Consciousness

Question 1

Consciousness

Answer 1

the awareness people have of themselves and the environment around them.
• The level and state of consciousness vary. Different states of consciousness are associated with different brain wave patterns.

Question 2

Brain waves

Answer 2

tracings that show the kind of electrical activity going on in the brain. Scientists use an electroencephalograph, or EEG, to record these waves.

Question 3

Main types of brain waves

Answer 3

alpha, beta, theta, and delta.

Question 4

explaining waking consciousness

Answer 4

• Stream of information resulting from the activity of the thalamus which analyses and interprets information.
• Consciousness may only be the ‘tip of the icebergs’ that includes unconscious mental activities
• Consciousness is also viewed as an adaption allowing us to get along with others in our group (humans).

Question 5

The rhythms of sleep

Answer 5

Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
REM Sleep
NREM Sleep

Question 6

REM

Answer 6

Brain/psychological, repair, brain growth, neurotransmitters, memory

Question 7

NREM

Answer 7

body/physiological, repair, immune system, growth hormone

Question 8

Circadian rhythms

Answer 8

biological cycles that occur about every twenty-four hours. Sleep follows a circadian rhythm. Hormone secretion, blood pressure, body temperature, hunger and urine production also have circadian rhythms. Is governed by an area of the hypothalamus. Jet lag is the result of desynchronization of the circadian rhythm.

Question 9

Infradian rhythms

Answer 9

biological cycles that take longer than twenty-four hours. For example, women’s menstrual cycles occur about every twenty-eight days.

Question 10

Ultradian rhythms

Answer 10

biological cycles that occur more than once a day. Sleep follows an ultradian rhythm of about ninety minutes as well as a circadian rhythm. Alertness and hormone levels also follow ultradian rhythms.

Question 11

Sleep

Answer 11

• Endogenous biological rhythms originate from inside the body rather than from the outside environment.
• Biological clocks in the body regulate the sense of time.
• The suprachiasmatic nucleus regulates circadian rhythms of sleep.
• Researchers use EEGs, EMGs, EOGs, and EKGs to record sleep patterns.
• There are five stages of sleep. At each stage, different types of brain waves function, and heart rate, breathing, and temperature vary.
• During REM sleep, heart rate and breathing become irregular, eyes move rapidly, and muscles relax. Dreams are most vivid during REM sleep.
• Sleep patterns change as people age, with most people needing less sleep as they get older.
• Sleep disorders include insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnoea.

Question 12

Restoration theory of why we sleep

Answer 12

• We sleep so that physiological and biological repairs can be made
• Without sleep health deteriorates

Question 13

Evolutionary theory of why we sleep

Answer 13

• Energy conservation
• Predator avoidance
• Foraging requirements
• To waste time

Question 14

Dreams

Answer 14

• Sigmund Freud believed that dreams allow people to express unconscious wishes. He said the manifest content of dreams, or the dream’s plot, symbolizes the latent content, or hidden meaning.
• The activation-synthesis theory proposes that neurons in the brain randomly activate during REM sleep. Dreams arise when the cortex tries to make sense of these impulses.
• Some researchers think dreams express people’s most pressing concerns, while others think dreams arise during the brain’s routine housekeeping chores such as eliminating or strengthening neural connections.

Question 15

Altered states on consciousness

Answer 15

• Altered states are induced states of consciousness and include hypnotic states, meditative states, and drug-induced states.

Question 16

Hypsosis

Answer 16

• In hypnosis, a hypnotist makes suggestions to a person. One theory states that people in hypnosis divide their consciousness into two parts. Other theories say that people merely play a role when hypnotized.

Question 17

Meditation

Answer 17

the practice of focusing attention.

Question 18

drugs

Answer 18

• Psychoactive drugs are usually used for recreational rather than medical purposes, though some have legitimate medical uses. These drugs change sensory experience, perception, mood, thinking, and behaviour.
• Recreational drugs include stimulants, sedatives, narcotics, and hallucinogens.
• Drugs work by affecting neurotransmitter function in various ways.
• The effect of any drug depends on many factors such as the amount of the drug, how the drug is administered, and the user’s mood, personality, and motivation.
• Chronic use of drugs can result in tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, physical dependence, or psychological dependence.

Question 19

Day dreaming and fantasy

Answer 19

• Spontaneous shifts of attention away from the here and now into a make-believe world.
• Urge to daydream peaks about every 90 minutes
• Day dreams may provide stress relief and encourage creativity