Chapter 6 - Consciousness Flashcards
Consciousness
An awareness of one’s surroundings and of what’s in one’s mind at a given moment, includes aspects of being awake and aware.
Wakefulness
The degree of alertness reflecting whether a person is awake or asleep.
Awareness
Monitoring of information from the environment and from one’s own thoughts.
Coma
A state of consciousness in which the eyes are closed and the person is unresponsive and unavoidable.
Reticular activating system
A bundle of nerves in the brain stem that are involved in wakefulness and the transition between wakefulness and sleep.
Vegetative state
A state of minimal consciousness in which the eyes might be open, but the person is otherwise unresponsive.
Minimally conscious
State in which a patient shows signs of intentional behavior (such as visually tracking a person), But cannot communicate.
Disorders of consciousness
A diagnostic category that encompasses the variety of ways in which wakefulness in awareness might be Compromised.
Mindfulness
A heightened awareness of the present movement, weather of events in one’s environment or in one’s own mind.
Which brain region plays a key role in maintaining wakefulness? A. Prefrontal cortex B. Cerebellum C. Amygdala D. Reticular formation
D. Reticular formation
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is a heightened awareness of the present moment, which can be applied to events in one’s environment and events in one’s own mind. A. Wakefulness B. Attention C. Mindfulness D. Optimism
C. Mindfulness
Attention
The limited capacity to process information that is under conscious control.
Selective attention
The ability to focus awareness on specific features in the environment while ignoring others.
Sustained attention
The ability to maintain focused awareness on a target or an idea.
What term best describes not perceiving a person in a gorilla suit when I asked to count the number of people playing basketball? A. Inattentional blindness B. Not paying attention C. Absent-mindedness D. Minimally conscious state
A. Inattentional blindness
You are at a loud gathering, talking to a friend. The noise of the chatter is nearly deafening, but all of a sudden you hear your name spoken above the noise. This is known as the A. Self-recognition effect. B. Cocktail party effect. C. Attentional effect. D. Divided attention effect.
B. Cocktail party effect.
Meditation
Practices that people used to calm the mind, stabilize concentration, focus attention, and enhance awareness of the present moment.
Circadian rhythms
The variations in psychological processes that cycle within approximately a 24-hour period, including the sleep-wake cycle.
Which of the following does meditation appear to improve? A. Mindfulness B. Attention C. Well-being D. all of the above
D. All of the above
A study of brain images of experience meditators and a comparison group of non-meditators found that the experienced meditators’ brains showed evidence of
A. thicker cortex in brain areas associated with attention and sensitivity to sensory information.
B. More diverse synaptic connections throughout the cerebellum.
C. Cortical thinning throughout motor areas but thickening in frontal areas.
D. Less synaptic death then in non-meditators.
A. Thicker cortex and brain areas associated with attention and sensitivity to sensory information.
Rapid eye movement (REM)
Quick movements of the eye that occur during sleep, thought to mark phases of dreaming.
Beta waves
The pattern of brain activity when one is awake; rapid, low-energy waves.