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Workings of the Mind > Problems of Conscious > Flashcards

Problems of Conscious Flashcards

1
Q

Everything your mind has even known…

A

originated as info from your body’s senses

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2
Q

Descartes

A
  • “I think, therefor I am”
    • For Descartes, his mind was proof of his existence
    • Even if a god was deceiving him, only a mind can be deceived
    • So, even if his perceptions were wrong about physical world
    • His Consciousness meant he existed
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3
Q

Dualism

A
  • Mind exists as something separate
    • But… difficulty explaining how minds interact to make bodies active
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4
Q

Monism

A
  • Mind is a by-product of active bodies
    • But… suggests that minds are illusions
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5
Q

Panpsychism

A
  • Everything contains both physical and mental aspects
    • Minds are real, but vary in complexity
    • A rock’s “mind” is less complex than a human mind
    • But… how do individual “minds” combine into one?
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6
Q

The brain as a collection of parts you can

A

lose parts of your brain - by losing brain functions

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7
Q

THe “Easy” Problem of consciousness

A

Research in psychology and neurosciences
- Testing cognitive abilities
- Identifying functions of specific brain areas
- Studying predictors of behavior

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8
Q

The “Hard” Problem of consciousness

A
  • Why do our experiences feel the way they do?
    • How do neurons firing equal subjective experiences?
    • How do we find answers to the Mind-Body problem?
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9
Q

A neuroscientist’s explanation of consciousness

A
  • “Conscious states are associated with synchronized oscillations of neuron clusters”
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10
Q

The Music of Consciousness - analogy

A

brain is an orchestra
- Many different instruments
- Different brain areas
- Each instrument can perform by itself
- Brain areas can function independently
- But when instruments play in harmony…
- “Synchronized oscillations of neuron clusters”

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11
Q

Neural Correlates of consciousness (NCC)

A
  • Attempts to find the brain regions and patterns of activity that correspond to conscious experiences
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12
Q

The Binding Problem

A
  • How does the brain unify all the individual pievees to feel like one continuous experience?
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13
Q

Feel like we are experiencing everything at once

A

But… our brains process everything separately
- Color, shape, motion, location
- All processed independently

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14
Q

Neuronal assemblies

A
  • Networks of neurons that fire at the same rate and frequency
    • Each assembly may correspond to one aspect of perception
      • The assembly that responds to my face is a separate from the assembly that responds to my shirt
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15
Q
  • Gamma Oscillations
A
  • Neuronal assemblies oscilliate a certain frequency
    - 40 hz (per sec)
    - The electric signal can back-propogate
    - Waves of electric signal moving back and forth
    - Ths is simlliar to the electricity in your house
    - Electrical appliances run at 60 hz
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16
Q
  • If viewing an image of a green suitcase and blue hat
A
  • Neurons responding to the hat fire in snyc
    • Neurons responding to the suitcase respond in sync
17
Q

Orchestra of the Mind

A

What we are consciously aware of at any given moment is determined by which “neuronal assemblies” are synchronized at the moment

  • Paying attention to one thing or the other changes “increases the volume” of difference synchronized groups
    • For instance, attention on the green suitcase vs. attention on the blue hat
18
Q

Default Mode Network

A
  • A network of connected brain area that are most commonly active while conscious
  • The default mode network refers to which areas of your brain are active when you’re awake but not doing anything in particular
19
Q

Mental feelings vs. Mental control

A
  • The default mode network are the brain areas most activated from simply being conscious
    • The two most active of the cortex are in the frontal lobe and around the temporal-parietal junction
    • The actual “feeling” of being conscious may be due to activity around the TPJ
    • While our feeling of being “you” and in control of your mind is due to the frontal lobe activity
20
Q

COunsciousness is complexity

A
  • Conscious states are associated with highly completed activity between brain areas
    • Even if different collection of neurons are in snyc, the patterns are complex
  • Orchestra analogy
    • Conscious states
      • The orchestra is playing a complicated song with many melodies and tempos
    • Unconscious states “dead brain”
      • The orchestra is playing one long monotonous sound
21
Q
  • Neuroscience can measure the complexity needed to create conscious states
A
  • Amount of “perturbational complexity” in brain activity
    • Measured using TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation)
    • The measure is known by the Greek letter Phi
22
Q
  • This measure can help determine whether people in comas or persistent vegetative states (i.e. brain dead) are having conscious experiences
A
  • Most people in vegetative states appear to be permanently unconscious
    • But, some have complex activity indicitating consciousness
      • They maybe conscious but “trapped” in their bodies and unable to communicate
23
Q
  • Our conscious minds may only be observers of what our brains decide to do
A
  • Libet’s study of Free Will
    - Brain prepares to move before conscious awareness of deciding to move
    • Split-brain patients
      • Left brain confabulates explanation for what the right brain controlled
24
Q

Libet’s Study of Delayed Awareness

A
  • Studies done on people who had to get brain surgery
    • Studies were conducted while the brain was exposed
  • Studies involved
    • Direct stimulation of somatosensory cortex
      • Electrode in brain’s primary receiving area for touch
    • Direct stimulation of skin
      • A poke to the hands
    • Participants report if and/or when they felt anything
25
Q

Libet’s experiment

A
  • Poke the hand
    • Participant reports feeling hand be touched
  • Stimulate the “hand” area of the brain for more than 500 milliseconds
    • Participant reports feeling hand being touched
      • (Doesn’t feel quite like a hand)
  • Stimulate “hand” area of brain for less than 500 milliseconds
    • Participant reports feeling nothing at all
26
Q

Libet’s conclusion Neuronal Adequacy

A
  • Sensory experiences only become conscious if the sensory cortex is active for at least 500 ms
    • It takes half a second of brain activity for sensory experiences to enter consciousness
      • To achieve “neuronal adequacy”
  • “Attention” to any sensation must occur half a second behind the actual experience

Workings of the Mind (15 decks)

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