Consciousness and Attention Lecture Flashcards

A comprehensive set of question and answer flashcards covering consciousness, attention, connectivity, synesthesia, and association cortex syndromes based on lecture material.

What physiological state is produced by the tonic firing of thalamocortical neurons within the Reticular Activating System (RAS)?

Awake state (cortical arousal)

What are the two primary definitions of consciousness provided in the notes?

$1$. Physiological state of wakefulness and $2$. Awareness of the world around us

In the context of defining consciousness, what is the 'easy problem' of consciousness?

The creation of specific conscious experiences such as patterns, shapes, and images

What does the 'hard problem' of consciousness refer to?

A person’s subjective experience and associations

How do RAS neurons relay sensory stimuli to the cerebrum?

Through the thalamus

What is the function of descending projections from the reticular formation nuclei to the spinal cord?

To help regulate skeletal and visceral muscle activity

Which brain structures compose the Default mode network?

Parts of the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes

Which band of gray matter in the forebrain connects with nearly every area of the cortex and may act as a 'switch' of consciousness?

The claustrum

Where are different sensory modalities integrated into a single polysensory event via corticocortical connections?

In the association areas

Which two association areas are highly interconnected and responsible for the planning of motor actions?

Parietal and frontal association areas

Which structures allow for interhemispheric connections between the two sides of the brain?

Corpus callosum and anterior commissure

From where do the noradrenergic and serotonergic nuclei that provide subcortical input to association areas originate?

The brainstem

Dysfunction in which type of circuits is associated with behavioral and psychiatric disorders?

Neuromodulatory circuits

What is the phenomenon where one sensory modality is combined with a different sensory modality?

Synesthesia

According to the transcript, how common is synesthesia in the population?

$1$ out of $2,000$ people

What percentage of synesthetes are commonly found to be women?

$$75\%$$

What occurs in Grapheme-Color Synesthesia?

Letters and numbers have specific colors

What occurs in Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia?

Words have specific tastes

What are the primary functions of the Parietal Association Cortex?

Integrates somatosensory, visual, and auditory information; processes spatial maps and binds them; attention (right hemisphere); and storage of sensory memories

Which hemisphere is primarily responsible for attention within the Parietal Association Cortex?

Right hemisphere

What syndrome is characterized by an inability to perceive the senses of the body contralateral to a lesion site, often due to right inferior parietal lobule damage?

Contralateral neglect syndrome

What are the three core features of Balint’s syndrome?

Simultanagnosia, optic ataxia, and ocular apraxia

In Balint’s syndrome, what is 'simultanagnosia'?

The inability to see parts of a complex scene

In Balint’s syndrome, what is 'optic ataxia'?

Deficits in visually-guided reaching

In Balint’s syndrome, what is 'ocular apraxia'?

Difficulty in scanning visual scenes

Damage to which areas causes Balint’s syndrome?

Bilateral posterior parietal and lateral occipital cortex

How is 'Attention' defined in contrast to arousal?

As a selective reallocation of resources to focus on specific stimuli

What is the difference between overt and covert endogenous attention?

Overt involves mental and visual/auditory focus; covert involves visual/auditory focus on one object with mental focus on another

What is the role of the superior colliculus of the midbrain in attention?

Directing conscious eye movements

What is the role of the pulvinar of the thalamus in attention?

Orienting and shifting attention toward targets, filtering/ignoring distracting inputs, and synchronizing cortical activities

Which cortical area directs attention towards both auditory and visual targets?

Intraparietal sulcus (IPS)

Which cortical area is responsible for establishing gaze and providing 'top-down' attention?

Frontal eye field (FEF)

What role does the Temporoparietal junction (TPJ) play in attention?

Shifting attention to new locations after unexpected stimuli; acts as a 'circuit breaker' for attentional priority

What type of control is mediated by the dorsal frontoparietal network?

Voluntary control of attention

What are the functions of the right and left temporal association cortex?

Right: recognition of faces or visual form; Left: language-related material

What is agnosia?

The inability to understand sensory input despite being able to perceive it

What is the difference between apperceptive and associative agnosia?

Apperceptive is the loss of visual recognition of an object (but can recognize it by touch); associative can perceive and draw an object but cannot name it

What is prosopagnosia and where is the lesion typically located?

The inability to recognize and identify faces; damage to the inferior temporal cortex, typically on the right

What are the key functions of the Frontal Association Cortex?

Decision-making, judgement, long-term planning, language production, and behavior inhibition (motor planning)

Which specific area of the frontal lobe is responsible for decision-making according to the transcript?

Ventromedial cortex