Consciousness Flashcards
What is consciousness?
-subjective awareness of the world and of ourselves (including internal and external stimuli)
-stream of consciousness
-Arises from brain processes: “The mind is what the brain
Stream of consciousness
“Consciousness, then, does not appear to itself chopped up in
bits…it flows. A ‘river’ or ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is
most naturally described” (William James, 1890)
Hard Problem Consciousness
-troubles explaining how and why we have consciousness
-how we get electrical signals to make subjective feelings and consciousness/quality of experience
“It is undeniable that some organisms are subjects of experience. But the question of how it is that these systems are subjects of experience is perplexing. Why is it that when our cognitive systems engage in visual and auditory information processing, we have visual or
auditory experience: the quality of deep blue, the sensation of middle C? How can we explain why there is something it is like to entertain a mental image, or to experience an emotion? It is widely agreed that
experience arises from a physical basis, but we have no good explanation of why and how it so arises
Sleep and Biological Rhythms
Circadium rhythm: 24-hour biological cycle, regulates
arousal
-Problems? Artificial light (smartphones!)
-Endogenous rhythm
− Internally produced (e.g., cave study)
Circadium rhythm
-is influenced by
-what does the retina and pineal gland do
− Influenced by patterns of light and dark
− Retina relay light info to the suprachiasmic nucleus (SCN), which communicates with the pineal gland, which releases melatonin
Circadian Rhythm
Endogenous rhythm
Endogenous rhythm refers to the biological processes in living organisms that follow a regular cycle, originating from internal physiological mechanisms rather than external cues. These rhythms are driven by internal “biological clocks” and persist even in the absence of environmental stimuli like light or temperature changes.
-cave study (no light, only lamps, and had 8h or 48h circadian rhythms)
Brain Waves: Electroencephalogram (EEG)
5 types of waves and their meaning
-Gamma rays (30-100 Hz)
-Beta waves (12-30 Hz)
-Alpha waves (8-12Hz)
-Theta waves (3-8 Hz)
-Delta waves (5-3Hz)
Brain Waves: Electroencephalogram (EEG)
-Gamma rays (30-100 Hz)
Gamma rays (30-100hz)
hyper brain activity and high cognitive functioning
-really focused, hypercognitive functioning
Brain Waves: Electroencephalogram (EEG)
-Beta waves (12-30 Hz)
Beta waves (12-30 Hz)
Alert waking state. Attentive and engaged with the world.
-regular waking state
Brain Waves: Electroencephalogram (EEG)
-Alpha waves (8-12Hz)
Alpha waves (8-12Hz)
Vary relaxed and deepening into meditation
-awake and drowsy
Brain Waves: Electroencephalogram (EEG)
-Theta waves (3-8 Hz)
Theta waves (3-8 Hz)
Drowsy and drifting down into sleep and dreams
-really tired
Brain Waves: Electroencephalogram (EEG)
-Delta waves (5-3Hz)
Delta waves (5-3Hz)
Deeply asleep and not dreaming
Stages of sleep
-Awake and relaxed
Stage 1: Brief, transitional (1-7min): Theta waves, hypnic jerks (falling and throwing arms and legs)
-breathing slow, irregular waves
Stage 2: Mixed EEG, sleep spindles (10-25min)
Stages 3: Slow-wave sleep; some delta waves
-deep sleep
Stage 5 (REM): EEG similar to awake; vivid dreaming; paradoxical sleep (initially a few mins, progressively longer throughout the night
-important for memory consolidation
-Paradoxical sleep refers to REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep), a stage of sleep where the brain is very active, similar to when you’re awake, but the body is in a state of paralysis. It’s called “paradoxical” because it combines a highly active brain with a relaxed, motionless body. This stage is when most vivid dreams occur.
-where brain stem blocks motor signals from muscles
sleep spindles
-stage 2 of sleep
-help keep you awake
-bursts of high frequency waves
-help avoid getting distracted by external stimuli
Why do we sleep?
-Conserve and protect
-Grow, restore, and
repair
-Memory consolidation
-Problem-solving
Sleep deprivation effects
impaired cognitive abilities,
accidents, irritability, memory bias, relationship conflict,
depressed immune system, weight gain, early death
Dreams
Electrochemical events that involve the brainstem, forebrain, and eyes
-occur during REM sleep
Dreams
-Function of pons, Ach, forebrain, serotonin and norepinephrine, and motor cortex
-Pons releases ACh, which travels to the forebrain (associated with cortisol arousal)
-serotonin and norepinephrine suppress and inhibit REM activity
-brainstem blocks signals from the motor cortex
Why:
Pons releases ACh: Activates the forebrain for cortical arousal (brain activity during REM sleep).
Serotonin and norepinephrine inhibit REM: Control and regulate when REM sleep happens.
Brainstem blocks motor signals: Prevents body movement during REM to keep you from acting out dreams.
What influences our dreams:
−Concerns of your everyday life
−External stimuli
−Yourself (lucid dreaming)
-dreams contain more negative content then positive content
Why Do We Dream?
-Psychoanalytic Theory and Freud: Wish fulfillment
−Manifest vs. latent content
-Cartwright: Cognitive problem-solving
−Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician)
−Said goddess “Namagiri Thayar” appeared in his sleep,
proposing mathematical formulae
-Hobson & McCarley: Activation-synthesis model
– Mind’s attempt to make sense of random cortical activity
Sleep Disorders
-Insomnia: 15-17% suffer severe or frequent insomnia (Zorick &
Walsh, 2000)
-Nightmares during REM; Night terrors during NREM (usually
stage 3)
-Sleepwalking during NREM (stage 3); REM behaviour
disorder
-Narcolepsy: Wakefulness into REM sleep
−Too little of the hormone “Orexin”
-Sleep Apnea: Inability to breathe
-Sleep paralysis
Other variations in Consciousness
-non-conscious processes
-meditation
Unconscious influences on Behaviour
-confabulation
Selective Attention & Inattentional
Blindness
Selective attention: We direct our attention to relevant stimuli, to the exclusion of everything else
Inattentional blindness: Failure to notice clearly visible objects/events because our attention is directed elsewhere
