increase energy
what effect does MDMA have?
increases energy, increases empathy, stimulates the release of serotonin, dopamine, and epinephrine
what effect does cocaine have?
blocks reuptake of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine
what do depressant drugs do?
decrease CNS activity
what 3 well-known substances are depressants?
alcohol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates
what are benzodiazepines and barbiturates most commonly used for?
treatment of anxiety (do NOT use with alcohol)
what is Korsakoff syndrome?
caused by alcohol abuse, when you experience memory loss, confusion, and confabulation
what do opioids do?
they are potent agonists for natural opioid receptors in the body (like endorphins). good for pain relief, but very addictive
what 6 well-known substances are opioids?
morphine, heroin, oxycodone, codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone
what do hallucinogens do?
distort perceptions and enhance sensory experiences
what 4 well-known substances are hallucinogens?
LSD, ketamine, psilocybin, PCP
does marijuana fit into any major drug categories?
not really, it binds to endocannabinoid receptors
selective attention
ability to pick out one thing to pay attention to while ignoring everything else
Broadbent filter model
background/unimportant information is filtered out and lost
Treismann attenuation model
unimportant/background information gets minimized, but if something important happens we notice it
inattentional blindness
you’re so focused on one thing that you ignore everything else that’s not that thing.
change blindness
we miss things that have gradually or subtly changed in our environment
how would you expect to see a difference in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate in stimulants vs. depressants?
stimulants = heartrate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure increase
depressants = heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure decrease
what receptor do depressants such as alcohol affect?
GABA receptors = inhibitory neurotransmitter. brain thinks it’s receiving more GABA = thinks it’s receiving less signals = fires slower
does multitasking work?
yes, but up to a certain point. if you try to multitask too much you’ll just end up doing a really bad job at everything.
simultaneous attention
actually paying attention to two tihngs at the same time
sequential attention
we’re not actually paying attention to two things at the same time, we’re just constantly switching back and forth between the two
what did Kahneman say about multitasking?
you do things worse while multitasking than if you do them in isolation/not multitasking
Allport’s module resource theory
attention isn’t regulated by a single center in the brain, but divided up into different modules according to task. Multitasking using different modules works, multitasking using the same module does not.
what is controlled vs. automatic processing?
controlled processing- you have to think about doing something to do it
automatic processing - you can do it on autopilot
