Exam 3 - Consciousness Flashcards
Consciousness
A person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind (inner + outer world) resulting from brain activity
Phenomenology
The study of how things seem to the conscious person
Problem of other minds
The fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others - so we can never know if two people experience the world in exactly the same way
Philosopher’s zombie
A hypothetical non-conscious person that could talk about experiences and even seem to react to them, but without having any experience (i.e. consciousness)
Can we tell whether someone is a “zombie”?
No, we can’t due to the problem of other minds
What are the two dimensions of mind perception?
Experience and agency
Experience (mind perception dimension)
The ability to feel pain, pleasure, hunger, etc.
Agency (mind perception dimension)
The ability for self-control, planning, memory
mind-body problem
the issue of how the mind is related to the brain and body
What is the order of electrical signals (for conscious movement)?
Brain activity begins (-525 msec), then a conscious wish to act is experienced (-204 msec), then finger movement occurs (0 msec)
i.e. Brain activity precedes conscious awareness of thought/action/desire
What are the five basic properties of consciousness
Subjectivity intentionality unity selectivity transience
Intentionality
Quality of being directed toward an object - consciousness is always about something
Unity
Refers to the ability to integrate information from all of the body’s senses into one coherent consciousnous
Selectivity
The capacity to include some objects but not others - consciousness filters out some information while tuning in to others
Dichotic listening
A task in which people wearing headphones hear different messages presented to each ear
Cocktail-party phenomenon
A phenomenon in which people tune in one message even while they filter out others nearby
How does consciousness decide what to filter in and what to tune out?
Consciousness is inclined to select information of SPECIAL INTEREST to the person.
transience
tendency to change; Consciousness is always going from “right now” to the next “right now”
Why does the stream of conscious flow transiently?
Likely due to the limited capacity of the conscious mind - so when we get new info, our attention must change
Levels of consciousness
Distinguish the different “levels” of awareness; one is sometimes more aware at one time than another
Minimal consciousness
A low-level kind of sensory awareness and responsiveness that occurs when the mind inputs sensations and may output behaviour
Example of minimal consciousness
Being poked while you are asleep, and turning over
Full onciousness
A level of consciousness in which you know and are able to report your mental state
i.e. thinking about things and also thinking about the fact you are thinking about things
Self-consciousness
A distinct level of consciousness which the person’s attention is drawn to the self as an object
Disorder of consciousness
When a patient (of severe brain injury) is not able to demonstrate either full consciousness or self-consciousness
Experience-sampling technique
A technique where people are asked to report their conscious experiences at particular times
What does the fact that humans daydream indicate?
It indicates that even if the mind isn’t actively doing something, the brain is still thinking about social life, self, past and future - it’s still active in the background.
Mental control
The attempt to change conscious states of mind
Though suppression
The conscious avoidance of thought
Rebound effect of thought suppression
The tendency of a thought to return to consciousness with greater frequency following suppression
What does the rebound effect of though suppression suggest?
It suggests that the act of suppressing a though may itself cause that thought to return to consciousness
Ironic processes of mental control
a mental process that can produce ironic errors because monitoring for errors can itself produce them
What part of the brain is active during daydreaming?
Default network - areas of the brain that are known to be involved in thinking about social life, about the self, about the past and future
Dynamic unconscious
An active system encompassing a lifetime of hidden memories, and the person’s inner struggle to control these forces - i.e. contains hidden thoughts
Who came up with the dynamic unconscious as an idea?
Sigmund Freud
What holds dynamic unconscious at bay?
Repression
What is repression?
A mental process that removes unacceptable thoughts and memories from consciousness and keeps them in the unconscious
Freudian slip
A speech error or lapse in consciousness - Freud argued that these errors are non-random and is made by some intelligent unconscious mind
Is there any validity to Sigmund Freud’s theory?
