Module 6 States of consciousness Flashcards
Split brain
A type of surgery that cuts the connections between the two hemispheres of the brain to reduce frequency and severity of seizures
Corpus callosum
large band of axons that connect the two hemispheres of the brain
Hemispheric specialization
Refers to the idea that the two hemispheres in your brain (right and left) have differing functions
Conscious content
The subjective experiences of your internal and external world
States of consciousness
Refers to the different levels of arousal and attention an individual can experience
Attention
The process of selecting information from the internal and external environments to prioritize for processing
Passive attention
Occurs when the attentional priorities are set by bottom up information from the environment
Active attention
Occurs when attentional priorities are set by the top down goals of an individual
Difficulties associated with studying attention in laboratory
Attention is often directed to based on the instructions provided by experimenter, in the real world attention is often directed by an individuals goals, expertise and state of mind
Selective attention
A form of attention that occurs when a person attends to some information while ignoring other information
Stimulus salience
Refers to the idea that some stimuli in the environment capture attention by virtues of there physical properties (brightness of a colour, loudness of sound, etc) refers to bottom up qualities of a scene that influence attention
Attentional Capture
Occurs when attention is diverted because of the salience of a stimulus
Cocktail party effect
Describes a situation with selective attention, at a party a person can be engaged in a conversation and supress and ignore all the other information and stimuli around them
Dichotic listening task
An attention task where one stream of information is presented to one ear and a different message is played in the other, participant is asked to only attend one message and is later asked about the unattended message
Divided attention
Occurs when a person engages in two or more tasks at once
Automaticity
refers to fast effortless processing of information without conscious thought
Accident rate when driving with the use of cell phone vs without
4 times
Inattentional blindness
Refers to the tendency to miss changes to some kins of information when your attention is engaged elsewhere
Flicker task
A change attention task used to study intentional change detection and inattentional blindness
Intentional change detection
An attention task that requires the participant to actively search for a change made to the stimulus. Used to measure change detection
Inhibition
The process of actively reducing processing of some information while the brain attends to a specific task
Subliminal stimulus
A sensory stimulus that is processed, but does not reach the threshold for conscious perception
Subconscious processing
Occurs when we are aware of information from the environment but are not aware that it is influencing our behavior
Subvisual messages
Visual images that are presented too quickly for the brain to perceive in conscious awareness
Subaudible messages
Auditory messages that are played too quietly or in such a way that the brain cannot be consciously aware of the content
Symptom of attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity disorder
difficulty focusing on a task, sitting still for prolonged periods of time, impulsivity, etc
Fatal familial insomnia
Rare, genetic disorder affecting the thalamus, that causes individuals to die from lack of sleep
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Device that measures sum of electrical activation across the surface of the cortex - common practice of this device is to further the understanding and study of sleep
Electrooculogram
Device used to measure eye movements during sleep - used to further the understanding and study of sleep
Electromyogram
Device used to measure the muscle tension around the jaw - device associated with sleep measurement
Beta waves
irregular mostly low amplitude brain waves that appear on an EEG when a person is alert and actively processing information, they also appear during REM sleep waves are desynchronized and erratic reflecting the different neural circuits all processing in the brain
Alpha waves
Occur when a person is quietly resting and not doing any rigorous thinking most common occurrence of alpha waves is when a person is relaxed
Theta waves
The waves that appear on an EEG when a person is deeply relaxed or falling asleep
Sleep Spindles
Brief bursts of activity that occur 2-5 times per minute occurring during non rem sleep
K complexes
A pattern of neural excitation followed by neural inhibition occurring during stage 2 sleep. Often triggered by unexpected noises
Delta wave
Brain waves that appear on an EEG when a person is deeply asleep these waves occur during stages 3-4 also known as slow wave sleep
Slow wave sleep
A broader name for sleep occurring in stage 3-4 During this stage recordings on EEG show delta waves
Rapid eye movement
A stage of sleep where narrative based dreaming occurs, during this stage EEG recordings become highly irregular and the sleeping persons eyes will move from side to side rapidly. Beta and theta waves are often common during this stage of sleep
Hypnogram
A graphic depiction of a persons progress through the stages of sleep over the course of a night
Waves associated with respective sleep stages (Stage 1, stage 2, slow wave sleep, REM)
Theta waves begin in Stage 1 as brain activity begins to synchronize, followed by sleep spindles and K-complexes in Stage 2. Delta activity is characteristic of slow-wave sleep, with REM returning to desynchronized theta activity with additional blood flow to the visual association cortex
Why is sleep such a critical component for human function
sleep is important for normal cognitive functioning
Function of slow wave sleep
restoring the brain rather than the rest of the body
Activation synthesis hypothesis
A hypothesis about dreaming that suggests that dreams do not serve a purpose, but rather are the consequence of other processes that occur during sleep
Evolutionary dream hypothesis
A hypothesis about dreaming that suggest dreams have biological significance
Name of two major sleep disorders
dyssomnias, refer to problems with the quality of sleep. Parasomnias, by contrast, are disturbances that occur during sleep.
Insomnia
Inability to fall or stay asleep
Sleep hygiene
Behavior’s and practice’s that promote the ability to fall and stay asleep
Conditioned insomnia
A form of insomnia that occurs when cues that are usually associated with falling asleep like you bed instead cause feeling’s of anxiety surrounding the inability to fall asleep
idiopathic insomnia
Child onset insomnia - begins in childhood carries into adulthood. Cause unknown far more resistant type of insomnia
Hypersomnia
A symptom of several different conditions and generally refers to excessive need for sleep or sleepiness in the daytime hours
Sleep apnea
Medical condition where patient stops breathing during the night, carbon dioxide builds up in blood stream causing patient to wake
CPAP machine
treatment method for sleep apnea patients which pushes pressurized air through airway
Narcolepsy
Neurodegenerative disorder characterized as the sudden need to sleep, these sleep attacks can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes
Cataplexy
Most commonly associated with narcolepsy, experience of muscular paralysis and weakness during waking ours
Hypnagogic vs Hypnopompic hallucination
Vivid sensory that occur before the onset of sleep and Vivid sensory that occur right before the waking
REM Sleep disorder
neurodegenerative disorder causing brain to paralyze the body during sleep
Night terrors cause
disorder of slow wave sleep
Somnambulism
Sleepwalking or SWS
Biological clocks
internal clocks that prepare the body for daily seasonal and annual rhythms
Circadian rhythms
Daily clocks that tell the body when to sleep and wake
Zeitgebers
Cues from environment that set the biological clocks
jet leg
occurs when you travel to different time zone and body is out of sync
suprachiasmatic nucleus
structure in the brain next to the optic chiasm that sets the bodies circadian clock
Depressants vs Stimulants
Depressants slow or depress arousal of CNS whereas stimulants increase activity of nervous system
Glutamate
neurotransmitter that often creates excitatory effects in nervous system
GABA
neurotransmitter that often creates inhibitory effects of nervous system
barbiturates
group of drugs that cause sedation and induce sleep used historically to treat anxiety
benzodiazepine
group of drugs primarily used for treating anxiety known for being fast acting and addictive
Stimulants
drugs that increase activity of nervous system common stimulants include caffeine nicotine cocaine and amphetamines
adenosine
inhibitory neurotransmitter that creates inhibitory effects on brain
acetylcholine
neurotransmitter that often creates an excitatory effect in the brain
synesthesia
side effect associated with the use of psychedelic drugs whereby patients report the merging of sences
