Chapter 6: Consciousness Flashcards
consciousness
our immediate awareness of our internal and external states
where is the complex processing that operates consciousness occurring?
thalamus and cerebral cortex
certain areas of the brain are responsible for attention while other areas (cerebral cortex) are in charge of:
one’s awareness of attention ex. demonstrated by blindsight
what are two important structure in the thalamus that controls routing messages along the proper neural network?
the intralaminar nuclei and the midline nuclei
damage to the thalamus (intralaminar nuclei and the midline nuclei) can lead to:
loss of awareness
sense of self
awareness of oneself as a separate being from others
preconsciousness
level of awareness in which information can become readily available to consciousness if necessary-associate with “automatic behaviour”
unconscious state
state in which information is not easily accessible to conscious awareness
implicit memory
knowledge we are not totally aware of-info that we cannot recall at will but that we perform in various tasks in life
explicit memory
pieces of knowledge we are totally aware of-the conscious internal recovery of a memory
what does Freud’s “historic” view of the unconscious suggest?
the knowledge and memories stored in the unconscious maintain their ability to influence how we think, feel, and relate to others
psychoanalytic psychotherapy attempts to:
bring patient’s unconscious material into their conscious awareness
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
circadian rhythm sleep disorder
experiences excessive sleepiness or insomnia as a result of a mismatch between their own slew-wake pattern and the sleep-wake schedule of most other people in their environment
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
a small group of neurons in the hypothalamus responsible for coordinating the many rhythms of the body
at night, SCN directs the:
pineal gland to secrete the hormone melatonin which triggers sleepiness
during the day, photoreceptors in the retina communicate the presence of sunlight to:
SCN and melatonin secretions remain low
hypnagogic state
a pre-sleep period often characterized by vivid sensory phenomena and alpha waves
hypnagogic hallucinations
the sensory phenomena experienced during the hypnagogic state (pre-sleep period)
myoclonic jerk
sharp muscular spasm that accompanies the hallucination of falling (experienced in the hypnagogic state)
stage 1 sleep description:
brain waves become smaller and irregular (theta wave), the bridge between wakefulness and sleep, lasts a few minutes
stage 2 sleep description:
slower brain waves with appearance of sleep spindles, breathing is rhythmic and muscle tension relaxes (lasts 15-20 mins)
sleep spindles
bursts of brain activity lasting a second or two
stage 3 sleep description:
delta waves appear (20-50%)
stage 4 sleep description:
heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rates all drop to lowest levels, mostly delta waves present
deep sleep comprises stages:
3-4 of sleep
non-REM sleep (NREM)
stages 1 through 4 of normal sleep pattern
rapid eye movement sleep (REM) - stage 5
stage of sleep associated with rapid and jagged brainwave patterns, increased heart rate, rapid and irregular breathing, rapid eye movements, and dreaming
paradoxical sleep (REM)
body remains deeply relaxed on the surface but considerable activity occurring internally
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 memory
activation-synthesis model
theory that dreams result from the brain’s attempts to synthesize or organize random internally generated signals and give them meaning
in activation-synthesis model, neurons in the brainstem are activated which activates neurons in the:
cerebral cortex and emotional centres (amygdala, cingulate cortex, hippocampus) and the brain combines these various signals into a dream
according to Freud, dreams represent:
the expression of unconscious wishes or desires, it allows us to discharge internal energy associated with unacceptable feelings
dream images that can be recalled are the:
manifest content of the dream
the unconscious elements of dreams are called the:
latent content
lucid dreams
dreams in which the sleeper fully recognizes that he or she is dreaming, and occasionally guides the outcome of the dream
insomnia
sleep disorder characterized by a regular inability to fall asleep or stay asleep
sleepwalking
generally inherited, occurs during the first three hours of sleep
night terrors
awakes suddenly with heightened fear and agitation, episodes are not remembered in the morning
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-experienced as a loss of consciousness
hypnosis
a seemingly altered state of consciousness during which individuals can be directed to act or experience the world in unusual ways
a hyperalert hypnotic trance guides the individual to:
heightened tension and awareness
the hypnotist always delivers______ to the subject
suggestions
posthypnotic responses
predetermined signal prompts that cause people to directly respond AFTER being roused from the hypnotic trance
posthypnotic amnesia
the hypnotist directs people to forget info learned during hypnosis-does not remember until hypnotist provides a predetermined signal to remember
hypnotic hallucinations
mental perceptions that do not match the physical stimulations, can be positive or negative
positive hypnotic hallucination
people under hypnosis are guided to see/hear things that aren’t present
negative hypnotic hallucination
people under hypnosis who fail to see/hear things present
what are two theories of hypnosis?
