Chapter 3- Consciousness Flashcards
consciousness
our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment
hypnosis
a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perception, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur
Has been used to lessen pain related to medical procedures, headaches, burn injuries, heart disease, and dental issues. Can reduce emotional distress, unpleasant thinking, and the pain of social rejection. Can aid in weight loss especially when used with psychotherapy.
cognitive neuroscience
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition
including perception, thinking, memory, and language
selective attention
focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
note: our senses take in 11 mil bits of info/sec. + 40 are processed
cocktail party effect- ability to attend to only one voice within a sea of many as you chat w a party guest; when another person speaks your name your cognitive radar (operating on your mind’s other track, instantly brings that unattended voice into consciousness
inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
ex. ppl failed to see women w umbrella and gorilla when focused on game
inattentional numbness
ex. distracted participants failed to percieve an otherwise easily-noticed vibration to their hand
-magicians take advantage of this
change blindness
failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness
ex. viewers failed to notice that after a brief visual interruption, a big Coke bottle had disappeared, a railing had risen, clothing had changed color, someone they’d been talking to had been replaced by a different person
change blindness
failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness
ex. viewers failed to notice that after a brief visual interruption, a big Coke bottle had disappeared, a railing had risen, clothing had changed color, someone they’d been talking to had been replaced by a different person
dual processing
the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
ex. drivers veering right
blindsight
a condition in which a person can respond to a visua stimulus without consciously experiencing it
ex. women who couldn’t see but could slip posticards into a mail slot… if ur right and left eyes view different scenes, u will only be consciously aware of one at a time; yet, you’ll display some blindsight awareness of the other
visual perception track
enables us to think about the world- to recognize things and to plan future actions
visual action track
guides our moment-to-moment movements
parallel processing
processing many aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously
enables your mind to take care of routine business
sequential processing
processing one aspect of a stimulus or problem at a time; generally used to process new information or to solve difficult problems
best 4 solving new problems that require our focus/attention on 1 thing
What are the mind’s two tracks?
The conscious and unconscious mind
Inattentional blindness is a product of our —- attention.
selective attention
sleep
a periodic, natural loss of consciousness – as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation
EEGS show the brain’s auditory cortex responds to sound stimuli
Even when you sleep deeply your perceptual window is open a crack…. the sound of your name can cause your unconscious body to perk up… when you sleep you process most info outside your conscious awareness
ciradian rhythm
our biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle
thinking+memory improve as we approach r daily peak in circadian rhythm
temperature circadian rhythm
rises as morning nears, peaks during the day, dips for a time in early afternoon, and drops again at evening
What alters circadian rhythm?
Age and Experience; most 20 yo are owls w performance improving throughout the day, most older adults are early birds
Night owls tend to be creative, smart, and hard-working. Morning types tend to do better in school, take more initiative, be more punctual, and be less vulnerable to depression
REM sleep
rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams occur. Aka paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active…about 100 mins total and 20-25% of the cycle
sometimes called R-sleep, lasts about 10 minutes percycle
heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid and irregular, every 30 secs closed eyes dart around in momentary bursts of energy (these eye movements announce the beg. of a dream), genitals become eroused (except during very scary dreams), brain’s motor cortex is active but brainstem blocks the messages
alpha waves
the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
you can still attend to what the researcher says throught the intercom
N1 sleep
the first stage of non-REM sleep, may experience fantastic images resembling hallucinations, may have a sensation of falling, or of floating weightlessly
sensations are called hypnagogic or hypnic, and may be later incorporated into your memories
N2 Sleep
lasts around 20 minutes, with periodic sleep spindles… you can be awakened without too much difficulty but are clearly asleep
sleep spindles are bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity that aid memory processing
N3 sleep
deep sleep, lasts around 30 minute… brain emits large, slow delta waves and you are hard to awaken
end of this stage that children may wet the bed
hallucinations
false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
delta waves
the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
sleep cycle
repeats every 90 mins for younger adults (shorter more frequent cycles for older adults). Deep N3 sleep grows shorter and disappears, and REM and N2 sleep periods get longer as the night goes on
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
a pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness
a pair of grain-of-rice-sized 10,000-cell clusters
desynchronization
not being in-tune to our natural 24-hour biological clock-astronauts and night-shift workers experience it… causes fatigue, stomach problems, heart disease, and breast cancer
sleep deprivation effects on brain
decreased ability to focus and process/store memories, increased risk of depression, decresed metabolic rate, incresed cortisol, enhanced limbic brain responses to the mere sight of food, decresed cortical responses- reducing ability to resist temptation
sleep deprivation effects on the immune system
decreased production of immune cells, increased risk of viral infections
sleep deprivation effects on the heart, stomach, muscles, joints, fat cells
- heart- increased risk of high blood pressure
- stomach- increase in the hunger-arousing hormone (grelin), decrease in the hunger-suppressing hormone (leptin)
- muscles- reduced strength, slower reaction time and motor learning
- joints- increased inflammation and arthritis
- fat cells- increased production, greater risk of obesity
insomnia
- ongoing difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Effects are chronic tiredness, increased risk of depression, obesity, hypertension, and arthritic and fibromyalgia pain.