Freud’s prediction were not predicted in advance; these predictions can be wrong. Suggesting a pattern to a series of random events is not the same as scientifically predicting and explaining when and why an event should happen.
cognitive unconscious
All the mental processes that give rise to a person’s thoughts, choices, emotions, and behaviour even though they are not experienced by the person
Dual process theories
Theories that suggest that we have two different systems in our brains for processing information: one dedicated to fast, automatic, and unconscious processing (System 1), and the other dedicated to slow, effortful, and conscious processing (System 2)
Subliminal perception
Thought or behaviour that is influenced by stimuli that a person cannot consciously report perceiving
i.e. information is being processed without conscious awareness
altered state of consciousness
A form of experience that departs significantly from the normal subjective experience of the world and the mind.
hypnagogic state
The consciousness experience before sleep; i.e. presleep consciousness
hypnic jerk
sudden quiver or sensation of dropping
hypnopompic state
postsleep consciousness state
circadian rhythm
A naturally occurring biological 24-hour cycle
circa (Ltn.; “about”) and dies (Ltn.; day)
Waves that occur when you are awake?
Alpha and beta waves
Waves that appear when awake and alert?
Beta waves
Waves that appear when you are awake but drowsy and relaxed?
Alpha waves
How many sleep “stages” are there?
5 stages
What indicates the first stage of sleep? (+ duration)
Theta waves (waves even lower that alpha waves)
hypnagogic imagery (dream-like images)
Light sleep
5-10 minutes duration
What indicates the second stage of sleep?
Difficult to awaken, but still can
Appearances of bursts of activity (sleep spindles & K complexes, see lec. 8, slide 12)
20 min duration
What indicates the 3 and 4th stages of sleep?
slow-wave sleep; EEG shows delta waves (see lec. 8, slide 13)
30 minutes duration
What is the deepest stage of sleep?
The 3rd and 4th stages of sleep
REM sleep
A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity - see high-frequency sawtooth saves (see lecture 8), looks similar to beta waves
10-20 minute duration
Electrooculograph (EOG)
An instrument that measured eye movements
WHen are dreams more common?
REM sleep but can occur at other times
REM sleep physical indicators?
sexual arousal
increase in pulse
increase in blood pressure
no muscle movement except for side-to-side eye movement
Which is more “wild”, REM dreams or regular dreams?
REM dreams
What does the pattern of sleep during the night look like?
A wave, decending and climbing the stages of sleep, peaking with REM sleep
How many cyles of sleep are made a night (in the usual 8-9 hours of sleep recommended
4-5 (note that REM periods become longer, and deeper stages of sleep become absent as the cycles continue)
What crucial process occurs during sleep?
Memory encoding - thus, sleep is required to remember learning
What is the most crucial stage of sleep?
REM
What happens if you are woken up during REM sleep?
You have memory problems, become aggresive, and also causes a “rebound” of REM sleep; forcing your body to sleep MORE REM sleep the next night you sleep
Deprivation from slow-wave sleep (3-4) does what?
Physical effects of fatigue and hypersensitivity to muscle and bone pain
Insomnia
Difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep
What are some causes of insomnia?
self-induced insomnia (lifestyle choices)
response to depression, anxiety, or other condition (secondary insomnia)
no obvious causal factors (primary insomnia)
Irony of trying to go to sleep?
It becomes harder to sleep when asked to sleep; similar to the irony of mental control
Do sleeping pills work and why/why not?
No; they have many problems:
Addictive (people become dependent on them to sleep)
Interfere with quality of sleep (reduced the quality)
Has side effects (ex. grogginess, irritability)
Going “cold turkey” can cause an even worse relapse of insomnia (rebound insomnia)
Sleep Apnea
a disorder in which the person stops breatheing for brief periods while asleep
Somnambulism
AKA sleepwalking, occurs when a person arises and walks while asleep
When does somnambulism typically occur?
Early in the night, usually during slow-wave sleep
Narcolepsy
A disorder in which sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities - i.e. dreaming state of sleep suddenly entered when awake, lasting 30s - 30 min
What causes narcolepsy?
Appears to be genetically based
Sleep paralysis
The experience of waking up unable to move
sometimes assosiated with narcolepsy
What can occur with sleep paralysis?