divided consciousness and common social and cognitive processes (role-playing)
dissociation
a splitting of consciousness into two dimensions: associate with DIVIDED CONSCIOUSNESS
explain divided consciousness:
one part of consciousness becomes fully tuned into and responsive to hypnotist’s suggestions, the second part is the hidden observer who continues to process information that is seemingly unavailable to the hypnotized person
explain common social and cognitive processes:
individuals playing a part in a social interaction between themselves, the “hypnotist” and the audience, because of their strong beliefs in hypnosis, the people fail to recognize or ignore their own active contributions to the process
when hypnotized, people first enter into a state of mental relaxation characterized by:
reduced activity in the cerebral cortex and thalamus
mental absorption is the “main stage” of hypnosis where the individual is completed focussed on:
the hypnotist’s voice and instruction and actively block out other sources of information (internal and external), it is a state of total focus
mental absorption is characterized by:
increased blood flow and activity in cerebral cortex and thalamus
the area involved with hypnosis for anesthetization or reduction of pain is:
anterior cingulate cortex (decreased activity=decreased awareness of pain)
meditation
technique designed to turn one’s consciousness away from the outer world toward one’s inner cues and awareness
what are two major meditation techniques?
opening-up and concentrative meditation
opening-up
meditators seek to clear their mind to receive new experiences
concentrative meditation
people actively concentrate on an object, word, phrase, or idea (aka mantra)
mindfulness meditation
paying attention to feelings, thoughts, sensations flowing through their minds without feelings or judgements (used to treat people with pain)
psychoactive drugs
chemicals that affect awareness, behaviour, sensation, perception, or mood
addiction
psychological or physical compulsion to take a drug, resulting from regular ingestion and leading to maladaptive patterns of behaviour and changes in physical response
tolerance
mark of physical independence on a drug, in which a person needs to take incrementally larger doses of the drug to achieve the same effect
withdrawal symptoms
unpleasant and sometimes dangerous side effects of reducing intake of a drug after a person has become addicted
depressants
psychoactive drugs that slow down activity of the central nervous system
what are two major depressants?
alcohol and sedative-hypnotic drugs
alcohol
a depressant in liquid form, contains ethyl alcohol- a chemical quickly absorbed into blood through the lining of the stomach and intestine
how does alcohol work?
slows functioning by binding to various neurons, specifically those that receive gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) and reduces the influence of GABA
what determines how much alcohol will affect a person?
the concentration or proportion of ethyl alcohol in the blood
alcoholism
long term pattern of alcohol addiction
binge-drinking
the consumption of 5 or more drinks in a row
many Asians have a deficiency of:
alcohol dehydrogenase-a chemical responsible for breaking down and eliminating alcohol from the body
alcohol overworks the liver and can lead to development of:
cirrhosis-liver becomes scarred and dysfunctional
drinking during pregnancy can lead to:
miscarriage-fetal alcohol syndrom(FAS) or fetal alcohol effects (FAE)
sedative-hypnotic drugs
class of drugs, the members of which produce feelings of relaxation and drowsiness
opiods
class of drugs derived from the sap of the opium poppy, reduces pain and emotional distress
opiods attach to brain receptors that ordinarily:
receive endorphins-it depresses the CNS
stimulants
substances that increase the activity of the central nervous system
how does cocaine work?
it is a stimulant, increases activity of dopamine at key neurons throughout the brain
how is amphetamines different than cocaine?
it is manufactured in the laboratory, everything else is the same, also increased dopamine, AKA crystal meth
hallucinogens
substances that dramatically change one’s state of awareness, causing powerful changes in sensory perception “psychedelic drugs”
LSD
brings on hallucinosis -a state marked by strengthening of visual perceptions and profound psychological and physical changes
how does LSD work?
it binds to neurons that typically receive the neurotransmitter serotonin, basically causes a dump of serotonin
flashbacks
recurrence of the sensory and emotional changes after LSD has left the body
what is in cannabis that causes its effects?
THC
how does cannabis work?
changes one’s conscious experience by producing a mixture of hallucinogenic, depressant, and stimulant effects. can be used as medication for treatment of chronic pain, nausea associated with chemotherapy, etc.
an ingested drug increases:
the activity of certain neurotransmitters in the brain
reward learning pathway
brain circuitry that is important for learning about rewarding stimuli
where is the reward learning pathway located?
extends from the midbrain to the nucleus accumbens and on to the frontal cortex
the key neurotransmitter used in the reward learning pathway is:
dopamine
reward-deficiency syndrome
theory that people might abuse drugs because their reward centre is not readily activated by usual life events-possibly caused by abnormal genes
when a person takes a drug chronically, the brain eventually makes an adjustment by:
reducing its own production of the neurotransmitters whose activity is being increased by the ingested drug
the withdrawal symptoms are a result of:
low neurotransmitter levels