rate: 1 in 4 older adults, 1 in 10 adults
more women diagnosed, rebound insomnia can be due to using too much/often sleeping pills… occurs for over a month to be diagnosed
Narcolepsy
- Sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness… due to issue w chemical function in the hypothalamus
- Risk of falling asleep at a dangerous moment. Attacks usually last less that 5 minutes
rate: 1 in 2000 adults
sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep
Sleep Apnea
- Stopping breathing repeatedly while sleeping. Not enough oxygen brings brain into panic mode… the throat collapses + there is lots of snoring
- Effects are fatigue and depression due to slow-wave sleep deprivation
Effects mostly overweight men in 40s, 1:20 adults (1-2/3 ppl in studies)
Sleepwalking
- Doing normal waking activities while asleep. Sleeptalking occurs during any sleep stage, sleep walking happens in N3 (deep) sleep
- Few serious effects/concerns
1-15:100 for sleepwalking, 50:100 kids for sleeptalking
Can occur rarely or every night
Night Terrors
- Appearing terrified, talking nonsense, sitting up, or walking around during N3 sleep; different from nightmares
- Effects include doubling of a child’s heart and breathing rates during the attack. Children typically remember little or nothing of the fearful event the next day
1:100 adults, 1:30 children
occur during N3 sleep within 2-3 hours of falling asleep
Sleep Paralysis
people become conscious but cannot move, atonia (lack of muscle control), chest pressure/ compression, floating away from body feeling, eyes typically remain closed, 20% of people can move their fingers
associated w sleep apnea + anxiety related conditions, especially PTSD
Melatonin
Levels rise in dark rooms and fall in light, is secreated by the pineal galnd
ganglion cells in eyes have pidment melanopsin… photoentrainment (the entrainment of an organism’s circadian rhythm to the pattern of light and dark in its environment)
Fatal Familial Insomnia
1.Affects the thalamus
2. People can no longer sleep, they get increasingly compromised
3. Is a genetic prion disease (prion is a type of protein that can trigger normal proteins in the brain to fold abnormally)
4. Is an orphan (rare) disease
5. Takes 18 mo from diagnosis to death
SIDS
- Sudden death of babies under 1, peaks at 3-4 months… most likely to occur at night and in cold weather (resp. infections and babies may be overbundled/overheated)
- Babies at risk: Formula fed, infants placed on stomach to sleep, mothers who smoke/environments w smoke, poor prenatal care, babies who sleep alone, premies
.57:1000 babies
boys may be at higher risk, females are mosre robust and developed
dream
sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind
Manifest content vs. latent content
Manifest content: the symbolic, remembered story line of a dream
Latent content: the underlying meaning of a dream
Freud
Dream Theories
Believed dreams were the key to understanding our inner conflicts, that dreams provide a psychic safety net valve that discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings
Information-processing perspective
Dream theories
proposes that dreams may help sift, sort, and fix the day’s experiences in our memory. brain scans confirm the link between REM sleep and memory
physiological function
dream theories
Dreams are meant to develop and preserve neural pathways… perhaps they provide the sleeping brain with periodic stimulation, which preserves and expands the brain’s neural pathways
Activation-synthesis theory
dream theories
Says dreams erupt from neural activation spreading upward from the brainsteam, dreams are the brain’s attempt to synthesize random neural activity
there is increased activity in the emotion-related limbic system during emotion dreams… frontal lobe regions responsible for inhibition and logical thinking seem to idle, which may explain why we are less inhibited in our dreams then when awake… damage to the limbic system or the visual centers active during dreaming may impair dreaming itself
cognitive development
dream theories
Says dream content reflects dreamers’ level of cognitive development- their knowledge and understanding. Dreams simulate our lives, including worst-case scenarios
emphasizes our mind’s top-down control of our dream content
REM rebound
the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
Psychoactive Drug
a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods
substance use disorder vs addiction
- a disorder characterized by continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk
- an everyday term for compulsive substance use (and sometimes for dysfunctional behavior patterns, such as out-of-control gambling) that continues despite harmful consequences
Depressants
Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
includes alcohol, barbituates, and opiates
Barbituates
drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement
can be lethal when combined with alcohol
opiates
opium and its derivaties which depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety
includes heroin, methadone, morhpine, and fentanyl
blissful pleasure replaces pain and anxiety, pupil’s constrict, breathing slows, and lethargy sets in
Stimulants
drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions
caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, and Ecstacy
pupils dilate, heart and breathing rates increase, blood sugar levels rise, appetite reduces, energy and self-confidence rise
amphetamines
drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes
includes methamphetamine
nicotine
a stimulating and highly addicive psychoactive drug in tobacco products
epinephrine and norepinephrine released to diminsh appetite and boost alertness/mental efficiency…dopamine and opioids temporarily calm anxiety and reduce sensitivity to pain… 3/4 smokers wish they could stop but fewer than 1 in 7 are successful
cocaine
a powerful and addictive stimulant derived from the coco plant; produces temporary increased alertness and euphoria
emotional dist., suspiciousness, convulsions, cardiac arrest, resp fail.
enters bloodstream quickly, producing a rush of euphoria that depletes the brain’s supply of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine; within the hour agitated depression follow and the craving for more wanes and comes back in several days
methamphetamine
a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the CNS, with accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time reduces baseline dopamine levels
chemically similar to amphetamines but has greater effects, lasts 8 hrs
aftereffects include irritability, insomnia, hypertension, seizures, social isolation, depression, and occasional violent outbursts
ecstacy (MDMA)
a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition.
amphetamine derivitive
triggers dopamine release but releases stored serotonin and blocks its’ reuptake, thus prolonging serotonin’s feel-good flow… dehydrating, suppresses immune system, slows thought, disrupts sleep