Hypnopomic (waking up) or hypnagogic (falling asleep) hallucinations where dream content may appear to occur in the waking world
Sleep terrors/Night terrors
Abrupt awakenings with panic and intense emotional erousal
When do sleep/night terrors occur?
Most often, early in the sleep cycle in non-REM sleep
5 major characteristics of dream consciousness?
- Feel emotion
- Thought is illogical (ex. time, place, people in dreams are lacking any logical flow or structure)
- sensation is fully formed and meaningful (so you still sense what you dream in a fully fleshed-out way)
- Dreaming occurs with uncritical acceptances (so you you see things as perfectly normal instead of bizzarre)
- You have difficulty remembering the dream after it’s over
What are dreams made of?
It appears to incorporate concerns and experiences from the recent past (even things like getting water dripped on you while you sleep)
what can cause nightmares?
A traumatic experience
What is Freud’s view on dreaming?
Dreams represent wishes
Manifest content
A dream’s apparent topic or superficial meaning
Latent content
A dream’s true underlying meaning (in Freud’s theory)
Problems with Freud’s dream theory?
A dream has an infinite number of potential interpretations; so it is far from a definite meaning
Activation-synthesis model
Another model of dreaming that proposes that dreams are produced when the brain attempts to understand the random neural activity that occurs during sleep by synthesizing the activity w/ stored memories
Is Freud’s dream theory wrong?
Not necessarily; some research has shown that we dream about things we are trying to suppress.
What occurs in the brain when we dream?
The amygdala is activated (area for fear and emotion), and visual association areas are activated (but NOT visual perception, since you aren’t actually “seeing” something in dreams)
What could be a possible explanation for the lack of logical order in dreams?
The fact that the prefrontal cortex is deactivated may contribute to this - esp. since it is associated w/ planning and executing actions
Psychoactive drugs
Chemicals that influence consciousness or behaviour by altering the brain’s chemical message system
How do drugs work in general?
They work by either increasing the a neurotransmitter’s activity (agonist) or decreasing it (antagonist)
Serotonin
regulates sleep & wakefulness, eating etc
• Low levels are associated with sad and anxious moods
Dopamine
regulates motor behaviour, motivation, pleasure & emotional arousal
GABA
primary inhibitory neurotransmitter.
• Widely distributed in the brain. The inhibitory activity balances out the excitatory activity
• Not enough can cause seizures
Acetylcholine (ACh)
regulates motor control between nerves and muscles
• Makes the muscles contract or relax.
• Also learning, memory, sleeping dreaming
How to drugs alter neurotransmitter function?
Either:
Prevent them from binding
Inhibiting their re-uptake
Enhancing their binding and transmission
What are the three primary factors in drug addiction?
Drug tolerance
Physical dependence
Psychological dependence
Drug tolerance
The tendency for larger doses of a drug to be required over time to achieve the same effect
Physical dependence
Because withdrawal can cause pain, convulsions, hallucinations, and other physical symptoms, people would still take drugs to avoid those symptoms of withdrawal
Example of “physical dependence”?
Caffeine headache; a headache people complain about if they didn’t have their morning coffee.
Psychological dependence
A strong emotional desire to return to the drug even when physical withdrawal symptoms are gone.
What does drug addiction reveal about humans?
We tend to be unable to look past the immediate consequences of our behaviour and see the long-term consequences - drugs may be fun in the short term, but really mess you up with the long-term.
Do all people who use drugs become addicted?
Not necessarily. Case study: many American soldiers who served in Vietnam used heroin while there. When they come back, on 12% remained addicted.
Does what is consider “addiction” defined?
No; it can change with culture. Things like alcohol or caffeine is not considered an “addiction” in today’s society. Similarly, heroin used to be considered medication a century or so ago. Lastly, there are social definitions of “addiction” such as “workaholic” or “chocoholic” or “sex addict”.
What are the 5 categories of drugs?
Depressants, stimulants, narcotics, hallucinogens, and marijuana
Depressants
Substances that reduce the activity of the central nervous system
Examples of depressants?
Alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and toxic inhalants (ex. glue, gasoline)
Effects of depressants?
