L14

Question 1

what are the 3 important aspects of consciousness

Answer 1

Sentience (subjective experience – what is it like to experience something)

Self-knowledge

Access to information

Question 2

some animals seem to possess consciousness nia tool assembly.

what could be some other reasons why they are able to do this

Answer 2

have been learned through trial and error

have been shaped up through previous experience

are part of a hard-wired repertoire of behaviours

Question 3

what is the mirror recognition test testing for

Answer 3

self awareness

Question 4

how is it possible for animals/people to solve the MSR test without self awareness

Answer 4

it only requires a matching of kinaesthetic sensation to visual perception

therefore all you need to be able to do is…

1. Look at image in mirror
2. Be familiar with mirror image
3. Move arm and discover that kinaesthetic sense of arm movement corresponds to visual change in mirror
4. Be aware that image has changed (red dot).
5. Move arm or trunk so that object (finger) in mirror touches red dot.

Question 5

what are the conscious and unconscious components of human memory

Answer 5

conscious = explicit/declaritive memory (episodic and semantic)

unconscious = implicit memory (skills, priming and habits)

Question 6

in a test where monkeys has to press a button to get a reward, when they pressed the button on the left they received a food pallet and on the right they got a peanut (which they like more) what did they find

Answer 6

Monkeys are more accurate when they choose to take the test
compared to when they take the test on forced trials

this shows that they have conscious awareness of their episodic memory as they were more likely to press the side which gave them the peanut

Question 7

It is probable that at any moment some active neuronal processes in our head correlates with consciousness, while
others do not

what is this neuronal process is referred to as

Answer 7

the neuronal correlate of consciousness (NCC)

Question 8

what are some brain regions involved in modulating consciousness

Answer 8

the reticular formation, thalamus and the nucleus basalis (cholinergicus)

Question 9

what is Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome

Answer 9

open eyes but only reflex behavior - damage to cortex

and/or thalamus

Question 10

what is a Minimally conscious state

Answer 10

fixation, response to simple command – reduced activity

in cortex

Question 11

what is Locked-in syndrome

Answer 11

fully conscious but unable to move

damage to ventral part of pons

Question 12

what are the different drowsy states

Answer 12

Hypnogogic (falling asleep) and Hypnopompic (waking up) states

These are states in the transition state between being asleep and wake and it is in these are when you can have hollisonasions

Question 13

what are the 3 levels of consciousness

Answer 13

sleep

drowsy

awake

Question 14

what are 2 experimental approaches to understanding neuronal correlate of consciousness (NCC)

Answer 14

they are both bistable tasks

bistable perceptions

binocular rivalry

Question 15

what is bistable perceptions

Answer 15

a constant retinal stimulus gives
rise to two percepts alternating in time

The key notion is that the stimulus is stable but the perception is not

an example of this is a as Necker cube. this is a cube that is drawn in 3D you can see the cube both going into and coming out of the screen

Question 16

what is binocular rivalry

Answer 16

This is where you present 2 separate images to each eye. As you move closer the 2 images merge and become 1

At any one time you will see one of these grating and not the other and then it will rapidly shift to the other ordination

Compare brain activity during rivalry (perceptual changes) with activity when actual stimulus is changed. It demonstrates fluctuating conscious experience despite fixed physical stimulation.

Question 17

what is the cause of bistable perceptions

Answer 17

because of rivalry between different areas of activation

therefore perception is unstable

Question 18

what are image paradigma

and how are they used to detect consciousness

Answer 18

You present an ambiguous figure (there is a lot of noise)

sometimes people recognise that stimulus and sometimes they don’t

You then compeer brain regions of those who recognise the figure and those that don’t

Different levels of brain activity points to different levels of conscious awareness

Question 19

in image paradigma contrast in activated brain areas (between recognising and not recognising) will include regions maintaining face in working memory,
representing face concept for decision-making, and regions involved
in active differential report

how can you ovide this

Answer 19

Perception deduced from pupil dilation or eye movements avoids confounds related to act of reporting

Question 20

what is an example of an in between states paradigm

Answer 20

You can look at the different between someone being awake and someone being in non REM sleep (you are not dreaming therefore not consciously aware)

You still get regions that are involved in being asleep and being awake therefore you are going to get differential activity in those regions but it wont have anything to do with conscious awareness

Question 21

what is an example of a within state no task paradigm

why would you do this

Answer 21

You can still have some dreams in non rem sleep

Therefore you need to wake people up and ask if they were having a dream therefore you can compare if they were dreaming or not which means that the atre both asleep so you can illuminate the sleep areas activated

Question 22

When we are anaesthetised, consciousness
fades yet the brain remains active. Could this be
examined?

Answer 22

fMRI

Question 23

when anaesthetised, what are you looking for with the fMRI

Answer 23

You are looking at brain activity that correlates with brain activity other regions which could means that these areas are interconnected (when activity in one area goes up does the other area)

Question 24

what is the effect of being anaesthetised on the brain

what does this suggest

Answer 24

consciousness fades very rapidly

When you uses anesthesia you can see that the brain activity is much less (there is a loss in correlation in the brain)

This suggests the way the brain areas communicate across distance in the brain is reduced in anesthetic induced loss of consciousness

Question 25

what was seen when Researchers recorded TMS-evoked brain responses while six
subjects, lying with eyes closed on a reclining chair, progressed from
wakefulness to non-REM sleep.

(TMS was targeted to the rostral portion of the right premotor cortex)

Answer 25

When TMS is applied there are bursts of activity which suggests that activity is in oscillation

you see these oscillations in a wakeful state

when you are asleep (non REM) you get the initial burst but not the oscillations

The interpretation of this is that you get the initial induction of activity in the neurons around the TNS but it is not getting propogated around the brain and you are not getting feedback from other neurons which is what the oscillations are

It is the propagation of information and activity that is correlated with consciousness

Question 26

what do you see when you compare brain activity in lucid dreaming to no lucid dreaming

Answer 26

in lucid dreams there is increased activity in the prefrountal cortex, temporal and parietal lobe

Question 27

what does increased activity in the prefrountal cortex, temporal and parietal lobe during lucid dreaming suggest

Answer 27

This suggests that the ability to gain self awareness in the lucid dream has to do with the prefrountal cortex

Controlling the activity is parietal cortex which may require the temporal lobe for memories on what to do in your dream

This shows changes in connectivity in the brain

Connectivity with anterior prefrontal cortex which has much greater connectivity into the temporal and parietal cortex i both hemispheres when you are in this state