Consciousness Flashcards
What is consciousness?
our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment
The state of consciousness where a person is highly susceptible to suggestion
hypnosis
What is selective attention?
focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Cognitive Neuroscience
the study of brain activity associated with mental processes (perception, thinking, memory, and language)
What does inattentional blindness involve?
failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere
-gorilla/basketball study
Change blindness
failure to detect changes in the environment
What can we do with parallel processing?
process many aspects of a stimulus simultaneously
What does sequential processing allow?
only processing one aspect of a stimulus at a time
The condition where a person responds to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it
blindsight
What is dual processing?
information is simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
What happens in withdrawal?
discomfort due to the discontinuation of an addictive drug
Building a tolerance
a diminished response to a drug when taken repeatedly
Depressants
drugs that reduce (depress) neural activity and slow body functions
Stimulants
drugs that excite (stimulate) neural activity and speed up body functions
Hallucinogens
drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images (hallucinations)
Addiction
compulsive substance use despite harmful consequences
Substance use disorder
continued substance cravings and use despite life difficulties or physical risks
Psychoactive drugs
chemical substances that alter perceptions and mood
What is sleep?
a periodic, natural loss of consciousness
Circadian rhythm
regular bodily rhythms like temperature and wakefulness that occur in a 24-hour cycle
What happens in REM sleep
-vivid dreams
-increased brain activity
What happens in N1 sleep
-transitional sleep
-easily interrupted
-hypnic jerks
What happens in N2 sleep
-decreased heartrate and breathing
-drop in temperature
(longest sleep)
What happens in N3 sleep
-deep and restorative
-muscle relaxation
-minimal brain activity
Hallucinations
false sensory experiences that occur without a sensory stimulus
Narcolepsy
excessive urge to sleep at inopportune times - “sleep attacks”
Sleep disorder involving recurring problems falling or staying asleep
insomnia
Sleep disorder involving temporary cessations of breathing during sleep
sleep apnea
Night terrors
high arousal and feelings of panic or dread during sleep (occurs in N3)
What are dreams
sequences of images, emotions, or thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind
Manifest content
the symbolic, remembered storyline of a dream