Have sedative effect; induce sleep in high dosages, and can arrest breathing in extremely high doses.
Can produce physical and psychological dependence
Alcohol’s initial effects?
Euphoria, reduced anxiety
stimulating effect at low doses
Alcohol’s later effects? (after a larger dose)
Drunkenness:
- slowed reactions (inhibitory effects)
- slurred speech
- poor judgement
- reduces thought and action (disinhibitor effect)
(depressant effects at higher dosage)
What neurotransmitter does alcohol effect?
Alcohol increases GABA activity, thus stopping the firing of other neurons.
What are the two theories that are offered to explain the variable effects of alcohol from person to person?
Expectancy theory
Alcohol myopia
Expectancy theory
The idea that alcohol effects can be produced by people’s expectations of how alcohol will influence them in particular situations
Balanced placebo design
A study design in which behaviour is observed following the presence or absence of an actual stimulus and also following the presence or absence of a placebo stimulus
What does the balanced placebo design show?
The design shows that the belief that one has consumed alcohol can influence behaviour as strongly as the ingestion of alcohol itself
i.e. the placebo effect is just as strong as the ingestion of alcohol itself
Alcohol myopia
A condition that results when alcohol hampers attention, leading people to respond in simple ways to complex situations.
(*This is a theory)
i.e. you don’t think straight and misjudge situations, resulting in inappropriate behaviour
Stimulants
Substances that excite the central nervous system, heightening arousal and activity levels
Examples of stimulants?
Caffeine, amphetamines, nicotine, cocaine, modafinil, Ectasy
Norepinephrine
state of vigilance, arousal and attention
What do stimulants do in the mind?
They increase the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine (agonist) and thus increase alertness and energy in user (confidence and “get it done” attitude.)
What dependence occurs, if any, with stimulants?
Physical and psychological dependence; along w/ depressive effects during withdrawal (ex. fatigue, negative emotions)
Ecstasy (AKA MDMA)
-Effects?
Stimulant w/ hallucinogenic effects
- makes users feel “empathic” and “close” to those around them
Side effects:
-jaw clenching
-interfering with body temperature regulation
Ecstasy (AKA MDMA)
-risks?
Can lead to some dependence (but not as likely as other drugs to cause physical and psychological dependence)
Impurities in drugs are dangerous
Potentially toxic effect of serotonin neurons, leading to problems with mood, attention, and impulse control
Ecstasy (AKA MDMA)
-Where is it from?
amphetamine derivative
Anandamide
NT involved in the regulation of mood, memory, appetite, and pain perception
Narcotics (or opiates)
Highly addictive drugs derived from opium that relieve pain
What do Narcotics in general do?
Induces feeling of well being and relaxation while inducing stupor and lethargy (and reduce pain)
Are narcotics addictive?
Yes; produces tolerance and dependence - reduces effectiveness of endorphins made by the body. Withdrawal symptoms present
Hallucinogens
Drugs that alter sensation and perception, and often cause visual and auditory hallucinations
What do narcotics mimic?
Endorphins (endogenous opioids, or opioids produced by the bod), by binding to receptors
Are hallucinogens addictive?
They are unlikely to be addictive; it is more of a sensory experience that became a cultural trend
Marijuana (or cannabis)
The leaves and buds of the hemp plant, which contain a psychoactive drug called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
What does marijuana do?
Produce a mildly hallucinogenic intoxication that is "euphoric" heightened sense of sight and sound perception of a rush of ideas Affects judgement and short-term memory impairs motor skills and coordination
Long-term use associated w/ smaller hippocampus and amygdala
What does THC mimic? (NT)
Anandamide
Is marijuana addictive? (addiction potential)
Not strong;
tolerance does not seem to develop
physical withdrawal symptoms minimal
Psychological dependence is POSSIBLE
considered a gateway drug
Gateway drug
A drug whose use increases the risk of the subsequent use of more harmful drugs
Hypnosis
A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) makes suggestions that lead to a change in another person’s (the subject’s) subjective experience of the world
post-hypnotic amnesia
the failure to retrieve memories following hypnotic suggestions to forget
hypnotic analgesia
the reduction of pain through hypnosis in people who are susceptible to hypnosis
Stroop test
classic psychological test in which a person is asked to name the colour of words on a page
How does hypnosis change the brain activity of someone engaged in the Stroop task?
