consciousness Flashcards
what is consciousness
baumeister and masicampo 2010
-consciousness is the ability to reason, reflect on ones experiences and have a sense of self
-especially one that extends beyond the current moment
what are the functions of consciousness
-allows us to perceive the environment
-plays a role in controlling our actions
-allows us to understand what other people are thinking
-allows us to think about events beyond the here an now
-allows us to integrate and combine diff types of info
Soon et al 2008 research
-FMRI to assess people’s decision to move either their L or R finger
-pp decision could be predicted on the basis of activity in PFC and parietal cortex up to 10 secs before they were consciously aware of their decision
what is prediction 1 about consciousness and supporting research
-there are several unconscious processors operating in parallel (early processing is similar regardless whether a stimulus is perceived or not)
Lamy et al 2001
-early responses are unaffected by whether there was conscious awareness or not
-conscious awareness was associated with later wave of activity 400-600ms after stim
what is prediction 2 about consciousness and supporting research
-information is integrated across top down (expectations) and bottom up (processing of visual object) e.g its almost impossible to perceive an object whilst ignoring its colour
Melloni et al 2007
-both consciously and unconsciously perceived objects are processed
-it isnt until later that differences in brain responses emerge when brain regions become more connected to each other
what is prediction 3 about consciousness and supporting research
-brain activity varies as a function of the contents of conscious awareness
-dorsolateral PFC strongly associated with consciousness
Gaillard et al 2009
-activity in PFC predicts whether an object is consciously perceived or not
what is prediction 4 about consciousness
-there are close links between attention and consciousness
-however attention can occur without consciousness or vice versa (Cohen 2012)
what are the 2 disorders of consciousness
persistent vegetative state (PVS)
locked in syndrome
what is PVS
-LT disorder of consciousness
-wakefulness without awareness
-higher cog function is lost (thinking etc)
-brainstem responses (breathing, pulse) remain
what is the issue with PVS
families of indivs with PVS often end life support as state is irreversible however patients might be locked in
what is locked in syndrome
-patients are aware and awake and fully conscious but fully paralysed
-some can make vertical eye movements and blink to communicate
PVS vs locked in syndrome research
-Monti et al 2010
-FMRI study
-motor imagery: ask pp to imagine hitting a ball
-spatial imagery: ask pp to navigate
-easy to detect if pp were imagining hitting ball or navigating as they use diff brain regions
-5/54 patients were able to respond to task implying awareness
further research for PVS and locked in syndrome
Cruse et al 2011
-EEG
-pp imagine moving their R hand and toes
-3/16 were able to respond as shown by EEG showing they had awareness
downsides
-families find out loved one has been in pain for yrs which is upsetting
-may influence whether they end life support
-ethical issues arise: should you ask patient or family if they want life support withdrawn
