Consciousness Flashcards
Neural activity in which of the following structures is most likely to be a specific factor that correlates with conscious awareness?
a) posterior parietal cortex
b) prefrontal cortex
c) medial temporal lobe
a) posterior parietal cortex
Which of the following structures is the least likely to be a specific factor for what activity correlates with consciousness?
a) Medial temporal cortex
b) Posterior parietal cortex
c) Brain area IT
d) Brain area MT (V5)
a) Medial temporal cortex
Which of the following is most likely to be a specific factor as a neural correlate of consciousness?
a) Widespread brain activity during wakefulness that differs from activity asleep
b) Activity in primary auditory cortex in response to music
c) Activity in inferior temporal cortex in response to the picture of a face
d) Activity in supplementary motor cortex that precedes movement of the arm
c) Activity in inferior temporal cortex in response to the picture of a face
Component of the DMN
- Posterior parietal cortex
- Medial prefrontal cortex
- Hippocampus
All the following are part of the default mode network EXCEPT
a) Hippocampus
b) Posterior parietal cortex
c) Medial prefrontal cortex
d) Primary visual cortex
d) Primary visual cortex
Components of DMN (more active at rest than during tasks)
- Medial prefrontal cortex
- Posterior cingulatote cortex
- Posterior parietal cortex
- Hippocampus
- Lateral temporal cortex
Functions of DMN
- The sentinel hypothesis - at rest, we broadly monitor our environment for threats
- The mentation hypothesis - at rest, we think about past and future events →
daydreaming!
Exogenous (bottom-up) attention
- Stimulus is driven by salience
- Like a jump scare grabbing all of your attention in that moment
Endogenous (top-down) attention
Goal-directed → like bringing attention to the inhale and exhale of your breath
Overt attention
We move both our eyes and head to put an object at the center of our fovea → usually endogenous (intentional)
Covert attention
We pay attention to periphery → usually exogenous
Covert attention is usually ___
Exogenous
Visual sensitivity experiment
Big takeaway is that paying attention improves sensitivity
Experiment: neural activity of attention
Neural effects of attention
Neural correlates of consciousness - enabling factors (needed for consciousness but NOT the essence of it)
- Blood flow, oxygen
- Reticular activating system (regulates behavioral arousal, consciousness, and motivation), visual cues
- ACh diffuse modulatory system (perks up neurons involved in memory and focus)
Neural correlates of consciousness - specific factors (brain activity needed for specific precepts)
- V4 lesions- achromatopsia (lost the qualia of color, but the machinery is still there)
- MT lesions - lose the qualia of motion
- IT lesions - prosopagnosia
Neural correlates of consciousness - NOT specific factors
○ Medial temporal lobe - H.M was still conscious without!
○ Prefrontal cortex - Surprising given how big it is, but still conscious with prefrontal
lobectomy
○ Speech areas + general motor areas (conscious without speech or movement)
Binocular rivalry has been used in experiments on brain activity and consciousness because
a) The experimenter can follow brain activity as it switches between the left and right hemispheres
b) It is based on perception in the “minds eye” unrelated to visual input
c) Brain activity is by default the minimal amount needed for a percept
d) Changes in perception occur without changes in visual input
d) Changes in perception occur without changes in visual input
