L3 - consciousness

Question 1

interaction problem

Answer 1

if mind and body separate, how do they interact?

Question 2

hard problem

Answer 2

David Chalmers
can we ever know how it is like to be a bat? explanatory gap between material brain and subjective experience

Question 3

consciousness as subjective, private experience

Answer 3

reason for hard problem - we only ever live in our own mind

Question 4

mind-body problem

Answer 4

how are brain and consciousness related?

Question 5

easy problem

Answer 5

perception, learning, memory, attention, sleep/wake
possibility that there is no hard problem

Question 6

quale/qualia

Answer 6

internal & subjective sense-perceptions
root of mind-body problem

Question 7

different views on consciousness

Answer 7

materialist:
- identical to physical processes (reductionist)
- an illusion (monist)
dualist: exists, added quality - but why?
functionalist: intrinsic & inseperable quality

Question 8

philosophical zombie

Answer 8

thought experiment of humans that act exactly like us but have no qualia
we would not be able to tell them apart, but many would not consider them human

Question 9

panpsychism

Answer 9

everything has a spirit
every complex enough system has sentience
Tononi’s integrated information theory: all information systems conscious

Question 10

phi score

Answer 10

level of integration of information, = how conscious it is

Question 11

unconscious

Answer 11

many mental activities occur without awareness
is free will an afterthought? (note: cultural/religious artifact from Christian philosophers to explain fall from grace)

Question 12

self-awareness

Answer 12

capacity to becomes object of one’s own attention
mirror/rouge self-recognition test

Question 13

dynamic self-concept

Answer 13

not stable concept as always generated

Question 14

EEG (electroencephalogram)

Answer 14

brain waves
5mm mostly cortical

Question 15

EOG (electrooculogram)

Answer 15

eye movements

Question 16

EMG (electromyogram)

Answer 16

muscle tension

Question 17

brain waves & states of consciousness

Answer 17

levels of alertness linked to patterns of electrical activity

Question 18

REM

Answer 18

most vivid dream occurs here at end of cycle

Question 19

slow-wave sleep

Answer 19

delta waves stage 3-4, restorative (inhibited by alcohol)

Question 20

sleep stages

Answer 20

1. transition (alpha to theta)
2. sleep spindles & K-complexes (most of sleep)
3. delta slow wave sleep
4. delta slow wave sleep
5. REM - longer as night goes on

Question 21

hypnogram

Answer 21

combination of EEG, EOG, EMG + others

Question 22

sleep spindles

Answer 22

linked to memory integration & stabilisation
sections of very fast waves

Question 23

K-complex

Answer 23

characterised by large spike & drop

Question 24

sleep functions

Answer 24

retorative
lack of sleep linked to cognitive deficits & eventually death

Question 25

difficulties sleeping

Answer 25

insomnia - persistent difficulty falling/staying asleep
narcolepsy - uncontrollable sleep attacks
sleep apnea - stop breathing for 10+ secs
sleepwalking - during deep stage 3 sleep
night terrors - look awake & terrified at beginning of stage 3
REM behaviour disorder - brainstem fails to block signal from motor cortex to body

Question 26

functions of REM sleep

Answer 26

memory consolidation, forgetting, insight

Question 27

circadian rhythm

Answer 27

controlled by planet’s light cycles
amount of blue light received in retina by special receptors
hypothalamus increases fatigue with melatonin (suprachiasmatic nucleus SCN)

Question 28

hypnosis

Answer 28

relaxed state of mind
receptive to suggestions
feel actions/thoughts happening to them (involuntary)

Question 29

hypnotic analgesia

Answer 29

using hypnosis to reduce pain

Question 30

dissociation

Answer 30

splitting of conscious awareness
one stream connected to hypnotist’s suggestions
one stream observes experience disconnectedly

Question 31

selective attention

Answer 31

focusing awareness on only one aspect of experience

Question 32

inattentional blindness

Answer 32

failure to perceive information outside of attention

Question 33

change blindness

Answer 33

failure to perceive change in visual stimuli
form of inattentional blindness

Question 34

default mode network

Answer 34

certain areas in fMRI scans always active when not doing anything (medial prefrontal+posterior cingulate corteces, inferior+temporal regions)
argument that this is the self

Question 35

global workspace hypothesis

Answer 35

conscious awareness from synchronised activity across various brain regions
integrated into coherent representations of experience

Question 36

mind wandering

Answer 36

limitation of awareness
automaticity - perform tasks without noticing
sometimes to escape boring situations
adaptive ability to think in perceptually decoupled way - think about subjects different from what is currently perceived by senses

Question 37

cognitive revolution

Answer 37

50s movement studying mind & its processes, break taboo of not observable

Question 38

definitions of word “consciousness”

Answer 38

1. being aware of oneself
2. totality of experience
3. awake & active
   William James: stream of consciousness
   psychology textbooks focus of attention & sleep

Question 39

I vs me

Answer 39

William James
I = self that experieces
me = self that occupied space-time and can be perceived
autobiographical/narrative selves

Question 40

self

Answer 40

center of narrative gravity
an abstract concept with no material existence

Question 41

gamma

Answer 41

32-100 Hz
hightened perception, learning, problem-solving, REM

Question 42

beta

Answer 42

13-32 Hz
normal alertness, REM

Question 43

alpha

Answer 43

8-13 Hz
relaxed
fast, low amplitude, irregular

Question 44

theta

Answer 44

4-8 Hz
creativity, insight, light NREM sleep

Question 45

delta

Answer 45

0.5-4 Hz
slow wave/deep sleep, possibly parts of REM