Consciousness ch.6

consciousness

a person’s awareness of one’s surroundings/what is on your mind at any given moment

Theories of consciousness

Global workspace (spotlight of attention), synchronization, learning radical plasticity

Synchronization

Neurons from maany brain areas work together to create awarness

Learning- radical plasticity

consciousness is a skill that the brain acquires

wakefulness and awarrness

two dimensions of conciouseness

wakefulness

how alert/aware you are

awarness

ability to monetor whats going on around you 

three levels of conciousness 

miniemnal, moderate, full conciousness

Minimal consciousness

Coma/vegetative state  

moderate consciousness

Process info just below the threshold for conscious awareness ( drowsy)

Full consciousness

High in awareness/ fluctuates slightly during the day 

Flow state

intense focus on a complex task/activity- loss of a sense of passage of time

mindfullness

very high awareness on your present moment of experience

mindfullness meditation

encourages full attention to perceptual details of one’s immediate experenciens 

attention

focused awareness on certain feautures in enviorment but not others 

perceptual load

it’s our attentional capacity

three types of attentional proccess

selective attention, sustained attention, multitasking

selective attention

the ability to focus on specific features in the enviorment while ignoring others

cocktail party effect

hearing speech from the crowd noise only if it aplies to you like your name 

inattentinional blindness

focusing attention can create gaps in attention and perception

sustained attention

the ability to maintain focused awareness on a target or idea

sleep 

time of rest, but is a very active process

circadian rhythm

physiological processes that cycle within a 24 hour periord

brain activity during sleep

go through diffreret stages/ brain waves change

sleep stages

awake, drowsy, sleeping, dreaming

awake stage

beta waves

drowsy stage

alppha waves

sleeping stage

theta/ delta waves

dreaming stage

beta waves

4 stages of sleep 

hypnotic stage ,slow-wave (3 & 4), Rem sleep,

hypnotic stage

breif transtition stage when first going to sleep

rem sleep

rapid eye movements, muscles most relaxed, dreams occur

wave lengths last 

90 minutes 

sleep debt

too little sleep/ our bodies owe our brain a debt of sleep to be paid back later

chronic sleep debrivation

accidents, injuries, lower immune system, psychological health risks 

sleep-wake dissorders

persistent or recurrent sleep-related problems that cause distress

insomnia disorder

less time in stages 3-4, can't fall asleep- tired unrested and unrestored when you make up from sleep

causes of insomnia 

psychological stress, environmental stress, poor sleep hygiene 

sleep apnea 

a disorder in which a person stops breathing for a brief period while sleeping 

narcolepsy

a disorder in which sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities 

sleep walking

engaging in activites that they normally would while they are asleep

night terrors

sudden awakening with panic and intense emotional arousal