ch 6- consciousness

Question 1

consciousness

Answer 1

awareness of our internal and external states

Question 2

altered states of consciousness

Answer 2

a change in a person’s ability to be fully aware of their external surroundings or internal states

Question 3

contents of consciousness

Answer 3

specific thoughts we are aware of about our internal states or external surroundings

Question 4

can you be awake but not conscious?

Answer 4

Yes. Seizures, epilepsy etc. They may appear to be awake but are not conscious of the world around them

Question 5

Key part of conscious awareness

Answer 5

attention

Question 6

Damage to reticular formation

Answer 6

risk of being paralyzed/in a coma

Question 7

The reticular formation

Answer 7

the reticular formation, when stimulated brings an individual out of sleep into a state of alertness

Question 8

The Thalamus and Hypothalamus

Answer 8

information processing (input from reticular formation)

Question 9

loss of parts of the thalamus..

Answer 9

can lead to a lack of conscious awareness of specific parts of the body or our surrounding environments.

Question 10

Damage to the neurotransmitter systems of the hypothalamus…

Answer 10

can lead to disturbances of wakefulness such as narcolepsy

Question 11

cerebral cortex

Answer 11

in charge of one’s awareness of the information the cortex receives from subcortical structures

Question 12

thalamus

Answer 12

what gets our attention etc.

Question 13

cerebral cortex damaged (individual is blind): Weiskrantz studies concluded…

Answer 13

although individuals were not AWARE or objects/couldn’t see them, they could still attend to the visual stimuli (avoid chairs and tables etc. without being aware that they were there)
–> concluded that there are two separate brain areas responsible from attending and being aware of visual stimuli

Question 14

left cerebral cortex

Answer 14

the left cerebral cortex is responsible for verbal awareness and the ability to send a motor command to the mouth from Broca’s area in order for the word to be spoken

Question 15

The “rouge” test for infant

Answer 15

to determine if infants are aware that they are their own individual. Red dot on nose, looking in mirror; if they touch their nose they pass, if they touch the mirror they do not.

Question 16

preconsciousness

Answer 16

level of awareness in which information can become readily available to consciousness if necessary
–> can you remember what your morning routine was today? the drive to school?
–> yes but info needs to be thought about a little bc those things are seen as “automatic behaviours”

Question 17

unconscious state

Answer 17

state in which information is not easily accessible to conscious awareness

Question 18

Explicit memories

Answer 18

-involve pieces of knowledge that we are fully aware of
-the conscious, intentional recovery of a memory.
–> ex. Knowing the date of your birth is an explicit memory

Question 19

Implicit memories

Answer 19

knowledge that we are not typically aware of—information that we cannot recall at will, but that we use in the performance of various tasks in life
ex. reading, driving etc. (skill related)
ex. voting in an election (not aware of all the information leading up to that decision that influenced your vote)

Question 20

adaptive theory of sleep

Answer 20

theory that organisms sleep for the purpose of self-preservation, to keep away from predators that are more active at night

Question 21

restorative theory of sleep

Answer 21

theory that we sleep to allow the brain and body to restore certain depleted chemical resources and eliminate chemical wastes that have accumulated during the waking day

Question 22

circadian rhythm

Answer 22

pattern of sleep–wake cycles that in human beings roughly corresponds to periods of daylight and night

Question 23

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

Answer 23

a small group of neurons in the hypothalamus responsible for coordinating the many rhythms of the body

Question 24

hypnagogic state

Answer 24

a pre-sleep period often characterized by vivid sensory phenomena

Question 25

sleep spindles

Answer 25

bursts of brain activity lasting a second or two; occur during Stage 2 sleep

Question 26

rapid eye movement sleep (REM)

Answer 26

stage of sleep associated with rapid and jagged brainwave patterns, increased heart rate, rapid and irregular breathing, rapid eye movements, and dreaming
–> genitals also become aroused

Question 27

non-REM sleep (NREM)

Answer 27

Stages 1 through 4 of normal sleep pattern

Question 28

dreams occur during – sleep

Answer 28

REM

Question 29

information-processing theory

Answer 29

hypothesis that dreams are the mind’s attempt to sort out and organize the day’s experiences and to fix them in memories

Question 30

activation-synthesis model theory

Answer 30

theory that dreams result from the brain’s attempts to synthesize or organize random internally-generated signals and give them meaning
–> random collection of images, memories etc. that the brain tries to make sense of
–> “synthesizing” random collection of images to give them meaning

Question 31

Freud argued that dreams represent the

Answer 31

expression of unconscious wishes or desires

Question 32

lucid dreams

Answer 32

dreams in which sleepers fully recognize that they are dreaming, and occasionally actively guide the outcome of the dream

Question 33

insomnia

Answer 33

sleep disorder characterized by a regular inability to fall asleep or stay asleep

Question 34

sleep apnea

Answer 34

\sleep disorder characterized by repeatedly ceasing to breathe during the night, depriving the brain of oxygen and leading to frequent awakenings

Question 35

narcolepsy

Answer 35

sleep disorder marked by uncontrollable urge to fall asleep

Question 36

nightmares

Answer 36

anxiety-arousing-dreams
REM

Question 37

night terrors

Answer 37

intense arousal and panic
NREM

Question 38

somnambulism

Answer 38

sleep walking
-usually occurs during first 3 hours of sleep

Question 39

problem w sleeping pills?

Answer 39

drug resistance. need more to achieve the same effect over time

Question 40

Delayed sleep phase syndrome

Answer 40

a long delay in a person’s ability to fall asleep, often hours past the time they wish to fall asleep

Question 41

Advanced sleep phase syndrome

Answer 41

individuals tend to fall asleep early in the evening, between 6 and 9 p.m., prior to their desired time to fall asleep. They wake up in the early hours of the day, between 2 and 5 a.m., well before their desired time to wake

Question 42

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS)

Answer 42

disorders where individuals have strong urges to move their legs, usually in the evenings just prior to falling asleep, or during sleep in the case of PLMS

Question 43

REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder

Answer 43

Imagine being sound asleep beside someone only to have them kick you unexpectedly. Upon waking, you realize the person beside you is sound asleep. They appear to be dreaming but rather than the usual small twitches that often occur they are moving about vigorously, and appear to be acting out their dream.

Question 44

Why do we need sleep? (3 reasons)

Answer 44

1. Improving cognition: new neurons
2. Improving metabolism
3. Locking in memories

Question 45

Stage 1 of sleep: drowsiness

Answer 45

onset of sleep
eyes begin to close
lasts 5-10 min

Question 46

Stage 2: light sleep

Answer 46

muscles tense and relax
beginning of sleep cycle
preparing to enter deep sleep
45-60% of a good sleepers average night

Question 47

Stages 3 and 4: deep/”delta” sleep

Answer 47

stage 4= more intense version of stage 3
between 10-30 min long
DEEPEST stages if sleep (deeper than stage 5/REM)

Question 48

Stage 5: REM

Answer 48

-this is when dreams occur
-rapid twitching eyes, increased HR, muscle tension and contraction
-10 minutes long
-a form of paralysis takes over your body
-you are aware that you are dreaming

Question 49

How long does the 5 stage sleep cycle last

Answer 49

about 100 minutes
(increases in length after every completion of stage 5/REM sleep)