Chapter 6 : Consciousness

What is consciousness?

Consciousness is when one is aware of their surroundings, along with what’s in ones mind at the time.

Most of what we do doesn’t need deliberate conscious thought so why is consciousness required?

Consciousness is still required for mental processes that involved planning future behavior.

What are other reasons consciousness is required?

It’s crucial for mental tasks that require working with sequences of information such as, counting, learning a language, speaking , logical reasoning and helping people share experiences.

According to global workspace theory (GWT) what does it believe it means to have consciousness?

Believes consciousness is a place where we temporarily attend to information at hand or deemed important.

What does radical plasticity theory believe consciousness is?

Believes consciousness is a skill the brain acquired, not as an inherent property of the brain or a skill controlled by particular brain region.

Why may consciousness occur?

Consciousness can emerge when the information from seeing, hearing, problem solving and remembering is linked with our internal states like emotions.

What’s the function of microtubes?

Their tiny tunnels that control movement of materials in cells and help maintain their structure.

What’s the difference between wakefulness and awareness?

Wakefulness refers to alertness, or the extent the person is awake or asleep, while awareness is monitoring of information from the environment and ones own thoughts.

What does it mean to be minimally conscious?

It’s when there are signs of intentional behavior, but a person still can’t communicate.

When a person is in a vegetative state where they can think but they cant speak or move this is an example of?

Minimal consciousness

What’s the difference between a minimally conscious state and a vegetative state?

Vegetative state is when a person has no wakefulness or awareness, while a minimally conscious person has wakefulness and some awareness.

What does is moderate consciousness?

The experience of knowing that we know something even when we cant bring that something into awareness.

When we sleep or dream and certain sounds alert us while we ignore other sounds this is a sign of?

Moderate consciousness

What does it mean to have full consciousness?

When we have high levels of both wakefulness and awareness

What can occur during full consciousness?

Flow states and mindfulness

What happens during flow states?

Occurs when people are so engaged in an activity that they lose track of time.

What happens during mindfulness?

A heightened awareness of the present moment, of events in ones environment and the events in ones mind.

What is the cocktail party effect?

The ability to filter out auditory stimuli and refocus our attention when we hear our name for example.

What is inattentional blindness?

When we attend closely to one thing, we aren’t aware of what’s going on around us.

What does the perceptual load theory believe?

Believes our ability to attend to information is determined by both the demand of the situation and the attentional resources we have at that particular time.

What does mindfulness meditation do?

Encourages people attention to detail of momentary experience such as thoughts, feelings and sensations present at the time.

What are some benefits to mindfulness meditation?

Reduces attention span shifting between tasks, reduces stress and improves our memory.

What are beta waves and when do they occur?

They are rapid, low energy waves that occur when awake and alert.

When does alpha waves occur?

Occurs when we are awake but relaxed and drowsy

What are theta waves?

A stage of non-REM sleep, they are slower and have lower energy than alpha waves.

When do theta waves occur?

Occurs when we enter N1 sleep when our sensory curtains drop and we are no longer responsive to the outside world.

What’s the difference between non rem and rem dreams?

Non-rem are less detailed, less active and more like regular thinking

How does rem sleep change overtime in our life?

From infancy our rem is at an all time high of 50%, as we get older this percent decreases with age.

What are the functions of sleep?

• Consolidate memory

• Help with metabolic clean up in the brain

• Restore neural growth

• Produce enzymes that protect against cellular damage

What does regular sleep aid?

Aids in production of proteins involved in making synaptic connections.

What’s the function of synaptic pruning?

Occurs during sleep, this process is associated with some experiences/ information being retained while others are forgotten.

What dies the psychoanalytic theory believe?

Believes that dreams are the road to the unconscious, its further believed conflicting impulses, thoughts, feelings and drives that threaten the walking mind then released into the dreaming mind.

What is cognitive theory?

Believes dreams are not much different from everyday thinking?

What are psychoactive drugs and what do they do?

They are naturally occurring or synthesized substances, that when ingested or otherwise taken into the body causes changes in conscious experience.

What does depressants do?

They slow down our central nervous system activity. In low doses it calms the body and mind in higher doses it can slow down heart rate and brain activity to dangerous levels.

Alcohol, sedatives and opioids are what kind of drug?

Depressants

What causes cirrhosis?

Chronic alcoholism

What happens due to cirrhosis?

An accumulation of nonfunctional scar tissue in the liver that’s irreversible.

What does sedatives do?

Sedatives like barbiturates and benzodiazepines slow the heart rate, relax skeletal muscles and tranquilize the mind.

What does opioids do?

Slows down the heart and breathing, however high doses can kill by stopping the heart and breathing.