Sleep: Consciousness 1.5a

What is consciousness?

our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

How did researchers in the 1960s study consciousness?

They studied consciousness altered by drugs, and different mental states, showing that consciousness could vary across different states.

List the different states of consciousness.

Daydreaming, sleeping, drug-induced hallucinations, and meditating.

Define cognitive neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with mental processes, showing that conscious experience arises from synchronized brain activity.

Give an example of research showing the brain's activity in an unresponsive person

A patient in a coma was asked to imagine playing tennis, and scans showed activity in the brain areas related to movement, indicating the mind was still active.

What is dual processing?

principle that information is processed on both conscious and unconscious tracks simultaneously

What is blindsight?

condition where a person can respond to visual stimuli without consciously experiencing it.

What are the Visual Perception Track and Visual Action Track?

The Visual Perception Track enables us to recognize things and plan future actions, while the Visual Action Track guides moment-to-moment movements.

Explain parallel processing and sequential processing

Parallel processing enables the brain to handle routine tasks, while sequential processing requires focused attention on one task at a time, useful for solving new problems.