People under hypnosis are seem to have their anterior cingulate cortex (brain area involved in conflict monitoring) to essentially not be activated.
Subjectivity
The quality of conciousness where the experience is private and your own; only you can have such an experience in the way you experience it
Is the brain separate from consciousness?
NO, they are the same. When we talk about consciousness, we only can experience it (but w/o knowing the biological side)
Areas of awareness
A central theme where awareness of different aspects of the world is associated with activity in different parts of the brain (ex. temporal lobe for hearing, parietal for space, prefrontal for planning, etc.). The unity of each part creates consciousness
Locked-in syndrome
“Being buried alive”; you see all the sights around you and hear every noise, but cannot respond physically to these sights and noises
Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome
Full coma that lasts more than a month
AKA vegetative state - no consciousness
Neurophenomenology
Combining first person (subjective) and third person (objective) methods to understand consciousness
Sleep
A state of altered consciousness
3 key “players” in sleep regulation?
Melatonin
Pineal gland
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN
Melatonin
Sleep-regulating hormone
Pineal gland
Produces melatonin
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
A part of the hypothalamus that maintains the circadian rhythm and regulates the sleep-wake cycle
Describe how we feel awake and tired, with reference to the SCN, the pineal gland, and melatonin
With light: SCN suppreses pineal gland’s melatonin release
NO light: SCN lets pineal gland produce melatonin - feel sleepy
How is sleep studied?
By measuring the eletrical activity in the brain (brain wave activity), eye movements, and muscle tension
Why sleep?
Restor immune system and repairs brain tissue
Consolidates memories - replays memories and encodes them (also helps learning, since it gives time to consolidate learning)
Fuels creativity - helps you think of solutions to complex problems
Supports growth processes - bodily growth occurs w/ release of growth hormone by pituitary gland during sleep
Restoratative theory
A theory that states sleep allows the body to rest and repair itself
Kleine-Levin Syndrome
“Sleeping Beauty disorder” - disorder characterized by excessive sleep
What features are in REM dreams?
Bizarre dreams
Intense emotions
visual and auditory hallucinations
uncritical acceptance of illogical events
Why are REM dreams more bizarre than non-REM dreams?
Brain structure associated w/ motivation, emotion (limbic system), reward, and vision are active; whereas non-REM dreams have deactivation of the brain (mostly)
Prefrontal cortices are inactive, explaining the uncritical acceptance of the illogical aspects of the dream
Addiction
The compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviours (ex. gambling) despite known adverse consequences
How can biology influence drug use?
Genetic predisoposition
Variation in NT systems
How can psychological influences lead to drug use?
Lacking a sense of purpose
Signficant stress
Psychological disorders (ex. depression
How can social-cultural influences lead to drug use?
Difficult environment
Cultural acceptance of drug use (easier to do if others are)
Negative peer influences
Do men or women get more influenced by alcohol?
Women feel alcohol’s effects more heavily
Insula
Region located in the cerebral cortex that appears to play a role in craving
What neurotransmitters do hallucinogens affect?
Serotonin (LSD), glutamate (PCP)
Glutamate
primary excitatory neurotransmitter.
• Aids learning and memory by enhancing synaptic connections.
• Too much can cause seizures
How do stimulants affect the body?
Excite neural activity, speeds up body functions
Causes dilation of pupils, rise in blood sugar, and drop in appetite
Often increases energy and self-confidence (feeling of euphoria)
Cocaine
-what is it?
Stimulant
Cocaine
- How does it affect the body? (physiological effect)
increased alertness, confidence, sociability
Excess use lead to paranoia, psychotic behaviour, violence
Cocaine
-What neurotransmitter does it effect and how?
Increases the concentration of dopamine at synapses (by blocking reuptake)
