Chapter 3- Consciousness Flashcards

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1
Q

consciousness

A

our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment

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2
Q

hypnosis

A

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.

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3
Q

cognitive neuroscience

A

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition

including perception, thinking, memory, and language

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4
Q

selective attention

A

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

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5
Q

inattentional blindness

A

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

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6
Q

inattentional numbness

A

ex. distracted participants failed to percieve an otherwise easily-noticed vibration to their hand

-magicians take advantage of this

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7
Q

change blindness

A

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a big Coke bottle had disappeared, a railing had risen, clothing had changed color, someone they’d been talking to had been replaced by a different person

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8
Q

change blindness

A

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

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9
Q

dual processing

A

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

ex. drivers veering right

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10
Q

blindsight

A

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

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11
Q

visual perception track

A

enables us to think about the world- to recognize things and to plan future actions

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12
Q

visual action track

A

guides our moment-to-moment movements

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13
Q

parallel processing

A

processing many aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously

enables your mind to take care of routine business

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14
Q

sequential processing

A

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

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15
Q

What are the mind’s two tracks?

A

The conscious and unconscious mind

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16
Q

Inattentional blindness is a product of our —- attention.

A

selective attention

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17
Q

sleep

A

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

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18
Q

ciradian rhythm

A

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

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19
Q

temperature circadian rhythm

A

rises as morning nears, peaks during the day, dips for a time in early afternoon, and drops again at evening

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20
Q

What alters circadian rhythm?

A

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

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21
Q

REM sleep

A

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

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22
Q

alpha waves

A

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

you can still attend to what the researcher says throught the intercom

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23
Q

N1 sleep

A

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

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24
Q

N2 Sleep

A

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

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25
Q

N3 sleep

A

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

26
Q

hallucinations

A

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

27
Q

delta waves

A

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

28
Q

sleep cycle

A

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

29
Q

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

A

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

30
Q

desynchronization

A

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

31
Q

sleep deprivation effects on brain

A

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

32
Q

sleep deprivation effects on the immune system

A

decreased production of immune cells, increased risk of viral infections

33
Q

sleep deprivation effects on the heart, stomach, muscles, joints, fat cells

A
  1. heart- increased risk of high blood pressure
  2. stomach- increase in the hunger-arousing hormone (grelin), decrease in the hunger-suppressing hormone (leptin)
  3. muscles- reduced strength, slower reaction time and motor learning
  4. joints- increased inflammation and arthritis
  5. fat cells- increased production, greater risk of obesity
34
Q

insomnia

A
  1. ongoing difficulty falling or staying asleep
  2. 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

35
Q

Narcolepsy

A
  1. Sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness… due to issue w chemical function in the hypothalamus
  2. 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

36
Q

Sleep Apnea

A
  1. Stopping breathing repeatedly while sleeping. Not enough oxygen brings brain into panic mode… the throat collapses + there is lots of snoring
  2. 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)

37
Q

Sleepwalking

A
  1. Doing normal waking activities while asleep. Sleeptalking occurs during any sleep stage, sleep walking happens in N3 (deep) sleep
  2. Few serious effects/concerns

1-15:100 for sleepwalking, 50:100 kids for sleeptalking

Can occur rarely or every night

38
Q

Night Terrors

A
  1. Appearing terrified, talking nonsense, sitting up, or walking around during N3 sleep; different from nightmares
  2. 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

39
Q

Sleep Paralysis

A

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

40
Q

Melatonin

A

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)

41
Q

Fatal Familial Insomnia

A

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

42
Q

SIDS

A
  1. 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)
  2. 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

43
Q

dream

A

sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind

44
Q

Manifest content vs. latent content

A

Manifest content: the symbolic, remembered story line of a dream
Latent content: the underlying meaning of a dream

45
Q

Freud

Dream Theories

A

Believed dreams were the key to understanding our inner conflicts, that dreams provide a psychic safety net valve that discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings

46
Q

Information-processing perspective

Dream theories

A

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

47
Q

physiological function

dream theories

A

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

48
Q

Activation-synthesis theory

dream theories

A

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

49
Q

cognitive development

dream theories

A

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

50
Q

REM rebound

A

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

51
Q

Psychoactive Drug

A

a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods

52
Q

substance use disorder vs addiction

A
  1. a disorder characterized by continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk
  2. an everyday term for compulsive substance use (and sometimes for dysfunctional behavior patterns, such as out-of-control gambling) that continues despite harmful consequences
53
Q

Depressants

A

Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

includes alcohol, barbituates, and opiates

54
Q

Barbituates

A

drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement

can be lethal when combined with alcohol

55
Q

opiates

A

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

56
Q

Stimulants

A

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

57
Q

amphetamines

A

drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes

includes methamphetamine

58
Q

nicotine

A

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

59
Q

cocaine

A

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

60
Q

methamphetamine

A

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

61
Q

ecstacy (MDMA)

A

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