Unit 3: consciousness and the two-track mind

consciousness

awareness of self and environment

cognitive neuroscience

interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition

Cognitive neuroscientists

explore and map conscious cortex function

selective attention

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

inattentional blindness

failure to see visual objects when attention is directed elsewhere

Change blindness

failure to notice changes in an environment. a form of inattentional blindness

dual processing

information is simultaneously processed on separate explicit and implicit tracks

blindsight awareness

a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

sleep

periodic, natural loss of consciousness

Alpha waves

relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

hallucinations

false sensory experiences. seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

Delta waves

large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Beta waves

alert, waking state

REM sleep

rapid eye movement. stage in which vivid dreams commonly occur

REM rebound

tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

Rumination

brain overthinks things it has done. Vicious cycle.

SCN

superchiasmatic nucleus. Light sensitive. Activates melatonin production.

sleep debt

accumulated over time. Requires more than one good night’s sleep to get rid of.

Depressants

calm neural activity and slow body functions

Stimulants

excite neural activity and speeds up bodily functions

Hallucinogens

distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input