Chapter 6: Consciousness Key Terms

Question 1

Consciousness:

Answer 1

An awareness of one’s surroundings and of what is in one’s mind at a given moment; includes aspects of being awake and aware.

Three different cognitive perspectives

• GLOBAL WORKSPACE THEORY - consciousness is a place where we temporarily attend to information that is at hand or deemed important.
• SYNCHRONIZATION - Conscious awareness occurs when neurons from nay distinct brain regions work together.
• RADICAL PLASTICITY THEORY - Consciousness is a learned process (an acquired skill)

Question 2

Wakefulness:

Answer 2

The degree of alertness reflecting whether a person is awake or asleep.

Question 3

Awareness:

Answer 3

Monitoring of information from the environment and from one’s own thoughts.

Question 4

Coma:

Answer 4

A state of consciousness in which the eyes are closed and the person is unresponsive and unarousable.

Question 5

Reticular activating system:

Answer 5

A bundle of nerves in the brain stem that are involved in wakefulness and the transition between wakefulness and sleep.

Question 6

Vegetative state:

Answer 6

A state of minimal consciousness in which the eyes might be open, but the person is otherwise unresponsive.

Question 7

Minimally conscious:

Answer 7

State in which a patient shows signs of intentional behavior (such as visually tracking a person), but cannot communicate.

Question 8

Disorders of consciousness:

Answer 8

A diagnostic category that encompasses the variety of ways in which wakefulness and awareness might be compromised.

Question 9

Mindfulness:

Answer 9

A heightened awareness of the present moment, whether of events in one’s environment or in one’s own mind.

Question 10

Attention:

Answer 10

The limited capacity to process information that is under conscious control.

Question 11

Selective attention:

Answer 11

The ability to focus awareness on specific features in the environment while ignoring others.

Question 12

Perceptual load theory:

Answer 12

A theory of attention: the ability to attend to information is determined by both the DEMANDS of the situation and the attentional RESOURCES one has available at a particular moment

Question 13

Sustained attention:

Answer 13

The ability to maintain focused awareness on a target or an idea.

Compromised during multitasking.

Question 14

Meditation:

Answer 14

Practices that people use to calm the mind, stabilize concentration, focus attention, and enhance awareness of the present moment.

Question 15

Circadian rhythms:

Answer 15

The variations in physiological processes that cycle within approximately a 24-hour period, including the sleep–wake cycle.

Question 16

Rapid eye movements (REM):

Answer 16

Quick movements of the eye that occur during sleep, thought to mark phases of dreaming.

Question 17

Beta waves:

Answer 17

The pattern of brain activity when one is awake; rapid, low-energy waves.

Question 18

Alpha waves:

Answer 18

The pattern of brain activity when one is relaxed and drowsy; slower, higher-energy waves than beta waves.

Question 19

Non-REM:

Answer 19

The form of sleep with few eye movements, which are slow rather than fast.

Three stages of N sleep:

• N1: Theta waves; sensory curtain drops and we are no longer responsive to outside world
• N2: Sleep spindles = short, extremely fast and somewhat higher-energy theta wave projections; K-complexes
• N3: Delta waves; no K-complexes; deepest sleep

Question 20

Theta waves:

Answer 20

A pattern of brain activity during N1 sleep; slower, lower-energy waves than alpha waves.

Question 21

Delta waves:

Answer 21

Type of brain activity that dominates N3 sleep; higher energy than theta waves.

Question 22

Insomnia:

Answer 22

A sleep difficulty characterized by difficulty falling and staying asleep, as well as not feeling rested.

Question 23

Sleepwalking:

Answer 23

A sleep difficulty characterized by activities occurring during non-REM sleep that usually occur when one is awake, such as walking and eating.

Question 24

Narcolepsy:

Answer 24

A sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and weakness in facial and limb muscles.

Question 25

Sleep apnea:

Answer 25

A chronic disorder in which there are pauses in breathing during sleep, which shifts sleep from deep to light, often resulting in poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness.

Question 26

Night terrors:

Answer 26

A state that occurs when a person walks around, speaks incoherently, and ultimately awakens, terrified, from sleep.

Question 27

Dreams:

Answer 27

Images, thoughts, and feelings experienced during sleep.

Question 28

Manifest level:

Answer 28

Freud’s surface level of dreams, what we consciously recall after waking up.

Question 29

Latent level:

Answer 29

Freud’s deeper, unconscious level of dreams; their meaning is found at this level.

Question 30

AIM:

Answer 30

Three biologically based dimensions of consciousness—activation, input, and mode.

Activation - amount of neural activation and ranges from low to high activation
Input - whether stimulation is internal or external
Mode - mental state - from logical (wakeful) to loose-illogical (dreaming)

Question 31

Hypnosis:

Answer 31

A state characterized by focused attention, suggestibility, absorption, lack of voluntary control over behavior, and suspension of critical faculties; occurs when instructed by someone trained in hypnosis; may be therapeutic.

Question 32

Stroop effect:

Answer 32

A delay in reaction time when the colors of words on a test and their meaning differ.

Question 33

Psychoactive drugs:

Answer 33

Naturally occurring or synthesized substances that, when ingested or otherwise taken into the body, reliably produce qualitative changes in conscious experience.

Question 34

Tolerance:

Answer 34

The need to consume increasing amounts of a drug to get the desired effect.

Question 35

Withdrawal symptoms:

Answer 35

The adverse effects people with physical dependence experience if they stop using a drug.

Question 36

Hallucinations:

Answer 36

Convincing sensory experiences that occur in the absence of an external stimulus.

Question 37

Addiction:

Answer 37

A condition that results from habitual use or physical and psychological dependence on a substance.

Question 38

Depressants:

Answer 38

Substances that decrease or slow down central nervous system activity.

Alcohol, sedatives, opioids

Question 39

Stimulants:

Answer 39

Substances that activate the nervous system.

Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstacy (MDMA)

Question 40

Hallucinogens:

Answer 40

Substances that create distorted perceptions of reality ranging from mild to extreme.

Marijuana, LSD, psilocybin

Question 41

Endocannabinoids:

Answer 41

Natural, marijuana-like substances produced by the body.