ch 6- consciousness Flashcards
consciousness
awareness of our internal and external states
altered states of consciousness
a change in a person’s ability to be fully aware of their external surroundings or internal states
contents of consciousness
specific thoughts we are aware of about our internal states or external surroundings
can you be awake but not conscious?
Yes. Seizures, epilepsy etc. They may appear to be awake but are not conscious of the world around them
Key part of conscious awareness
attention
Damage to reticular formation
risk of being paralyzed/in a coma
The reticular formation
the reticular formation, when stimulated brings an individual out of sleep into a state of alertness
The Thalamus and Hypothalamus
information processing (input from reticular formation)
loss of parts of the thalamus..
can lead to a lack of conscious awareness of specific parts of the body or our surrounding environments.
Damage to the neurotransmitter systems of the hypothalamus…
can lead to disturbances of wakefulness such as narcolepsy
cerebral cortex
in charge of one’s awareness of the information the cortex receives from subcortical structures
thalamus
what gets our attention etc.
cerebral cortex damaged (individual is blind): Weiskrantz studies concluded…
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
left cerebral cortex
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
The “rouge” test for infant
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.
preconsciousness
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”
unconscious state
state in which information is not easily accessible to conscious awareness
Explicit memories
-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
Implicit memories
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)
adaptive theory of sleep
theory that organisms sleep for the purpose of self-preservation, to keep away from predators that are more active at night
restorative theory of sleep
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
circadian rhythm
pattern of sleep–wake cycles that in human beings roughly corresponds to periods of daylight and night
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
a small group of neurons in the hypothalamus responsible for coordinating the many rhythms of the body
hypnagogic state
a pre-sleep period often characterized by vivid sensory phenomena
sleep spindles
bursts of brain activity lasting a second or two; occur during Stage 2 sleep
rapid eye movement sleep (REM)
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
non-REM sleep (NREM)
Stages 1 through 4 of normal sleep pattern
dreams occur during – sleep
REM
information-processing theory
hypothesis that dreams are the mind’s attempt to sort out and organize the day’s experiences and to fix them in memories
activation-synthesis model theory
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
Freud argued that dreams represent the
expression of unconscious wishes or desires
lucid dreams
dreams in which sleepers fully recognize that they are dreaming, and occasionally actively guide the outcome of the dream
insomnia
sleep disorder characterized by a regular inability to fall asleep or stay asleep
sleep apnea
\sleep disorder characterized by repeatedly ceasing to breathe during the night, depriving the brain of oxygen and leading to frequent awakenings
narcolepsy
sleep disorder marked by uncontrollable urge to fall asleep
nightmares
anxiety-arousing-dreams
REM
night terrors
intense arousal and panic
NREM
somnambulism
sleep walking
-usually occurs during first 3 hours of sleep
problem w sleeping pills?
drug resistance. need more to achieve the same effect over time
Delayed sleep phase syndrome
a long delay in a person’s ability to fall asleep, often hours past the time they wish to fall asleep
Advanced sleep phase syndrome
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
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS)
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
REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder
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.
Why do we need sleep? (3 reasons)
- Improving cognition: new neurons
- Improving metabolism
- Locking in memories
Stage 1 of sleep: drowsiness
onset of sleep
eyes begin to close
lasts 5-10 min
Stage 2: light sleep
muscles tense and relax
beginning of sleep cycle
preparing to enter deep sleep
45-60% of a good sleepers average night
Stages 3 and 4: deep/”delta” sleep
stage 4= more intense version of stage 3
between 10-30 min long
DEEPEST stages if sleep (deeper than stage 5/REM)
Stage 5: REM
-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
How long does the 5 stage sleep cycle last
about 100 minutes
(increases in length after every completion of stage 5/REM sleep)
