L14 Flashcards
what are the 3 important aspects of consciousness
Sentience (subjective experience – what is it like to experience something)
Self-knowledge
Access to information
some animals seem to possess consciousness nia tool assembly.
what could be some other reasons why they are able to do this
have been learned through trial and error
have been shaped up through previous experience
are part of a hard-wired repertoire of behaviours
what is the mirror recognition test testing for
self awareness
how is it possible for animals/people to solve the MSR test without self awareness
it only requires a matching of kinaesthetic sensation to visual perception
therefore all you need to be able to do is…
- Look at image in mirror
- Be familiar with mirror image
- Move arm and discover that kinaesthetic sense of arm movement corresponds to visual change in mirror
- Be aware that image has changed (red dot).
- Move arm or trunk so that object (finger) in mirror touches red dot.
what are the conscious and unconscious components of human memory
conscious = explicit/declaritive memory (episodic and semantic)
unconscious = implicit memory (skills, priming and habits)
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
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
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
the neuronal correlate of consciousness (NCC)
what are some brain regions involved in modulating consciousness
the reticular formation, thalamus and the nucleus basalis (cholinergicus)
what is Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome
open eyes but only reflex behavior - damage to cortex
and/or thalamus
what is a Minimally conscious state
fixation, response to simple command – reduced activity
in cortex
what is Locked-in syndrome
fully conscious but unable to move
damage to ventral part of pons
what are the different drowsy states
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
what are the 3 levels of consciousness
sleep
drowsy
awake
what are 2 experimental approaches to understanding neuronal correlate of consciousness (NCC)
they are both bistable tasks
bistable perceptions
binocular rivalry
what is bistable perceptions
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
what is binocular rivalry
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.
what is the cause of bistable perceptions
because of rivalry between different areas of activation
therefore perception is unstable
what are image paradigma
and how are they used to detect consciousness
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
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
Perception deduced from pupil dilation or eye movements avoids confounds related to act of reporting
what is an example of an in between states paradigm
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
what is an example of a within state no task paradigm
why would you do this
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
When we are anaesthetised, consciousness
fades yet the brain remains active. Could this be
examined?
fMRI
when anaesthetised, what are you looking for with the fMRI
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)
what is the effect of being anaesthetised on the brain
what does this suggest
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
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)
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
what do you see when you compare brain activity in lucid dreaming to no lucid dreaming
in lucid dreams there is increased activity in the prefrountal cortex, temporal and parietal lobe
what does increased activity in the prefrountal cortex, temporal and parietal lobe during lucid dreaming suggest
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
